BOARDMAN Trustees fill post again

The assistant inspector should start before the middle of the month.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- After months of searching, waiting, debating and a potential lawsuit, township trustees have filled the assistant zoning inspector position.
Trustees, in a unanimous vote, hired Peter P. Ross of Sharon Drive. Trustee Tom Costello said Ross has only to complete a physical examination, as do all township employees, before starting. Costello hopes to have Ross on board before the middle of the month.
Ross' r & eacute;sum & eacute; lists past employment with Capital Real Estate, LTD in Youngstown, CHOICE (Community Housing Options Involving Cooperative Efforts) Homes in Youngstown and Common Wealth Inc. in Youngstown. No employment is listed after September 2002.
Ross is not the first person hired for the position this year. Trustees selected Mark Cichanski, a five-year member of the township site plan review board, as the first pick for the position.
Cichanski was offered the position in late March after a statewide search by township officials that cost more than $5,000. The problem, township officials said, is that Cichanski owns and operates a landscaping business that they feel will pose a conflict with his zoning department duties.
They wanted him to sell his business before coming to work for the township.
Officials' decision
Costello has said it would not be wise for Cichanski to review plans in the zoning office on property that he may bid on through his private business. In June, trustees, in a 2-1 vote, rescinded the offer to Cichanski after they determined he had not sold the landscaping business.
Cichanski has said he is considering taking legal action against the township.
Costello said instead of repeating the $5,000-search process, trustees recalled the second and third choices on the list of candidates. The third-choice candidate, he said, refused to return for a second interview because of the $32,000 to $36,000 salary range.
Ross accepted the position at $32,000 a year. Cichanski was offered the position at $34,000 a year, but Costello said qualifications played a factor in the salary offerings.
"We were very happy with Mr. Ross' credentials, but quite frankly, we felt Mark Cichanski brought more to the table for Boardman Township as having served on the site plan review for so long," said Costello. "Our learning curve would have been a little less with Mark. We are trying to be fair with everybody."
jgoodwin@vindy.com