LAKE MILTON Officials seek grant for center

The idea for a government center occurred a few years ago, a trustee said.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LAKE MILTON -- A fire in the building that housed the Milton Township police and road departments could speed up a grant needed to build a new government complex.
Bobby Ross, Milton Township's project manager, said Friday that the township has applied for a $2.5 million emergency state grant to build a government complex. Most of the money could arrive sooner because of the July 14 fire, he said.
The idea to build a government center began about three years ago, Trustee Al Baker said.
The building will likely include a courtroom, a township garage, offices for the police department, a police booking room, an area for the Ohio State Highway Patrol to process drivers charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and a holding cell, Ross said.
Land issue
The state owns two tracts of land along East River Road. Ross said that he should know soon which the state will sell for a & quot;minimal fee. & quot; He said he hopes to acquire between three and five acres for the government center.
Since the fire, police have been operating out of a Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency mobile command post and the road department has been working out of a nearby township garage. Beginning this week, both agencies are to share a 25-foot-by-64-foot trailer parked outside the building, Chief William Moretz said.
Capt. Frank Tomaino of the Milton Township Police Department said the fire at the building at 15992 Milton Ave. was thought to have been started by an electrical problem.