ISSUE 2 Funding critic will lead review

The subcommittee will issue its findings June 17.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- A Youngstown official will head a review of a funding process he criticized earlier this year.
Carmen Conglose Jr., the city's deputy director of public works, will serve as chairman of a subcommittee examining the criteria used to judge local road and sewer projects seeking state Issue 2 funding. He volunteered for the post Thursday at a meeting of the District 6 Public Works Integrating Committee.
The subcommittee is open to all integrating committee members.
The integrating committee uses a point system to determine which projects should receive state Issue 2 funding. Points are issued to projects based on several criteria, including regional importance.
Conglose has said he believes the definition of the regional importance criteria is too vague. He asked the committee Thursday to create a subcommittee to review the regional importance criteria, as well as several other criteria.
The state requires the committee to re-evaluate the criteria every year.
Youngstown's application
"It comes as no surprise that the city of Youngstown has some concerns about the evaluation process," Conglose said
The city applied for $946,000 in state Issue 2 money this year to help with its Federal Street reconstruction project. After a debate that was heated at times, the committee awarded the Federal Street project 10 out of 30 points under its regional importance criteria. The project did not receive funding.
There are no written guidelines in the committee handbook for issuing regional importance points, and some committee members have defined the term differently.
Conglose also has questioned why the integrating committee didn't issue points to the Federal Street project for traffic. He had presented the committee with traffic counts from Federal Street before it was closed, as well as traffic estimates if it is open.
Committee members said they don't award points based on old traffic counts or on traffic estimates.
The state Department of Development later committed $500,000 to the city project. City officials said they will borrow money to generate the remaining $446,000.
A $2.08 million federal grant is funding the bulk of the project. The city expects to start the work in mid-August.
Looking ahead
The subcommittee is expected to issue its findings to the integrating committee June 17. That will be the last meeting before the terms of several committee members expire.
When asked what he'll do if the subcommittee recommends not changing the criteria, Conglose answered, "I'm sure all these guys are going to do a good job of looking at everything."
As part of the review process, the integrating committee also may create a tie-breaking process for projects that receive an equal amount of points. This year, the committee broke a tie by drawing two projects out of a hat.
hill@vindy.com