YOUNGSTOWN Lawmakers: ODOT ignored Valley for new location

By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- State legislators from Mahoning and Trumbull counties said they're disappointed and disgusted with a decision by the Ohio Department of Transportation to relocate its district headquarters from Ravenna without even looking at potential sites in the Mahoning Valley.
"It is astounding to us that a process was undertaken to plan and implement this move that included no public comment and no consideration of alternative locations for a new district office," wrote four local legislators in a letter to ODOT Director Gordon Proctor.
Signing the letter were: state Sens. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, and Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-33rd, and state Reps. Kenneth A. Carano of Austintown, D-59th, and Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th.
ODOT District 4 signed an agreement to purchase a former Federal Express call center in Coventry Township in Summit County, near Akron, said Jennifer Richmond, the district's spokeswoman. District 4 provides services to Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage, Summit, Ashtabula and Stark counties.
All that is needed to finalize the deal is the approval of the State Controlling Board, a seven-member state legislative committee that reviews projects and releases state funding. The ODOT contract is on the board's Oct. 20 agenda.
State Rep. Sylvester D. Patton Jr. of Youngstown, D-60th, who signed a previous letter to ODOT officials urging a halt to plans to move District 4's headquarters farther west, serves as a member of the State Controlling Board.
Patton says he's changed his mind and he'll support the move because ODOT has to move, and the Valley doesn't have any buildings that meets the agency's needs. Hagan pointed to the former KMart building on Belmont Avenue in Liberty as a local building that could house the district headquarters.
Agency's search
ODOT was originally looking for a new facility exclusively in Portage County, but discovered the former FedEx site when it sought a temporary location for some employees after the Ravenna headquarters received water damage in July, Richmond said. Upon further review, ODOT decided that the FedEx site was ideal for its permanent home, she said.
Richmond would not disclose the purchase price of the building until the contract is finalized. But the building's asking price is $6.4 million.
If the deal is approved by the controlling board, ODOT would start moving its employees to the new location in March or April, Richmond said.
skolnick@vindy.com