YOUNGSTOWN ODOT considers office farther from Valley

A state legislator wants ODOT to stop negotiations.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- State Rep. Kenneth A. Carano is upset that the Ohio Department of Transportation district office that serves Mahoning and Trumbull counties is looking to relocate farther away from the Mahoning Valley.
ODOT District 4, which has headquarters in Ravenna, is looking at a number of properties for possible relocation, said spokeswoman Jennifer Richmond. The current location was heavily damaged in the recent floods, and the basement is no longer useable, she said. Employees who were housed in the basement are working out of rented trailers at the rear of ODOT's property.
The agency was looking exclusively in Portage County for a new home, but discovered a location in Coventry Township in Summit County, near Akron, that it is considering, she said. The site is a former Federal Express call center.
"We're still evaluating our options," Richmond said.
The cost of renovating the Ravenna office would cost almost 90 percent of the amount to rebuild at that site, and is about $7 million to $10 million more than finding a structure, ODOT officials say.
Disapproval
Carano, of Austintown, D-59th, wants to know why state legislators from the Mahoning Valley weren't told of the potential move, and why Mahoning and Trumbull counties aren't being considered as places to move. Carano found out about the possible move from a constituent.
"We are very angry that we weren't informed of any plans to move," Carano said. "Trumbull and Mahoning are the central counties. Why are [they] going so far west?"
Carano wants ODOT to stop ongoing negotiations to buy the Summit County property so the Valley can pitch a site for the district's new home.
Moving to Akron would not be a slight against the Valley, Richmond said.
"Wherever we move our headquarters, no services would be disrupted," she said. "We have garages in each county. There would be no impact on construction."
ODOT's District 4 provides services to Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage, Summit, Ashtabula and Stark counties.
skolnick@vindy.com