REGIONAL CHAMBER Austintown looks to investment, enthusiasm to help guide growth

Two new bridges are scheduled to be built across Meander Reservoir.
AUSTINTOWN -- Fred Owens, a longtime township resident, said Austintown started out as a "a nice, quiet place for young families to move in and live."
"But the wave of change has come," said the president of the Austintown Growth Foundation. And leaders are working hard to keep up with the growth.
The township is set to receive millions for infrastructure improvements, a new middle school will soon be built, and a plan to improve neighborhoods will continue to make Austintown a desirable place to live and work, said speakers at Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber's breakfast meeting Friday at The Regency House.
Ken Sympson, director of highway planning for Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, said about $112 million in highway projects is scheduled for the township in the next five years.
The work at the state Route 46-Interstate 80 interchange is completed and a westbound ramp has been added. Route 46 between New Road and Mahoning Avenue will be widened to five lanes in spring 2006 at a cost of $6 million.
The major change will be construction of two new bridges at a cost of $84 million to cross Meander Reservoir in spring 2006, Sympson said.
Since the reservoir is the Mahoning Valley's primary domestic water source, the bridges will have a spill containment system that will keep hazardous material from reaching the reservoir and make it easier for Haz-Mat crews to clean up.
The township is looking at less ambitious projects to improve the quality of life.
Austintown 20/20 is a blueprint designed to help guide the township's future and give it an identity. Owens said four projects are on the boards.
The first is the Celebration Grove of Honor. People or groups can buy a tree to plant in Austintown Township Park to honor a friend or family member. Austintown Rotary is spearheading that effort.
The second project is called cleanup/fixup. Residents will be urged to show the community they care by cleaning up their properties. The Mahoning County Green Team, the county's recycling division, will help in that effort, Owens said.
The other two projects are Falcon Country, which puts up signs throughout the township to publicize the mascot name for Fitch High School; and a neighborhood watch.
Encouragement to public
Owens said the growth foundation and 20/20 also will keep an eye on the state Route 46 widening project. He encouraged people to get involved and said 20/20 steering committee meetings are at 7 a.m. Tuesdays at the Denny's restaurant on Mahoning Avenue.
Bo Pritchard, chairman of the township trustees, said the township is at a crossroads. He acknowledged there are budgetary problems but said the trustees are unified in their quest to make the township safe and secure.
Pritchard said through Nov. 24 the township experienced $29.1 million in increased development this year, with $13 million of that in the business sector.
"The business community is recognizing that Austintown is an attractive site to locate," he said.
Pritchard also mentioned the Centerpointe Industrial Park between Route 46 and state Route 11 and St. Elizabeth Emergency and Diagnostic Center on Mahoning Avenue as prime examples of commercial development.