BOARDMAN POLICE Official: New station to open by Christmas

Trustees OK'd a proposal for landscaping work at Fire Station No. 73.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- A new police station designed to serve the northern portion of the township is closer to becoming a reality.
At their meeting Monday, trustees approved a motion based on a recommendation by Chief Jeffrey Patterson to buy a workstation, filing cabinets, lockers and other equipment for the North Boardman Neighborhood Policing Station. The $10,945 cost also includes delivery and set-up fees.
Patterson said the station at 5000 Market St. should be open and fully operational by Christmas. It will have 11 or 12 officers, including two detectives and a crime prevention officer, and will also house a traffic unit, he said.
Trustees also authorized Patterson to buy a steel door and frame for $1,650 from AM Door & amp; Supply Co. of North Jackson. The door would be installed in the department's booking area and would act as a barrier between prisoners and interview and other rooms to ensure privacy, Patterson told trustees.
Trustees approved a final installment of $30,000 to fund Street Crimes Narcotics Enforcement Units through Dec. 31. Patterson recommended in January spending $100,000 on the program, which has been effective in deterring crime, the chief said. The enforcement unit is needed to protect residences and businesses in the township during the holidays, he said.
Landscaping work
In other business, trustees approved a proposal for performing landscaping work at Boardman Fire Station No. 73 near Shields Road and Lockwood Boulevard. The $2,410 project by Billet Landscaping of Boardman will include adding shrubbery, ground mulch and other materials to the front and side of the building, Fire Chief James Dorman said.
Dorman added that the work will get under way soon, as long as the weather cooperates.
Toward the end of the meeting, Trustee Kathy Miller introduced 10 additional agenda items for discussion or as motions. In one, she asked trustees to authorize the release of all opinions issued by the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office since 2002 and to have them posted on the township's Web site.
Trustees Thomas Costello and Elaine Mancini said they felt a legal opinion from the prosecutor's office was warranted before taking such action.