Meetings to be taped, aired

Another approved motion was for a township cleanup day.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- If it's feasible on a technical and staffing level, township trustees meetings may be taped and broadcast on cable Channel 19.
At a meeting this week, trustees approved a motion by Trustee Kathy Miller to begin working with Boardman Schools Television Network to tape township meetings.
Miller previously had proposed the same motion, but it failed.
This time, trustees Elaine Mancini and Tom Costello approved the motion and voted to put Miller in charge of the effort.
"If the trustees want to have their meetings broadcast, we'll do whatever we can to try to make that work," said Mark A. Huberman, the volunteer in charge of programming for the student-run station. "Up until now, no one wanted that done."
Assessing the site
Huberman said he and a station representative with more technical expertise plan to visit the room where trustees' meetings are conducted to determine the feasibility.
"They have their own sound system at the township, so we'd have to tie in to that," Huberman said.
Because the station is student-run, scheduling of people to tape the meetings, which occur twice monthly, would be a consideration.
Although the station has adult advisers who accompany students to events, there isn't a paid adult staff.
"The kids who do Channel 19 do a lot of things," Huberman said. "They're involved in a lot of activities."
Mancini said that in previous discussions with station representatives, the township was told that staffing and equipment wouldn't allow the meetings to be taped and broadcast. The station got a truck last month that will allow students to do remote editing.
"We told Kathy that she can be the liaison, and she can tell us the who, where and what," Mancini said.
Other motions passed
Two more motions by Miller also passed, and Miller again was put in charge of their implementation.
One motion was to establish a community spring cleanup day working with the Recycling & amp; Reuse Division of Mahoning County, or the Green Team.
Mancini said that the bicentennial committee previously sent letters to all precinct committee people in the township regarding a similar neighborhood cleanup.
"Of 105 letters that went out, seven responded," Mancini said.
Because of that poor response, the event didn't happen.
Mancini said that as the person in charge, Miller will need to determine what, if any, costs her planned cleanup will mean to the township.
Miller's other motion that was approved was to set up meetings with officials in communities adjacent to Boardman to discuss crime and how to improve the appearance of common corridors.
Mancini pointed out that Mahoning County police chiefs meet weekly and discuss crime and other issues.
"It's not like we're not in contact with these people," Mancini said.
Miller said she agreed to be in charge of the committees only through the end of this year.
"It should not be just my committee," she said. "These are a townshipwide issues. They're not just my issues."
Next year, Robyn Gallitto, who defeated Costello in the election earlier this month, will take office.
Miller said she proposed her motions this week rather than waiting until next year so the work could get started.
"Why wait six more weeks if we have the opportunity to do it now?" she said.