Panel urged to pursue sewers

The county elections board will sue commissioners over funds, if necessary.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A state senator is troubled that Trumbull County commissioners may miss a chance to provide sanitary sewer service to Kinsman Township.
"I am gravely concerned that Trumbull County is about to walk away from an opportunity to bring significant development in the northern part" of the county, state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, wrote the commissioners Thursday.
Dann's comments were sparked after commissioners took no action earlier in the day to advance the sewer project by finalizing the acquisition of a private sewage treatment plant in Kinsman.
Commissioners gave preliminary approval in April to buying the sewage treatment facility at the shuttered Kraft dairy products plant in Kinsman for $1. The facility, on Burnett-East Road, could help provide the solution to sewage treatment problems that cause a bad smell in the township center and concern the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Last month, Commissioner Paul Heltzel questioned Sanitary Engineer Gary Newbrough about what cleanup costs or liabilities the county might face if it took over but didn't use the facility, and wondered if other options for bringing in sewers were available or even desired by residents.
Dairy factory
The Kraft factory had turned milk into yogurt, cottage cheese and other products, employing about 60 people until ceasing operations last year. Acquiring the treatment plant from current owner Smearcase LLC, Andover, would reduce the cost of bringing sewers to Kinsman, which is far from county-owned sewer lines.
There are about 2,000 residents in Kinsman. The township center is one of about two dozen county places dubbed "unsewered areas of concern" by the Ohio EPA. The township is serviced by individual septic tanks.
Dann said the project involves $340,000 from the U.S. Economic Development Agency, a $50,000 Ohio EPA fine paid by Kraft and an additional $340,000 from the county revolving loan fund, which comprises federal funds. The county needs a letter of commitment for the deal to buy the plant sent to the EDA by today or the agency intends to remove already approved funding from its fiscal 2005 budget.
Lawsuit threatened
In another matter, Kelly Pallante, county elections director, is threatening to file a lawsuit against commissioners if they don't come up with $111,000 for election supplies and advertising.
Commissioners tabled the funding request after Anthony Carson, county administrator, said the county didn't have the money.
Pallante said after the meeting that the board of elections will go to court if commissioners don't provide the money. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to that," she said.
The county bought about $2 million worth of touch-screen voting machines with money provided by the Help America Vote Act. They replaced the punch card system that had been used in the county.
Rokey Suleman, deputy elections director, said $57,726 is needed to buy protection so a strong electrical surge can't damage the machines. Also needed are sealed canisters for the paper copies of each ballot, and extra batteries for the voting machines. An additional$54,000 is needed to advertise in newspapers the 34 local and five state options that will appear on the November general election ballot.
yovich@vindy.com