Commissioners returning indoor racetrack funding

Commissioners also authorized money for renovation of the board of elections office.
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners took one of the formal steps required to walk away from the failed Mahoning Valley indoor racetrack project.
Commissioners approved a resolution Wednesday to terminate a grant agreement between the county and the U.S. Economic Development Administration for $185,000 that was going to be used for a feasibility study for the project.
They also agreed to write a letter to the Ohio Department of Development asking the department to terminate a $40,000 grant related to the project.
Other money set to be returned are $40,000 from the Western Reserve Port Authority and $40,000 from organizations including Trumbull 100, Western Reserve Building Trades and the Builders Association of Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.
Brant Motorsports, which proposed the project and had pledge to provide $65,000 of the funding, announced last month it was no longer interested in pursuing the project. Brant had never turned over its $65,000 share, county officials said.
Other action
In other business, the commissioners:
Authorized County Administrator Tony Carson Jr. to advertise for bids for architectural and design services for renovations at the Trumbull County Board of Elections building on Youngstown-Warren Road.
Approved hiring Phillips/Sekanick Architects Inc., Warren, to provide space planning and preliminary cost estimates for the Park-Porter Building renovation on North Park Avenue. The company will earn $13,185 for the work. Commissioners plan to use the building to house the county's Job and Family Services and One-Stop job training offices.