Trumbull County to seek grant for Job Ready Site

Commissioners appointed Sam C. Lamancusa
acting Trumbull County
treasurer.

WARREN — Trumbull County commissioners have authorized the county planning commission to apply for a $1 million federal grant that would help secure up to $5 million from the state’s Job Ready Site Program near the Trumbull Career and Technical Center.

Commissioners authorized the application through the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The money would be paired with money from Ohio Edison and other sources to serve as the 25 percent match money needed for the program.

Ohio voters approved the Job Ready program in 2005, and 2006 was the first year of funding.

The county planning commission staff will apply for Job Ready funding sometime this year in hopes of getting dollars to improve a 150-acre site on Research Parkway in Champion to entice a private company to locate a research facility there, said Mark Zigmont of the planning commission.

The money would be used to build a road extending south from the Perkins-Jones exit of the state Route 82/5 bypass in Bazetta Township to the proposed facility, plus electrical and fiber cable enhancements. In all, the project would cost about $8 million, Zigmont said.

The answers to the state and federal grant applications are probably a year away, he said.

Kinsman sewer project

Meanwhile, county commissioners have also awarded contracts totaling $741,383 to two companies to build the first phase of the Kinsman Township Sanitary Sewer project.

A contract of $700,779 was awarded to Clemson Excavating Inc. of Chardon for the main part of the project and a contract of $40,604 was awarded to B&J Electric of North Lima for electrical work.

The project, which is likely to begin in about a month and be completed in the spring, will involve construction of a 25,000-gallon-per-day plant to process waste coming from the former Kraft plant, now owned by Smearcase LLC of Andover; a nearby industrial park owned by Smearcase; and the company Vinyl Color & Grain. The three businesses are on Burnett East Road.

The project also calls for construction of about 2,000 feet of sewer line to serve the businesses.

The project makes use of a $340,000 federal grant, $340,000 from a county loan fund and $111,000 from Smearcase.

The project's second phase, costing about $7.2 million, would provide sewers to the town square and a one-mile area between Kinsman and Farmdale. No timetable for completion of the second phase has been established.

Acting treasurer appointed

County commissioners have also appointed Sam C. Lamancusa acting Trumbull County treasurer, replacing Christ Michelakis, who will retire today after eight years in office. Lamancusa has been Michelakis’ office manager since 2001.

A meeting of the Trumbull County Democratic Party Central Committee will be held Sept. 11 to chose someone to fill the remainder of Michelakis’ term in office, which expires in September 2009.

Kelly Pallante, director of the Trumbull County Board of Elections, said the next election for treasurer will be for a four-year term and will be held in November of 2008.

runyan@vindy.com