Mahoning’s $300,000 to fund development

Trumbull County also is contributing $300,000 to the port authority.

STAFF REPORT

BERLIN CENTER — Mahoning County commissioners passed a resolution to commit a total of $300,000 to the Western Reserve Port Authority for economic development.

The port authority is in charge of operations at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.

The resolution matches one passed by the Trumbull County Commissioners on Aug. 20, and both counties have committed to $100,000 per year for three years.

Niles City Council approved a $50,000 commitment for one year last month, and Youngstown and Warren city councils are expected within the next month to pass resolutions for $50,000 per year for three years.

“This will fund an executive developmental staff under the port authority to bring in jobs, and we’ll hire a director based on his or her ability and knowledge, not politics,” said Mahoning Commissioner Anthony Traficanti at the commissioners’ Thursday meeting at the Berlin Township Hall.

The economic development team will have the ability to enter into financial deals and work with public finances, and the 1,400 acres around the airport will give the team accessibility to property to create new developments, Traficanti said.

“All kinds of businesses will come in with this. We’ve had successes with computer industry and manufacturing,” said Commissioner John A. McNally IV. “The type of industry isn’t as important as the fact that they will pay well and provide benefits to workers in the region.”

The funds should be in place by the end of the year, and a nationwide search will be conducted to find the director of the economic development program, McNally added.