Hanni and Schiraldi join board

One new member said he hopes to provide economic development assistance to the port authority board.

STAFF REPORT

VIENNA — Don Hanni III, a former Youngstown school board member, says he has agreed to serve on the Western Reserve Port Authority to “complete things for my dad.”

Hanni is the son of Atty. Don L. Hanni Jr., who died July 16 at age 82. The elder Hanni was a prominent defense attorney who served 16 years as Mahoning County’s Democratic Party chairman.

Port authority members are appointed by Mahoning and Trumbull county commissioners.

Hanni III, 61, who works for the Ohio Department of Transportation, served as a school board member from 1990 through 2002. He said he hopes to retire from ODOT this year.

At his first meeting Wednesday as an authority member representing Mahoning County, Hanni asked if authority representatives would meet with the Ohio inventors of a freight-moving aircraft they call a Dynalifter.

Hanni of Youngstown said he researched the Dynalifter for his father while his father was an authority member and hopes to move the idea forward now that he is on the authority.

John Masternick, authority chairman, said the inventors should contact Steve Bowser, director of aviation for Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, to set up a meeting.

“I think it’s the future, and it’s something we can do here at the airport,” Hanni said.

It also was the first meeting for Richard J. Schiraldi, 54, of Canfield, a certified public accountant with Cohen and Company CPAs in Youngstown.

Schiraldi said he hopes to be able to help the authority as it proceeds with a plan to hire an economic development professional to help market the Mahoning Valley to businesses.

A project spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, received commitments from officials from Youngstown and Warren, Mahoning and Trumbull counties and other communities to provide $375,000 for each of the next three years to pay for an economic development office.

The office would make use of the powers provided to the port authority to provide bond financing to companies interested in locating in the area. The authority runs the airport.