Trumbull ballot will have issues, levy choices

Staff report

All Trumbull County voters will be asked whether they want to renew the 0.75-mill senior-citizens levy first approved in November 2005.

The levy will raise about $2.3 million per year to continue with the transportation, home- delivered meals, chore services, and senior- citizen neighboring program run by the sheriff’s office for citizens age 60 and over.

The levy funds generated controversy when the Area Agency on Aging charged that SCOPE was overbilling the levy for services it was providing.

The county commissioners eventually required SCOPE to repay $90,000 of the money it received.

Bazetta Township residents will be asked to decide whether a zoning change approved by their township trustees should be rescinded in a referendum.

The zoning change from Residential 1 to Residential 2 was sought by Calvary Bible Church, which wants to build a $1 million church on the 34 acres on the east side of Bazetta Road just south of state Route 305.

Two former trustees voted for the rezoning. A current trustee, Paul Hovis, abstained but said trustees were advised by Atty. Mark Finamore, their legal adviser, that they should approve the zoning because the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act passed by Congress in 2000 seems to give the church the right to build there.

Opponents of the project said the church will increase traffic and noise in the area.