Sidewalk project gets OK from trustees

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Austintown Trustee Lisa Oles

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Austintown Trustee David Ditzler

By Elise Franco

efranco@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Large portions of the sidewalk along Bexley Drive will be overhauled this summer using a grant the township secured last year.

The Austintown trustees voted Monday to move forward with the Bexley Sidewalk Project that will be mostly funded by the Mahoning County Community Development Block Grant Program.

Trustee Lisa Oles said the project, which will be finished by the end of the summer, costs about $117,000. Oles said the grant funds $100,000 of the project and the township will pick up the remaining cost.

Trustee David Ditzler said the project will level out the portions of the sidewalk that are uneven and unsafe in front of Austintown Fitch High School.

“The township has been held liable in the past for sidewalks where residents have been hurt,” he said.

Ditzler said the 6,000 feet of sidewalk included in the project is in an area of the township where many low-to-moderate-income residents live. He said this is what helped Austintown qualify for the grant.

He said the township does a lot of small sidewalk repairs using its own money, but because of budget restraints they’re not able to do larger-scale projects.

“We do little bits every year, but it’s only on occasion that we get a grant to help fix so many bad portions,” Ditzler said.