By Peter H. Milliken

milliken@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning County commissioners have hired Dianne L. Fry as county dog warden at $57,990 a year, effective July 8.

Selected from among 15 applicants, she will replace Matt Ditchey, who resigned earlier this year.

Fry chose not to comment Thursday, deferring all statements to the commissioners.

“We’re going to have either a new building or a renovated building, and we need to get our administrative staff in order,” said Carol Rimedio-Righetti, chairwoman of the county commissioners, referring to plans for the dog pound.

“We are looking for the feasibility of building new vs. renovating the old,” or finding a suitable building that can be renovated into an animal pound, Righetti said after the panel hired Fry.

“Her vision for the dog warden’s office is to make it more accessible to the volunteers,” to have a three-year strategic plan for the office, and to seek grants to help fund the pound, Righetti said of Fry.

Fry, of Norquest Boulevard, Austintown, has been employed by Austintown Township since 1992 and now serves as its assistant fiscal officer.

She also has worked since 2010 at the Mahoning Valley Veterinary Centre on state Route 46, first as a front-desk assistant and then as a bookkeeper.

From 1995-2005, she was a veterinary technician assistant and bookkeeper at the After Hours Animal Emergency Clinic in Girard.

From 1985-92, she worked as a veterinary technician assistant at the Niles Veterinary Clinic.

Righetti said the $6.6 million proposal for a new combined dog and cat pound, which was presented to the commissioners in January by Olsavsky-Jaminet Architects of Youngstown and Animal Arts of Boulder, Colo., is too expensive, but she declined to specify a dollar amount she’d be willing to spend for the new facility.

In other action, the commissioners placed a .85-mill, five-year, countywide mental-health levy on the Nov. 5 ballot for renewal. That levy originated in 1968 and raises $3.2 million annually.

The commissioners also entered into a $9,685 agreement with RoofTec Inc. of Willoughby for an evaluation of the roof and skylight of the 102-year-old county courthouse before restoration of the building. Where rooftop statues were removed, a temporary courthouse roof has been in place since fall 2010.

They also approved a $13,500 agreement with J.M. Verostko Inc. of Youngstown for mechanical- and electrical-engineering consulting services concerning boiler replacement at the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center, Youngstown, which still has the boilers that were installed when the center opened in 1979.

County Engineer Patrick Ginnetti announced that he has streamlined and expedited his department’s response to complaints about road conditions, including those pertaining to potholes.

“I’ve taken one of our road superintendents and put him in charge of all of the pavement in the county, and he responds to every pothole complaint, and he directs the crews and follows up” to assure that repairs are done in a timely way, Ginnetti said.