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Mahoning mental health board considers N. Side apartments
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning County Mental Health Board wants to build 40 one-bedroom apartments for clients on the city’s North Side, and the city school board has given preliminary approval to sell the land for the project.
The board sent a letter of intent, which is a nonbinding document, to the mental health board, outlining the intent to sell 3.6 acres on Covington Street at Madison Avenue to the mental health board.
A resolution is expected to be brought before the school board at a later date which, if approved, would formalize the sale.
The sale price is $36,000.
Joe Caruso, president and CEO of Compass Family and Community Services, said at a school board meeting Tuesday that the state board of mental health and addiction services recently made financing available, and Compass Family is hoping to secure funding for the housing project as part of a partnership with other agencies.
The property, where the former Covington/MLK School once stood, is already zoned to accommodate the apartments.
Ronald Marian, county mental health board executive director, sent a letter to Richard Atkinson, school board president, and James Reinhard, treasurer, saying the mental health board plans to apply to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency for a permanent supportive housing grant.
In other business, the board approved two property tax abatements.
A 15-year, 100 percent abatement was granted to the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority for a house at 516 Griffith St., in the Arlington Heights development.
The other is for VAM USA on Ohio Works Drive for 10 years at 75 percent.
VAM is a Vallourec Star subsidiary that is considering investing $81.5 million for construction of a steel-pipe threading facility at the former Genmak Steel building and an additional 67,500 square feet nearby in the city’s Ohio Works Business Park.
Jackie Adair, board member, said she’s not in favor of tax abatements, however.
“We have not realized the promises of employment these companies who get these abatements have given us,” she said.
Board members also re-elected Atkinson as board president for 2014 and elected Brenda Kimble vice president at the reorganization meeting before the regular session.