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Trustees approve paving project, discuss massage parlors
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
Trustees approved their section of a joint paving program with two other townships, as well as having a second public hearing on changes to ordinances related to massage parlors.
Austintown trustees Monday unanimously approved their section of their joint paving program with Canfield and Boardman townships. The communities are hiring Shelley & Sands for the work. Austintown will pay $144 per cubic yard for about 5,750 cubic yards, or about $828,000.
Mike Dockry, township administrator and road superintendent, said that’s about 9.5 miles.
On top of the asphalt costs, there will be an additional charge of $10,000 a day for grinding on the new roads.
Dockry explained that’s when crews grind out the old pavement along the edges of the road and replace those with new pavement. He said the township is “expecting that to be at least 15 days” worth of work, costing $150,000.
Monday’s meeting featured a full house for the unanimous promotion of firefighter Thomas Metzinger to lieutenant. More than a dozen of his family members and Austintown Fire Department officials were on hand. Chief Andy Frost III said officials had interviews and resumes for the position, and “Tom was just the shining example.”
Township officials hosted their second public hearing on changes to regulations dealing with massage parlors. Much like the first hearing, no one spoke in favor or against the establishments.
Trustees unanimously approved the second reading of the changes. The changes are regulations for signs and locations of massage parlors, to be governed now by state code instead of township zoning.
The 76 Spa on 76 Drive was the only remaining massage parlor in the township, but zoning inspector Darren Crivelli said that was closed voluntarily after a recent police raid.
Authorities had been investigating the parlor prior to the June 23 township meeting and at that time, no arrests had been made when prostitution was discovered, after an undercover officer found violations.
“At some point, I would expect police and zoning to ask the board to convene another public hearing ... [to] ask the board to revoke that license based on the police actions that have occurred there at this time,” Crivelli said.