Future of Western Reserve Port Authority remains unsettled

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning and Trumbull County commissioners will likely meet again within two weeks to discuss the future of the Western Reserve Port Authority, David Ditzler, chairman of the Mahoning commissioners, said after today’s one-hour joint executive session concerning authority personnel.

The primary focus of the commissioners of the two counties is on the possibility of dissolving the current WRPA board and replacing it with a new one, Ditzler said.

Another option is the solution Ditzler said he recommends, which is creating a four-county port authority consisting of Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties.

After a May 9 joint commissioners’ meeting in Warren, Trumbull County Commissioner Paul Heltzel called the WRPA “dysfunctional.”

The WRPA covers Mahoning and Trumbull counties. It oversees operations at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna and performs economic-development work for the two counties.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com