Road paving stops for year

Staff report

liberty

Road paving is over this year with four roads completed, but township Administrator Pat Ungaro says he’s already working on obtaining grants for next year.

Ungaro said Wednesday he is trying for a $225,000 state grant to help with paving three roads: Mansell Drive, Tibbetts-Wick Road and Ohio Trail.

He said he might know this week whether the township will get the grant.

The township paved Hadley Avenue, Roosevelt Drive, Northview Boulevard and Ravine Drive from Sampson Road to Staunton Road, with a tax-anticipation loan on the $266,320 in road levy taxes it will begin collecting on the new road levy next year.

The loan will be paid back over five years at 2.7 percent interest.

Rather than loans from now on, Ungaro said, he is going to try to obtain grants.

“I’m hoping to get a couple hundred thousand of grant money on top of the road levy money each year,” he said.

Ungaro said last year while township officials were campaigning for passage of the levy that the state awards grants more often if the local entity has matching funds.

Voters approved the road tax in May.