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Boardman Township accepts $250,000 grant for Southern Park Historic District project
BOARDMAN
Boardman is one step closer to having its own historic district for the public to enjoy.
Township trustees voted this week to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Ohio Facilities Commission to accept a $250,000 capital grant for the Southern Park Historic District project.
The grant funds will be used to extend sanitary sewer and waterlines into the district and to build Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant restrooms.
The district consists of two properties that Boardman Park and township officials are working to convert into a community space.
One property, which spans 11.1 acres and includes a house and a barn, is located on Raupp Avenue and was donated by Clarence R. Smith, Jr. last year. The other is the Southern Park Historic Stables located on 8 acres at 126 Washington Blvd, which was donated to the park by Janie Jenkins in 1993 with a lifetime estate clause until her death in 2012.
“This grant will allow us to do the things we need to do so the public can come to these buildings,” said township Zoning Inspector Sarah Gartland.
“We should have the money in July of 2015. After that, we will be able to start having events there,” she said.
Township trustees also voted Monday to approve a culvert repair and replacement project for West Parkside Drive.
The road department closed West Parkside in July after an engineering study found that culvert pipes under the street were in danger of collapsing.
The Ohio Public Works Commission denied the road department’s application for emergency funding, but has approved program year 2015 funds for the project.
“We’re hoping that, once approved, we can get OPWC to release some funds early,” said Road Superintendent Larry Wilson.
If the OPWC does not allow an early release of funds, the project will begin in July 2015, Wilson said. The project will cost about $260,000.
Township trustees also voted to move forward with another 2015 OPWC project — the township’s joint paving program with Austintown and Canfield. The program is a cooperative effort to pave roads in the three communities, which saves each community money.