Tuesday, October 28, 2014
BOARDMAN
The township soon will get its final shipment of rock salt for winter, bringing the township’s total stock to up to more than 5,000 tons, Road Superintendent Larry Wilson said at a board of trustees meeting Monday.
The final 1,000 tons the township will be getting was purchased through the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Summer Salt Fill program at a cost of $42 per ton. The township purchased a total of 4,500 tons of salt through the program, at a total cost of $199,000.
The township declined to participate in the State Cooperative Purchasing Program this year. The program’s price increased to more than $100 per ton, up from $27.50 per ton last year.
Due to the intensity of last winter, the township used about 7,000 tons of rock salt last year.
This year, the road department will start the season by using a 50-50 mix of slag and salt to conserve the rock salt supply.
The road department is in “good shape” to get Ohio Public Works Commission funding for two projects, Wilson reported to trustees.
The road department will find out sometime after next week if it will get OPWC funds for the 2015 joint paving program, and for culvert repair and replacement on West Parkside Drive.
The joint paving program allows Boardman, Canfield and Austintown to work together to pave roads in the three communities.
The road department closed West Parkside Drive in July after an engineering study found that culvert pipes under the street were in danger of collapsing.
Wilson said he is optimistic about getting OPWC funding for both projects.
The board also heard from Fire Chief Mark Pitzer and Police Chief Jack Nichols about grant money the two departments recently received.
The fire department received $20,000 from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for training programs.
The police department received more than $40,000 in traffic-safety grants for next year, to be used for high-visibility patrols and cracking down on impaired driving.
The award comes from the Ohio Department of Public Safety Office of Criminal Justice Services, which gets funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The board also voted at Monday’s meeting to approve the purchase of blacktop oil for the 2014-15 season at a cost of $5,184.
The road department, along with the Mahoning County Engineer’s office, will purchase oil from JASA Materials of Akron, at a cost of $3.41 per gallon.