Commissioners push for YARS building alternative

April 4, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

WARREN

Trumbull County commissioners are not ready to give up on securing a $770,000 grant for a former cargo building at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station despite a decision by the Ohio Federal Military Facilities Commission to rule out the structure as a regional military deployment hub.

Commissioners approved a resolution Monday authorizing a letter to the commission to express continuing support for the grant application filed by the Western Reserve Port Authority despite the decision. The WRPA had purchased the 24,650-foot former air cargo building.

“We would love to see something with military use in it, but if not, we could move to Plan B,” said Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa. “That would be for drones or something aviation-related.”

The hub had been envisioned by the former commander of the 910th Airlift Wing at YARS to support deployment of all military branches from Northeast Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and western New York.

The commissioners’ letter states although the originally proposed use of the structure “is not currently an option” for YARS, the grant, if approved, “will be used to secure the facility for the best use by the military.”

The commissioners’ resolution authorizes appropriating $75,000 of general-revenue funds to the WRPA from hotel-motel taxes, but only if the grant is approved.

Last week, commissioners revised the allocation of the county lodging excise tax to 3 percent for the WRPA and 2 percent for the tourism bureau. A portion of the bed tax was previously allocated to the authority to cover the building’s debt.