Residents complained about their roads’ conditions at a Liberty meeting this week.

Staff report

LIBERTY

Trustees say they need to raise revenue to create a long-term solution after several residents expressed their contempt for potholes and the conditions of roads throughout the township at a tense meeting this week.

Anthony Monaco, who lives on Country Club Drive, said there also needs to be a short-term plan.

“It’s ludicrous the way my street is,” he said. “The folks who drive on my street to the country club are from all over the place, and they just shake their heads,” he said.

A Trumbull County Engineer’s study of all 62 miles of township roads gave the trustees an estimate of about $8 million to fix all the roads.

Euclid Avenue, Royal Arms and Academy Drive are scheduled to be repaired this year, and Trustee Arnie Clebone said the township won’t have access to more funds for the roads until 2019.

Trustees hope to chip-and-seal about 14 roads a year from 2019-2021, depending on funding availability.

Trustees use Ohio Public Works matching grants, property tax and road levy money for the roads, and spend about $800,000 annually. About $240,000 is generated from the 1.25-mill levy annually, and trustees are considering adding another 1.25-mill levy in November, when the levy renewal will be on the general election ballot. Both levies would generate $480,000 a year if passed.

“We are working on a solution to sell to the citizens,” Clebone said. “The residents have to vote the money in.”

Rachel Hill lives on Kline’s Drive. She said it’s like driving down a washboard.

“Our road has potholes; you really can’t drive on one side of the road. ... We need that road fixed. It’s not a long road,” she said. “Everybody uses our road as a thoroughfare.”

Gino Bidinotto, head of the road department, said the township needs to hire more part-time road department workers to keep up with maintenance.