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Port authority expresses support for Lordstown workers
WARREN
The Western Reserve Port Authority board joined a chorus of area governments and organizations that have expressed their support for the workers who will be affected by the shutdown of the General Motors Lords-town plant in March.
At its monthly meeting Wednesday, the port authority board unanimously approved a resolution “for the purpose of offering full support to the union and management employees and any other companies affected by” the plant’s idling.
GM announced Nov. 26 it would end production of the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze and idle the plant, with no guarantee of a future product, as part of a significant restructuring plan that also includes four other North American plant closures.
The authority resolution notes the quasi-governmental organization is “committed to assisting” the grass-roots Drive It Home campaign that is working to rally support for the plant and its workers.
In other business at the meeting, the board received an update on the status of an application for a state grant that would help fund the planned renovation of the former state-operated Youngstown Developmental Center in Mineral Ridge.
The authority is working with numerous partner agencies in Mahoning County to turn the shuttered facility into a comprehensive provider of community services, such as respite care for caregivers of individuals with disabilities, residential housing for adults with special needs, and services for young adults who have aged out of the foster-care system, among numerous others.
Mahoning applied for two grants, each worth $500,000, distributed by Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services.
The board heard an update that both applications – one for the YDC project, one for a Campbell schools project – have moved forward in the application process.
“We are cautiously optimistic because we are moving forward with the final phase of the application, which will need to be presented for approval from the state and their controlling board,” said Matthew Bowen, Campbell schools superintendent.
Campbell is seeking the funding for the planned Community Literacy Workforce Cultural Center, which Bowen has described as an “ecosystem of public-private partnerships” that will serve students as well as the broader community.
The center is slated to include a branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, for example, and a health center through partnership with Southwoods Health, in addition to numerous other components.