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Dickten to receive severance package from WRPA
YOUNGSTOWN
Dan Dickten, who resigned as director of aviation for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport last month, will receive a severance package from the Western Reserve Port Authority.
At a meeting earlier this week, the port authority board authorized Executive Director John Moliterno to negotiate the severance package, which officials said is stipulated in Dickten’s contract.
“That’s a normal package that’s built into his contract, as it is with a number of our contracts,” Moliterno said.
The payout has yet to be negotiated, and Dickten’s contract was not immediately available.
Dickten resigned April 23 after eight years as director. His two-year contract with the authority was up at that time.
In other business, the board approved a new three-year contract with its American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union employees.
The contract, which includes four authority employees, does not include any wage increases. It includes a clause that a wage increase will be considered after one year.
The board heard an update from economic development Director Anthony Trevena about the WRPA’s acquisition of the former rescue mission building at 2246 Glenwood Ave. The authority plans to lease the South Side building to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. for 18 months, at which time YNDC plans to buy it. The 19,000-square-foot space will be used as a hub for small business entrepreneurship, Trevena said.
The meeting took place in the 12th-floor ballroom of the DoubleTree by Hilton Youngstown Downtown, which opened Wednesday.
“This is a really good day for Youngstown,” said Martin Loney, WRPA board chairman. WRPA approved financing and sales-tax benefits for the hotel.
Bob McDonald, regional director of operations for Marshall Hotels & Resorts, addressed the board.
“I know Hilton is excited to be here in Youngstown,” he said. “This is hopefully the foundation for revitalizing the entire downtown. ... I’ve seen this happen before, and hopefully that’s what we see in Youngstown.”
The board also heard from James Dignan, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber president and CEO, regarding the planned “Washington, D.C. Fly-In” on June 20-21.
Dignan said other cities such as Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland do this annually, but this will be the first time for a Mahoning Valley delegation.
The delegation will meet with White House and congressional officials, among others, with the focus being on cleaning up the Mahoning River, and on the Valley’s military installations’ futures.