Austintown looks ahead to 2019 projects

January 31, 2019 at 12:08a.m.

AUSTINTOWN

Township trustees said 2019 will bring an overhaul of the township’s “miserable” website, along with several road-resurfacing projects.

Trustee Jim Davis said the current AustintownTwp.com page is “not user-friendly.” But a new landing page for the township and its commercial offerings is preparing for launch this year, he said.

The township partnered with 898 Marketing of Youngstown on a website that allows users to search area businesses and services by certain tags and upload their own community events, which officials can place in an online calendar.

“They also want to get the community involved with local events – church functions, Rotary, fundraisers and initiatives can be submitted through the website, and the township can put it up on a calendar,” said Jeff Ryznar, owner of 898 Marketing. “They really want to make this an Austintown-centric portal.”

He said the website was designed with the site’s mobile-heavy traffic in mind. It also can be updated and managed by township officials, he said.

Work on about $800,000 in upgrades to the intersection of state Route 46 and Mahoning Avenue is also slated to begin this year.

Improvements include the addition of an eastbound right-turn lane along Mahoning and a northbound-through lane along Route 46 and related curb and safety upgrades, said Brent Kovacs, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Though a work-start date has not been set, it’s expected to finish in November, Kovacs said. A contractor will be awarded the bid in April.

Planning and environmental work is expected to cost about $400,000.

The project is funded through state and federal funding as well as a kick-in from Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.

Township Administrator Michael Dockry said 23 resurfacing projects along about 2.5 miles of 21 township roads are slated through the township’s 2019 resurfacing plan.

Dockry said the work will be funded through a $150,000 Ohio Public Works Commission grant and $200,000 in local funds.

The longest stretches due for fixing are 1,730 feet of Potomac Avenue between Beverly and Roanoke avenues, Edgehill Avenue and Main Street and Forest Hill Drive and Rosemont Avenue; all 1,525 feet of Cumberland Circle; 1,325 feet of Redgate Lane north of Brandomyne Avenue and Ascot Court; and 1,285 feet of Lake Road between Hamman Drive and Bainbridge Avenue.

The township is also using $109,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to resurface parts of Idlewood Road and Yorkshire Boulevard and replace sidewalks this year, Dockry said.

Though trustee Ken Carano said Monday officials this year may consider renovations of the township hall and police department along Ohltown Road due to lack of records storage space, police Chief Robert Gavalier said the department isn’t struggling to find that space and a township-owned building behind the hall could be used to store overflow evidence or records.

Gavalier said the department does, however, need a few more 911 dispatchers. The township currently employs about a dozen, but usually staffs 15.

Dispatch Supervisor Steve Sinn said the retention rate for new dispatchers is about 60 percent “if you’re lucky” – the job is too stressful for some.

“It’s overwhelming. Phones are ringing, guys are on the radio asking for ‘this.’ You have to be a multitasker, and a lot of people are not,” Gavalier said.

Advertisements have been placed for the full-time position, which starts at $16.92 an hour.