Staff report

WARREN

Trumbull County commissioners have written a resolution they expect to approve today urging TJX/HomeGoods Inc. to use local workers when construction begins on its distribution center project on Hallock Young Road in Lordstown.

The resolution says the commissioners “emphatically” want local workers to be employed on the $140 million to $170 million project.

The resolution says the commissioners approved a 75 percent, 10-year enterprise zone agreement for the project, and the commissioners “are urging TJX to help give back to the economy of Trumbull County by utilizing local workers.”

The commissioners are still researching the legality of putting language in the next tax abatement they approve stating that a specific percentage of local workers be employed, said Commissioners Dan Polivka and Mauro Cantalamessa.

The commissioners are also expected to award a $4,051,800 contract to Penn-Ohio Electrical Co. of Masury to furnish all labor, material and equipment for a major overhaul of the original electronic security systems in the 180,000-square-foot Trumbull County jail, which was built between 1995 and 1997 on High Street Northeast.

Among the systems being replaced are door control and monitoring systems and video surveillance systems. The jail’s consultants say the new equipment will provide “current and reliable technology” to help manage the roughly 315 inmates housed there on an average day.

It’s not clear yet when the installations will begin, said Joe Dragovich, chief deputy of the sheriff’s office. The office runs the jail.