Incumbent Boardman Trustees Tom Costello and Brad Calhoun made it official last week that they will seek re-election this November by filing their petitions with the Mahoning County Board of Elections.
      Costello and Calhoun assumed office in Jan., 2010 after soundly defeating the tandem of Kathy Miller and Robyn Gallitto, under whose majority township government became splintered and dysfunctional.
      After nearly four years in office, Costello and Calhoun, working with Trustee Larry Moliterno and Fiscal Officer William Leicht, as well as their employees, have largely restored township government, evidenced by passage of several renewal levies and a 3.85 additional levy that boosted manpower by 11 officers at the Boardman Police Department.
      Costello, Calhoun and Moliterno began their journey to restore government by holding meetings for more than a year at local churches, promising to do all they could to restore manpower within the police department, as well as hearing the concerns of a wide base of residents.
      Under Miller and Gallitto, some 15 officers left the police department due to the uncertainty of leadership that eventually forced a well-recognized, professional police chief from office; as well the township’s administrator.
      In addition, under Miller and Gallitto, upwards of nine firemen were laid off and during their absence, remaining firemen manipulated their schedules to cost the township hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as force the intermittent closing of fire stations.
      That waste is still under investigation, as three firemen are being considered for criminal prosecution after an investigation conducted by the Boardman Police Department and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Their results are currently being held-up by Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains, who has moved slower than a turtle in bringing the case to any conclusion, suggesting a plea bargain could allow some who abused the public trough to escape prosecution.
      In addition to bringing back badly-needed manpower at the police department, Costello and Calhoun were instrumental in hiring a very professional, well-respected fire chief for Boardman Township.
      Fire Chief George Brown was hired and under his administration the large amounts of overtime paid to firemen have largely ceased, saving the township hundreds of thousands of dollars.
      Current trustees Costello, Calhoun and Moliterno have now turned their attention to efforts to build a new, main fire station to replace the existing structure that was built during the Great Depression.
      As well, under Costello, Calhoun and Moliterno, several major drainage projects have been completed, most importantly work around Boardman Lake.
      In the Zoning Department, Trustees Costello, Calhoun and Moliterno have continued Boardman Township’s aggressive enforcement of zoning codes in an all-out effort to maintain the integrity of local neighborhoods.
      After ten years of standing vacant an eyesore on Market St., the Terrace Motel will be torn down.
      The current trustees have also been very visible to the public and in particular have held a Community Day for the past three years, every summer, that has attracted thousands of people to the Township Government Centre.
      The current slate of Trustees has also proven to work well with the local school board, particularly upgrading township government programs on the system’s public education television station.
      To date, according to the Board of Elections, only two other people have taken out petitions (not yet filed) to seek the position of Boardman Trustee in November. They are Richard Scarsella, a member of the Mahoning County Board of Education who was aligned with Miller four years ago; and Green party member Jim Villano.
      “When Tom Costello and I first took office, we faced some serious fiscal and personnel issues. It seemed like Bill Leicht and Larry Moliterno were battling alone to keep us above water. When we joined forces and worked with the staff, unions and residents, we turned things around and started making progress,” Calhoun said on filing his petitions.
      Added Costello, “We want to keep Boardman Township moving forward. Trustees Calhoun, Moliterno and myself, and Fiscal Officer Leicht have worked together with only one mission---do what’s best for the long-term interests of Boardman Township residents. We have faithfully followed that mission.”