Boardman Trustees met Mon., Jan. 27 at Trinity Fellowship Church, 4749 South Ave., the first of seven of meetings they will hold during the first six months of the year outside of the Government Center.
      “Three years ago we took our regular Board of Trustee meetings to locations throughout the township in an effort to gain citizen input. We will be doing that again this year,” Chairman of the Trustees, Thomas Costello said.
      Trustees meet the second and fourth Mondays of every month at 5:30 p.m.
      They will meet Mon., Feb. 10 at the Government Center, and then hold their next three meetings at different locations in Boardman.
      On Mon., Feb. 24, the board will meet at the Boardman Library, 7680 Glenwood Ave.
      On Mon., Mar. 10, the board will meet at the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities, 160 Marwood Circle; and on Mon., Mar. 24, the board will meet at the Heritage Presbyterian Church, 1951 Mathews Rd.
      Other meetings currently scheduled away from the Government Center will be Mon., Apr. 28 at Good Hope Lutheran Church, 98 Homestead Dr.; On Mon., May 27 at St. Charles Church, 7345 Westview Dr.; and on Mon., June 23, at Calvary Baptist Church, 1463 Shields Rd.
      “We received a lot of input from the public when we held are meetings throughout the township three years ago, and are hopeful we will receive similar input this year,” Costello said.
      At their meeting on Monday at Trinity, Trustees approved the purchase of a video recording system and a tactical robot for the police department.
      The mobile surveillance system was purchased for $9605 from a California firm.
      “Our current system is over eight years old and has been malfunctioning. The system is used in drug investigations, certain crime complaints and any other time a remote surveillance system is needed,” Police Chief Jack Nichols said.
      The tactical robot was purchased from a North Carolina firm at a cost of $5902.
      “The device is called a robot, but it is actually a camera system that will be used in tactical situations,” Chief Nichols said, adding the device “can be ‘thrown’ into a house where an armed person is, and can then be remotely controlled to provide live video.”
      Fiscal Officer Bill Leicht noted the purchases for the police department were funds by Law Enforcement Trust Funds.
      “These are funds that have been seized from drug dealers and other criminals, and in this instance, it is a case where crime does pay,” Leicht noted.