Boardman Local Schools have stripped more than 200 trees from the former estate of Clarence R. Smith on Raupp Ave. to make way for a new school bus garage and parking facility on the site, formerly a sanctuary for deer and other wildlife.
      The work is being completed by Advanced Tree Service at a cost of some $32,000, according to Boardman Local School Supt. Tim L. Saxton.
      After being pressured by St. Elizabeth Hospital/Mercy Health for several years, the local school system will abandon their current school bus facility on McClurg Rd.
      Current plans call for the new school bus site to encroach to within a mere five feet of the eastern border with the former Smith property, now planned for use under the direction of Boardman Park.
      According to Boardman Township Zoning/Development Director Krista Beniston, the park district is seeking a fence and a tree buffer along the border, now that the trees have been stripped from the property.
      “If you do not wish to pursue an agreement with Boardman Park, then you will need to submit to the Site Plan Review Board to ensure...requirements are met,” Beniston has informed the school district’s architect, Thomas Madej, concerning plans for the bus facility.
      Beniston indicated an agreement must also be reached between the school and the property owner just north of the proposed bus facility, suggesting tree plantings will provide an appropriate border.
      Beniston has also informed school business manager Jack Zocolo the park district would like to plant trees along the property line of the former Smith estate, once dotted until two weeks ago with the trees that were hacked down.
      “Since there is only five feet of grass adjacent to the Smith property, where we would normally require 20 ft. to 30 ft. next to residential properties, it seems like a good compromise,” Beniston said.