Meeting last week, Boardman Trustees Brad Calhoun, Tom Costello and Larry Moliterno learned a first step in applying for hazard mitigation assistance grant monies for storm water control have been accepted.
      Township Administrator Jason Loree said the ABC Water and Stormwater District, in partnership with Boardman Township and Mahoning County, is seeking a $16.965 million grant to separate storm lines from the Boardman Plaza, north to Cranberry Run. The project would also include the creation of a detention area for storm water.
      Loree said a second, pre-application for $10.12 million has been approved. That grant would also aid surface water issues at the Boardman Plaza and would include acquiring several parcels of land that could be used to create a water detention area.
      According to pre-application papers, the “most recent” flooding issues in Boardman Township was on Sept. 4 that caused over 300 homeowners property damage.
      “One such problem area is in the vicinity of the Boardman Plaza, where a grocery store (Save-A-Lot) has been....flooded multiple times, in addition to a five-lane highway, Rt. 224, becoming a ‘lake’ at the intersection of Locust Ave,” according to the pre-application papers.
      “This project proposes safety improvements and provides a new outlet and central storm relief conduit to off-load 105 acres from the headquarters of Cranberry Run to an open stream to re-route runoff,” says the pre-application, noting that Rockdale Ave. “suffers recurring flooding four to five times a year.”
      The grant concept would also include the construction of an underground detention system to manage storm water runoff from the plaza and its parking lot (near Locust Ave.), as well as a regrading of the parking lot.
      “The Stormwater District has submitted two pre-applications for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The pre-application process is very competitive, and historically townships have a tougher time applying for these grants.
      “However utilizing a partnership with the ABC Water and Stormwater District might give the pre-applications better odds at passing the screening process. If we receive the go ahead to put into a formal application, the ABC District will reach out to the property owners and different area agencies for a more solid commitment on property acquisition.
      “These two proposed projects are going to be ‘long shots,’ but both the township and ABC District are committed to explore every option possible in leveraging funding help improve the stormwater system,” Loree told trustees.
      “Boardman Township was developed in the 1940s and 1950s with little to no (drainage) detention. As neighborhoods developed, roadways were widened, and commercial areas boomed.
      “Unfortunately, impervious areas were not mitigated with storm detention during or after construction. Today, rainfall patterns are trending to become more frequent and more intense. The township has suffered two, 1000-year events, and one 500-year event in the past five years. These rainfall events have devastated portions of the community,” says grant pre-application language.
      In other matters, Trustees approved a lighting district on Berklee Dr. for the installation of four street lights. A majority of the property owners voted in favor of the lights being installed by First Energy with an assessment for the first year to be approximately $756.61 per lot for the installation of the four lights, with an annual assessment of approximately $47.34 per lot for each year after that. In addition, each property owner, at their own expense, must trim any applicable trees on their property prior to installation.
      Trustees approved the sale of property at Lot 61 on Brandon Ave. to Shane Selman, 12921 Springfield Rd., at the fair market value of $3,300 based upon the recommendation of Marilyn Sferra Kenner, P.E., Road Superintendent/Land Bank Manager.