BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      Rudzik Excavating has been awarded a $3.629 million contract by the ABC Water and Stormwater District to construct a stormwater park on the site of the former Market St. Elementary School, 5555 Market St.
      The stormwater park was officially announced in the fall of 2021 as a collaborative project of Boardman Township Trustees, the water and stormwater district, as well as Mahoning County commissioners and state and federal agencies.
      Work on the project is expected to begin within a week, beginning with the relocation of sanitary sewer lines, Boardman Township Administrator Jason Loree said. Project completion is set for the summer of 2025.
      According to Boardman Township officials, once completed, the Forest Lawn Stormwater Park will provide improved surface water flows impacting up to 1,400 homes; and will include the creation of a passive park where people can gather and walk along a lighted sidewalk.
      During heavy rainfalls, the project will be able to hold up to the equivalent of 9-feet of water spread over the surface the size of a football field.
      Funding for the project includes a $2.165 hazard mitigation grant provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a $1 million grant from Mahoning County commissioners using ARPA funds, the donation of the property from the Boardman Local School District and a $500,000 state capital grant that will provides funding for the demolition of Market St. Elementary School.
      “Forest Lawn Stormwater Park will help solve a long-standing issue of flooding in the neighborhood during heavy rain events and improve water quality in the Anderson Run – Mill Creek watershed. The project involves opening 700 ft. of a culverted stormwater system that runs underneath the property. This stream will be naturalized by creating a winding waterway that will flow through the Market St. property. Floodplains will be created and native species planted. A walking path will be installed around the area and viewing platforms will be available to encourage watching wildlife that will be attracted to the natural area,” Loree said, adding “the ABC Water and Stormwater District would be unable to complete this project without the support of a number of partners. The support from partners has resulted in a successful effort to obtain funds to complete the project.”
      Additionally, phase two of the project will be the construction of an environmental education pavilion project at a cost of $750,000, funded by an Ohio Capital Grant.
      Once completed, the Forest Lawn Stormwater Park will be the largest regional detention system in Mahoning County and will be one of the few such projects in the state of Ohio.