Mahoning County highlights road and bridge work, urges continuation of local sales tax to sustain paving program

The county engineer reported that the countywide paving program kicked off the previous day and described an aggressive schedule of road and bridge work paid in part by a local sales tax program the board has put before voters in past years. He said contractors would begin paving on Western Reserve Road from South Avenue to Market Street on May 4, with the project expected to be completed by September and the eastbound lane reopened later in the week.

The engineer said Glenwood Avenue is currently out for bid and Monning Avenue work in Jackson Township is expected to finish by November. He also told the board that the county has completed about 150 miles of roadway work in three years with sales-tax revenue and OPWC grants and is on target to reach 250 miles, excluding federal projects.

He described the sales-tax measure, referred to in the meeting as Issue 1, as a continuation measure that, if approved, would make the sales-tax revenue seamless when the original tax expires; the transcript notes the current tax was due to expire April 27. ‘‘If it passes this year, it will kick in the minute the original sales tax falls off, so it'd be a continuation of funds,’’ the engineer said.

The engineer also cited bridge work funded through the same sources: ‘‘We’ve been able to do about $12,000,000 in bridges in three years,’’ he said, and listed bridges in Youngstown, Struthers, Lowbell and Sebring among projects completed or underway. He described the sales-tax revenue as enabling the county to provide the local match needed to pursue larger state and federal grants—for example, the Market Street bridge project in Youngstown was described as a $4,500,000 job that was possible because local sales-tax revenue provided the matching share.

He explained state funding constraints: according to his presentation, Ohio’s gas tax (referred to in the transcript as 38.5¢ per gallon) is distributed evenly among the state’s 88 counties, limiting what counties can raise from that source. He said license plate fees are set by statute and the county’s plate-fee share has been ‘‘maxed out’’ since 1991, reinforcing the importance of local sales-tax revenue to keep projects moving.

The engineer also warned about road-worker safety after noting two ODOT crews were struck on I-90 while performing night repairs; he urged motorists to watch for crews in work zones.

The board did not take a formal vote on the sales-tax continuation at the meeting; the discussion focused on project progress, schedules and the program’s reliance on continued local revenue.