Township Trustees

Matthew Vansuch	James Saker	Rick Clark
Trustee Chair	Trustee	Trustee Vice Chair
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Spring 2013 Message

Spring has finally sprung. The newly planted grasses, trees, and wildflowers at the 46/82 gateway signs are popping up and blooming for the first time. Despite it being a relatively moderate winter, the road crews are happily washing the salt off of the plows for the last time and putting them away for the summer. We are very proud of their work keeping our roads clean during even the worst of the storms. And we know that you are, too, because you tell us about how good of a job they do.

All of this is part of our primary responsibility to maintain the township’s roads. It is not a cheap proposition. Doing so requires expensive, heavy equipment that is put to its limits every day. And the cost for materials continues to go up. Last year, we spent $495,509.00 to pave 4.3 miles, which is $115,234.69 per mile. We used to be able to pave 10 miles for that cost! By the way, did you know that, not including the state and county roads, the Township is responsible for maintaining almost 80 miles of roads?

We are always looking for ways to save money without you noticing an impact on the services that you receive. For the public works department, that means working with the Trumbull County Engineer to see where they can help. As we told you in the last newsletter, we signed on to a successful local government innovation fund no-interest loan application for a centralized road salt storage facility that will allow participating entities to save on road salt purchases. This facility will soon be built at the Engineer’s office on North River Road. Going one step further, we are in talks with the Engineer to see how we can coordinate our snow-plowing operations and heavy equipment use. The goal is to decrease the daily wear-and-tear on the loaders and other heavy equipment and to extend their life.

The Golden Triangle is an economic engine for the Township and Trumbull County. We have partnered with the Engineer to apply for a grant to conduct a corridor review study for this industrial area. We solicited input from and met with these businesses to assess their needs. One of their issues is the awkward alignment of several intersections that makes it difficult for their trucks to navigate. We will work with them and the Engineer to do whatever we can to invest in support and infrastructure for them to improve their business opportunities.

Another flower that you will see popping up soon are the orange barrels. The Engineer plans to crack seal or resurface several roads: Larchmont, Mines from Stillwagon to Shaker, North River from Heaton North to SR 46, Howland Wilson from Warren Sharon to King Graves, Warren Sharon from East Market to SR 46, and King Graves from SR 46 to SR 11. The intersection at North River and Elm will also be resurfaced. And we will be examining the conditions on our township roads and putting several on the list to be paved this year. Finally, we have applied for and received Issue I funding from the Ohio Public Works Commission to replace the culverts on Cain and Rolling Meadows.

Inside this newsletter, you will find information about our farmers’ market, community garden, limb and branch pick-up, TAG events, and the Fourth of July festivities. To receive more frequent information, we encourage you to visit our website and official Facebook pages. And, as always, if you have any questions about the information in this newsletter, please feel free to contact any of us, our administrator, or our department heads.

Your Howland Township Trustees,

Rick Clark, Jim Saker, and Matthew Vansuch

April 2013

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Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Schedule:

2nd Wednesday of the Month @ 6 pm
4th Wednesday of the Month @ 4 pm

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