Votes at a glance: Trumbull County commissioners approve fairgrounds contracts, ARPA expenditures, permits, veteran services fund and opioid remediation grant

At its March 26 meeting the Trumbull County Board of Commissioners approved a series of routine and project-specific items. Most passed by unanimous vote and were handled as discrete agenda items; the board debated a separate bylaws amendment for the Senior Services Advisory Council and voted it down.

Key votes and outcomes (selected): - Trumbull County Fairgrounds 4‑H Building Project: The board approved change order No. 1 with Vendrick Construction Inc. for $9,116, revising the contract total to $606,916; approved ARPA‑funded expenditures with Amos Welding (amount not specified in the transcript) and with 84 Lumber for $10,000 (revising the total contract amount to $634,916); approved a change with Sexton and Associates Architects to include an optional bidding fee (journal entry noted $1,840; transcription also mentioned a line-item of $18.40) revising that contract to $636,756; and approved Ron Storr Commercial Sound for $82,091, revising the total contract amount to $718,847 for a public address system. - Membership and reports: Authorized payment of $1,500 in membership dues to the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition for the Workforce Development Board and placed January and February 2025 monthly financial reports for the Trumbull County Tourism Bureau on file. - Road and hauling permits: Concurred with the county engineer to close Hubbard Bedford Road (County Highway 6) in Hubbard Township from April 7, 2025 through May 16, 2025; approved special hauling permits for PI and I Motor Express and Jaro Transportation Services Inc.; granted a right-of-way permit requested by Enbridge Gas Ohio; and approved a special hauling permit for Rich's Towing and Service to move overweight equipment. - Grants and administrative forms: Authorized amendment of Ohio Department of Development role assignment forms for Office of Community Development grant programs and authorized Richard Hernandez to execute submitted forms; the amendment added Gina Magazine as executive administrator for KAO (as recorded). - Sanitary/Infrastructure items: Received and referred a petition from property owners on Wilson Avenue, Aspinwall Drive and Donora Avenue in Halland Township for construction and maintenance of water lines to the Trumbull County Sanitary Engineer; authorized acceptance of substantial completion for the Scoville Drive Sanitary Sewer Improvements Project (Project 5‑S‑18) and authorized board president to sign. - Liquor permit: Approved a routine Class C1 liquor permit application for Dolgen Midwest LLC (Dollar General store 3961) in Champion Township. - TCSO corrections opioid fund: Established the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office corrections opioid fund (Fund 145) to receive an opioid remediation grant from the Ohio Attorney General in the amount of $250,000. - Senior Services Advisory Council bylaws amendment (Item 17): The board considered an amendment to add a conflict-of-interest rule that would render a member ineligible for membership if certain conflicts existed within one year prior to appointment or arose during the member’s term. After extended discussion on volunteer recruitment and the severity of automatic removal, Commissioners Bernard, Malloy and Hernandez each voted "no," and the amendment failed.

ODOT waterline relocation (Item 24) The board also authorized the president to enter a preliminary participatory agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to reroute a county waterline affected by ODOT project TRU State Route 460.070.81. ODOT will design and construct the relocation but the county must reimburse the state for costs; an estimate of $439,940 was cited in the agenda item. County staff and the sanitary engineers explained that part of the county’s contribution will be funded from existing RIF funds and an accounting adjustment tied to a prior diverging-diamond project, reducing the incremental county outlay to roughly $239,000 (figures discussed at the meeting were estimates provided by staff and ODOT representatives).

Procedure and next steps Most items were approved by unanimous votes; where amounts were not provided in the public meeting record, the transcript notes those figures as "not specified." Items requiring follow-up (contracts, permits, acceptance documents) were assigned to the relevant county departments for implementation and reporting to the board.

Ending The board closed the meeting after public comments and announcements. Several items discussed at length (notably the water-rate motion and the hospital workforce issue) generated separate discussion and actions recorded elsewhere in the meeting record.