Trumbull County approves Western Reserve Port Authority subgrant; engineers say $15M Ohio Futures funding will kick off design work

The Trumbull County Board of Commissioners approved a subrecipient grant agreement with the Western Reserve Port Authority that sets terms and conditions for financial assistance tied to Ohio Futures Fund activity, the board announced during its routine meeting.

Why it matters: public officials and county engineers said the agreement initiates coordinated work among county staff, the port authority and other partners; the investment is intended to support infrastructure to improve regional connectivity and economic development.

County engineer office representative Gary Schaefer thanked the commissioners for approving the subgrant and described next steps: “Now that this is in place and the terms and conditions of the $15 million Ohio Futures funds is in place, we're going to move forward now with some consulting agreements which you'll be seeing on next week's agenda. This is just the kickoff.” (public comment)

Schaefer said the kickoff involves design and consulting work and that he and partners hope “within 3 years we see that connector from 45 all the way over into Kimberly Clark's property to the forest there at Weathersfield and Howland.” The engineer said earlier project meetings and coordination were already held and that consulting agreements will be brought forward for board approval.

Next steps: the public record and the speaker indicated consulting agreements and design work will be presented to the board at upcoming meetings. The board motion authorized the county to act as subrecipient and authorized the board president to execute the subgrant agreement.