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Austintown trustees approve land purchase for fire use, accept $335,228.63 dispatch payment and order nuisance abatements
Summary
Austintown Township trustees voted April 7 to authorize purchase of about one acre for the fire department (not to exceed $32,500), accept a $335,228.63 one-time dispatching payment from Mahoning County, approve nuisance-abatement and junk-vehicle removal orders, and approve equipment and repair expenditures.
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio — The Austintown Township Board of Trustees on April 7 approved several measures aimed at shoring up emergency services and addressing property code violations.
Trustees authorized the township to buy approximately one acre for fire-department use for a purchase price not to exceed $32,500. The motion, offered by Trustee Robert Santos and seconded by Trustee Monica Deavers, passed by unanimous roll call. The resolution authorizes the chairperson and the township administrator to execute all documents necessary to complete the purchase.
At the same meeting the board accepted a one-time transfer check of $335,228.63 from the Mahoning County Auditor’s office to fund dispatching services. Chairperson Bruce Shepas spoke about the initiative taken to secure the additional funds. The acceptance was approved unanimously (RES 25-04-07-06).
The board also adopted zoning enforcement resolutions declaring multiple parcels public nuisances under Ohio Revised Code 505.87 and ordering owners to abate identified problems — including junk, debris and fallen tree branches — within seven days or face township abatement and a lien. In a separate resolution trustees declared several inoperable vehicles public nuisances under Ohio Revised Code 505.871 and ordered their removal within 14 days after notice (RES 25-04-07-10; RES 25-04-07-11). Both measures passed on unanimous votes.
Trustees approved a quote from D & R Garage Doors for three replacement doors at the Wickliffe Circle fire station for $11,634 plus a 10% contingency (RES 25-04-07-09). The board also approved transfers totaling $68,500 from the General Fund to pay for communications equipment (RES 25-04-07-15) and approved the 2025 budget for the Austintown-Boardman-Mahoning County Joint Communications District COG (RES 25-04-07-05).
The meeting record shows all motions listed above passed on roll call votes with Trustees Monica Deavers, Robert Santos and Chairperson Bruce Shepas voting in the affirmative.
Why this matters: The land purchase and equipment transfers are presented as steps to strengthen local emergency response capacity. The dispatching funds provide immediate budgetary relief for communications services; the nuisance and junk-vehicle orders signal an enforcement push to address property maintenance issues.
What happens next: The land purchase documents are to be executed by the chairperson and township administrator as authorized in the resolution. Property owners named in the nuisance resolution have seven days (four days for repeat violations) to abate the conditions before the township moves to abatement and lien placement. The vehicle removal order requires removal within 14 days of notice.
