Boardman updates offered township | News, sports, jobs

BOARDMAN — Township Trustee Jason R. Loree is pleased the township has received a grant that will help alleviate flooding problems for many residents and businesses.

“It’s a real problem for our community and we want to build resilient infrastructure that will help mitigate these major stormwater flooding events,” Loree said.

About six weeks ago, Boardman received a $47 million federal Flood Mitigation grant to transform the area’s stormwater system to alleviate decades of chronic flooding, especially in parts of the township near U.S. Route 224 — particularly the Boardman Plaza area, he noted.

Part of the work will include building retention ponds around the plaza to capture and store water from heavy rains, Loree said.

The stormwater management system near Cranberry Run will also be affected, along with portions of Glenwood Avenue north of the plaza.

That was the main topic Loree addressed Wednesday during a Good Evening Boardman meeting at Steel Valley Brew Works at the Southern Park Mall. The purpose of the event was to educate attendees on various aspects of life in the township.

The meeting was hosted by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber. Jacob Zillinger, the chamber’s marketing and graphics specialist, served as master of ceremonies.

An estimated $3 million of the grant, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency released last month, will go toward environmental and Phase 1 research, Loree said. In addition, an estimated $35.8 million of the grant, from FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance program, will fund the overall project.

For decades, large swaths of the township’s residents and businesses have suffered chronic flooding after heavy rains. For example, shortly after the Boardman Plaza was completed in 1953, four inches of water covered the parking lot in its first year, Loree said.

The transformation process will likely take several years, he added.

Loree also provided an update on the $3.6 million Forest Lawn Stormwater Park on the site of the former Market Street Elementary School. An important step is establishing a partnership between city officials and the school district, he noted.

Overseeing the project is the ABC (Austintown, Boardman and Canfield) Stormwater District.

The acreage will include a walking and cycling path, 140 newly planted trees and habitats for a variety of flora and fauna.

Also during the event, Boardman Local Schools Superintendent Christopher Neifer updated attendees on the state of the district, noting that there will be a heavier emphasis on four key pillars: curriculum, transportation, enrollment and facilities.

Specifically, the Boardman school system, like many other districts, is experiencing a shortage of bus drivers. Another challenge is that the district is seeing a 2% to 3% decline in annual enrollment, Neifer said.

Efforts will also be made to fill certain gaps in the curriculum, including offering additional pathways to help students who are struggling. In addition, the district plans to implement a science, technology, engineering and math curriculum early next year “at every grade level,” the superintendent said.

Neifer, who has worked in education for 29 years, most of them in the Warren City Schools, noted that the district received a four-star overall rating on the 2023-2024 state report card. Stadium Drive and West Boulevard elementary schools received five-star ratings.

Other efforts to improve the school district include providing opportunities for older students to serve as mentors to their younger colleagues, he said, adding that the focus will also be on updating the district’s strategic plan in January or February.

“We are expanding our reach and making sure we serve the underserved areas,” said Beth Scheller, CEO of the YMCA of Youngstown, the Davis Family YMCA in Boardman and Camp Fitch.

The efforts continue to further emphasize the facilities’ focus on promoting healthy lifestyles for children, strong families and transformed communities, all of which are “at the core of everything we do,” Scheller said.

To that end, more than 8,000 scholarships have been distributed to children, families and individuals who otherwise would not be able to afford memberships, she added.

The YMCA of Youngstown is also celebrating its 140th anniversary. After being founded in 1884, the YMCA hired its first director of education in 1906, with Camp Fitch debuting in 1914 to expand services, Scheller said. The Boardman facility opened in 2003, she added.

Key components of the YMCA’s vision include continuing to build stronger partnerships and being “a force for good for this community,” she said, adding that the three branches serve more than 20,000 members and program participants.

Also during the meeting, representatives from several companies in the region provided three- to five-minute updates on their plans and offerings. Entities included QUICKmed Urgent Care, Optima Research, Akron Children’s Hospital, SweatHouz Cold Plunge and Infrared Sauna Studio, Boak & Sons Inc., First National Bank and the Southern Ohio Chamber Alliance, which has a partnership with the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber .