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AUSTINTOWN -- The township trustees will have a town hall to discuss options to raise funds for stormwater projects, which could include issuing a fee for residents who would go to the ABC Water District.
The town hall will take place 6 p.m. April 26 in Fitch High School.
A month ago, the ABC Water District Board, which includes Austintown Trustee Robert Santos, said it wanted to have this town hall to discuss the potential fee.
Now, residents of Boardman and Canfield townships are charged a monthly fee that goes toward the district. The money collected in each township is used only for projects in that township, unless the project would benefit both townships -- then, they share costs.
Austintown residents are not charged a fee. Santos previously said that while he does not want residents to have to pay a fee, he wants to make sure money is available to complete stormwater projects to better the township.
At a meeting last month, trustees approved a resolution that would allow the township to be reimbursed by the water district for a $500,000 project if township residents ever start paying the district fee. The project involves the replacement of three stormwater culverts on Pinebrook Court, Fitch Boulevard and Wyndclift Circle that Santos said are causing sink holes on people's property.
The water district board also approved the potential reimbursement.
Right now, the township must find a way to cover that cost in the road department budget.
After the upcoming and any future town halls, the township trustees would have to approve and pay for a nonpervious surface study, the cost of which would be reimbursed by the district if a fee were to be collected. This study would build the billing file. The average household in Boardman and Canfield Townships currently pay $37 per year.
Jason Loree, Boardman Township administrator and representative to the district, previously said the study would ensure that everyone is paying their share of stormwater runoff that they contribute. This largely depends on the sizes of roofs, driveways and parking lots.
Once the study is complete, the district board would decide to enact a fee, not the township trustees. Loree said the district was set up so that each entity approves one thing, either the study or the fee enactment, to ensure the township and the district are both on board.