AUSTINTOWN — Officials took another step this week to get bathrooms up and running in the township park. They hope it is only a temporary fix on the way to something much better.

Trustees approved a proposal at Monday’s regular meeting for $7,250 to be paid to Buckeye Civil Design for the engineering and permitting of a commercial septic system.

The system, which ultimately would cost about $60,000, would replace the defunct system that services the restrooms at the Stacey Pavillion in Austintown Township Park. Those restrooms have been out of commission, by order of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, since before the COVID-19 pandemic, because the septic system had exceeded its natural life and failed to meet state regulations.

The township has since spent between $15,000 and $20,000 to provide portable toilets for public use in the park, Trustee Robert Santos said Monday.

The process has been difficult, however. Santos said Austintown has been trying to work with state regulators, but with limited success.

“The holdup is not on the township, I want everyone to understand,” he said. “It’s due to us trying to meet the EPA regulations, and we are trying to work hand-in-hand with them to reach a sensible solution.”

Parks Director Todd Shaffer said the problem is that the leach-bed septic system that has been in place since 1952 branches out in at least three directions, and regulations prohibit building another leach-bed system on top of or near the existing one. Santos also said much of the soil around the area is clay, which is not suitable for septic drainage.

Officials said the septic system at the back of the park, near the baseball fields, also is very near the end of its useful life and soon will need replaced, and they expect to encounter similar problems.

That is why Austintown hopes to replace both septic systems with a sewer line. The proposed sewer line would tie into the existing line at Ridgeview Avenue, off South Turner Road, and run southeast through the park to the Stacey Pavillion. The total cost would be more than $1 million.

“I requested $1.8 million, because of additional upgrades we want to make to the bathrooms, and to leave room for the unknowns that always occur in a project of this size,” Santos said.

Santos said Austintown applied for federal funding from the national capital budget, through Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office. The application has made it past the senator’s review committee, and is set for consideration by the Senate Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

Santos said there is no hearing date yet, and while they were told not to expect answers until November, previous years announcements about funded projects came at the end of July or in early August.

“We are competing with every community in the country, so there’s no guarantee we will get it,” Santos said. “I can’t make those promises, but can I promise I will fight tooth and nail, which is why I went to D.C.”

Santos joined the delegation of Valley officials on the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber’s Washington D.C. Fly-In in late June. He said Monday that he provided information packets on the project to every member of Congress he could reach.

Santos also said a sewer line in that area would make nearby land which does not currently have a sewer line — more appealing to real estate developers.

But officials say they cannot wait to get the bathrooms fixed. Even if the project does receive funding, Shaffer said it will be at least a year or more before it is completed.

“Which means another year or two without bathrooms for the public,” he said. “We’re hoping for the septic to get us by until this project gets approved and completed.”

If the sewer line goes in, the septic systems will no longer be needed.

“Not a lot goes into shutting down a septic system,” Shaffer said.

Trustees on Monday also approved $21,000 to replace an HVAC unit in the Stacey Pavillion. Township Administrator Mark D’Apolito said the building has two units and with only one working, the building can only be air conditioned down to about 75 or 80 degrees most days. He said the building has been rented for several activities and they need to get the air conditioning fixed as soon as possible. Clayton Heating and Air Conditioning will complete the work.

They also approved $14,700 for improvements to the Austintown Girls Softball League fields. The township paid for the repairs to one field, while the ASGL paid for the other two, using money acquired through fundraising projects.

Shaffer said the improvements included replacing the dirt in the infields, leveling the bases, and sloping the infield for better drainage. The work is complete, just in time for the league’s tri-state tournament this weekend. Teams from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will be in town.

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