BOARDMAN — An Incident Management Assist Team (IMAT) soon will be coming to the area, and the township will be part of it.

Boardman fire Chief Mark Pitzer informed township trustees at their meeting Monday that the IMAT will summon local police and EMS personnel to assist in emergency situations such as the February 2023 East Palestine train derailment and the Realty Tower explosion in downtown Youngstown on May 28.

“The team is there to create the structure and system for management during a crisis,” Pitzer said, noting early discussions about the IMAT began soon after the gas explosion.

He said the team should be in place by the fall of 2025 and is open to any interested departments.

In a related matter, the 2024-2028 Mahoning County Hazards Mitigation Plan was prepared by RGF Associates. The plan covers how the community would cover emergencies such as flooding, severe weather or HAZMAT spills like the one in East Palestine. Such mitigation plans are mandated by law. The plan will be forwarded to the county and then the state for approval, board members said.

“This plan is instrumental in getting additional approval for the ABC Water and Stormwater District,” Trustee Larry Moliterno said.

“Any disaster that comes through town, you need to have a plan approved to go after (governmental relief) money,” township Administrator Jason Loree said.

Conner O’Halloran, a township resident, Cardinal Joint Fire District captain and assistant chief for the Western Reserve Joint Fire District in Poland, said he is on the levy committee for the Boardman emergency medical services levy.

“I have seen the need for EMS to grow substantially,” O’Halloran said.

At issue is the lack of ambulance and emergency services in Boardman. In 2016, Mahoning County employed 11 EMS crews. In 2024, the county employs two EMS crews. The township is seeking a levy on the November ballot to pay for two additional EMS crews that will serve the residents of Boardman at no additional cost.

“I really think this is the right move for the township,” O’Halloran said. “It is a service we desperately need. This area has been suffering from the biggest decline of ambulance service that I have ever seen.”

The EMS Levy Committee is accepting donations to support its advertising campaign.

Donations can be mailed by check to EMS Levy, PO Box 3151, Boardman, OH 44512.

In other business, trustees:

•   Approved a three-year agreement with Elliot’s Garden Center to provide composting services free to non-commercial residents of Boardman. The township will pay an annual fee of $15,000 to Elliot’s for the service. The Garden Center is located at 1283 W. Western Reserve Road in Poland.

•   Swore in Skyler Freeland as a new Boardman police officer. Freeland is a recent graduate of Kent State University at Trumbull’s police academy and has already been serving the department. His wife, Lexi, pinned Freeland’s badge to his uniform.