LIBERTY — The township’s police department will navigate 2026 with a new police chief.

Police Chief Toby Meloro confirmed at Monday’s regular trustees meeting that he plans to retire at the end of 2025, after 33 years with the township and two with the Youngstown Police Department. He was appointed as interim chief in 2018 following the retirement of former police Chief Rich Tisone, who spent 10 years in the role.

Trustees accepted Meloro’s retirement decision in an executive session following an April 14 regular meeting.

“We would like to thank Toby for his many years of devoted service and wish him every happiness in his retirement,” trustees said, according to the meeting minutes.

ABANDONED GAS STATION

Officials on Monday also received an update on an abandoned commercial property that a Logan Arms Drive resident deemed to present a desolate view of the community.

Steven Stoyak, a resident of the township since 1994, said that with Trustee Arnie Clebone and Trumbull County Treasurer Sam Lamancusa’s help, they were able to track down the owner of a Tibbetts-Wick Road gas station that has been abandoned for more than 30 years.

Stoyak said they scheduled a meeting with Alpesh Patel — whose name was listed as the owner — three weeks ago for 10:30 a.m. on a Sunday.

“He texted Arnie at 10:30 the night before and said something came up, he couldn’t make it,” Stoyak said. “So we’ll leave it up to him and Arnie to hopefully get together for a follow-up meeting and with my availability, my hope is we can meet with the owner of this gas station and not be confrontational.”

Stoyak said he hopes that they could encourage partnership, adding that he has heard the complaints about the 37 properties that were approved to be deemed nuisances earlier at the meeting, as well as the ones Mansell Drive resident Rodney Chalker had brought to officials’ attention at the meeting.

Stoyak said they needed to have some public meetings to encourage public input and participation to see what they can legally do to update maintenance codes.

Stoyak said he hopes Patel doesn’t “blow them off” again, adding that he had a good attitude when Stoyak reached out the first time.

He presented images of the abandoned property and 103 signatures from residents on a township-wide petition declaring the gas station a nuisance, an environmental risk and an eyesore that presented a negative view to travelers passing through the area.

“If I have 103 signatures on here (the petition), I’ll try and get 103 people to stand up and speak out,” he said.

BELMONT GAS STATION

Clebone reported that he put in a request for a congressional appropriation on match money to demolish and get rid of the tanks at another abandoned gas station.

Clebone explained to residents that the tanks have been sitting empty for the last five to eight years. The land bank has some money to help with it, he said, but “not quite enough.”

“We need a match; we need additional money to actually tear down the station,” Clebone said. “It’s (the match is) $250,000, if any of you know David Joyce, tell him we need the money.”

Clebone clarified that removing the tanks costs $200,000, and the land bank has three-fourths of that. The matching funds would go toward their removal, and the $250,000 balance would be used for the demolition itself.