BOARDMAN — Local business and government were in the spotlight Thursday at one of the township’s newest venues.

Ninja Nation on Market Street opened earlier this year, and it brings a new option for parents who want their children to engage in fun, challenging exercise and athletic training or just have a neat space to burn some energy.

The Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber invited business, civic and government leaders to the 14,000-square-foot space for networking and to learn more about what is happening in Boardman.

The event featured comments by business owners plus representatives from Boardman government and the local school district.

“We’re so appreciative of the opportunity to show what Ninja Nation is all about and to connect with so many local business and community leaders,” said franchisee Kyle Leonard, who, along with his wife Samatha, opened Ninja Nation’s first Ohio location.

Leonard said that in addition to the corporation’s One Million Heroes motto, informed by the Three E’s — energy, encouragement and engagement — his location also promotes its own motto: play, train and compete, which he said is emphasized in that order.

“Play has to come first because when people, especially kids, are having fun, they stay engaged,” he said. “That naturally leads to training and learning new skills, and eventually competing — not just against others but against themselves and trying to get a little bit better each day.”

LEAF RELIEF

Jeff Feola, the chamber’s director of events, then handed the microphone to the event’s gold sponsors to speak briefly. Those included Terrell Washington, owner of Leaf Relief cannabis dispensary in Youngstown near the Boardman Township boundary.

Washington, a Boardman native, said the first black-owned dispensary in the state is growing fast.

“We were the 19th dispensary to open, but we are the No. 1 independently owned dispensary in the state, so all of our money stays right here in town, unlike many of the other companies in our industry,” he said.

Leaf Relief has locations already operating in Youngstown and in Reynoldsburg, and Washington said its Austintown location is set to open within the next few months, along with another store just outside of Columbus. His staff of 50 employees will more than double by next year, he said.

SWEET MELISSA’S

Another local business owner said she, too, has big plans.

Melissa Poland, owner of Sweet Melissa’s Good Eats, already has stores in Boardman, Columbiana and Howland. Each of the stores is run by one of Poland’s children.

Sweet Melissa’s provided the food for Thursday’s event.

A native of the Dover-New Philadelphia area, Poland and her husband moved to Poland 17 years ago, and she opened up her first store about 8.5 years ago with a handful of friends. Poland said her staff has grown to nearly 40 people.

“You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with,” she said.

She believes her staff and business philosophy are what have made the stores so successful, and she believes the next step of her business journey will be just as successful.

“The next step of Sweet Melissa’s is that we’re going to franchise,” Poland said. “It was a very hard decision for me because I like to have my thumb on the pulse. I have a very high standard .. there is a standard you are going to receive because I believe you’re coming in for quality and you’re coming for quantity. And that is something I’ve prided myself on.”

Poland said her model is easily replicated and one that is in high demand, founded on fresh ingredients.

“COVID-19 got us all thinking about what we’re putting in our bodies,” she said. “This is as good as homemade as you can get, we’re just doing all the work for you.”

POLICE CHIEF

After comments from gold sponsors and featured videos from silver sponsors, Feola brought the conversation around to the evening’s featured speakers — police Chief Todd Werth, Boardman Local School District Superintendent Chris Neifer and township trustee Steve Yacovone.

Werth spoke briefly, thanking the community for its support of the police and highlighting the October opening of the Clarence Smith Mahoning Valley First Responder Wellness Center.

He also discussed concerns voiced on social media about the township’s use of FLOCK license plate readers.

The technology has been in use by police agencies for about 20 years, he said, but the township started using them in the past year or so. Werth said he understands concerns about data privacy and said his department has imposed strict conditions for how the readers and their data are used.

He said data is used only for law enforcement purposes and all data is erased after 30 days. Werth said the readers have been helpful in locating missing residents, especially in two cases where elderly residents drove off and one’s life was saved because a FLOCK reader helped to find the resident in Pennsylvania.

In another case, a $100,000 vehicle was stolen from a local business, and the FLOCK reader found it in Akron, where police were able to retrieve it and make an arrest. The readers also can identify vehicles with warrants attached to the owner and notify police when offenders enter or leave Boardman.

SUPERINTENDENT

The next speaker was Neifer, who began his job with Boardman schools last year.

“A year later, I’m still excited and happy to be here, and I’m kind of overwhelmed by the support that we get as a district.” he said.

Neifer addressed two of the major concerns he believes the community has about the district — its report card and levies.

In its most recent state report card, Boardman dropped from 4 stars to 3.5.

Neifer said that is almost entirely because of a new metric — College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness. The district received only one star out of five in that category, which is worth 14% of the district’s grade.

Neifer said that score is based on data from two years ago, and he knows that more current data will result in a higher grade next year.

“We do a great job working with our upper levels, our AP students, our College Credit Plus students, and that accounts for 70 to 80% of our students upon graduation,” he said. “There’s a lot more to that, and we are improving on that. I know what the new data shows, and we should be at least at three stars on that next year.”

The other major concern is that one of the two school levies on the ballot was defeated.

The 5.9-mill levy that generates about $4.2 million per year for the district was on the ballot for conversion from a five-year renewable levy to a continuous levy. Neifer said there was a reason for that proposed change.

“If you take a look at the voter fatigue here in Boardman, over the next several years, we have seven more levies that are going to go to the ballot,” he said. “We have five over the next five years, including the one that just went down.”

Neifer said that according to the consultant Boardman uses, who works with 347 school districts in Ohio, Boardman has the worst levy schedule of those 347 districts.

“He recommended that to try to reduce voter fatigue that we take a levy we’ve been receiving for the past 30 years and just make it a continuous piece.”

He said the other reason for converting it to a continuous levy is that it improves the district’s borrowing power. Districts cannot borrow against the income from renewable levies, which are dependent upon a public vote, because the money is not a guaranteed stable revenue stream.

He said the district has two more opportunities coming up to revisit the levy — in May and then next November. The district will continue to collect the revenue from the levy for the next 18 months, and would not see the $4.2 million cut from its budget unless both fail. The funding would be lost in fiscal year 2027.

He said the board will need to decide whether to make another attempt at a conversion to continuous funding or to ask for the regular approval as a five-year renewal.

He said the district is making progress on several aspects of its strategic plan, including a mandate from the community to establish a master facilities plan.

“We’ll see the first parts of the facilities plan begin in January,” he said.

An assessment of all of the district’s buildings was conducted 18 months ago, but Neifer said that because things change so quickly, the facilities plan will be based on a brand new assessment to provide a current and accurate baseline.

He said curriculum additions to bring education up to the most current standards include implementing an AI component and developing the STEAM education curriculum. He said the one-year STEAM program is already in place and next year they will expand it to a two-year curriculum and eventually a four-year. Neifer said the program also will extend to the middle school grades.

He said the district’s strategic plan is outlined in detail on the district’s website.

STEVE YACOVONE

Trustee Steve Yacovone came to the podium fresh from being elected to a full four-year term. Yacovone was appointed in March to fill the seat vacated by Brad Calhoun, who became fiscal officer when William Leicht retired.

“Those who voted for me, thank you very much, and those of you who didn’t, I hope to gain your support over the next four years,” he said.

Economic development was very much a focal point of the election campaign for trustee candidates.

“What past administrations have done, and what the guys who are here tonight have done, and what I hope to continue to do is keep Boardman the economic hub of Mahoning County,” he said.

Yacovone took a moment to discuss what he called the “giant concrete elephant on Route 224.”

“We’ve been honest about the state of the Southern Park Mall,” he said. “There are certain things we can and can’t do. We can’t force a sale of a private business, that’s just common sense. What we can do is find alternative ways to assist the tenants that are in the mall now, or try to solicit a sale, which is ultimately what we want.”

Yacovone did not pull punches in his assessment of mall owner Kohan Realty Investment Group, which owes more than $300,000 in back taxes.

“Unfortunately, the corporation that owns the Southern Park Mall, they don’t care about this area. We do,” he said. “Myself, everybody in township administration, we care about this area. So we have to look at alternative solutions.”

Yacovone said he has set up a phone conference with the office of U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, on Monday.

“I don’t know if anything is going to come of it,” he said. “I cannot make any promises, but just know that this administration is trying to figure out what we can do with the mall. We want it to be the center of Boardman Township just like everybody else does.”

Yacovone said he does not want to see the mall’s woes undermine all the positive elements that are driving Boardman’s economy.

“Boardman Township is still the premier destination of the Mahoning Valley. When people want to shop, when they want to eat, when they want to let their kids run around and blow off some energy, they come to Boardman Township,” he said. “That is a point of pride for myself and the other members of the board.”

Yacovone said the township has seen several business investments just in the past year and some still underway and soon to be completed. Those include Red Plum Pizza, Kan Pai Sushi, R&J Trucking, Window World, First Watch restaurant, and a major addition at Southwoods Surgical Hospital’s complex along Southern Boulevard, as well as YMCA’s new pickleball courts along McClurg Road.

“Those are just a few examples of businesses investing in Boardman Township and those investments occur because they believe Boardman is the best place for their business. Myself and the rest of the administration, we want to continue fostering those relationships,” he said.

“We want to help you grow in Boardman. It’s better for the town, for the businesses, for our future. We want to continue to make Boardman not only a nice place to call home, which it is, but also a great destination to invest.”