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BOARDMAN -- Township trustees have unanimously voted to place a 2.75-mill, five-year additional tax levy on the November ballot for the exclusive use of safety services. Trustees also announced a slew of new businesses coming to the township at its meeting Monday.
Trustees Steve Yacovone, Matt Gambrel and Larry Moliterno agreed to place the property tax levy on the Nov. 3 ballot to ensure adequate operations in the police and fire departments.
"This is necessary just to maintain services," Yacovone said in a phone interview after the meeting. It will not be used to greatly expand personnel or equipment.
The levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home approximately $96 per year, he estimated.
The township's safety forces have witnessed an exodus of staff to other jurisdictions in recent years, he noted, and the levy should help Boardman remain competitive with them and stabilize their staffing.
"If there was another option for us to maintain our services in the township, we would take that option," Yacavone said.
He said Ohio law limits ways in which townships can generate revenue from property taxes. One possible option township leaders may examine is working to make Boardman a city, by which it could levy income taxes and other revenue-generating mechanisms, he said.
The levy also would help to alleviate projected deficits in township budgets in 2027 and 2028.
NEW BUSINESSES
Also at the meeting, trustees and other township officials discussed a variety of new businesses setting up shop in the township. Among them:
• Culver's, a Midwestern fast-food chain famous for its fresh-cooked ButterBurgers, cheese curds and frozen custard. It will be located on Boardman-Canfield Road at the site of the former Hot Dog Shoppe and Denny's.
• Dick's Sporting Goods, which is building a 100,000-square-foot, two-story Dick's House of Sports on the property where Kmart once stood on Boardman Poland Road. The House of Sports is double the size of traditional Dick's outlets and includes interactive play areas.
• #1 Cochran, which plans to build a new 7,000-square-foot Cadillac dealership adjacent to its Buick dealership on Market Street.
• Dunkin' Donuts, which plans a new location on South Avenue in front of the Amish Market in the Mathews Square Plaza.
• Marathon gas station, which plans to open on land formerly occupied by a used car lot on Market Street near the Southern Park Mall.
In other action at Monday's meeting, trustees:
• Authorized the transfer of a liquor license from Stormm Beverage LLC of Akron to Tobacco City LLC at 112 Boardman-Poland Road.
• Approved increasing the final contract for R.T. Vernal Paving & Excavating for its repaving of various roads from $1.49 million to $1.56 million.
• Agreed to purchase a Bobcat Compact Excavator for the Road Department for $75,892. It will be paid for with proceeds from the sale of asphalt grindings from the 2026 resurfacing program.
• Agreed to purchase a 20-foot Tandem Axle Tilt Equipment Trailer for $12,087 from Bennett Trailer Sales.