Staff photo / Dan Pompili Canfield Township trustees on Tuesday gave an update on the progress of cleanup efforts after the July 5 storm and EF-1 tornado. A lot of damage occurred around the township, including this area along Tippecanoe and Sperone Court.

CANFIELD TOWNSHIP — Trustees got an update on July 5 storm damage cleanup at Tuesday’s meeting from Public Works Foreman Bob Burkett.

“Every road is open,” he told trustees. “As of (Tuesday night), we have hauled away 50 loads of wood chips, and Davey Tree Service has hauled 15 loads.”

He said Davey Tree Company, based in Kent, was hired to provide additional help because Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in Mahoning County, which enabled the township to spend $75,000 on emergency cleanup efforts.

“In the past week, we have logged 158 regular hours and 68.5 overtime hours working on storm damage cleanup,” Burkett said.

There are only four full-time public works employees.

One of the biggest issues in the area comes from residents on state routes. Burkett said his crews are responsible for township roads and really do not have authority on state routes.

“We need better communications between the township, county and state,” Burkett said.

Trustee Marie Cartwright said Ohio does permit open burning as long as residents follow the laws. One of those laws requires the burning to take place at least 1,000 feet from any structure.

As for the Public Works Department on Messerly Road, there was some minor damage from the storm. Township Administrator Keith Rogers said a couple temporary roof patches were in place and a fire department pillar had moved, causing cracks inside.

“We found a group of shingles that match ours, but we don’t know where it came from,” Rogers said. “We can’t find a spot missing that much.”

Burkett said cleanup will continue with the Davey crews assisting for now. He did mention that Davey has other trucks and crews that might be hired by individual property owners, and those would not be working for the township.

“Maybe we need a ‘township contracted’ sign on the Davey truck helping us,” said Trustee Brian Governor. “All things considered, this is going to take some time (to clean up.”

DETAILS ON THE STORM

Canfield Township and northwestern Boardman Township were ground zero for an EF-1 tornado, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland.

The problematic weather system hit the area about 1:56 p.m. July 5. The tornado touched down at 2:03 p.m. and was only on the ground until 2:04 p.m. The EF-1 twister reached a maximum speed of about 95 mph. It traveled a southeasterly path for about 0.58 miles. The tornado was about 300 yards wide. It touched down near Mellinger Road, where it chopped off tree tops, shredded them and threw them onto residents’ homes, before heading southeast across U.S. Route 62.

And there were straightline winds. In fact, those caused more damage across the county than the tornado did, according to the NWS.

The macroburst reached windspeeds of about 90 mph and spanned 10.25 miles with a width of 3.3 miles. The macroburst is what led to heavy wind damage, extreme rain, hail and flooding.

The July 5 storm was a byproduct of the weather conditions that broke the heat wave leading up to the July 4 weekend.

MILLENNIAL MOMENTS HEARING

On a different matter, trustees hosted a public hearing on the Millennial Moments development near Palmyra Road and U.S. 224. Developer Frank Amedia explained the request for the replat of lots 61 and 62.

“We have a property owner who wants to build a big home on the lake side of the development,” Amedia said. “To do so, he needs a larger lot, so we want to combine two lots to accept it.”

He said the minor replat should be the final Phase I plan. The replat was approved by the Canfield Township Zoning Commission and county commissioners. Trustees unanimously approved the change on Tuesday.

Amedia said Millennial Moments Phase II is already being designed with larger lots.

In other business, trustees:

• Approved a second amendment to the master natural gas aggregation program with IGS. The rate for natural gas will be 6.15/mcf. Cartwright said the rate is higher for Columbia Gas customers because of the more rural area.

• Approved Lindy Paving Inc. of Pennsylvania to handle the 2026 paving program for Barrington, Grayson and Timber Run at a cost not to exceed $473,692 of which the local share is 84.2% or $398,062, and a grant for $75,000 or 15.8%.

• Unanimously agreed to approve 4055 Fairway Drive and 4032 Alvacardo St. as nuisance properties, and order the abatement of those nuisances with all costs submitted to the county auditor to place a lien on the property. The minimum for the township to provide for the abatement is $500.

• Unanimously approved a change order for the Public Works building addition by increasing the redesign and revisions by $10,000 with a reduction of $78,000 from the original design. The revised plans will go out for bid. No date set is yet.