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State to fund safety plan

Surveillance cameras will be installed downtown

Three Trumbull County entities on Thursday were awarded more than $300,000 in grants from a state agency to enhance public safety and cut costs.

Almost $200,000 of that money will go toward purchasing a surveillance system for the high-crime areas of downtown Warren. The safety plan involves putting video cameras at various spots around the central city sector.

County Commissioner Daniel J. Polivka said a combined effort of various city and county government offices helped pull the grant application together.

“The deadline was Jan. 8th, and we found out about this money around Christmas time, so we had to put in a rush order,” Polivka said. “(Grants manager) Julie Green did a wonderful job putting all this together.”

The Ohio Development Services Agency made the announcement of the grant award in a news release Thursday. The money, about $10 million in total that was released to some 49 Ohio governmental entities, can be used for the purchase of vehicles, equipment, facilities or systems needed to enhance public safety, the release states.

No local match would be needed for purchasing the local system, which Polivka said will help enhance safety in the general downtown Warren area.

The system includes a series of call boxes and cameras situated in a 24-block area of downtown bordered by the Mahoning River on the west, Chestnut and Niles Road on the east, South Street on the south and Washington Street on the north.

“This is a great benefit to the city and county and safer for our pedestrians,” Polivka said.

Among the entities participating in the safety surveillance project were the county Sheriff’s office, the Prosecutor’s office, the GIS/Tax Map and Data Processing departments of the county Auditor, a county building official, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, Warren Community Development and Warren city administration, the city police and fire departments, as well as several local business owners.

A news release from the commissioner’s office said the grant opportunity was discovered by investigator Gary Hetzel of the prosecutor’s office following an incident in the Courthouse Square area. Hetzel discussed it with Prosecutor Dennis Watkins and his staff who reached out to commissioners.

A number of subsequent meetings about the plan garnered the support of Warren Mayor Doug Franklin, Warren Safety and Service Director Enzo Cantalamessa, former Sheriff Thomas Altiere and current Sheriff Paul Monroe.

Polivka said the plan is for the sheriff’s office to monitor cameras around the county buildings and the Warren Police Department to monitor all other areas of downtown.

Also receiving funds were Champion Township, which received $49,582 in life support equipment and Weathersfield Township, which received $55,354 to purchase a new police van.

Champion fire Chief John Hickey said the grant will be used for the purchase of two state-of-the-art cardiac monitors for two ambulances. Weathersfield Trustee Gil Blair said the van will replace one donated for prisoner transport years ago. Shared with the city of Niles, the van is used to get prisoners to the county jail.

Reporters Bob Coupland and Renee Fox also contributed to this report.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com

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