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WARREN TOWNSHIP --Warren Township officials said they will fight the removal of the Leavttsburg dam and plan to meet shortly to see what options are available.
Meeting in person with the public for the first time in more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, township trustees Tuesday indicated they were not surprised by the decision by the Trumbull MetroParks board last Thursday to proceed with removal of the dam.
The MetroParks owns the dam located near the intersection of West Market Street and North Leavitt Road.
Trustee Chairman Ryan Yoho said he was concerned trustees were not involved more in the discussions with the MetroParks.
"We are not done fighting and will fight until the excavator comes in to tear it down,'' Yoho said.
Residents and trustees had sent letters and emails to the park system indicating their opposition to removing the dam. Many residents signed a petition against the removal.
The trustees plan to meet shortly to see what can be done.
Trustee Kay Anderson said trustees were not contacted about the MetroParks decision last week and learned about it from the news media.
"No one called us from the MetroParks,'' she said.
Resident Mona Stehura said she was not surprised by the decision.
"I am surprised that more people were not here at the meeting, but what can we really do about this? I thought more people would be here,'' she said, indicating a meeting held in the fall 2019 had more than 200 people at the Johnston Community Center voicing concerns over plans to take down the dam.
Tuesday's trustees meeting had eight residents, although officials noted some residents were watching online on the township Facebook page.
The MetroParks officials indicated last week they had reviewed comments from various engineers and the public and also looked at the pros and cons of the dam's removal.
The public had the opportunity to comment by calling in to the MetroParks Zoom meeting before the vote.
Resident Dave Ambrose of Warren said he believes the dam's removal would make the river more acceptable for recreation and wildlife and would eliminate possibilities for flooding, especially at Eagle Creek.
Other residents have expressed concerns that removal of the dam will lower water levels affecting wildlife as well as those in canoes and boats on the Mahoning River.
Trumbull MetroParks and Eastgate have provided several studies as to why they want the dam removed with officials working with Environmental Protection Agency to get some sewer lines put in that area.
The MetroParks Board and Eastgate will apply for funding for the removal through the EPA.
Actual removal of the dam likely won't begin for a few years.
Warren City Council last month approved proceeding with removal of the dam at Summit Street in the city.
Several other dams along the Mahoning River in Trumbull and Mahoning counties also are to be removed. A dam in Lowellville already has been removed.
MetroParks member John Brown said he and Zachary Svette, director of the MetroParks, went to Lowellville, where the dam was taken out and indicated they saw an improvement there.
"I went to Lowellville. The dam's removal there has totally transformed the area," Brown said.
bcoupland@tribtoday.com