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WARREN -- Councilman Michael J. O'Brien on Wednesday discussed the critical need for the Pine Avenue storm sewer project, calling it "the most important economic development infrastructure project in years."
"This project is necessary infrastructure," O'Brien, D-at Large, said during Wednesday's meeting, which was his first since returning from a medical leave. "It will potentially alleviate 90% of the flooding we've experienced year after year on Pine Avenue. This is a public safety issue as well as an economic development opportunity."
O'Brien explained the project's broader significance, noting how it would prevent road closures and reduce detours that impact commuters, school bus routes and county employees.
"As Warren goes, so goes the rest of Trumbull County," he said, noting the city's role as a regional hub.
Council unanimously passed the ordinance authorizing the project under emergency status, allowing the mayor and public safety director to move quickly in soliciting engineering services for design, bidding and construction.
Councilman Todd Johnson, I-1st Ward, remarked about the importance of prioritizing public safety over economic development, urging council to move faster on infrastructure improvements in the future.
"While I greatly appreciate that we're going after this, primarily because it's a massive economic development project, I hope we would also in the future, when these things come about, consider just as equally general public safety and not necessarily because a business is coming to develop. It's been a problem whether we had a potential sale or not, and it's been very dangerous for residents. Those bus drivers who have to deal with that, I know personally.
"If at all possible, I would hope that we would not wait to improve our city just because someone's potentially bringing some money to our city, but because the residents who are here deserve it. In the future, I hope we can move faster in the interest of public safety and those taxpaying residents who live here, as opposed to just hoping for economic development."
Warren Mayor Doug Franklin echoed Johnson's sentiments, stating that the project is necessary regardless of economic factors and should be prioritized as a matter of public responsibility and safety.
"Everything you said is absolutely on point. When we started looking at this issue, one of the factors I had to really grapple with, because we need to do this whether Kimberly-Clark was here or not, is that this is in the public right-of-way, it is our responsibility, and it is a safety issue," Franklin said.
During the meeting, council also entered executive session briefly to discuss ongoing negotiations with public employees regarding compensation and other employment conditions.
At the beginning of the meeting, Councilman Ron White, D-7th Ward, who previously raised concerns about Greg Steinbeck, D-at Large, absence at prior meetings, voted alongside Councilwoman Helen Rucker, D-at Large; Honeya Price, D-6th Ward; Tiffany Stanford, D-5th Ward; and Johnson not to excuse him from the meeting.
Andrew Herman, D-2nd Ward; James Shaffer, D-7th Ward; and O'Brien voted to excuse him.
Greg Greathouse, D-3rd Ward, was excused from the meeting.
Franklin during his remarks took a moment to praise the Warren Police Department for their investigative work in the arrest of two suspects connected to the murder of mail carrier Jonte Davis. He also recognized officers for their involvement in a "Stuff the Cruiser" event, which collected donations for the Warren City Schools food pantry.
Amanda Hebert, a local volunteer, raised concerns about the city's overwhelmed dog shelters. She noted recent challenges, including litters from multiple stray dogs, significantly strained resources.
"We don't even have the infrastructure to care for six dogs, let alone the 22 puppies that were just born," Hebert said.
Hebert also proposed a microchipping initiative inspired by a program in North Carolina. "They set up public microchip scanning stations with instructions, which makes it easier to reunite lost pets with their owners. It's inexpensive and could really help here," she said.
Rucker announced that the Oct. 30 health and safety committee meeting will revisit shelter management and discuss other public safety topics. The agenda also will cover updates to council chambers and legislation related to marijuana revenue. She requested a representative from the city police department, the mayor and safety service director to attend the meeting.
Council members acknowledged progress on other city initiatives, including the completion of pickleball courts and the near-finalization of a walking trail in Perkins Park. "We've had great feedback about the new courts," Franklin said. "It's exciting to see residents already using them."