WARREN — Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership hosted two public meetings Wednesday at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library to gather input on a federal grant to clean up five abandoned gas stations across the county.

The agency is applying for $2.6 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfield Cleanup Grant. The money would remove underground tanks and fix soil contamination at the sites, making them safe for new uses like homes, parks or businesses.

The meetings, one at noon and another at 6 p.m., drew officials from Warren Township and Liberty Township, along with a Warren City Council member.

Gillian Costantino, environmental programs coordinator at TNP, led the talks. She said the sites are blights that hold back growth.

“All five of these properties are abandoned, and they were previously used as gas stations, so they have tanks in the ground that are contaminating the soil,” Costantino said. “We want to eliminate that hazard, get the tanks out, and then they’re ready to be reused.”

The sites include a vacant lot at 2855 Tod Ave. SW, Warren, a former McQuaid’s at 3624 Main St., Mineral Ridge, 165 E. Main St., West Farmington, a former USA Gas Mart at 2904 Belmont Ave., Liberty, and a vacant lot at 1426 Niles Road SE, Warren.

TNP manages the properties for the Trumbull County Land Bank, which got them through tax foreclosures. Costantino said the grant would cut red tape by covering cleanup costs and wiping out back taxes to draw in developers.

“The tax burden and the financial burden of environmental cleanup would cause most people to leave it,” she said. “By handling those, we’re getting them shovel ready for development.”

Liberty Township Trustee Arnie Clebone said the Belmont Avenue site hurts the area’s image and commerce.

“Belmont Avenue, to me, is an extremely important part of Liberty commerce,” Clebone said. “The gas station sitting there is a blight.”

He noted recent growth nearby, including two new Mercy Health buildings that opened in December on Belmont Avenue — a rehabilitation hospital and a behavioral hospital — along with multiple surrounding businesses in the area.

Warren Township Trustee Chair Ed Anthony praised the cleanup push, saying that the gas stations were eyesores that need fixing to match big local growth like the new Kimberly-Clark manufacturing plant at the former RG Steel site in Warren and Howland townships. Anthony said the township had tried through state programs to get them cleaned up.

He stressed that the Kimberly-Clark project, set to hire 650 workers as soon as it ramps up, creates a rare chance for Trumbull County to build housing and fix up abandoned spots like trailer parks and old commercial sites in areas around Warren Township, Mineral Ridge, Niles and Girard.

“There’s a really, really big push for getting some of these abandoned properties, these commercial properties, these trailer parks that are abandoned and messed up,” Anthony said.

Anthony said he’s embarrassed by the blights when showing the area to company reps during dozens of meetings to land the plant over competition from other states. He urged a countywide effort involving commissioners, the land bank and others to seize the moment before it passes.

“I’ve been around for a while. Let me tell you, right now, this is a rare opportunity,” Anthony said. “In the next five to seven years, if this county don’t prosper from it, shame on us… This won’t come around again for many years.”

Matt Martin, executive director of the land bank, said the group bundled the sites into one application to boost funding chances. He noted changes in state programs made federal funds a better fit.

TNP has posted draft plans online at trumbullcountylandbank.org. Comments are due by month’s end to gillian@tnpwarren.org or by phone at 330-647-6301 ext. 106.

Brownfields are old commercial spots with real or possible pollution. TNP says fixing them cuts health risks, boosts property values and creates jobs. Past cleanups in the county include the former Republic Steel site and the old St. Joseph Riverside Hospital.

The EPA could decide on the grant in a few months.