GIRARD — City officials are planning to have a feasibility study done to determine if a mountain bike trail can be placed at the Girard Lower Lakes property.

Councilman Tod Latell, D-at Large, requested legislation be prepared for an upcoming meeting to have city officials work with the Rust Belt Revival Trail Coalition for a possible mountain bike trail in Girard.

Resident Tonya Carpenter invited council members to see the mountain bike trail at Lake Milton.

Latell said the June 9 gathering at Lake Milton was “eye opening to see how their mountain bike trail worked.” He said they spoke with members of the trail coalition who volunteer their time to create bike trails.

“We were told by this coalition that a lot of people from Trumbull County travel to Lake Milton to ride the trail there. They get a lot of people from this area and from out of state. If we can do this in Girard at the Lower Lake, it will benefit the community. There will be little cost to put it in since it will be all volunteer work,” Latell said.

Councilman James Clark, D-2nd Ward, said a mountain bike trail is different from a regular bike trail. He said he and other members of council rode mountain bikes on the trail.

Latell said the next step is the study to see if a trail would be viable for the Girard Lakes property.

In other business, Mayor Mark Zuppo and Safety Service Director Glenn Holmes said they have met with Republic Services officials about the trash collection service and doing things differently after there have been concerns from residents.

Holmes said he noticed vehicles following the trash collection truck to make sure no trash was being left on the road or curbside.

Representatives from Republic Services have been asked to attend a caucus session at 6 p.m. July 13 to discuss the service and changes.

NEW ENGINEER

In other business, officials named Zach Teter as the city’s new full-time engineer at $115,000. Teter has been an engineer with MS Consultants and has worked with the city on various projects.

The engineer will plan, design and supervise construction and maintenance of city streets, bridges, sewers, water systems and other public infrastructure, according to the job description on the city’s website.

The former city engineer was Dennis Meeks, who retired.

Also, council met with Teter and other MS Consultants officials over work performed beyond the scope of the agreed contract of $104,000 for 2025.

Councilman John Moliterno, D-3rd Ward, said the company did additional work over and above the contract, which was not known by council.

“We are not questioning the work done. We are looking at where we will get the money to pay $46,000 more,” Moliterno said.

He said council members want the administration to let them know of additional work since a recent ordinance passed by council requires council’s approval for anything more than $20,000.

Teter said the additional work needed by the city for various projects was a modification of the contract approved by former safety service director Mark Ragozine in late 2025. He said the additional work was in November and December 2025.

Latell said he was concerned that the agreement was made without council’s knowledge.

“Council needs to be made aware of what is happening,” Latell said.

Moliterno said it is embarrassing that council knew nothing about the additional work being approved until after the fact and now have to look at where the $46,000 will come from.

CAMERA REVENUE

During her finance report, Auditor Julie Coggins said the traffic camera revenue is down, which means less money available to pay for items.

Coogins said from January to May, camera revenue is at $135,148 which is down $210,000 from 2025 and down $570,000 from 2024.

Coggins and Treasurer Henry Sforza said income tax collections for April were at $715,710, which is up $400,000 from last year at the same time.

“Tjis is the highest income tax collection I have ever seen since I have been here,” Coggins said.

Sforza said there was an increase in income tax from businesses and more property tax.

He said total tax collections are up 24% this year compared to last year, with $2,289,000 collected through May.