Boardman officials provide update on flood mitigation projects

Rome wasn't built in a day. And after the latest in a long line of flooding episodes, Boardman Township officials say a fix won't come that fast either.
We asked township administrator Jason Loree, "How confident are you that what's being done now will prevent something like 2019 from happening again?"
"The (ABC Water) district is going to be pumping out million dollar projects every year for the next 10 years so we can get caught up with things," said Loree.
The township recently sent out mailers detailing the progress of several projects both completed and future ones. One that's already finished is phase one of the Cranberry Run project, where several homes that would've flooded have already been demolished.
"That project will have a stream rebalance and floodplains established within the streams," explained Loree.
Others are still in the planning phase or just getting underway, including the placement of a storm water detention park near where Market Street Elementary used to be in the Forest Lawn neighborhood.
"We're still working on the renderings and getting the dates for a joint meeting with the schools and township to announce and pitch the project," Loree said.
In the meantime, a retention pond in The Heathers neighborhood is almost finished.
And there's optimism about COVID relief money coming to help push some of these projects along.
"We're actually getting ready to submit five projects to the county for consideration to help expedite the work," says Loree.