With just 1,700 people living there, it's hard to imagine many problems in Johnston Township. But trustee Dominic Marchese is among those working to get the wheels in motion on fixing a couple big ones.

"If we don't start now, when are we going to start?" he told 21 News on Thursday. "A resident doesn't have internet or can't get natural gas extended to where they're at, these are the things we want to discuss."

Which he and dozens of others did Thursday night. More than 50 people, along with officials from across the county and state, looked at ways to secure federal money for those bigger projects, giving residents more for their tax dollars.

"The Lake to River Fiber Line is kind of the big piece," said Mark Ragozine of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. He's working with Broadband Ohio to shore up 17 million grant dollars for a 100-mile fiber line running north-south along State Route 11.

"We have 37,219 folks in Trumbull County that lack what the FCC calls the minimum broadband speeds," Ragozine said.

The grant money, combined with help from the county, would cover the cost.

"Our board has committed publicly with ARPA money to this project as well to the tune of four million dollars," said county commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa.

It'll be another month or two before Eastgate learns whether it'll get a cut of that grant money; much needed dollars to pay for some much-needed upgrades.

If not, Ragozine assures residents there are other ways to get funding, and that Eastgate would continue to work with the state to get it done.