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The city of Youngstown plans to spend $6 million on development, roofs, and parks
More than $6 million in American Rescue Plan funds will be spent and reprogrammed by the Youngstown City Council on Wednesday.
The last time the council met, two of its seven members were absent, so the council could only give a first reading.
At its meeting on Wednesday, council will seek to approve the ARP spending by emergency measure. In order to pass legislation by emergency, six votes are required.
ARP funds allocated to abate and remediate vacant, abandoned, and / or blighted properties will be reprogrammed, with $3 million going toward a citywide roof replacement program and $2 million going toward land acquisition for community and economic development projects.
According to city officials, the program would cover the cost of about 250 roofs.
The $2 million for land acquisition will enable the city to purchase properties for various development projects.
The city council approved the use of $8 million on Dec. 15, 2021, for abatement and demolition.
While waiting for word on an application for a grant through the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program, the city kept the money for that work in an account. According to the Mahoning County Land Bank’s award last December, $6.9 million has been allocated for demolition work, including $5.3 million for the demolition of about 500 houses in Youngstown.
Approximately 200 houses can be abated and demolished with the remaining $3 million in the ARP demolition fund, said Michael Durkin, the city’s code enforcement and blight remediation superintendent.
The council will consider an ordinance on Wednesday to spend $75,000 from the $3 million ARP demolition fund on asbestos testing.
Separate legislation will be voted on by council to transfer $53,825 from Councilman Julius Oliver’s ARP allocation for the 1st Ward to the parks and recreation department’s ARP fund to pay for lot clearing, cleanup and beautification along Falls Avenue and Hillman Street. In July, council inadvertently approved the funds from the park’s ARP fund.
Legislation to spend $1,148,035 in ARP funds is also on Wednesday’s agenda. All but $250,000 was given first reading last month.
The funds include $430,685 for improvements at Lynn Park on Lynn Avenue in the 7th Ward, including a playground and outdoor recreation facilities.
ARP funding council approved last July for parks and recreation projects of $10.5 million, of which $300,000 is coming from. Council gave each of its seven members $2 million in April 2022 to spend in the wards for a total of $14 million in ARP funding.
In the 1st Ward, Hillman Park, also known as Falls Playground, is up for a vote for $300,000 from the parks and recreation ARP fund for improvements.
ARP funds will be used to install surveillance cameras in 10 city parks for a total of $42,350.
From the $14 million that the council gave its members, three ARP funding requests have been submitted:
Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. received $75,000 from Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, for a cleanup project in her district;
Davis donated $20,000 to the Boston Avenue Neighborhood Association to stabilize and restore the Happy Place Sanctuary;
Adamczak donated $30,000 to buy an emotional support, therapy, research, and rescue dog for the police department.
Councilman Jimmy Hughes, D-2nd Ward, sponsored the lone new ARP funding request on Wednesday’s agenda to pay $250,000 to the Western Reserve Port Authority for overseeing the removal and remediation of environmental contaminants at McGuffey Plaza, near McGuffey Road and North Garland Avenue.
After decades as the city’s premier shopping center on the East Side, the plaza fell on hard times and was vacant by 2007. It was demolished in 2014.
As part of the redevelopment of Federal Street’s east end, council will consider rescinding $300,000 it approved last August.
The legislation was sponsored by Oliver, but no money was spent.
Two programs with $3 million in ARP money are available to businesses in that area – facade grants and small business revolving loans.
The city has already approved a $150,000 small business loan for Penguin City Brewing Co. LLC, 460 E. Federal St.
About half of the $82,775,370 in total ARP funding has been allocated to the city.
PROJECT FOR PIPE
Also on council’s Wednesday meeting agenda is an ordinance for a $142,000 contract for engineering work on a proposed project to replace waterlines, some of which contain lead, to approximately 300 homes on the West Side as well as a water mainline on Mahoning Avenue between Belle Vista and Lakeview Avenue with a history of breaking.
As a result of council approval of the legislation, the board of control would be able to sign a contract with Arcadis U.S. Inc.’s Cleveland office, which has previously designed water and sewerlines for the city, for up to $129,500 and to administer the bidding process for up to $12,500.
Harry L. Johnson III, the city’s water commissioner, said the project would cost about $4 million.
A 12-inch pipe will replace the 8-inch pipe on the south side of Mahoning Avenue.
A total of 300 service lines will also be replaced on the south side of Mahoning Avenue, Johnson said. A definitive number won’t be known until the homes and water lines are dug up, Johnson said. Based on the age of the homes and the water lines, there are 200 to 250 homes that contain lead.
South Maryland, South Portland, South Lakeview, South Evanston, Milton, Halls Heights, Eleanor, South Whitney, Mayfield, McKinley and Olson avenues and Hampton Court will get new lines under this proposal.
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