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Council hears water project update

STEUBENVILLE — The city is on the way to receiving the best-case scenario for money to pay for a major water valve replacement project, but at least part of City Council will need to be schooled.

Water and Wastewater Superintendent Chuck Murphy told City Council the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency informed the city in an e-mail that the loan application for $3.5 million at 0-percent interest for 30 years, plus an additional $3.5 million in payback forgiveness, will be granted if the city meets several criteria. The state noted the loan forgiveness money is on a first-come, first-served basis, so the city has several obligations to meet.

Among those is at least four council members will need to complete two utility system management classes that are available online. Murphy indicated the classes must be passed with a 100 percent final grade, but council members will be allowed to refer to the course materials to answer the questions at the end of the course.

“This all just means we are in the pipeline. We still have obligations we have to meet in order to truly garner those funds, and we have to move along as quickly as possible, but the job has to be done right,” Murphy said.

Council approved an ordinance to proceed with a project to ease drainage issues on Efts Lane at Aberdeen Road. The unimproved Efts Lane has been problematic for the city since it was accepted as part of the annexation of the West End in the early 1960s.

First Ward Councilman Gerald DiLoreto cast the lone “no” vote on the Efts Lane ordinance.

“They’re not taking care of my lane up on Lincoln Heights, Dresden Avenue. It’s been 20 or 25 years and I don’t want to spend any more money out there unless they take care of the problem that’s been here for awhile,” he said after the meeting. DiLoreto had made the same comment when Efts Lane was discussed during a committee meeting a few weeks ago.

Councilwoman at large Kimberly Hahn said she will be part of a group to visit the regional offices of Habitat for Humanity in Canton Thursday. She hopes to hold a citywide meeting in August to discuss what Habitat can do in Steubenville.

Hahn hopes to have at least one house in each of the city’s six wards rehabilitated from Habitat, to start.

She and DiLoreto expressed frustration with being able to get the owners of vacant properties to go through court proceedings. She asked if an additional judge could be brought in to hear vacant housing cases once a week because of the caseload faced by Municipal Judge John Mascio.

She said neighbors of vacant properties worry about fires, and noted there have been at least a half dozen in the South End and on LaBelle View this spring in vacant structures.

DiLoreto said, “Half the owners are dead and the other half are owned by the state. How can we go after them if they’re not here? Some of them are owned by the banks. I’m frustrated, too. I feel sorry for the firemen who have to go out there. I do not know what the answer is.”

She and DiLoreto said there are some vacant properties owned by people in Weirton and the city should try to go after those property owners. Hahn also called for greater enforcement of the city’s law requiring an annual fee to be paid by owners of vacant buildings.

Council will hold a monthly finance update meeting with Finance Director Dave Lewis Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Recreation Director Lori Fetherolf said a wall replacement at the Belleview pool will be done in the fall after the pool is closed for the season. Fifth Ward Councilman Willie Paul asked her to have the top courses of stone removed from the wall soon, to prevent the potential for injuries if the wall would collapse over the summer.

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