STEUBENVILLE - City leaders heard a request for more police officers and discussed recent snow removal procedures Tuesday night.
Tyrone Thomas of Steubenville said the city police force is short-staffed, and a recent increase in violent crimes indicates a need for more officers.
"I would like to know if there will be any hirings in the police department," Thomas asked City Manager Cathy Davison.
"We are currently reviewing our staffing level, but there are no plans to hire additional officers at this time," Davison said.
"I am asking you to look at your budget. We really need more policeman. There is trouble in our city.
"I know you hired a new fireman, and I think you need to hire more policemen," said Thomas.
And Sean Daley, a former city police officer who is currently laid off, said a recent resignation by a patrolman has created a vacancy in the police department.
"We will follow the appropriate procedures with the Fraternal Order of Police and the Civil Service Commission," noted Davison.
Third Ward Councilman Greg Metcalf asked Davison and administration officials to explain snow removal procedures, citing "several complaints during the weekend winter storm."
According to Street Superintendent Bob Baird, "we have a process where we focus first on emergency routes, hills, bridges and overpasses, then the primary routes and finally the secondary roads and subdivision streets."
"A lot depends on the weather conditions, but we ultimately catch up with all of the streets. We don't have people scheduled on the weekends so we have to call out employees to drive the trucks.
"We work very hard within our budget and our resources," said Baird.
Fifth Ward Councilman Willie Paul said he received a telephone call from a city resident complimenting the city on the efforts to clean the streets.
And Davison renewed her call for city residents to avoid parking on streets if they have off-street parking available.
"It is hard to plow and salt streets that have personal vehicles parked on both sides of the road," she said.
In other matters, Davison recommended renewing a contract for employee health care coverage with Health Assurance.
"Their coverage for 203 city employees and their families will remain at the $2.3 million level, and they will offer us a wellness plan that will lower the cost of our insurance," Davison explained.
The city manager also announced the administration held successful discussions with the Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority, and bus service to the Franciscan University of Steubenville main campus will resume.
In other business Tuesday, council:
Issued commendations to Diana Bodo and Joyce Young for their recent efforts to save a man's life during a Steubenville High School girls basketball game.
The two women are parents of girls who play for the high school basketball team. They are also nurses who reacted quickly and professionally recently when the grandfather of another player on the Big Red team collapsed and went into cardiac arrest, according to officials.
According to 6th Ward Councilman David Lalich, the women used a defibrillator to revive Chet Masloski who later underwent a heart catheterization and angioplasty surgery.
Approved a resolution proclaiming February as National African-American History Month, and 92-year-old city resident Edward T. Gilliam was recognized as the inventor of the viscoelastometer, an instrument used in the manufacturing of tires. Also recognized in the resolution were the late John Ellis Edwards and Jerome Edwards of Steubenville who were original Tuskegee Airman during World War II and the late Moses Fleetwood Walker for being the first African American to play Major League Baseball.
Approved emergency legislation to proceed with the 2012 hot mix asphalt resurfacing program for portions of Rosemont Avenue and Elaine, Norris, Sixth and Seventh streets.
A second ordinance listing streets to be treated and sealed this summer also was approved on an emergency basis during the meeting.
Streets to be sealed include part of White Oaks Drive, Fays Lane, Hiddenwood Drive, Ravine Street, Buena Vista Boulevard and Sheffield Avenue.
Approved an emergency ordinance to advertise for bids to demolish fire damaged buildings at 102 Capitol Ave., 128 Butte St., 321-323 Marsh Alley, 903 Pittsburgh St., 222-224 N. Ninth St., 718 Highland Ave., 512 Mears Ave. and 1032 McNeal Ave.
Heard a first reading for an application for the rezoning of the former Roosevelt School on Belleview Boulevard. Ben Wade II, the owner of the property, is asking the city to allow the former school to be converted into a church.
A public hearing on the rezoning request is set for 7 p.m. April 2 by the city Planning and Zoning Commission, and the third and final reading of the legislation will be on April 10.
Heard a second reading for an ordinance authorizing the sale of a city-owned vehicle no longer needed for municipal purposes.
Heard from Jerry Barilla, president of the Steubenville Revitalization Group, who thanked the city for new signs indicating public parking areas downtown.
"We are seeing more vacant parking spots in the business district," said Barilla.
Heard from city resident Sandi Rue who thanked the city fire department for its efforts during the Jan. 31 fire that claimed the life of Lee West.
"The city firefighters are an incredible group of men.
"You did your job that night with tears in your eyes just as you did on Jan. 6, 1993, when my brother Julius Ceasar Thorn lost his life in a fire on Garrett Avenue. When the alarm sounds you will be ready and willing to do your job, and I thank you," stated Rue.
Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 to review a lease proposal from Mason Dixon Energy to drill for oil and gas at the former city landfill near the Jefferson County Airpark.
(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)
