Steubenville City Council tackles routine business
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STEUBENVILLE -- Routine business dominated the agenda Tuesday as City Council convened its third call-in meeting since Gov Mike DeWine ordered Ohioans to stay at home.
Passing on third reading was an ordinance authorizing payment of invoices for $3,000 or more without a purchase order to seven vendors -- Arcadis, $51,740.42, for a water department project; OWDA, $4,630, and Ridge Machinery & Welding, $5,010, for wastewater projects; Mike Homol Construction, $4,450 for recreation department work; Fort Steuben Maintenance, $12,950, maintenance and repair department work; One Beacon Insurance Group, $14,494.13, finance department work; and Walter H. Drane Co., $4,852.47, a council project.
First reading was heard of an ordinance for the Dresden Avenue resurfacing project and one authorizing City Manager Jim Mavromatis to contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation for a Sunset Boulevard resurfacing project.
Fifth Ward Councilman Willie Paul introduced legislation that would authorize the city to participate in ODOT's annual road salt contract, while Councilwoman at large Kimberly Hahn said the parks and recreation department is holding off on adding two new employees until the city finds out how much tax revenue it will lose because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Non-essential businesses across the state were ordered to close last month in hopes of stopping the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 824,438 Americans and killed at least 45,039.
Worldwide, COVID-19 has sickened more than 2.5 million people and killed at least 177,000.
Hahn also reminded residents that while city parks are open, playgrounds and basketball courts are not.
"We do want to be clear -- people should not be going on playground equipment," she added.
Hahn also told council the volunteers who'd agreed to maintain the Linda Way, Devonshire and Parkdale tot lots are already at work.
"That has begun," she said, "but we're going to have to figure out (what to do with) the Flats."
Mavromatis updated council on his virtual meeting with the Jefferson County Health Department, which as of Tuesday had reported 32 confirmed cases of COVID-19, five probable cases and one death.
"More testing is taking place," he said. "We're staying low here but north of us (Columbiana County) and south of us (Belmont County), they have quite a few more cases than we have here in Jefferson County."
Mavromatis also pointed out U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, figures any coronavirus stimulus money for municipalities will have to be routed through state government "and then be divided up."
"They can't just fund you for lack of revenue," he said. "It has to be for something specific that they will later identify."
Council also met in executive to discuss negotiations with the city's three labor unions.