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STEUBENVILLE -- City officials hope to have Fort Steuben Maintenance under contract for the Beatty Park Bridge rehabilitation project within the month.
"It is our opinion that Fort Steuben Maintenance is experienced and qualified to perform the work required of the contract," City Engineer Mike Dolak told City Council Tuesday. "(They've) completed and submitted all required documentation to the city with their bid. Therefore, if funding is available, the Engineering Department recommends that the project be awarded to Fort Steuben Maintenance for their bid amount of $612,567."
Dolak said FSM, the only bidder, came in above the original engineer's estimate, which was $519,600, so he had Burgess and Niple Inc. review the company's bid, "line-by-line ... to identify noticeable cost differences."
"Items with noticeable cost differences were reviewed and determined that the cost differences are a combination of the complexity of the work (and) current economic situation as well as the small quantities, result in lack of economic scale," he said. The engineer's estimate was adjusted to $567,300 to reflect those findings, putting FSM's bid at an allowable 8 percent above estimate.
Dolak said a total of $640,800 was budgeted for the project already -- $290,800 in Community Development Block Grant funds and $350,000 from the general fund COVID Lost Revenue account. He said an additional $75,000 will be needed from GF-CLR to cover contingencies and construction inspection and administration services.
"I'm hoping to get Fort Steuben under contract by mid-February," Dolak said.
Council, meanwhile, voted 7-0 to rezone a property at 913 N. Fifth St. to "public and semi-public" so it can be used for a community garden and outdoor learning center. The property currently is zoned for high density residential. The city in December transferred ownership of the property to Steubenville City Schools, which will oversee its creation, funded through a $500,000 Choice Neighborhood's planning grant the city received last year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Members also voted down ordinances that would have treated wooded lots within city limits "the same as weeded lots" and requiring the city to maintain lots after demolishing unsafe and dilapidated structures.
The wooded lots ordinance would leave the city on the hook for the cost of removing remove trees and brush from lots if the owner failed to act after being issued a notice to comply and put a lien on the property in hopes of recouping its costs.
Both had been introduced by former 1st Ward Councilwoman Asantewa Anyabwile, who was at Tuesday's meeting to lobby for passage of the measures, albeit unsuccessfully.
"There is no recourse when a lot is heavily weeded and then weeds become trees," she said. "Then the final destination is that the city says it can't be cut so case closed ... There needs to be a recourse to take care of these lots."
Fourth Ward Councilman Royal Mayo agreed, telling council that many times "those lots are right next door to someone's house. We need to do something."
After garnering only one vote, Mayo's, in support of the measure, Anyabwile said the problem seems to effect "mostly the south end and the north end."
"Maybe if it hits other wards a little harder you'll reconsider," she said.
Anyabwile also argued for the city to take on responsibility for keeping grass mowed on properties owned by those who are unable physicially or financially to keep their grass cut on their own.
"This (ordinance) proposes the city take care of it, come up every once in a while, and cut those properties," she said.
Prior to voting, Third Ward Councilwoman Heather Hoover told Anyabwile her ward is not immune to the problem, pointing out she has one right in her backyard.
"The city has already taken on responsibility of demolishing these homes," she said, pointing requiring the city to ensure grass was cut and debris removed would be an additional burden.
Mayo pointed out the incongruity of the city spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to demolish unsafe structures only to balk at setting aside the funds to maintain the now-vacant lots.
"If we're not going to maintain we shouldn't tear them down," he said.
Hoover, though, said her constituents would rather deal with overgrown weeds and wooded lots than an abandoned property in their neighborhood, pointing out abandoned properties tend are a health and safety risk in and of themselves.
"My people are saying they don't want it," she concluded, prompting Mayo to replay that, "We spend (thousands) to tear them down, you mean to tell me we can't spend some money to keep the grass cut?
Council heard second readings of ordinances that would change the sign up period for speaking during public forum and first reading of ordinances proposed by Mayo that would repeal the controversial Neighborhood Conservation District Ordinance, which prevents owners of properties in certain areas from turning any more single family properties into apartment units, and committing $6 million to secure the HUD Choice Neighborhood Implementation grant.
Second Ward Councilman Tracy McManamon sunshined legislation that would amend bereavement leave for employees. He also scheduled a finance committee meeting for Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. to discuss the possibility of restarting the city's commercial dumpster service, with 15 minutes of the meeting set aside for Bob Baird, the department head, to share his recommendation.