STEUBENVILLE — City Council for the time being has nixed the idea of proceeding with a loan application that would pay for planning and designing the CSO12 sewer repairs on the old Weirton Steel property, a project Wastewater Superintendent Chuck Murphy has said is needed to protect the integrity of the nearby Norfolk-Southern rail lines.

The CSO12 project would involve rerouting the sewer flow from Slack Street to the Permars Run line near state Route 7, then filling the old line under the tracks and the sink hole with low strength mortar.

Council needed five yes votes to proceed as emergency legislation but were only able to corral two — Fourth Ward Councilman Royal Mayo and Sixth Ward Councilman Mike Hernon.

The three councilmen who’d registered opposition to the legislation at council’s Jan. 21 meeting — Councilman at large Joel Walker, and First Ward Councilman Dave Albaugh and Second ward CouncilmanTracy McManamon — stood firm and were joined by Third Ward Councilwoman Heather Hoover and Fifth Ward Councilman Ted Gorman.

Hoover and Walker, especially, took issue with Murphy’s reluctance to reach out to alert Norfolk-Southern to the problem until the project engineer, HDR Engineering, had the plans ready to submit. He said Norfolk-Southern officials in the past have refused to even discuss a project without having the plans in hand to review and without the loan, his department he doesn’t have the money to pay the engineer.

“I know it sounds crazy but that’s the way they do it,” he said. “They won’t even have a discussion with you until you have a set of plans. That’s just the way it’s gone historically.”

Once funded, Murphy said it would take the engineer four months to prepare a full set of plans for review.

Before signing off on the loan application, Hoover was adamant Murphy check with the Ohio Mid-Eastern Government Association to see if any assistance is available. She also wants him to contact Norfolk-Southern to apprise them of the situation.

“If they’re not considering this a dire situation in the line under their railroad tracks, why is it such a dire situation for us?” Hoover asked. “I supported the vote last week but after fielding calls from (constituents) and hearing their concerns…it doesn’t seem like there’s a dire need for (the repairs).”

Walker also was insistent, telling Murphy, “Don’t you think we have a responsibility to at least tell them?”

“I’ll make that call,” Murphy replied. “I want you, as council, to be comfortable with this. It won’t take anything at all to make that call.”

Council also heard from Heritage Place residents who told of who complained not only that their heat has been out since at least the first of December, but also spoke of freezing pipes and, at times, no water or garbage collection because the company hadn’t paid the bill. Water service is included in tenants’ rent.

Two lawsuits have been filed by Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court against the owners, Green National and WG Heritage Place Ohio, and their management company, Beechwood-based AMC Management. Both complaints seek injunctions forcing the owners to effect immediate repairs to the property.

“That place gets worse and worse by the day and a lot of people are afraid to say something,” one tenant said. “Most people are scared and just let them do what they want to.”

Another said she had to get her son and nephew to mow the playlot.

“If you shine light on it … that’s how you get things done,” Mayor Jerry Barilla told them. “You’ve got a health issue here, people are in jeopardy. I don’t know how they can get away with it for that long.”

Finance Director Dave Lewis said it’s not clear how the city will be impacted by the federal spending freeze.

” We are waiting on additional information from our federal contacts who are trying to get clarification regarding the impacts,” Lewis said.