STEUBENVILLE — City Council agreed Tuesday to hear what a developer has to say about putting a Dollar General in the South End.

The decision came after Mayor Jerry Barilla asked them to at least think about clearing the way for the discount chain to develop the old Grant school property on South Fourth Street.

“The lot has been empty for over 20 years, no one has shown interest in it,” he said. “The cost to (clean) the soil has been estimated at $300,000 … They’re willing to pay for the reclamation of the land, they’ll build a building, they’ll pave the lot, they’ll put lights up, they’ll pay taxes, they’ll hire workers as part of an economic development.”

Barilla said Dollar General sells bread and milk, though its stock of other grocery items is limited.

“There are many things (there) that I, myself, would buy. It’s not just pop and candy, it’s the things (people) need — sanitation needs, female needs, mental needs. I know the question is, ‘maybe the city can do something on that lot.’ Well, if you know the city’s finances down the road, I don’t know where we’re going to get the money to do whatever you think we can do, but I would certainly like to have another attempt at seeing if they would still come here.”

Barilla pointed out his tenure as mayor is nearing its end, “so it’s up to you as to how you folks want to go with it. But this man … is willing to talk with anybody. I’d like (us) to call him — I don’t know … who else is going to do something like that, who else is going to put the money in there?”

If the mayor’s contact is available, Second Ward Councilman Tracy McManamon said he will schedule an economic development committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. July 22 so council can hear first-hand what the chain has in mind.

“I would agree with the mayor,” McManamon said. “We’ve talked about this for years (but) it would be good to hear it directly from the source.”

Council members indicated they are willing to listen, though they’re not convinced bringing Dollar General to the South End is going to make life easier — and healthier — for residents there.

“I think it’s just another unhealthy food alternative,” Fourth Ward Councilman Royal Mayo said, saying he’s “100 percent against it, but if we do it, (I want) it to be a business move.”

That means understanding what the city and Dollar General stand to gain if the deal goes through, Mayo said. “We need to know what those projected numbers are so we can get the true value of the property … for the citizens of Steubenville.”

Third Ward Councilwoman Heather Hoover also reminded them that after last week’s business meeting, owners of the Grocery Box had talked about what they’ve been able to do from their North Fourth Street location and indicated they’re looking at ways to enhance their services.

“(They) really want to find different avenues to promote the Grocery Box,” she said, adding she’s “open to any business.”

“I want economic development, I want someone to come in and revamp that lot,” Hoover added. “I want a nice new building (there). I have my discontent with what Dollar General represents, that’s where I’m going to leave it at. But if it’s Dollar General, if that’s what we feel we need to move forward just to get a business in there, then I would say okay because the South End, you’re right, needs something.”

Barilla pointed out how years ago, before his tenure as mayor began, “someone came here with a proposal to put storage units on a piece of ground (in the South End), but one person came to council once and said, ‘If you put that storage unit down there you’re going to have drugs, you’re going to have prostitution, robberies and other offensive, negative things, and council turned it down. (But now) In the North End we’ve got two storage units. In the South End, we have none. I just what it is with the South End, but I pass through there every day I’m at the farmer’s market. Every week I see people going down to that gas station and (lugging) bags of food and whatnot. And I know there are people against this giant Dollar General, but I think it does serve a purpose for the people in that area.”

In other matters, council members were also unhappy that after picking up the tab for roughly $200,000 in field improvements, including building dugouts, the Steubenville Little League officials were told they’d need to share 15 percent of the profits from tournaments to the cash-strapped recreation department.

“I think that (came about) because we had a softball organization from out of town that came in and was using our fields for almost a decade, and they weren’t paying anything,” Mayo said. “So we charged them for that. But it’s different for our own kids in Steubenville.”

Mayo also pointed out that Fifth Ward Councilman Ted Gorman, the league’s president, had mowed grass on city fields daily free of charge before his election.

“We have to get a little bit of understanding about who you’re trying to get money from,” Mayo said. “Somebody from out of town coming here just to use our stuff? Yeah, they should be charged. But somebody who’s here invested money in our parks that they could (spent) somewhere else — he’s already pledged $10,000 to help build batting cages.”

Gorman, clearly irritated, pointed out there’s “not another organization that uses Belleview Park or any other city park that is giving (them) that kind of money. And then you’re going to ask our organization (to pay), when 99 percent of the more than 300 kids who play live in our town, their families pay taxes in our town.”

He said been made aware the department has only $18,000 to put into new batting cages, a fraction of the amount needed, so the League pledged the $10,000 to help.

Law Director Costa Mastros told council they cannot override the park board’s decision outright. He said there’s an appeals process, but his recommendation would be to ask the park board to rethink charging city leagues to use taxpayer-supported facilities.

McManamon offered to relay council’s concerns at the park board’s next meeting and said if that doesn’t work, he’ll “make a motion that the city reimburse Little League.”

Sixth Ward Councilman Mike Hernon sunshined legislation to adopt the Fiscal Year 2025-29 consolidated plan as well as the FY 2025 one-year action plan, submitting both to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and authorize city administrators to accept the Community Development Block Grant funds for 2025 incorporated in the plan.

City Manager Jim Mavromatis told council more than half of the water jets at the 16-year-old splash pad at Jim Wood Park are now working and a contractor is coming to try and figure out what the problem is with the rest of them. In addition to any repairs, he said they’re also going to need to add to the concrete pad to get rid of the mud around the current setup when it’s in

“We can’t put a curb, that would be a tripping hazard,” he told council, explaining the pavement would have to be built up gradually to keep the water in.

“We’ve got (those) lips all over,” First Ward Councilman Dave Albaugh said, mentioning playgrounds all have them.

“But (there) you have kids running, you have water, the elderly. There’s ADA requirements,” Mavromatis replied.

Albaugh said they also need to figure out a better maintenance system and schedule.

“We drop the ball a lot,” Mayo agreed. “I just think we need to be a little more proactive than reactive on issues like that.”