STEUBENVILLE — Saying $26 million is better than nothing, Steubenville City Council made it clear this week they intend to continue their North End community partnership with Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Authority.

Councilman Royal Mayo again argued against allowing JMHA to apply for the Choice Neighborhood implantation grant funding, saying the scaled down plan the planners came up with after the funding pool was slashed in half won’t have the seismic effect on the North End community that they’d hoped for.

Four years ago, Steubenville and eight other communities were invited to apply for Choice Neighborhood implementation grants, kick-starting the process with $500,000 grants so they could develop strategies to “transform distressed, high-poverty neighborhoods into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods.”

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development initially had planned to award $54 million implementation grants, but in December, after months of uncertainty, HUD announced any implementation grants awarded this year would be capped at $26 million. Applicants were given less than three months to reconfigure their plans to conform to the smaller award amount.

The application can’t move forward without council’s approval.

Mayo argues that the revised plan does little to address HUD’s intended goal — to reduce low-income housing density in target neighborhoods. When it’s done, he said, “the entire neighborhood is supposed to be uplifted.”

Mayo has said he’d they rather “roll the dice” and hope the Choice Neighborhood program is renewed in 2027.

JMHA Director Melody McClurg admitted that with the change in federal guidelines, “we had to condense it down” but reminded Mayo and council that the overarching concept is, “Everyone coming together, whether it’s private or public, to change the North End.”

“I’m not a housing expert,” Councilwoman Heather Hoover said. “That’s not my expertise. But, you know, we’ve looked at this — I appreciate Royal’s passion. I appreciate his comments, but we voted on this. We’ve talked about this now for two solid weeks, some of us more even than the two solid weeks. And I personally appreciate the work that you guys have done. Is it the best project possible? Probably not. If we had more money, we probably could do a whole lot more.”

Hoover said the revised plan is “not the perfect solution … but it’s a whole heck of a lot better than what we have right now.”

In other business:

• City Manager Jim Mavromatis was updated on the progress of the Market Street bridge study “and where things currently stand.”

Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission Director Mike Paprocki said HDR Inc., the Charleston-based consultant chosen by West Virginia Department of Transportation, had completed its first round of traffic studies on both sides of the river “and that data is now being compiled and analyzed for the current study.”

These results are critical in helping the team understand current traffic patterns, usage demands and long-term needs for our region.”

He said the project remains “in very preliminary stages.” While nothing has been decided, he said the initial location alternatives currently being reviewed include the existing Market Street location; Washington Street, Logan Street; Ross Street; and no new bridge.

• Authorized the sanitation director to dispose of three junk packer sanitation trucks. Law Director Costa Mastros said USEPA ordered them to remove the trucks.

Councilman Dave Albaugh pointed out old vehicles are being kept at several locations throughout the city and he would prefer to “do it once and get it right,” but Mastros said they don’t have that luxury with the packer trucks.

“This is in response to EPA telling us we have to get rid of (the packers),” he said.

Mayo said in the future, department heads need to get rid of old and unused vehicles as soon as they’re no longer needed.

“There’s no reason for it to take up space and just rust away on our lots,” he said.

• Scheduled an economic development committee meeting for 6:30 p.m. March 24.