STEUBENVILLE – A water slide isn’t going to be one of the attractions when Steubenville’s newly revamped Belleview Pool reopens for the summer.

The slide, manufactured in Canada, is equipped with railings that don’t meet U.S. safety standards. Council members have said they didn’t authorize the purchase and aren’t sure who did and that they learned of it only after it had been delivered.

But City Manager Mike Johnson said he learned from the Ohio Department of Health Tuesday that the pool can’t open unless the slide can pass inspection–and the slide won’t pass inspection unless it meets domestic regulations.

“That presents a big problem,” he said, pointing out he’d met with the contractor prior to the ODNR conversation “and they were coming up with a plan to barricade it off and come up with steps, wooden trek steps up to the ladder.”

“Unfortunately, I see we have two choices: We remove the slide and open the pool–I wasn’t here when that was approved, but that was a $50,000 slide and it would make that slide inoperable–or we delay the pool opening until the slide issue is resolved, but this council has been dealing with the slide issue since April 2025 and haven’t resolved it,” he said. “Best-case scenario, I think the slide issue could get resolved in six weeks, but the city would have to spend more (money) because nobody’s going to build this fix for free, so maybe another $20,000.”

Councilman Dave Albaugh reiterated that the slide’s purchase “was never approved by council to begin with, and it was actually told (to us) right here…that (it) would not be put in, they’d only do the preparations for it to be put in at a later date.”

“I’m going to echo that,” Councilwoman Heather Hoover said. “They told us it wasn’t even purchased. And then two weeks later, surprise, the slide’s here from Canada. So, take it out. List it on eBay.”

Council voted 7-0 to remove the slide, with Johnson saying that, “I believe that was the proper vote, but I wanted to share it with you guys because it’s been a nightmare for you guys a lot longer than me. So they tell me they can get the slide out.”

Johnson said they also got bad news about the city’s tennis courts.

“They’re separating. They were resurfaced last year. They should have lasted (longer),” he said. “So I met the contractor last Friday. We went over it…and he says the way it’s pulling apart, he believes the problem is underneath, under the ground.”

Johnson said a study of the subsurface last year shows voids underneath the court area. “He said we probably need to replace that; we’d have to use concrete reinforcement.”

He said he’s expecting an estimate from the contractor, but before any decisions are made they’ll “consult with Franciscan, because they’re our partner on this. They’re the ones that need a Division III-quality tennis court.” Johnson said there’s been talk that the university might want to build its own tennis court, which could impact the city’s decision.