Linda Harris NEW CHIEF — Capt. Wes Crawford reacts to getting the nod as Steubenville's next police chief. Crawford, a 23-year veteran of the force, will succeed Chief Ken Anderson, who is retiring July 20 after 33 years on the job.

STEUBENVILLE — Steubenville’s next police chief will be Capt. Wes Crawford, a 23-year veteran of the force.

Crawford’s appointment, announced by City Manager Mike Johnson, won unanimous approval Tuesday from City Council. The announcement followed a recommendation by the five-member executive subcommittee tasked with sifting through the applications and deciding who to interview, unanimously endorsing him for the job.

“The decision on who to pick was a very difficult decision for me as I believed all three captains were qualified and would have done a fine job as police chief,” Johnson said. “All the interviews were very good and all three have served the citizens of Steubenville extremely well during their police officer careers. For me, it just came down to a gut feeling that I should go with Capt. Crawford. I look forward to working with him in his new role and I want to do everything I can to help him and the police department continue to provide excellent service to the citizens of Steubenville.”

All three candidates interviewed by the panel came up through the city police department and had previously been described by Johnson as “highly qualified” for the chief’s job, which will be vacated July 20 with the retirement of 33-year veteran, Chief Ken Anderson.

“He’s a great hire, I’m excited that he is a young guy,” Mayor Ralph Petrella, a member of the subcommittee, said after the meeting. “He wants to really build on what Chief Anderson is doing and he also wants to be involved and visible in the community. We had three really great candidates and it was a very hard decision — we’re lucky to be in the position we are in with our police department. Crime rates are at an all-time low and it’s because of the effort of our police department working with our citizens to prevent crime.”

Councilman Joel Walker, who retired from the police force, agreed they had three really good candidates apply from within the department.

“Going through the process, we believed as a group that Wes is the best person at this time to keep the department moving forward as it is,” he said. “I think he’ll do an excellent job, and I’m glad we’re putting a system in place where (department heads) can work with the person who is leaving, so we have a smoother transition.”

In other business, Councilman Royal Mayo questioned why a member of the Juneteenth Committee would have received a letter stating “there could only be vendors on one side of the street.”

A member of the committee had reached out to Fire Chief Joe Ribar, who wasn’t privy to the letter being sent but explained that the Ohio Revised Code does not restrict festivals to one side of the street, explaining there “just needs to be a certain amount of space” so emergency vehicles can safely navigate through the festival.

Councilman Royal Mayo pointed out other festivals, including First Fridays, locate food trucks and vendor booths on both sides of the street and questioned why the Juneteenth committee wouldn’t enjoy the same opportunity.

“They can be on both sides of the street but (there needs to be) enough room to get a truck down the middle or one side or another,” he said.

Royal said other special events “don’t follow that same standard” and requested a follow-up letter be sent to Juneteenth organizers “explaining exactly what to do.”

“If we’re going to enforce it on Juneteenth, I believe we need to enforce it on everybody,” Walker added.

Council also:

— Scheduled a public utilities committee meeting for 6 p.m. July 14 so Water-Wastewater Director Jim Jenkins can address water rates and other departmental concerns and an economic development committee meeting for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss opportunity zones.

— Were told Parks & Recreation Director Don Patterson expects to open the pool June 29. He said eight lifeguards are ready to start work now and three or four more are going through the process.

Petrella applauded Patterson’s efforts, telling him, “You walked into a fire ant’s nest and I’m getting nothing but great feedback about you.”

— Passed emergency legislation amending codified ordinances related to longevity pay; heard second reading of legislation directing Johnson to contract for the Lincoln Boulevard retaining wall rehabilitation; and heard the first readings of legislation establishing a personal days policy for nonunion, full-time employees and authorizing Johnson to enter into contract for the roof replacement project at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center.

— Introduced legislation that would amend the table of organization as it relates to the water, wastewater, engineering, parks and recreation departments; directing the city manager to seek bids for a replacement case management system for Municipal Court; and a resolution honoring Juneteenth in Steubenville.