Youngstown City Council plans to act on awarding funds to renovate the former Foster Art Theatre on Glenwood Avenue.

YOUNGSTOWN — City council on Wednesday will consider legislation to spend $318,328 in American Rescue Plan funds, grant a tax abatement to a manufacturing business and pay $81,940 for security cameras and additional lighting at city hall.

Among the ARP requests is $163,328 to cover half of the cost to upgrade the municipal court’s database management software to increase public access, improve case management and enhance efficiency. That legislation is sponsored by Mayor Jamael Tito Brown.

The two other requests come from Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward.

City council in April 2022 voted to give $2 million in ARP funds to each of its seven members to spend in the wards.

One of Davis’ proposals seeks to give $55,000 to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to sponsor five students to attend Beyond Expectations Barber College, 2246 Glenwood Ave., to pay for their tuition.

The other proposal from Davis is to give $100,000 to the YNDC for its plan to renovate the closed Foster Art Theatre at 2504 Glenwood Ave. and convert the former adult movie theater into a location for two commercial units and four apartments.

YNDC bought the building in June 2021 for $99,999 to shut it down and eventually redevelop it.

Former Councilwoman Lauren McNally, D-5th Ward, gave $100,000 toward the project in December.

Ian Beniston, YNDC executive director, said the agency has raised more than $1 million for the Foster project. It will apply for a large grant in July for the work, he said.

Beniston had said in December that the project would cost about $1 million, but said Friday that it is going to cost more than that though he didn’t provide an amount.

If the needed funding comes through, the YNDC would start the project in either the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2024, he said.

The theater, which had about 700 seats, was built in 1938 and showed mainstream films for years. It began showing art house films in the 1960s and switched to pornographic movies in the 1970s. It also sold XXX-rated videos in recent years.

It closed in March 2020 when the state forced all theaters to shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it never reopened.

TAX ABATEMENT

City council also will consider Wednesday a 75-percent, 10-year real property tax abatement for P&L Metalcrafts LLC, which is expanding at its 1050 Ohio Works Drive location.

The company employs 19 and would add 14 jobs, including eight full-time and two part-time jobs in the first year after completion of construction.

Metalcrafts manufactures metal components for water and sewer treatment plants, universities and schools, hospitals, sports stadiums, bridge painting platforms, water and concrete tanks as well as residential railings.

The company plans to spend $1.65 million to $2.57 million on its expansion, according to a document included with the city council agenda. The work would be finished later this year.

P&L will spend between $900,000 and $1.5 million for building improvements and $750,000 to $1.075 million for inventory, machinery and equipment.

Council also will consider two pieces of legislation to improve security in and around city hall, 26 S. Phelps St.

One proposal would be to pay $42,525 to VEC Inc. of Girard for 29 security cameras for the interior and exterior of the building.

The other would be to pay $39,415 to MG Electric of Poland to install exterior lighting at city hall.