YOUNGSTOWN — City council will consider Wednesday authorizing the board of control to make two agreements with state agencies to borrow up to $18 million for a pair of water improvement projects.

The ordinances, sponsored by Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, are to enter into joint loan agreements with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Water Development Authority.

One project is to upgrade the Webb Road pump station, which is needed before repair work can be done to a 48-inch main waterline that supplies the site. That station distributes water to most of Austintown and Canfield townships through four pumps, said Water Commissioner Harry L. Johnson III.

This project would add another station with two additional pumps, he said. The new pump station is being built off-site and should be finished in about 12 to 18 months, Johnson said.

“The four current pumps will operate independently from the two we’re putting in” so the city can continue to operate it when a 53-year-old waterline is eventually replaced, Johnson said.

The work is needed to repair corroded pipes that are in danger of failing, he said.

The other project is to replace the Crandall Park water main on Gypsy Lane from Logan to Goleta avenues on the North Side as well as replacing about 470 lead waterlines on Fifth Avenue, Tod Lane, Belmont Avenue and Gypsy Lane, Johnson said.

Half of the loan, which is up to $9 million, would be forgiven by the state upon completion of the project, Johnson said.

Numerous water breaks occur on that section of Gypsy Lane, Johnson said.

This is part of an ongoing effort by the city to replace old waterlines, which contain lead, Johnson said.

He said: “We’re moving so aggressively because the funding is set to expire next yea,r and we want to take advantage of the opportunity (the 50% loan forgiveness) and to meet the goal of eliminating all lead lines by 2037.”

The city recently approved an $8.2 million project to replace more than 10,000 linear feet of lead waterlines and a water main to more than 720 homes in the Buckeye Plat neighborhood on the city’s southeast side. That project is expected to start shortly.

In a separate ordinance, city council is being asked Wednesday to permit the board of control to enter into an engineering services agreement for up to $297,500 with Arcadis, a national firm that has done extensive work for the city, for the Crandall Park and lead waterline replacement project.

PARKING CONTRACT

Brown also is sponsoring legislation asking council to authorize the board of control to spend up to $100,000 for agreements for downtown parking enforcement.

Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works, said proposals would be sought about 30 days after council approves the legislation and “it may be way less than $100,000.”

The city needs to monitor downtown on-street parking and wants to have people pay using credit or debit cards with their phones or at kiosks, Shasho said.

“Parking enforcement is needed downtown,” he said.

The city discontinued its contract with ABM Parking on enforcement after it removed all of its meters in June 2024. There is no plan to install meters, Shasho said.

There is currently no enforcement of hourly parking in downtown resulting in people, primarily workers, parking their vehicles for the entire day in spots.

When ABM was used, the city was paying about $10,000 a month for enforcement and only $2,000 in tickets were issued per month, Finance Director Kyle Miasek said at a February council parking committee meeting.

The bigger issue is that many of those getting ticketed don’t pay, Miasek said.

The parking committee met in January and February about downtown parking enforcement after going six years without a meeting. It was supposed to meet again in April, but a meeting was never called.

Also Wednesday, council will consider allowing the board of control to waive formal bidding and make payments of up to $825,000 for emergency repairs or replacements of sanitary sewage and stormwater lines, manholes and catch basins “that are in such disrepair they are causing backups through the collection system. Repairs and / or replacement will immediately take place in order not to cause a disruption in service,” according to the ordinance.

Shasho said he didn’t think the city would spend that amount, but with city council planning to meet monthly in July and August, rather than twice a month, if an emergency occurs, prior authorization is needed. Any payments for emergency work would still need to be approved by the board of control, he said.

There is a “nasty, nasty sewer break” on state Route 711 that could be costly and “we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Shasho said.

CONTRACTS

Two ordinances on Wednesday’s agenda were supposed to be discussed last week by council’s community planning and economic development committee. The meeting was canceled because of a lack of a quorum when only Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st, the committee chairman, showed up.

Wanting to discuss the items before Wednesday’s council meeting, the community planning and economic development committee scheduled a meeting for 4 p.m. Tuesday.

One ordinance is to allow the board of control to enter into a $140,000 contract with MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown to provide consultation and engineering services for a plan for the Belmont Avenue corridor. The plan would take about a year to complete.

The plan received $200,000 from the state Appalachian Community Grant Program.

The plan seeks to increase transportation accessibility and support ongoing and future economic development along the corridor.

The other ordinance is to have the board of control renew a $60,000 annual contract with CS Public Affairs of Canfield, run by Andy Resnick, for “a strategic communications plan to assure coordinated communication from the city to present a positive image.”

The city hired CS last June, and the contract renewal would be retroactive to June 1.

Among Resnick’s duties are handling certain media inquiries, writing news releases for the city, providing strategic communications counsel, social media management and promoting city services and corridors.

OLD BUSINESS

With council unable to pass legislation at its June 4 meeting by emergency measure because two members were absent, numerous ordinances are up for vote at Wednesday’s meeting.

That includes spending up to $275,000 for professional service contracts related to a major wastewater improvement project, settling a lawsuit for $40,000 and selling the former South High Fieldhouse land for $64,460 to Valley Christian Schools.

Also, council will vote Wednesday on legislation to accept a $1.61 million federal grant to pay 75% of the salaries of up to 15 new police officers, purchase 11 new police vehicles for $695,400 and install mobile data terminals in eight of those cars.

Legislation for those police department items was moved in April to council’s safety committee. The committee met twice before agreeing on May 22 to have city council consider them for approval.