YOUNGSTOWN — On its third try, city council approved legislation to permit the board of control to sign a contract for up to $43 million to keep wastewater from flowing into two Mill Creek Park lakes — but not without a dispute.

Council voted 5-1 Tuesday in favor of the ordinance with Councilwoman Amber White, I-7th Ward, voting against it and Councilwoman Samantha Turner, D-3rd Ward, absent.

White said she was “not comfortable” with the city using a “construction manager at risk” process for the first time for this large contract rather than a traditional bidding method.

Under this process, city officials negotiated a set price with Marucci & Gaffney Excavating Co. of Youngstown, which was selected for the job, for specific work. If the cost goes over the negotiated price, Marucci & Gaffney would have to pay for any additional costs.

Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works, said a cost should be finalized in one to two weeks and in front of the board of control for approval by late September.

Shasho said this method was chosen because it will speed up the completion of the project and eliminate the city’s financial risk.

A city selection committee chose Marucci & Gaffney, which does extensive work for the city, over Rudzik Excavating Inc. of Struthers, the only other company that sought the contract.

Jim Tressa, Rudzik’s senior estimator / project manager, has previously objected to the city’s decision saying his company was best qualified for the job.

At Tuesday’s meeting, White objected to the process, saying, “How do we know that we are being responsible with this $43 million? We don’t know what other companies have to offer? This is very irresponsible to not open this up.”

She said the city always hires contractors for construction projects through competitive bidding except this one time.

Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, said to White, “Any time the city does something new that’s extremely beneficial to the taxpayers and saves money and time, you’re going to call it into question because it’s not what the city has always done?”

Oliver said residents want this council to do things differently than other councils, which failed to address this sewer issue for decades.

Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th Ward, said, “We’ve exhausted the conversation for the last two meetings regarding this topic, and it was explained in great detail. Some folks just don’t have an understanding.”

White was absent during council’s July 28 and Aug. 2 meetings on this topic. Turner was absent Tuesday as well as the July 28 meeting and voted against passing the ordinance by emergency at the Aug. 2 meeting.

That forced council to wait until Tuesday to pass it after three readings at three separate meetings rather than by emergency, which it typically does.

The work is for the first two of four phases to an interceptor sewer project to keep wastewater from 13 lines from flowing into Mill Creek Park’s Lake Glacier and Lake Cohasset. These phases will focus on Lake Glacier and will close several roads, trails and structures around the lake during the entirety of the project.

The project is to start at the beginning of the year and be finished no later than May 29, 2028.

The cost of the project is estimated between $28 million and $43 million, based on a determination by MS Consultants Inc., the Youngstown company that was paid $4.8 million to design most of the work.

The city, federal government and state of Ohio “successfully finalized a proposed resolution,” according to a June 20 federal court filing by all the parties, to the ongoing dispute that permits the city to reduce a phase of the wastewater improvement project. But the project still needs final approval from all sides.

OTHER BUSINESS

City council approved legislation by a 6-0 vote Tuesday to purchase two new fire trucks for up to $2.1 million.

Council had to amend the legislation, which initially called for the spending of up to $2 million.

The board of control meets Thursday and will vote on signing a contract with Atlantic Emergency Solutions Inc. of Manassas, Virginia, for the two trucks.

The trucks should arrive in the city by April or May 2026, said city Finance Director Kyle Miasek.

It typically takes considerably longer to get fire trucks. But because the two pumper trucks are not specifically designed for Youngstown, they will arrive faster.

Council also voted 6-0 Tuesday to authorize a contract for $2,978,000 for a riverfront project on the lower West Side from Spring Commons Park to West Avenue, along the Mahoning River.

The Eastgate Regional Council of Governments received a state grant, using federal funding, for the project. Council authorized the board of control to sign the $2,978,000 contract with Eastgate and to advertise for bids and enter into a contract for up to $2,315,331 with a company to do the work.

The ordinance for the actual work is lower because Eastgate has already hired contractors for some of the project, Shasho said.

Council also voted to authorize the board of control to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation for the city to spend up to $1,482,267 to replace 2,100 feet of an 8-inch main waterline on U.S. Route 224 in Boardman from Southern Boulevard to the west entrance of Boardman Park.

ODOT will do a major street improvement project next year to a large section of U.S. Route 224.

The city, which sells water to parts of Boardman, has a waterline under Route 224 that has breaks at times.