YOUNGSTOWN — City council will vote Wednesday to amend four separate ordinances to increase the maximum amounts for contracts, including three that already received approval from the board of control to go over the initial limits.

One amended ordinance request dates back to Oct. 2, 2024, when council permitted the board of control to enter into a contract for up to $560,000 with a company to improve the downtown area damaged by the May 28, 2024, explosion at the former Realty Tower and its subsequent demolition.

Parella-Pannunzio of Youngstown was hired Oct. 24, 2024, for $545,717 for the work on Market Street in front of the former Realty Tower site and on East Federal Street from Market to Champion, between where the building was and the Stambaugh Building. That work included repairs to the streets, sidewalks, utilities, landscaping, plants and planters, curb ramps and catch basins.

The board of control agreed Dec. 30 to increase the payment to $694,392 for electrical upgrades as well as expanding the sidewalk and curb replacements.

The company had to recently repair the sidewalks because of cracks caused by the building site settling, said Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works.

Another amended ordinance increases the cost of the citywide street resurfacing program from $2 million, approved May 21, to $2.25 million.

The board of control voted Oct. 23 to increase the program’s contract with R.T. Vernal Paving & Excavating of North Lima from $1,827,315 to $2,247,613. Shasho said that was because waterline and sewer breaks were discovered and in need of repair during the project.

Council is also being asked to amend legislation to spend up to $2.95 million from $2.8 million, approved March 19 by the legislative body, for a major improvement project to sections of Boardman and Walnut streets downtown.

Parella-Pannunzio was awarded this contract April 24 for $2,778,645. The board of control approved an increase Sept. 11 to $2,861,833 for a water tie-in and trenching for lighting. That pushed the contract over the $2.8 million limit set by council.

The fourth amended ordinance for council to consider Wednesday is for planning, design and construction management services for Madison Avenue, Westbound Service Road and Eastbound Service Road.

The limit approved Oct. 1 by council was for $125,000 for the work. The amendment is to increase that maximum amount to $221,100.

The design work is for repaving, signage, pavement markings and handicapped accessible ramps to the streets near Youngstown State University as well as traffic signal and pole upgrades at the intersection of McGuffey and Early roads on the East Side.

After the design work is finished, the construction project is estimated to cost $1.8 million with the state paying 68% of the cost and the city paying the rest. The work is supposed to start in the second half of 2026.

OTHER LEGISLATION

Council is being asked Wednesday to authorize the board of control to advertise for proposals and enter into a contract with a marketing consultant to “create a comprehensive marketing plan / campaign. This campaign will highlight Youngstown’s assets and position the city for business growth, visitors and residents,” according to the ordinance.

There isn’t a dollar amount included in the ordinance, but during a Sept. 9 council committee meeting, city officials discussed spending up to $200,000 for the effort.

The agency selected would brand and message, create a campaign strategy and creative development, handle media and digital marketing, work on community and stakeholder engagement, establish performance indicators, and provide regular updates and reports, according to a presentation at that Sept. 9 meeting.

Also Wednesday, council will consider creating the job of site development coordinator in the community planning and economic development department. The annual salary for the position would be $71,785.

Council plans to vote Wednesday on a resolution to support the restoration, maintenance and preservation of the William Holmes McGuffey Wildlife Preserve’s McGuffey Family Pond and Dock in Coitsville, which borders the city’s East Side.

Richard Scarsella, president of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society, requested the resolution at council’s Oct. 1 meeting.

The pond is in poor shape and the dock was removed in 2022 by Mill Creek MetroParks because of safety concerns.

The Mill Creek MetroPark’s board of commissioners on Monday voted to sell the preserve though no sale has gone through.

Council plans to vote Wednesday on a third one-year moratorium banning pyrolysis — the gasification or combustion of tires, chipped tires, plastics and electronic waste – in the city. Council approved the first moratorium Dec. 20, 2023, and the second one Nov. 20, 2024. Both were supported by unanimous votes.