YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s board of control agreed to the sixth change order for a major downtown improvement project to sections of Boardman and Walnut streets.

The board voted 2-0 Thursday to the change order that increases the project by $49,646 to a total of $2,932,043 for Parella-Pannunzio Inc., the Youngstown contractor doing the work.

Finance Director Kyle Miasek and Law Director Adam Buente voted in favor of the change order. Mayor Derrick McDowell was absent.

The contractor will put down a second and final layer of asphalt in the spring and there is the possibility that there could be another change order, said Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works.

“It’s not uncommon that this happens,” Shasho said of the change orders.

Panella-Pannunzio submitted the low bid of $2,756,473 in April for the project. At the time, the city’s estimate for the project was $2,929,431. With the change order approved Thursday, the cost has exceeded the initial estimate.

City council had initially approved spending up to $2.8 million for the project.

But the board of control on Sept. 11 approved an increase to $2,861,833 for a water tie-in and trenching for lighting. Council voted Dec. 1 to increase the maximum spending for this project to $2.95 million.

If there are additional change orders that go over $2.95 million, council would need to again vote to increase the maximum amount for the project.

The city received $2.1 million in state and federal funds for the project and is paying for anything over that amount.

The work is to Boardman Street between Walnut and Market streets, and Walnut Street between Commerce and Wood streets.

The work includes repaving, reducing vehicular lanes, adding diagonal on-street parking on Walnut Street, new crosswalks and curb ramps, improved lighting, landscaping and new traffic controls.

The project also features a pedestrian walkway, or step street, on Walnut Street to better connect downtown to Youngstown State University.

Much of the work is done though the final layer of asphalt, pavement markings and signage need to be done this spring, Shasho said.

Also Thursday, the board approved 13 contracts for emergency sewer repairs with A.P. O’Horo Co. of Liberty getting $113,336 for six projects and Utility Contracting Inc. of Youngstown paid $83,204 for seven projects.

Shasho said the projects date back as far as last summer and the city pays the bills when invoices are received. The two companies sent the invoices for all of the work they did over a period of months at the same time, he said.

The board also approved a $3,753 severance payment to Melanie Clarke-Penella, the former downtown events and special projects director. She was terminated by McDowell, who hired David Labra to replace her.

The severance payments are mostly for unused sick time, paid at 35% of their hourly rate, and for unused vacation time.

The board on Feb. 2 approved severance payments to four former department heads who were not retained when McDowell replaced Jamael Tito Brown as mayor.

The board Thursday approved a federal grant application for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. that, if accepted, would permit the agency to clean up a number of former gas station properties along the Glenwood Avenue corridor.

The former gas station locations may have underground storage tanks and contaminated soil.