YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s board of control approved paying $271,694.19 to five contractors that assisted with snow removal during a late January blizzard and increased funding amounts for those applying for assistance through three housing programs.

The board of control approved the items 3-0 Thursday. The board consists of Mayor Derrick McDowell, Finance Director Kyle Miasek and Law Director Adam Buente.

At its March 18 meeting, city council gave the board authority to spend up to $272,000 to pay contractors who helped with the snow removal from Jan. 25 to 27.

A.P. O’Horo Co. of Liberty was paid $94,865 while Marucci & Gaffney Excavating Co. of Youngstown received $64,610, and S.E.T. Inc. of Lowellville got $55,860.

The three companies assisted the city with snow removal on side streets during the snowstorm, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of public works.

Two other companies assisted the city with downtown snow removal. J.S. Bova Excavating of Struthers got $48,404 for that work while Utility Contracting of Youngstown received $7,953. In addition to the street department and the contractors, the city’s parks and recreation, and wastewater departments helped with snow removal, Shasho said.

HOUSING PROGRAMS

The board also approved changes to three housing programs, funded through the city’s American Rescue Plan allocation, that raises the maximum amounts available for applicants and adds more allowable expenses.

The changes are to the $5 million At Home in Youngstown, the $3 million Residential Facade Program and the $2 million Landlord Residential Facade Program.

The At Home in Youngstown program, administered by Huntington Bank, includes a maximum of $10,000 for down payments and closing costs, and an additional $15,000 limit for energy-efficient upgrades to windows, furnaces and hot water tanks after a house is purchased.

The changes increase the energy-efficient grants from $15,000 to $25,000, update eligibility to allow applicants who have owned a home within the past 12 months to apply, include city-approved mortgage companies and brokers as eligible lenders, and add roof replacement and/or repair as an allowable expense.

The Residential Facade Program initially provided 1% interest loans of up to $10,000 for five years or a dollar-for-dollar match up to $10,000 to qualifying homeowners in the city to improve and update the exterior of their homes and address any cited or potential code violations.

The approved changes raise the maximum amount to $20,000, permit participating residents to use the program’s loan option to finance required matching funds and include roof replacement as an allowable expense.

The Landlord Revolving Loan Fund initially allowed property owners to borrow up to $50,000 per single-family property and up to $100,000 for multi-unit houses at 2% interest for up to five years. The money allows landlords to make renovations, repairs and/or address housing code violations. The program requires landlords to maintain the property for five years and not increase rent to current tenants during the same time frame. A sale would require landlords to repay loans immediately.

The changes increase funding per applicant to $250,000, add a matching fund component to require a dollar-for-dollar match, and expand property coverage to allow the program to address more rental properties.

BUILDING GRANT

The board also approved a $500,000 grant to the owner of the Mahoning National Bank Building, which is undergoing an $18.5 million improvement project. City council authorized the grant Feb. 4.

The agreement calls for $250,000 of the grant to be paid right away with $200,000 paid when 60% of the work is done and the remaining $50,000 when the project is finished. The deadline to finish the project is Dec. 31. 2027.

22 Market Street Ohio LLC of Monroe, N.Y., purchased the 13-story building for $2.3 million in December 2022.

The plan is for 71 apartments on the fifth to 13th floors with commercial space on the second to fourth floors and retail space on the ground floor. A scaled-down Huntington Bank branch is already on the first floor.