Traffic light in downtown Steubenville gets Council attention | News, sports, jobs

STEUBENVILLE – With the Market Street Bridge closed to traffic, the red light at Third and Market streets has irritated motorists more than controlled traffic, but that could change.

Councilor Tracy McManamon said Tuesday that he has been “receive many complaints” over the light, which forces traffic to stop so that non-existent bridge traffic can pass through the intersection.

And since the state of West Virginia has no plans to reopen the bridge — and a replacement is still years away — McManamon said that won’t change.

“People ask: ‘Is that light necessary?’” he said.

City Manager Jim Mavromatis said he would talk to engineer Mike Dolak about the options, suggesting a three-way stop — or a four-way stop — could be possible.

Dolak was not present for the short conversation and was non-binding afterward. Before he can make a recommendation, he said he would “Conditions at the intersection need to be reviewed.”

“I can’t comment without looking at it carefully,” he said.

Mavromatis, meanwhile, told the council that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has given the city six additional months to find a new operator of a Class 4 water facility. The position was vacated by the retirement of the former Class 4 operator.

There is a shortage of Class 4 operators, especially in Ohio. Mavromatis previously told the council that the city has three Class 3 operators, two of whom are not interested in the higher certification. The third, water inspector Jim Jenkins, has just six months as a Class 3 – far less than the required three years.

“We have been working on certification for the water department,” Mavromatis said. “OEPA gave us a six-month extension. It seems like a workable solution. At this point we are still looking, but it is extremely difficult to find a Class 4 operator; it is very difficult and very expensive. We are working with OEPA on a solution, but at the moment we have some breathing room.”

Wastewater Supervisor Chuck Murphy, meanwhile, spent 30 minutes answering questions at a utility committee meeting about an engineering study he was asked to address a sinkhole at the old Weirton Steel site. The third reading of legislation that would authorize city officials to order the investigation was filed three weeks ago.

The Council was concerned, among other things, that Murphy had not issued Requests for Qualifications from companies interested in winning the contract, but pointed out that under the Ohio Revised Code they should have reviewed all submitted proposals to choose their top candidates . , interview them and score them.

The idea, he said, is to force governments to choose the most qualified, not the cheapest, contractor.

“You can’t do it based on price, that’s against the ORC,” Murphy said.

But even more important, he said, is that HDR Engineering, the company he would like to see tackle the sinkhole technique, prepared a report eight years ago “That is part of the long-term control plan.”

“If you change horses halfway through, you have to do it all over again because no company is going to want to use their horses,” he said.

The council appears willing to consider bringing the legislation up for a vote again, although McManamon said he wants to keep it on the back burner for another two weeks so Legal Director Costa Mastros can update the wording of the proposed ordinance.

“He clarified a number of things, but we really had to look deeply into this,” McManamon said afterwards. “Tough questions had to be asked, as this is the public’s money and ultimately we must be good stewards of our limited resources. (The question now is): Is this really something we need to address now? Because of our very outdated infrastructure, we have to look forward and not back. I don’t think any of us want to put this aside, but we have to proceed with caution. (And) the regulation needs to be updated to reflect the new fee structure.

Councilwoman Heather Hoover also weighed in, saying the additional information Murphy had provided in recent weeks “and (with) his assurance to the board that the final timeline and project cost is now what he initially envisioned, I now feel comfortable moving forward with this project.”

Dolak also gave his hour-long budget presentation, which included updates on several projects currently underway – including the widening of Lovers Lane, which he expects to complete around Halloween. “give or take two or three days.”

‘We are approaching the last asphalt stretch’ he said.

He said the Beatty Park Bridge project could also be done around Thanksgiving. “It’s going well so far” he added.

Dolak said he expects to add Oregon from Brady Boulevard to Oxford to the 2025 asphalt resurfacing project.

Sunset Boulevard will also be re-constructed from Welday to Efts Lane next year, but that is work ‘100 percent federally funded’ he said.

The retired Urban Projects Director recommends that he be replaced by a city planner who has experience working with businesses and developers to bring growth and opportunity to the city. He also recommended staffing adjustments in the building department so that the city would have a full-time plumbing inspector, and asked for at least $100,000 in the new budget to fund the demolition of dilapidated properties.

Mayor Jerry Barilla also announced that the hours for trick-or-treating in Steubenville will be Thursday, October 31 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.