New Castle council approves housing conditional use, freezes refuse rates and authorizes several bids

New Castle's City Council on Feb. 10 approved a string of land-use and contract actions, received bids for an ADA restroom project at City Hall and authorized the city to solicit work on masonry and paving.

In the meeting called to order at 4 p.m., the council adopted the final agenda and then moved through a series of motions that were approved by the members recorded as voting.

The most consequential land-use vote was approval of Resolution 2026-005, a conditional-use request by Daniel Lap of Lap Investments LLC to build a 71-unit apartment building plus a four-unit house at 316–318 Roads Place in an R-2 medium-density residential district. The council approved the conditional-use permit; the transcript records the applicant's request and the council's affirmative vote.

The council also approved Resolution 2026-006 to allow Adage Ballet Academy to operate Lucy Events and Performing Arts, including an on-site academy at a property on Lucymont Drive in an R-1 district.

On municipal services, the council approved a resolution to extend the current residential municipal solid-waste, recycling and leaf-collection contract with Aken Refuse on the same terms with prices held at current levels. One extension (Resolution 2026-007) in the record holds prices through March 31, 2029; a related authorization (Resolution 2026-008) referenced a renewal arrangement through March 31, 2027. The meeting transcript contains variant phrasing for the two items; both motions were approved by the council as recorded.

Staff presented procurement items and bids for City Hall work. The city clerk read two parts of the ADA restroom contract: a single general-construction bid from Lee Michael Industries for $120,600 (basement/general construction) with a wall-repair rate reported as $78 per square foot, and a plumbing bid from Central Heating and Plumbing for $29,700. The clerk stated a 10% bid bond applies; the specific bond amounts in the transcript are truncated and not fully legible, so the recorded dollar amounts for the bond are not specified here. The council voted to receive the bids and refer them to the administration for study and a report back to council.

The council also authorized solicitations to go out for City Hall masonry work and for "super pave" hot-mix paving, approving motions to seek bids for those public-works projects.

Land-use ordinance changes were adopted as well. Council Bill 2025-20, which amends zoning ordinance 6682 and the official map (portion of section 49 in the eighth ward) to establish certain C-2 central business and M-2 heavy-industrial designations, was removed from the table and adopted. Council Bill 2025-21, which amends ordinance 6682 and the zoning map (sections 19 and 26) to set portions to R-2 medium-density and C-1 general business districts, was likewise removed from the table and adopted. The council also adopted Council Bill 2026-01 to create a handicap-only parking space in front of a residence on Boils Avenue.

The council made and approved a motion to enter an executive session to discuss pending litigation and adjourned the public meeting for that purpose.

Votes at a glance - Adopt final agenda: approved (affirmative votes recorded by council members present). - Authorize bid: City Hall masonry (motion approved). - Authorize bid: super pave (hot mix) (motion approved). - Receive bids and refer: ADA restrooms (CDBG funds, contract referenced as 2026-01): motion approved; bids recorded from Lee Michael Industries ($120,600) and Central Heating and Plumbing ($29,700); bid-bond amounts in the transcript are not clearly legible. - Resolution 2026-005 (conditional use, 316–318 Roads Place / Lap Investments LLC): approved. - Resolution 2026-006 (Adage Ballet Academy / Lucy Events and Performing Arts): approved. - Resolution 2026-007 (extend Aken Refuse contract, hold prices through March 31, 2029): approved. - Resolution 2026-008 (related authorization to extend/renew Aken Refuse arrangement through March 31, 2027): approved. - Council Bill 2025-20 (zoning map amendments — sections noted): removed from table and adopted. - Council Bill 2025-21 (zoning map amendments — sections noted): removed from table and adopted. - Council Bill 2026-01 (handicap parking space on Boils Avenue): adopted.

What happens next The administration will study the ADA restroom bids and return a report to council; contract awards or further agenda actions were not recorded in the public portion of the meeting. The council moved into an executive session on pending litigation; no public actions were recorded following that session in the transcript.

Reporting note: the meeting transcript contains variant spellings and truncated figures in several places (for example, the bid-bond dollar amounts are not fully legible and the refuse contractor name appears with small variations). This article reports names and dollar figures as they appear in the record and flags unclear or truncated items as not specified.