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Council questions $26 million neighborhood-redevelopment plan, pushes for broader property acquisition
Summary
Steubenville council members debated whether to back a revised $26 million Choice Neighborhoods grant application that concentrates new housing in one area, with some members urging the city to secure property-owner agreements to spread redevelopment more widely before the March 9 deadline.
Steubenville City Council members spent the largest portion of their Feb. 10 meeting debating a revised redevelopment plan tied to a reported $26 million Choice Neighborhoods grant application.
Council member Royal Mayo said the current proposal from the Jefferson Metropolitan Housing Authority (JMHA) narrows work to a single area — remodeling the JFK building and replacing the north-end Elmer White apartments — rather than spreading investment across vacant lots that, he said, would better transform the north end. "If we do it, the basic plan for Housing Redevelopment will be confined to where it already is," Mayo said, adding that the plan would increase density in places he called already congested.
City Manager Jim Mavromatis told council the application team faces a tight timeline and that some elements in the revised plan are essentially ready to submit. "We have to submit a new one by March 9," Mayo said; Mavromatis noted the city's options include submitting the tighter plan or postponing and reapplying with a stronger proposal. Council member Heather Hoover urged more resident input from affected neighborhoods and said longtime occupants deserve better housing while still supporting wider neighborhood investment.
Legal and practical hurdles drew detailed questions. Law Director Costa Mastros said purchase agreements must be in writing and noted the city routinely relies on formal appraisals and negotiated payments for property acquisition. Mayo proposed a time-limited outreach push: have the city send contingent purchase agreements to multiple owners so, if the grant is awarded, the lots would be in play. "If we contact them tomorrow and Costa says, hey, listen, I'll get this document drawn up," Mayo said, "we'll get back with you by Monday on how many possibilities we have."
Council members were split between pursuing the current plan — which Mavromatis characterized as the strongest near-term submission given the deadline — and holding out to assemble wider buy-in and land commitments to improve the application's scoring and impact. Several members asked staff to request JMHA return to Council to discuss whether the plan could still be amended in time.
