lharris@heraldstaronline.com
STEUBENVILLE – City Council nixed a property owner’s request Tuesday to rezone a parcel on Lincoln Avenue so he can start a storage business there.
Council voted 7-0 to accept the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation to deny Phamassociates’ owner Frank Vostatek’s request to reclassify a site at 1028 Lincoln Ave. from medium density residential (R-2) to general commercial and industrial (I-1).
Vostatek said he figured to build between 60 and 80 storage units, telling council he’d need a 35 percent occupancy rate to break even.
Prior to the vote, Vostatek had reminded council his wouldn’t be the only business in the neighborhood.
TUSCARAWAS COUNTY
n Child welfare officials were told that a 6-year-old was living in a home without running water in the 5600 block of state Route 258 in the Newcomerstown area. The home was reportedly in poor condition. The three occupants stayed elsewhere after a deputy checked the property early Wednesday.
n Auto theft was reported at midday Wednesday in the 11000 block of Steele Avenue NE in the Sandyville area.
NEW PHILADELPHIA
n A resident of the 300 block of Fourth Street NW called police at 5:14 a.m. Wednesday to say his 65-inch television was replaced with another set. He said his ex-girlfriend may have a key to his apartment. Police advised him to ask his landlord to change the locks.
STEUBENVILLE City Council ratified a new, three-year deal with AFSCME Local 2015, Tuesday.
The contract, which takes effect upon signature of the mayor, maintains wages at the status quo for Year 1, though the union can execute a reopener clause in July to see if the typical 2.2 percent wage hike is doable.
With the AFSCME contract settled, council can turn its attention to negotiations with police and firefighter unions.
The ordinance, brought to the floor as emergency legislation, passed unanimously.
Council also heard the first reading of an ordinance extending City Manager Jim Mavromatis’s contract for two years, through March 28, 2023. It, too, will hold the line on wages, at least for the first year.