EAST LIVERPOOL – East Liverpool Mayor Bobby Smith and Safety Services Director Bill Jones sang the praises of the city’s street, water, fire and police departments workers for their work in clearing the roads, taking care of residents and fixing broken water lines during winter storm Fern.

Smith said the cityhad a long week with the snow, and he wanted to thank everybody with the water department who handled three water breaks in one day during the storm. He noted that the police were out handling calls just the same during the storm. Also, he encouraged residents to shovel their sidewalks to help the mailman, officers and any of the service providers having to trudge through the snow.

Through a private donation the city has obtained the $185,000 matching funds needed to receive the $1.7 million in grant money.

He noted that the recreational marijuana money is starting to come in from the state, and that is a welcome increase. He noted he wants the money to go where people can see it –such as toward the street department and not to pay a bill.

Per the mayor’s request, council member approved Smith’s appointment of Josh Coil to replace Mario Hernandez on the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Board of Commercial Building Appeals. Smith is confident that Coil will prove to be an asset to these boards.

Council members also approved the mayor’s reappointment of Reece Kelly, Tim Brookes and Tom Clark to the Board of Commercial Building Appeals and the reappointment of Floyd Fox, Brian Vaughn and Dan Williams to the Board of Zoning Appeals

Jones thanked all city employees for their work last week, saying they went above and beyond under extraordinary circumstances to do their jobs.

Jones said the city has hired a zoning inspector and that with the retirement of Bill Cowan. Jones has been tasked to do Cowan’s job along with his other jobs, so a zoning inspector was hired to help.

Smith told the council members that Cowan has submitted a proposal to work with the city on an as-needed basis with an hourly consultant fee. That proposal is currently with the city’s law director Charles Payne for review.

The new zoning inspector, Donald Hyatt is a retired police chief from St. Clair Township. So in addition to having his state certifications in residential and commercial inspections, he has a law background.

“He will do a good job for us,” Jones said. “He has already hit the ground running taking care of some things, so we expect some good things from him in the future.”

The zoning inspector/officer will be responsible for administering and enforcing the city’s zoning code to ensure orderly development, protect property values and promote safe, responsible land use throughout the community,” according to the job description provided by Jones.

The job description says that the zoning inspector/officer will service as a key point of contact between residents, business owners, developers and city leadership along with reviewing permit applications, property inspections for compliance, complaint investigations and provide guidance on zoning regulations to move projects forward more efficiently and legally.

The zoning inspector will work closely with the planning commission, building department and city council in order to interpret zoning ordinances, update recommendations and supporting long-term community planning.

“By balancing economic growth with neighborhood preservation, the zoning inspector/officer helps maintain the character, safety, and livability of East Liverpool while encouraging thoughtful development that benefits the entire city,” according to the updated zoning inspector/officer job description

Jones updated Council on the state Route 39 project, telling members that he received a feasibility study on Friday which he has not had a chance to get through all of it, but plans to finish reviewing it. He will get an update soon from Ohio Department of Transportation which will be overseeing the project and the engineering firm behind the project. After that he will contact Council Member Tom Beagle, Chair of the Planning/Expansion Committee, to get a committee meeting scheduled.

The city received a $1.9 million grant which will go toward the engineering and design of state Route 39.

There is no start date set, but that is getting closer, Jones said. There will be a public hearing scheduled with information and design presented by Korda, the engineering firm on the project, to get public input on the project.

Fire Chief Cumo thanked everyone at the fire station for their work last Sunday during the storm with keeping up with medial calls in the ambulance and using the department’s side-by-side to plow out streets to get to where they had to go for calls or going with the side-by-side and using that to bring patients to the ambulance to transport them on top of keeping the station plowed and everything clean around it.

“A big shout out to them,” Cumo said. “They did awesome.”

Cumo expressed thanks to the Mangano Foundation, The American Legion Post 374 and East Liverpool City Hospital for generous donations which went toward getting equipment needed to help get the new ambulance ready to go into service.

The fire department was able to use the donated funds to get a cot mount put in the ambulance and get a new cot ordered for it which is expected to arrive in about a week or two.

“A big thanks for those donations,” Cumo said. “Without those, we would still be scrambling for equipment.” He indicated there is more equipment they need to get and then the ambulance will be ready to go out on the road.

There were no reports from the Streets/Lands and Buildings, Licensing/Economic Development, Refuse and Recycling/Public Utilities/Franchise; Planning/Expansion and Recreation/Ordinance committees.

Council Member and Safety/Rules Committee Chair Debra Danvers reported her committee met on Jan. 12. Cumo and the committee discussed matters pertaining to the fire department and EMS operations. The discussion centered around the department’s staffing levels and personnel accomplishments including the awarded SAFER Grant; the department’s five-year strategic plan; ageing fleet and equipment concerns; along with a review of prior activities including the proposal for a new fire station, opportunities related to EMS services such as revenue, the support of critical functions and the support of a growing community need and opportunities for new community outreach and calling 9-1-1 initiative.

Danvers said there was no formal action taken by the committee, and the committee has no formal recommendations to council at the present time.

The committee will engage in continued reviews of matters related to the fire department and EMS operations.

Council members voted to suspend second and third readings of legislation and voted all in favor on the passing of ordinances authorizing the auditor to pay certain vendors and the appropriation of the carry-over encumbrances for the year 2025 in the amount of $7,011,436.59 and add that amount to the current year’s appropriation ordinance.

The Safety/Rules Committee will meet on Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. The Licensing/Economic Development Committee will meet on Feb. 18 at 6 p.m., followed by a meeting of the Refuse and Recycling/Public Utilities/Franchise Committee at 6:30 p.m. The Streets/Land and Buildings Committee will meet on Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m., and the Finance/Labor Committee will meet Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. All meetings will take place in council chambers.

The East Liverpool City Council meets the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m., in council chambers at East Liverpool City Hall, 126 W. 6th St., East Liverpool. The next regular meeting is March 2.

kgarabrandt@mojonews.com