COUNCIL MEETING City officials announce plans for construction

Some 500 new homes are to be built the next two years, the mayor says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
HUBBARD -- New business and home construction is about to proceed in the city, Mayor Arthur Magee told city council Monday.
Construction is likely to begin in 10 to 14 days for a new Family Video store at West Liberty and Stewart streets, he said. Walgreen's still has some paperwork and legal issues to resolve before it begins building its planned new drugstore at South Main and East Liberty streets. The Waffle House chain is exploring two potential sites in the city, he added.
Without specifying the developer's name or construction site, the mayor also said a developer, who is familiar with Hubbard, is about to buy land in the city for construction of 30 new houses to be priced in the $200,000 range.
"We're fast approaching 500 homes on the books to be built in our community in the next couple of years," Magee said, calling this "an extremely healthy sign."
Magee said city department heads have been meeting weekly to coordinate plans for utility installations and other items associated with new developments.
Service Director Albert J. Patrick announced that leaf pickup has begun and will continue until the first week in December. He added that, as of Monday evening, Diorio Paving of Hubbard had one day of work remaining to be performed on the city's $82,000 paving project that involves 12 streets this year.
Roof repair
Patrick said VEC Systems Inc. of Girard will soon begin the seven-to-10-day, $129,557 project to replace the leaky roof on the city administration building before winter. VEC awaits delivery of roofing materials that have been delayed because of the heavy demand for rebuilding in Florida after hurricanes, he said.
Paul Frank of Jean Drive advised council that the city's ordinance prohibiting the discharge of weapons within the city limits doesn't ban the discharge of compound bow-and-arrow sets, such as the one his neighbor shoots in a backyard near him.
"He's not in violation of the city ordinance as it currently stands until he misses his target and he shoots an arrow into my yard," Frank said. The arrows achieve a speed of more than 320 feet per second, he said. "At that rate, he would have three-tenths of a second to warn us that there's an arrow coming into our yard," he observed.
Law Director Gary Gilmartin said he would work with Councilman Edward Palestro, D-4th, concerning drafting legislation that would address the matter.
milliken@vindy.com