Council steps up lawn care

The mayor wants to fill a Cabinet-level position vacant since 1997.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Complaints about high grass on vacant and abandoned properties is prompting city council to allocate another $70,000 for grass-cutting.
The 2006 city budget allocated $30,000 to cut grass on vacant and abandoned properties, but only $2,000 remains.
The city hired four companies to do the grass cutting. To date, grass has been cut once on 650 lots, said Carmen S. Conglose Jr., deputy director of the city's public works department.
There are about 8,000 vacant and abandoned properties in the city.
Mayor Jay Williams and some council members say they receive numerous calls from residents complaining that the city isn't cutting grass on enough lots.
"This demands attention," said Councilman Mark Memmer, D-7th and chairman of the legislative body's safety committee. "The program needs to be tweaked. Out of 8,000 lots, 650 isn't enough."
At the urging of the safety committee, Williams will ask at Wednesday's council meeting that $70,000 be transferred from the general fund to the grass-cutting program.
Not all of the 8,000 vacant and abandoned properties need grass cutting, but a majority do, Conglose said.
"What we're attempting to do is to concentrate on the most critical lots in heavily concentrated areas," Conglose said.
More work
Besides the $70,000, Williams plans to assign a temporary clerk to better administrate the grass cutting program and possibly have workers in the street and park departments cut grass.
The city also plans to hire more than the current four contractors for the program, Williams and Conglose said.
Memmer and Councilman Artis Gillam Sr., D-1st and chairman of the finance committee, said they are disappointed with the program because grass has been cut on a small percentage of the vacant and abandoned lots, and on those parcels, it's only been the one time.
Other business
Also Wednesday, Williams will ask council to make a salary change to the position of commissioner of buildings. The Cabinet-level position has been vacant since September 1997. Conglose was the city's last building commissioner. He was named the public works department's deputy director that month and has performed the duties of both positions as well as traffic engineer -- he was named to that position in December 1989 -- since then.
Williams' proposal to council reduces the annual salary of the job from $68,400 to $64,000 during the first year. After two years of service, the commissioner's salary would return to the $68,400 amount.
The person hired for the job would help manage the street department and handle the demolition program, Williams said.
Conglose supports the hiring of a commissioner so he can focus on engineering, securing grants, and advancing economic development and capital improvement projects.
Williams has a list of candidates for the job left from late last year when he accepted applications for Cabinet-level posts in his administration. A commissioner would be hired in the next couple of months, he said.
skolnick@vindy.com