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Council OKs use of off-duty officers to patrol around 20 Federal Place
YOUNGSTOWN
City council signed off on a plan to spend up to $50,000 a year for off- duty police officers to patrol in and around 20 Federal Place.
Council approved legislation Wednesday authorizing the board of control to hire Youngstown Cityscape, a downtown beautification organization, to provide off-duty officers for the work.
The board of control is expected to approve the contract today.
Mayor Charles Sammarone said Cityscape is a “pass-through” to allow the city to pay off- duty officers $23 an hour for the patrols in and around the city-owned business building at 20 W. Federal St.
It’s less expensive to use Cityscape than to pay officers overtime for the 20 Federal Place work, said Sammarone and city Law Director Anthony Farris.
Problems outside the downtown building include double parking, loitering, vagrancy, panhandling and people smoking, Farris said.
The city pays about $140,000 a year to St. Moritz Security to have two security guards at the building round-the-clock.
The city plans to reduce its contract with St. Moritz by 25 percent in a few weeks, said Sean McKinney, the city’s buildings and grounds commission.
If there is more success with off-duty officers, the St. Moritz contract can be cut further, McKinney said.
The only city money Cityscape will keep is about $1,500 annually, which it will use to cover the cost of paperwork for this program, Farris said.
Also Wednesday, council authorized the board of control to change the food-and-beverage vendor at the city-owned Covelli Centre.
Centerplate will be replaced by JAC Management, the company running the center’s day-to-day operations.
The switch is expected next month. City officials say the change will increase Youngstown’s revenue from the center by at least $50,000 annually.
Council also agreed Wednesday to have the board of control give $230,000 to the Youngstown Business Incubator primarily to pay for water and wastewater improvements as part of an expansion at 234 W. Boardman St., the former Furnitureland warehouse.
The expansion is part of a proposed $1.2 million improvement project by the incubator.