Design committee OK's city funeral home's proposal

YOUNGSTOWN — Illegal activity – including drug sales and use, prostitution and public drunkenness – in the parking lot and near his business had the owner of the Sterling-McCullough Williams Funeral Home pondering a move away from its Belmont Avenue location.

“It’s a nightmare,” Sterling Williams said. “We have to fix it, save it or move. We don’t want to leave the city.”

The funeral home, located at 632 Belmont Ave. since 1980 and in business since 1952, will install a decorative iron fence with pillars, add lighting and do some landscaping to at least keep the crime off the business’ property, Williams said.

The city’s Design Review Committee approved the funeral home’s exterior improvement proposal today.

The cost is about $53,000 with the city possibly providing up to 40 percent for the improvement work.

“We want our area of the city to look beautiful, and right now, it looks like a war zone,” Williams said. “Our business is losing customers.”

Tyler Williams, his son, said, “We have riffraff around the area. People don’t want to do business with us because of the illegal activity. Without the changes, the business will diminish, and we don’t want that to happen."

For the complete story, read Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com