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Youngstown council will consider a law prohibiting people from blocking sidewalks, streets and public places
YOUNGSTOWN
City council will consider legislation Wednesday to prohibit people from blocking sidewalks, streets and public places.
It’s a far cry from the original proposal that would have made it illegal for people to loiter downtown and allow police officers to approach those standing to ask what they are doing.
Council removed the anti-loitering language from the proposal July 29 as well as expanded it from just downtown to the entire city.
Council members said they were uncomfortable with some of the ordinance’s language, which also originally made the first offense a fourth-degree misdemeanor and a second-degree misdemeanor for additional convictions.
The new proposal makes the first conviction a minor misdemeanor and subsequent offenses fourth- degree misdemeanors.
The proposal came after numerous downtown business owners complained to city officials about large groups of people blocking the entrances to their stores and restaurants, saying some are selling drugs, drinking alcoholic beverages in public and other criminal offenses.
Also, council will vote on four proposed charter amendment proposals that will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.
The first three would delete a $12 meeting penalty for council members; eliminate outdated references to disbursing public money by checks only; and remove a reference to appointing a member of the abolished park and recreation commission to serve on the planning commission.
None of them is currently enforced.
The fourth proposal would require the city to redistrict its seven wards after a U.S. Census shows at least a 10-percent difference between the least- and most-populous wards within 180 days of the document’s release. A charter review commission wanted redistricting after at least a 7-percent difference and for it to be done within 90 days.
Also on the agenda is for council to allow the board of control to see bids to demolish bleachers at six city parks: Nick Johnson Park, Oakland and Ipes fields, Tod Park, Gibson and Stambaugh fields. The estimated cost for the work is $300,000.
Council will consider having the board of control enter into an agreement for two feet of clean fill to cover the former Wean United Building off Hazel Street.
The city already has sought bids with Executive Landscaping having the least expensive proposal for $1,724,558. About $1.4 million of the fee is coming from a state grant.