EAST LIVERPOOL - Action was taken Monday night by City Council toward implementing a proposed $1 million improvement project for the downtown area.
Proposed is a restructuring of the Broadway/Fourth Street intersection with new sidewalks, new curbs, a narrower crosswalk area, lighting, landscaping and repairs to a portion of the brick sections of East Fourth Street.
Council voted unanimously, with Councilman Tom Cunningham absent, authorizing Mayor Jim Swoger to prepare and submit an application for a transportation enhancement grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation to pay for 80 percent of the construction cost, or $783,125.
The city's share of the project will be $30,000, with Kent State University paying $150,000, and private donors paying $111,995.
Service-Safety Director Ryan Estell emphasized that the city's share will not have to come from this year's budget.
Council also approved legislation to lease two new Ford Interceptor police cruisers at a total cost of $65,235 and a 2012 Ford F-150 Crew Cab truck for the fire department at a cost of $48,306.58.
The safety committee had met previously to discuss the lease agreements and recommended the legislation, which included ordinances to finance the vehicles.
Estell said paperwork will be signed and the vehicles ordered today through Grand Ford, a local dealership.
Also approved was an ordinance adjusting appropriations to allow for purchase of software in the income tax department.
During miscellaneous comments, Councilman Ray Perorazio said he has spoken with the law director about "playing hardball" with landlords and other property owners whose properties are in disarray, saying, "We need to make them do what they're supposed to do."
