STEUBENVILLE — It doesn’t look like overhead lights will add to the magic of Steubenville Nutcracker Village this year.

During Tuesday’s meeting, City Manager Jim Mavromatis showed the council the paperwork needed to get AEP to approve plans to put up Christmas lights on utility poles at the edge of Nutcracker Village.

Mavromatis said AEP is demanding the city make a “total attachment” agreement.

“We have to present our plans, exactly what will be attached, the weights – everything has to go to AEP, to their engineers, and then they will approve it or not.” he said after the meeting.

He said time is not on their side: The entire process could take up to six months, but Nutcracker Village 2024 starts in about a month.

“The problem is simply the hanging part, that is what worries AEP.” Mavromatis said.

The Council also heard budget requests from the heads of the water and wastewater departments, the latest to submit their proposals for 2025 spending plans; Both spoke about the projects that have been completed and those that lie ahead:

• Water Superintendent Jim Jenkins discussed the upcoming rehabilitation of the Belleview tank as well as Phase II of the filtration plant upgrade. Design work is expected to begin next year for both.

• Wastewater Superintendent Chuck Murphy noted his catchment work project, which involves construction of a new building equipped with automatic grates to remove things like rags and leaves, plus a new sand removal system to keep out things like sand, small stones, and eggshells. The new building and equipment will be required to handle much more flow during wet weather to significantly reduce the amount of wastewater and stormwater going into the river during wet weather. It is also still seeking approval for a sinkhole project on the former Weirton Steel property.

“Now that we have gone through all the budget workshops, the Finance Department will work with the city manager over the next few weeks to finalize the budget.” Chief Financial Officer Dave Lewis said. “We will meet with each department head to discuss any necessary changes we need to make to balance the budget. Once this process is completed, we will present a draft budget to the City Council.”

Mavromatis also said plans to rename Seventh Street “Martin Luther King Boulevard” are being perfected, adding that it is “We’ve probably had four meetings already.” with citizens helping to decide the logistics.

“We don’t have to change the addresses of the houses, that would have been a big headache for the residents,” said. “…We just have to decide how many signs (we want) and where to put them, but (whatever the group comes up with), we’ll take it to the council for a final decision.”

Tip also:

• A reminder that the planning committee will meet at 6:30 pm on November 19 to discuss the status of the North End Choice Neighborhood Grant project.

• Heard first readings of ordinances that would authorize Mavromatis to hire Arcadis to perform professional engineering design services for the rehabilitation of Belleview Tank and update the zoning code to comply with the 2024 edition of the International Property Maintenance Code .

• Heard Mayor Jerry Barilla’s plea for residents. “pray for a safe and fair election, and regardless of the outcome, that we accept the results and (that) violence is not part of the process.”

• Voted to meet behind closed doors to discuss personnel issues, “specifically related to issues related to job performance” from the director of M&R.