YOUNGSTOWN — City council agreed to move forward with the demolition of the former South High Fieldhouse and enter into agreements to take down the West Avenue Bridge and improve downtown streets.

Council voted Wednesday to permit the board of control to enter into a contract for asbestos abatement and then the demolition of the once-iconic fieldhouse at 1840 Erie St.

The expense of the abatement and demolition, funded through a state grant, won’t exceed $270,000 under the legislation. City council appropriated $301,000 in December for that work as well as $38,817 in city funds for planning, inspection and construction services as Youngstown’s share of the fieldhouse project to obtain the grant.

The work should start in March or April and be done in May or June, said Charles Shasho, the city’s deputy director of public works.

The city then will declare the property as surplus and sell it at its Mahoning County auditor appraised value to the Valley Legends Stadium Consortium, which is part of Valley Christian Schools, said city Finance Director Kyle Miasek.

The appraised value is $64,460, according to the auditor’s website.

The group has proposed to spend $9 million to construct a 3,000-seat stadium with a turf football field and track in two phases. Valley Christian is working to raise the money for the project.

Valley Christian expects to break ground in the summer and have the facility ready by spring 2026.

The fieldhouse opened in 1940 and was used by Youngstown State University, then Youngstown College, and South High School, which closed in 1993, for basketball games and numerous other events. The fieldhouse also hosted other activities and shows, but it hasn’t been used in about 15 years, falling into disrepair.

WEST AVENUE BRIDGE

Meanwhile, council agreed Wednesday to permit the board of control to enter into a contract for up to $50,000 with a consultant to provide preliminary engineering services and environmental work for the demolition of the West Avenue Bridge, located near the city’s water department office on the West Side.

Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, asked why the bridge has to come down now as it’s been abandoned for about 30 years.

Shasho said: “It is a hazard.”

Davis asked what is hazardous, with Shasho responding: “It’s going to collapse. At some point, it will collapse under its own weight.”

The city received a $606,375 state grant in June 2023 to demolish the bridge, which is nearly 100 years old and goes across the Mahoning River.

Shasho said he didn’t expect the bridge demolition to cost as much as the grant amount.

The city will probably spend about $100,000 on environmental work to prepare the bridge for demolition, Shasho said.

The state historical society asked the city to look into possibly saving the bridge and turn it into a pedestrian and / or bicycle bridge, Shasho said. The city determined it would need so much repair work that it would lose its historic value, Shasho said. That caused some delays with the project.

The city has until June 2026 to award a contract for the bridge’s demolition, Shasho said. The project will be awarded before that, he said, but the actual demolition will likely take place in fall 2026. The bridge demolition work will take about 30 days, Shasho said.

DOWNTOWN STREETS

Council also voted Wednesday to authorize the board of control to advertise for proposals and enter into professional services agreements for construction administration, planning, inspection and materials management for improvement work to be done to Boardman Street between Walnut and Market streets and to Walnut Street between Commerce and Wood streets.

The agreements will be for up to $270,000.

The entire project will cost about $2.8 million with at least half paid by state and federal grants, Shasho said.

The project should start in the summer and be done by the fall, he said.

The work includes repaving, reducing vehicle lanes, adding diagonal on-street parking on Walnut Street, new crosswalks and curb ramps, improved lighting, landscaping and new traffic control signals.

The project also features a pedestrian walkway, or step street, on Walnut Street to better connect downtown to Youngstown State University.

It will be the second set of concrete steps with a few landings and landscaping tying Commerce to Wood streets, with a project on the west side of downtown near Phelps Street about 13 years ago to replace an aging walkway.

The site of the proposed pedestrian walkway is a steep asphalt hill near the Choffin Career and Technical Center at the top and a parking lot for the downtown YMCA at the bottom.

CONTRACTS POSTPONED

Council on Wednesday postponed a vote approving contract renewals with its planning consultant and its human relations consultant.

The contracts were discussed at length at a Feb. 11 council community planning and economic development committee meeting.

But Davis asked that both be referred back to the committee for further discussion.

Under the proposals, Samantha Yannucci, who moved from Youngstown to the Philadelphia area in September, would receive up to $75,000 this year to continue as the city’s planning consultant, and Brian Clinksdale would remain the human relations director, paid $52,000 annually.

Miasek said the board of control would have to pay Clinksdale for services during the first two months of the year until council agreed to the contract.

Yannucci doesn’t need to be paid until March, Miasek said.