It’s been over 80 years since Portsmouth children have heard the jingle of ice cream trucks, but the city manager’s office has asked the council to amend the city’s code to repeal an ordinance from 1940 that banned the operation of ice cream trucks within the city limits.
Controversial Animal Ordinance
At Monday’s City Council Meeting, new Mayor Sean Dunne, newly elected council members Joey Sandlin and Andy Cole along with current council members Lyvette Mosley, Charlotte Gordon, and Dennis Packard will also tackle a controversial ordinance prohibiting the feeding of stray animals and wild pigeons. Many had feared it would punish those who left out a bowl for neighborhood strays, but code enforcement assured citizens that this legislation was only aimed at those whose activities posed a public nuisance.
Also on the agenda is a plan to spend $158,000 from the Water Works Rev C Fund to acquire 2 acres of property behind the Water Treatment Plant.
$350,000 Street Repair Levy
Council will also revisit levy legislation that was tabled last year after some heated discussion.
At a public hearing last fall, Portsmouth City Engineer, Nathan Prosch, said only two miles of the city’s 98 miles of streets were resurfaced in 2021. He said progress at this rate is too slow. “If you look at the math, to do the whole 80 miles of asphalt, it would take 37 years. Which is pitiful.”
Prosch’s solution was a tax levy for road repair with funds dedicated only to street resurfacing.
At the time, he suggested a 1.5 mill levy to generate $350,000 specifically for road resurfacing. Prosch explained how he came up with numbers for the proposed levy. “I reached out to the Scioto County Auditor and spoke with the Deputy Auditor and asked about how much a 1 mill levy would generate. It would generate approximately $236, 000.” Prosch said that would be in addition to the $400,000 already allotted with the city’s capital improvement budget.
