From left, Marietta City Councilmembers Bill Gossett, Bret Allphin and Mike Scales have a conversation prior to the start of Thursday night’s council meeting. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

Marietta City Council convened on Thursday at the Armory to address various city concerns, including infrastructure updates and tourism growth.

Director of Public Safety and Service Steve Wetz gave an update on the deployment of five new street sweepers. The sweepers were put to immediate use after an excavator accident on Ohio 7, which required vacuuming concrete debris from the roadway.

The city aims to complete an initial cleaning pass before implementing a revised street maintenance schedule, which will be posted online for public awareness. Challenges such as weather, labor shortages, and equipment failures were acknowledged as potential hurdles.

An ongoing sinkhole issue at Fourth and Marion streets was also discussed. Work has temporarily halted while waiting for materials, but construction is expected to resume next week. Fourth Street remains closed at Marion Street, and residents needing hospital access are directed to use the Third Street entrance. Council emphasized the emergency nature of the issue, given the risk to a critical 12-inch water line. Efforts are underway to secure additional state funding to mitigate budgetary strain.

Council passed Ordinance 180 which allowed the city to enter a contract without formal bids with Jimmie Harper Construction for the Marion Street Sink Hole and Collapsed Storm Sewer Culvert Emergency Repair Project. The ordinance states that the costs are not to exceed $680,000.

“We’re going to have to make adjustments to the accounts to cover the initial cost of this,” Councilman Mike Scales said.

Councilman Ben Rutherford agreed, stating, “Prior to this meeting, we were still about $50,000 short, and we’re trying to figure out where we pull those funds from.”

The council also noted that until the project is finalized, it is likely that Fourth Street will remain closed at Marion Street for the time being.

Discussion on Ordinance 178, authorizing an agreement with Rescue Ready Management LLC for the operation of the Marietta Family Aquatic Center, was contentious. Councilman Harley Noland moved to suspend the second and third readings with intent to pass it Thursday evening.

“Potential operator, Stephanie (Green), has been getting calls about filling lifeguard positions,” he said. “We don’t want to lose those people to other communities, and we’d like to get people open on time.”

However, some council members raised concerns about rushing the approval, citing that changes to the ordinance were presented to the council earlier that day and some members could not read all the changes and discuss them before the meeting.

“This is just not ready to be voted on. We haven’t had time to review or fully discuss this contract,” said Councilman Jon Grimm. “We need to make sure we’re doing our due diligence before committing to a long-term contract like this.”

The motion to suspend the second and third readings failed and a compromise was made among council by suspending the second reading.

Deana Clark, executive director of the Marietta-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, presented the 2024 tourism report.

Key highlights included:

* A 5% increase in social media engagement, exceeding 51,000 followers.

* Distribution of 54,000 visitor guides.

* Acquisition of the historic trolley tour, set to relaunch in May.

* Expansion of marketing efforts through digital media, trade shows and events.

* Major event success, including The Great Race and the LST-325 ship visit, which attracted 8,000 and 12,000 visitors, respectively.

Looking ahead to 2025, the CVB aims to enhance marketing reach, support local businesses, and prepare for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations in 2026.

The next Marietta City Council meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at the Armory.

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com