ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A mainstay business will be expanding next year. The city council approved a recommendation by the city planning commission of a request by Tracey and Jeff Wodarcyk, owners of Changes Family Hair Salon, for a zoning amendment for 243 West Main St. to be zoned into the downtown district for the purpose of expanding their business.

A full council of Mike Smith, Frank Sabatino, Mark Bukmir, Jim Velas, Beth Oprisch, Perry Basile, and Linda Jordan approved accepting the recommendation from the zoning board. Planning and Zoning Director Tom Murphy said, adding that the council will have an ordinance drawn up to vote on by the next council meeting. The Wodarcyks will then provide a final site plan to be reviewed by the planning commission.

“This particular rezoning was just for one parcel…just shy of half an acre. It’s already an area that’s developed,” he said. “Everything is stipulated in the city code. It’ll be a nice addition to the community.

It’s taking an older home and renovating it. That’s what we love to see. Definitely as step forward.”

Tracey Wodarcyk said they have maintained the business at 110 East Main St. for the past six years, and have seen success.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth. We’ve outgrown our current location downtown, so we were looking for another property so we could expand,” she said, adding that they hope to begin work as soon as the planning and approval process is complete.

“I would love to open by next Christmas,” she said.

“We have about three more months to go through zoning, then about six months, and that will give us six months for the remodeling.”

The Wodarcyks said they will also prioritize maintaining the feel of the site as they expand.

“As soon as we get approval. We’re ready to remodel,” Tracey Wodarcyk said. “The house that we bought is a 1920s Dutch colonial, so we’re going to keep that style. The house has all its original tile and woodwork. We wanted to keep it to it’s historic look.”

She added that the new site will have parking space for 11 cars.

“Parking is an issue, especially downtown. It’s very tight parking,” she said.

“What we’re proposing to do is create parking adjacent to the building, that would be partially on their property and also on the city’s property,” Jeremy Greenwood, architect with GreenCore, said, adding that added parking may be installed.

In other matters, McKenzie Koehler, apprentice lineman, was recognized by AMP Ohio for safe practices during 2018.

“(It was for having) no accidents, wearing the proper safety gear when performing duties,” Mayor Terry Pugh said.

Koehler has been employed for about a year and a half. He credited Don Smithberger, St. Clairsville Director of Services.

“The main reason I’m getting this award is because I’ve had good leadership and good guidance in our sector,” he said, adding that the city employees have been busy. “A lot of maintenance, especially in the winter…There’s always trees down or somebody without power.”

More recently, the crews are still working to repair blackouts caused when a truck struck a power pole on US 40 several weeks ago.

“When everybody else is trying to get home, it’s usually when we get called out,” he said. “We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve. A few places were we can put our devices to minimize everything. We’ll really be able to narrow down where our problem areas are and where we can apply ourselves a little bit more with our time.”