Ironton is now a Purple Heart city.

At Thursday night’s Ironton City Council meeting, the mayor issued a proclamation making this designation.

Five Purple Heart recipients attended the meeting where the Amvets Past 5293 was presented with a framed copy of the proclamation that honors soldiers who were injured while serving their country.

Mayor Rich Blankenship said he was approached by the AmVets at the Flags of Honor ceremony last month, asking him to consider the idea.

“I thought it was a no-brainer,” Blankenship said. “The men and women wounded in action for us, anything we can do to help them and honor them is a privilege.”

Ironton is one of three cities in Ohio with the designation, Blankenship said.

All Purple Heart recipients will be recognized on Sept. 12 each year.

In other council business:

• Blankenship told council he sent a letter to O’Tello Banks of American Electric Power regarding tree trimming in the city. The mayor said he had received complaints from residents about the tree trimming.

“I am asking that the power company require the contractor to properly trim the trees in a way that it will not cause future damage to the tree nor leave the tree looking unsightly,” the letter said.

• Blankenship thanked the Friends of Ironton for donating a concrete cutting saw to the city.

• An ordinance allowing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Nuko Paving to pave Waldo Drive was passed.

• An ordinance to rezone a portion of the Ninth Street area for commercial use was passed.

• Jon Ferguson, executive director of Ironton aLive, invited council to attend a business mixer on Thursday.

• Rick Jansen, president of Friends of Ironton, thanked council for its support of Rally on the River. Jansen said it was the FOI’s intention to continue with improvement projects throughout the city.

• Lonnie Best, 911 director, addressed council about the county’s future dispatching plans and asked council to consider helping pay the costs of the new system, which would be about $35,000 for Ironton’s portion.

Councilman Mike Lutz requested the county commissioners to attend the next city finance committee on Sept. 26.