Council meets as second year of the term begins
Council met Tuesday, July 1 as their second year began. In a work-heavy meeting, councilors heard Triadelphia councilor’s pleas, Juneteenth concerns and PODA changes, among other issues.
WHEELING – Wheeling’s elected body hit a milestone Tuesday, July 1 as the seven-member city council entered its second year of governance. During the meeting, councilors heard pleas from a Triadelphia town councilor to help pay for water bill overages, approved an amendment to the city’s recently-enacted PODA ordinance and fielded concerns about support – or lack thereof – for the city’s Juneteenth celebration. But, first…
Recapping year one of this council…
Wheeling’s City Council comprises representatives from the city’s six wards and an at-large elected mayor. Having been elected on May 14, 2024, the group began their four-year terms on July 1, 2024. Now, one year on, here’s a look back at the last year.
The year began with a rocky start as green-to-politics Mayor Denny Magruder worked to learn the ropes of how to run a city council meeting. As the mayor came up to speed, the city’s administration remained committed to completing their own vision for Wheeling.
This term, councilors continued efforts to demolish dilapidated buildings across the city, approving several plans to see dozens of former homes and businesses flattened. The historic Clay School, a city-owned property that has long been fought over, finally saw action as this council approved its demolition to make way for a proposed recreation center in East Wheeling. The body has also approved more stormwater and sewer improvement projects and road paving contacts.
Councilors weren’t free from controversy either, much like their predecessors. A “Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety” ordinance, copied in large part from a similar ordinance adopted in Monongalia County, was fast tracked. The law seeks to penalize people soliciting donations from motorists, commonly known as panhandling, but it’s unclear how the measure has been enacted.
Other topics that have loomed large over councilors were the disbursement of state opioid settlement funds, expensive repairs to the city’s flood-damaged wastewater treatment plant, the adoption of a Private Outdoor Designated Area, or PODA, ordinance and recent flash floods that ravaged parts of Wheeling and Ohio County.
Throughout the last year, Wheeling Free Press has tracked each member's attendance to ensure the city’s wards saw consistent representation throughout the year. Councilors Tony Assaro and Connie Cain were the only representatives to attend every single meeting over the last twelve months, while Vice Mayor Jerry Sklavounakis, Councilor Dave Palmer and Mayor Denny Magruder missed just one meeting. Councilor Ty Thorngate missed four of 24 meetings and Councilor Ben Seidler missed five, giving the men attendance rates of 83% and 79%, respectively.
Other top headlines…
A town councilor from Triadelphia was recognized by Councilor Assaro and asked that Wheeling, who provides the water his community relies on, to help cover the cost of his municipality and constituent’s water bills which have skyrocketed after the June 14 floods. There may be issues with that arrangement as former attempts made by Wheeling to assist in the payment of Triadelphia’s water bill saw the state Public Service Commission step in and reverse course.
Questions swirled Tuesday as former state Senator Owens Brown called out what he said was a lack of support from the city for the area’s Juneteenth celebration. City Manager Robert Herron responded, saying his office allocated $600 for the project. An organizer with the Wheeling Juneteenth Committee pushed back, saying the “money was never sent or spent.”
The Private Outdoor Designated Area, or PODA, was changed just months after its original adoption. PODA allows participating bars to sell alcohol from members of the public to carry outside of the establishment in a defined area. Councilor Thorngate, who originally pushed for the ordinance’s adoption, offered an amendment Tuesday to push Friday start times from 12 p.m. to 10 a.m. The ordinance was adopted unanimously.
The Elm Run stormwater management project is 33% through the design phase. The project re-entered the council’s imagination after a second round of floods last June saw Elm Run overrun with water. City Manager Herron lauded $521,000 in Congressionally-apportioned funds for the project.
Ordinances passed; Ordinances proposed…
Councilors adopted several ordinances and resolutions at their recent meeting, including:
$27,000 to Centrisys of Kenosha, Wis. for the rental of a centrifuge at the wastewater treatment plant. This has been a monthly expenditure after the April 2024 floods;
$70,000 to the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra for the city’s share of a fireworks display;
$253,184 to Polydyne, Inc. of Riceboro, Ga. for “polymer” for the Water Pollution Control Division, or WPCD;
$150,150 to Bonded Chemical of Columbus, Ohio for sodium hypochlorite for WPCD;
$46,250 to PVS Nolwood of Weirton for sodium bisulfite for WPCD;
$16,500 with the Northern Panhandle Conservation District based in McMechen. The funds are for the operation and maintenance of Wheeling Creek structures for fiscal year 2026;
$36,021 and $44,508 with Mid-Atlantic Storage Systems, Inc. of Washington Court House, Ohio for water tank maintenance;
$34,800 to Waller Corporation of Washington, Penn. extending a contract to include an exterior door and concrete pad for the Wheeling Police Department’s soon-to-be sally port entrance;
$21,630 to Safeware, Inc. of Lanham, Md. for helmets, face shields and helmet bags for the Wheeling Police Department;
An amendment to Article 903/09 of the city’s code related to PODA;
A resolution approving the fiscal year 2025-26 Community Development Block Grant and Home Investment Partnerships Programs; and,
A resolution approving amendments to the fiscal year 2025-26 general fund budget.
At their next meeting, councilors will consider three ordinances. The largest among them is the proposed issuance of bonds not more than $6,000,000 for the “design, acquisition and construction of improvements and extensions to the sewerage portion of the existing public combined waterworks and sewerage system and temporarily financing of the cost thereof.” The bonds come as the city continues its years-long push to modernize its stormwater and sewer systems.
City Council will meet again on Tuesday, July 15.