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WELLSBURG -- Wellsburg Council is moving forward with plans to demolish about a dozen dilapidated homes while dropping plans to reduce distance requirements for limited video lottery businesses in the city.
On Tuesday, City Solicitor Ryan Weld told council he has obtained an extension for a $290,000 grant for the structures' removal through a pilot program of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
The city had been required to expend the funds by March 31.
Council members had been concerned about the extension because the city must expend its own funds first, then seek reimbursement through the grant, and Weld had started the process to acquire the properties.
Weld told council he's secured the titles to nearly all of them and clarified that while asbestos inspections were performed for all, abatements have not yet occurred.
He said he plans to advertise for a contractor to raze them within 30 days, while cautioning that bids received for the project will determine how many can be done.
Weld and others said earlier the structures' owners have agreed to sign them over because they are in very poor condition.
The planned demolitions are part of an ongoing effort which began with the removal of 16 buildings through a $144,000 grant from the same program.
Once all of the demolitions are completed, the vacant lots are to be sold through a public auction.
Council also debated whether to reduce the distance between LVL businesses and local churches, schools or parks, currently at 1,500 feet, but ultimately agreed to drop the proposal.
Third Ward Councilman Randy Fletcher had been a vocal supporter, suggesting the state-regulated slot machines have little impact on youth outside their doors.
He also noted the state's own restrictions on the distance between LVL businesses and such locations as well as other such businesses is lower, at 300 feet.
Fletcher said the completion of the new Ohio River bridge just south of the city has drawn more patrons to the LVLs and the move could benefit the city.
It was noted that 2 percent of taxes paid by them go to the cities and counties in which they are located.
But 4th Ward Councilman Fred Marino and others have said not everyone wants to see more LVLs.
Marino said he conducted an informal poll online and a majority of responses were against them.
First Ward Councilman Jack Kins asked whether a new business with LVL machines could seek a variance.
Weld said legally there would need to be very specific reasons to approve that, and he believes it would be difficult to justify.
Fourth Ward Councilman Charlie Harris asked whether new ones could be limited to an area of the city while existing ones would be permitted to continue at their current locations.
"I don't mind them but I don't want to see them everywhere," he said, while adding the city's downtown business district might benefit from the additional foot traffic.
Weld said establishing such an area, as well as reducing the distance restriction, would need to come before the city's planning commission, which then may make a recommendation to council.
"I don't think you're going to see more of them," said Kins, who noted some businesses with LVLs have closed in recent years.
Third Ward Councilman Tom Gaudio agreed, saying, "I'm against changing it. There's not much demand for someone else to come in."
Council agreed to remove the issue from its next agenda.
In other business, Mayor Dan Dudley applauded the efforts of the many involved in cleanup efforts following last week's flood. He noted the effort involved emergency first responders, city personnel, charities and civic groups, local businesses, students and Scouts.
City Manager Steve Maguschak said crews with Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration have been hired to disinfect the basement of City Hall while noting the building's furnace was lost in the flood.
He said city crews will be focused on collecting discarded belongings from residences, then turn their attention to local parks.
Fletcher had expressed concern about the parks' current state being unhealthy to children. He said bacteria and waste are likely to have washed onto them with the cakes of mud, tree limbs and other debris left when flood waters receded.
Marino said attention must be paid to the city's storm drains, which contributed to flooding along Fourth and Fifth streets and in other areas.
Following Tuesday's meeting, Maguschak said flooding on Fourth and Fifth streets is caused partly by storm sewers along them entering one outfall to the Ohio River. He said creating two outfalls from the streets would alleviate it, pending funding.
In recent years, the city has completed a handful in a planned series of separations of the city's combined stormwater and sewer lines.
The lines contain mechanisms designed to prevent raw sewage from entering the river, but they can become overtaxed during heavy rainfall.
Maguschak said even such improvements don't address a major flood.
He advised council the city's wastewater treatment plant treated more than 4 million gallons of flood water within a few days.
Council also made plans to meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, to consider approval of its 2024 fiscal budget.