WELLSBURG — Wellsburg Council last week again considered establishing two monthly meetings for voting, while the city’s water-sewer board was approached by a private company interested in taking over the city’s water treatment system.

At their monthly committees meeting Aug. 26, council members again discussed replacing it with a second meeting at which they could vote on issues.

Third Ward Councilman Tom Gaudio suggested the move, saying the committees meeting seems non-productive because it’s reserved for discussion only on actions council can take.

Held at 6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month, the meetings have become a consolidation of separate panels that once were comprised of council members and residents.

Citing a lack of interest from residents, past administrations appointed only council members to the committees which, for convenience, were scheduled to meet on the same night.

In recent years, the meetings morphed into one that functioned as a sunshine meeting through which issues were publicly discussed before action was taken on them.

Mayor Dan Dudley suggested if a second official meeting is created, the committees could continue, with members meeting as needed and possibly at more informal locations.

He said council could vote on the matter at its next regular meeting at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at City Hall.

On Wednesday, the city’s water-sewer board heard from representatives of West Virginia American Water, a private company interested in assuming operation of the city’s water treatment system.

Part of a national water supplier, the company serves about 600,000 West Virginians and has reported investing more than $736 million in infrastructure projects and capital improvements in the state during the last 10 years.

Dudley noted while the city has secured some state and federal money for improvements to its water treatment system, it’s remained difficult to obtain all of the funding it needs to replace aging lines and equipment and comply with current environmental regulations.

But he added if the city’s water treatment system were privatized, the decision to raise water rates would no longer be at the discretion of local officials but the water provider, as with utilities like electricity and natural gas.

Dudley said West Virginia American Water officials suggested the company could retain the city water department’s current staff at possibly higher wages.

He said the water-sewer board made no commitment to the company, inviting it only to offer more information at a future meeting.

The water-sewer board meets at 5 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month at City Hall.

Council also heard from Eric Fithyan, president of the Brooke County Area Chamber of Commerce, who announced plans to hold the city’s Christmas parade on the Saturday morning before Thanksgiving Day instead of the Friday evening after the holiday.

Fithyan said the parade could be followed by other Christmas-themed events that day.