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Moundsville Trying to Collect Delinquent Fees

Moundsville City Council considered a number of outstanding financial matters Tuesday, including the collection of delinquent fees.

City Manager Deanna Hess updated council on one of the critical parts of its induction into West Virginia’s Home Rule Pilot Program last year — the enforcement and collection of delinquent fees. Councilman David Wood said the city stood to recover $250,000 in delinquent fees against the city.

Hess said notices of collection were still being delivered to property owners as of Tuesday night.

“We’ve already started. We will have a hearing on one of them, and that will be our first,” Hess said. Building inspector Joe Richmond added that a date for the hearing had not yet been set.

“All the first round notices have gone out, pursuant to the ordinance,” added City Attorney Thomas White.

Wood also sought an update on the state of the city’s parks and recreation department. Hess said a recent meeting with the recreation board went well.

“There were quite a few people here who are on my committee. We have a person willing to help us out equipment-wise, a person working on more grants, and we just started working on a land and water conservation grant,” Hess said. “There are some people here willing to go the extra mile to save the (Four Seasons) pool. … They’re not big grants, but they are grants.”

Hess said she would try to work with the Friends of Moundsville Parks and Recreation, a local organization which works in conjunction with the city to raise money for recreation projects, for repair work on other areas in need of attention, such as swings at the riverfront in poor condition.

Wood commended Hess for her work to keep up on the numerous issues the Recreation Department faces, but also urged her to look deeper at other underlying problems, such as personnel matters and issues with facilities.

“You’ve got to identify why these issues are out there, and how we might be able to remove them,” Wood said. “I would encourage you to look at how to address these issues. Otherwise, we’re going to be here in 10 years saying the same thing.”

Council also noted the death of former Councilman Paul “Dude” Haynes last week after a brief illness. Haynes, 73, had been a member of council for more than 10 years before losing his seat in November’s election.

His brother, Councilman David Haynes, was not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.

Wood expressed his condolences to the Haynes family, as well as to the family of former Mayor John Grisell, who died in late January.

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