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Being Prepared For Developers

Weirton officials are being called upon to balance on one of those fiscal tightropes that occasionally confront local government.

The question facing them is whether the city should spend money to ensure its infrastructure can handle potential economic development in the future.

During meetings last week of the municipal water and sanitary boards, Utilities Director Butch Mastrantoni mentioned a company that is considering a facility in Weirton. Officials of the firm want to know if the city sewage treatment plant can handle an increase of about 5,000 gallons per day, Mastrantoni noted.

“There is a potential for a very large development in the brownfields of ArcelorMittal,” added Mayor Harold Miller. He referred to now-unused sections of the old steel mill complex that once dominated the city.

˜Neither Miller nor Mastrantoni identified the company involved. They cited confidentiality agreements that are not uncommon in such situations.

Can the city handle another 5,000 gallons of sewage a day? Probably. The current water/sewer capacity is 4 million gallons per day.

But what about the future? What if other developments requiring more water and/or sewerage capacity make inquiries?

“The quickest way to drive them away is to tell them you can’t meet their needs,” observed water board member Don Gianni Jr.

City officials may want to consider expanding the water and sewer plants to ensure they can meet developers’ needs, Mastrantoni said. “If we’re at the cusp of economic growth, maybe this would be the time,” he added.

Then Mastrantoni put his finger on the crucial consideration: “Plant expansions are going to be costly,” he said.

Precisely. Can Weirton — specifically, existing water and sewer customers who may have to pay higher bills to fund expansions — afford to spend money based on the expectation of development?

It is worth investigating, and city officials seem ready to do just that. While they are at it, they ought to be looking at ongoing repair and maintenance needs in the water and sanitary departments. If they are not funded adequately, to avoid a meltdown such as that occurring just across the river in Steubenville, action may be needed there, too.

Either way city officials decide to go, they may be criticized. But, with the prospect of growth more real than for many years, ensuring the municipal infrastructure can welcome it — at a reasonable cost — seems prudent.

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