WHEELING - Today, Mayor-elect Andy McKenzie finally will be able to drop the "elect" from his title. So will Councilmen-elect Eugene Fahey, James Tiu and Don Atkinson.
The four will be formally sworn in as members of Wheeling City Council at 6:40 p.m. today in Council Chambers, immediately prior to their first meeting at 7:30 p.m.
The four new members will join returning Councilwoman Gloria Delbrugge, as well as Councilmen Vernon Seals and Robert "Herk" Henry, to form the new council.
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Mayor-elect Andy McKenzie
And with concepts like Tax Increment Financing, the Wheeling 2020 Plan, home rule and reviewing and possibly changing the city charter facing them, it seems council members have a full plate of issues awaiting their attention.
McKenzie said he is very excited to serve as mayor of the Friendly City.
"I am looking forward to working with council and the city employees. There is an abundance of opportunity to do a lot of great things here," he said.
McKenzie said the idea of spending the $8 million in TIF to renovate the Capitol Music Hall and purchase a series of buildings in the 1100 block of Main and Market streets is something that council must consider thoroughly.
"We want to make sure this is the right direction to take," he said of the plan developed and approved by the current council, which included outgoing Mayor Nick Sparachane, Vice Mayor Mike Nau and members Barry Crow and Brent Bush.
In terms of the operating the Capitol, McKenzie said there may be a group of private investors willing to purchase the venue to receive federal tax credits.
"This is one of the options," he said of the potential private investment.
As for the Wheeling 2020 Plan for downtown, McKenzie said "there are good components and parts that can be implemented." McKenzie said he is organizing a group of citizens and interested parties to study how the city can be improved.
"The city charter review is one of the items this group will look at," he said.
Though he is not sure the city should impose registration fees on the owners of vacant buildings through state-granted home rule, McKenzie knows dilapidated structures must be addressed.
"The idea of imposing fees is one tool that could be used," he said.
Fahey, who has been appointed to serve as vice mayor, does not believe the city should jump into the latest TIF project because he wants to make sure the Stone Center and Lowe's TIF projects have fulfilled their potential.
The vice mayor also wants a private investor to buy the Capitol, but said he would be open to the idea of spending city funds to acquire the theater. Fahey is also open to the idea of a charter review.
"We need to look at how things work, and we have to discuss how we can make things work better," he said.
Fahey noted he does not support imposing fees on the owners of vacant buildings just because the buildings are vacant; instead he said buildings that are not well-maintained must be addressed.
Tiu said the 2020 Plan has many positive attributes.
"It is possible to imagine a downtown with a healthy mix of commercial uses - medical offices, legal and professional services, as well as reasonable access to entertainment, arts and tourism, with information technology as its basis," he said.
Tiu believes any changes to the city charter must be made in the interest of the citizens.
"The ability of the citizens to petition for a majority vote for passage or repeal of an ordinance is an important power, and changes to the charter - should there be any - should preserve the citizens' ability to propose, pass, or repeal an ordinance by petition and majority vote," he said.
As for home rule, Tiu wants to make sure the focus is on removing slum and blight.
"Any legislation that council drafts ... to formalize these revitalization tactics should be limited in scope to removal of slum and blight properties from our downtown," he said.
Atkinson believes some buildings in the 1100 block need to be demolished with TIF funding.
"Some of them will come down. I have gone through the old (G.C.) Murphy's building and (the former) Rite Aid. We still have to really look at all of these and think this whole thing through," he said.
Atkinson said it is important to focus on the Capitol, WesBanco Arena and the Heritage Port as part of the 2020 Plan.
"You need to have some kind of a plan to deal with these things," he said.
In terms of home rule powers, Atkinson wants to take the necessary steps to eliminate dilapidated buildings.
"I don't think we should impose fees for buildings that are just vacant, but we should impose them for buildings that are dilapidated," he said.