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WHEELING - Wheeling city officials continue to see costs associated with emergency cleanup and related expenses following last month’s floods.
New ordinances are expected to be introduced before city council tonight to pay for costs related to cleanup and recovery after heavy rains brought two significant floods and created a mess along the Ohio River and in other areas of town in early April.
Wheeling City Council is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers on the first floor of the City-County Building. The Finance Committee of Council is slated to meet beforehand beginning at 5:15 p.m to discuss the April financial report.
One new ordinance set to be introduced tonight is in the amount of $88,444 for a contract with TS Elliott LLC Contracting of Wellsburg for emergency flood service to be charged to the city’s Water Pollution Control Division. A $17,135 expense with Atlas Environmental Manager of Youngstown is also up for a first reading tonight in an ordinance for flood cleanup.
Xylem Dewatering Solutions Inc. of Chicago Illinois is set to receive two new contracts for costs associated with expenses at the city’s sewage treatment plant following the floods. One contract in the amount of $57,886 is for sewer plant pump rental and another is in the amount of $24,860 for emergency flood dewatering of the sewage plant, both to be charged to the Water Pollution Control Division.
Other contracts - one with Xylem Dewatering Solutions Inc. for $75,840 and another with ERB Electric Company of Wheeling for $28,708 - are up for a second reading tonight for emergency flood repair service. Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said that during the floods, the gate that controls flow into the wastewater treatment plant was damaged, resulting in water flowing into the plant and causing damage to the pumps.
Another new ordinance set for a first reading tonight is in the amount of $26,892 with Wheeling Armature Repair Co. of Wheeling to rebuild the main sewage pump No. 3.
Also tonight, a first reading is slated for an ordinance authorizing Herron to spend $60,000 with the Wheeling Symphony for the city’s share of the July 4 fireworks display. This will be charged to the city’s manager’s account and the city’s Coal Severance fund.
A new ordinance is being introduced in the amount of $94,360 with Jim Shorkey Ford of White Oak, Pennsylvania for a 2025 Ford truck for the Water Department to be charged to the vehicle replacement fund.
Emergency repair for a waterline on Stratford Road is also being introduced by way of an ordinance for a $59,980 contract with James White Construction of Weirton, the low bidder for the work. By comparison, O’Briend’s submitted a bid of $75,500.
New outdoor furniture is slated to be purchased for Centre Market. A $46,775 portion of the city’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act funding is slated for use through a contract with Indoff of Wheeling, which was deemed the lowest and best bidder. By comparison, Recreation Resources USA submitted a bid of $62,820 for the furnishings. Global Industrial submitted a bid of $28,987, but that bid was deemed non-responsive or did not meet specifications.
A new ordinance also up for a first reading in the amount of $15,086 is for a contract with Konecranes of Pittsburgh for an upgrade to the power supply for a dry pit crane to be charged to the city’s Water Pollution Control Division.
Council will also hear the first reading of an ordinance of the levy estimate, prescribed by the State Auditor, known as the annual appropriation for fiscal year 2024-25 budget for Wheeling, setting the estimates for tax levy revenues based on the latest assessed valuations.