Demolition crews raze a building on Jacob Street in South Wheeling last year. Wheeling City Council will hear first reading tonight of a new contract to demolish additional dilapidated buildings around the city. (File Photo)

WHEELING – Demolition projects continue to move forward in the city of Wheeling with the help of funds from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

Members of Wheeling City Council will meet tonight for their second regular council meeting since taking office for the 2024-28 term. One new ordinance set for a first reading is legislation authorizing Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron to spend $129,900 with Aster Oilfield Service of Bellaire for abatement and demolition of several properties.

This demolition contract will be charged to the city’s general fund, but is expected to be reimbursed by the West Virginia DEP’s Reclamation of Abandoned and Dilapidated Properties Program, also known as the WV DLAP program.

“They have been excellent to work with,” Herron said this week of the WVDEP and its reimbursement grant program. “The WV DLAP program, through the state, is a true success story and a tribute to the West Virginia Legislature for funding it, as well as the governor’s office for their leadership in implementing the program.”

Wheeling has taken an aggressive approach in recent years when it comes to the removal of neglected, blighted and dilapidated properties. The city had consistently invested in tackling lists of properties that have gone through the raze-or-repair process with no improvements, ultimately removing abandoned old eyesores through city contracts, then placing liens on those properties.

In 2022, the city took an unprecedented leap in its demolition efforts by allocating $1 million to its effort to tear down dilapidated properties. That allocation ended up having an even bigger impact than city leaders originally expected, as competitive bidding drove contract prices down for several rounds of demolitions.

Utilizing funds from the city’s federal pandemic relief money through the American Rescue Plan Act, the city was able to stretch this $1 million into five different contracts, each tackling a list of dilapidated properties in the city.

Last year, the sixth contract since this effort began was initiated, this time using WV DLAP funds. If approved at the next council meeting, this seventh contract will move forward, with more of these funds leftover in the future for additional demolition contracts, according to Herron.

“The city has received a $377,000 WV DLAP allocation for residential demolition of dilapidated structures,” the city manager noted. “With this contract, we are about 60% through that award.”

Structures slated for asbestos abatement and demolition “Contract Number 7” include those at the following addresses: 25 Vermont St., 27 Vermont St., 506 Broadway St., 311 N. Wabash St., 96-15th St., 96 1/2-15th St., 189-15th St., 146-16th St., 156-12th St., 3 Belmont St., 66-13th St., 45/49-23rd St., 2400 Eoff St., 51-23rd St., 39-41st St., 130 Pierce St., 435 Main St. and 34 Clearview Ave.

The $129,900 proposal from Aster Oilfield Service, which has performed a number of previous demolition contracts for the city, was deemed the lowest and best bid for the work. By comparison, Edgco Inc. submitted a bid of $201,500 for the work, and Reclaim Co. bid $227,750.

A second and final reading on the ordinance is expected to take place during the first Wheeling City Council meeting in August, which is expected to be rescheduled to take place one day earlier than originally planned. A resolution is slated for a vote tonight to move the first August city council meeting to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, instead of Tuesday, Aug. 6, to allow city council members to attend the West Virginia Municipal League Conference in Huntington, which begins on that Tuesday.

Tonight’s council meeting is slated to take place at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at the City-County Building downtown. Members of the Finance Committee of Council are expected to meet at 5:15 p.m. prior to the regular council meeting to discuss the city’s June financial report and the end-of-year budget review for the 2023-24 fiscal year.