Members of Wheeling City Council on Tuesday night saw new legislation regarding two different pieces of public property that are not being utilized by the city.

Both items — one for a proposed lane abandonment and another for a long-term lease agreement — recently came before the Development Committee of Council and were recommended for approval by Wheeling Building and Planning Director Brenda J. Delbert. The matters were subsequently forwarded to city council for final approval.

During Tuesday night’s city council meeting, members heard the first reading of an ordinance to vacate and abandon a portion of the alley adjacent to 52 Elmwood Place in the Park View neighborhood of the city. If approved during the next council meeting, Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron will be authorized to execute quitclaim deeds to implement the abandonment.

The alley in question is a right of way consisting of two tracts that are 16 feet and 10 feet wide near the southwest corner of Elmwood Place. According to the ordinance, the alley “does not serve as an important or necessary public thoroughfare and represents a needless source of potential expense and liability to the city.”

Elmwood Place is accessible from National Road, and residents in proximity to the public right of way were notified of the proposed abandonment.

Delbert noted that as long as utility service personnel still have access to equipment in the area, there were no objections to the proposal.

In North Wheeling, another piece of property came to the city as a lane abandonment. However, the city cannot abandon it because of a retaining wall that exists in the back, officials noted.

Instead, a long-term lease was presented for the city-owned property located adjacent to 114 Main St. and 121 Kenney St. The neighboring property is owned by Mario and Patricia Degasperis. The adjacent municipally owned property is essentially a grass lot, and the family next door has basically been taking care of it since the 1950s.

A resolution came before Wheeling City Council on Tuesday night to authorize a lease with the Degasperis family for a portion of the property. That lease will be for $1 per month. Council held a required public hearing on the proposed lease at the beginning of Tuesday night’s meeting, but no one spoke on the matter during the hearing.

“It would be a lease with them for 30 years to maintain the yard,” Delbert said. “There’s no public interest in it besides the retaining wall. The current lease hasn’t been active since 1955. But there’s been no issue since.”

Council members unanimously approved the resolution.

Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder also applauded city staff who recently attended the West Virginia Municipal League conference, particularly City Clerk Jessica Zalenski for her election as secretary-treasurer of the state clerk’s association.

Magruder also gave a shout out to city staff and city council for earning statewide recognition for Wheeling’s neighborhood development projects in 2024.

“We’re very proud to receive that acknowledgment,” he said.