Ohio County Clerk of Courts Brenda Miller, left, Assessor Tiffany Hoffman and Sheriff Nelson Croft update commissioners on their departments during Tuesday’s county commission meeting. (Photo by Joselyn King)

WHEELING – The $12 million, multi-year project to replace the heating, ventilation and air conditioning units at the City-County Building in Wheeling is nearing the finish line.

Work is 99% complete on the HVAC replacement project, according to Melissa Marco, project coordinator for Ohio County.

Along the way there also have been energy savings moves and aesthetic improvements such as paint and carpeting.

“They (contractors) are just finishing a few things in the basement,”she said. “Then we have to finish some paint and carpet, and that will trigger a number of other things.”

– The Health Department – temporarily located on the second floor – will move back to its office on the first floor, Marco continued.

– The West Virginia University Extension Office-Ohio County office will leave its current location at The Highlands and move to the former law library on the fourth floor of the City-County Building.

– City of Wheeling offices on the first floor will then be next to reopen – including the city council chamber, the water office and the finance office, Marco added.

She indicated the work will be happening in the coming days and weeks.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners approved a request for $25,257 in opioid settlement fund dollars to provide afterschool programming to youth at the Laughlin Chapel. Presently 72 children participate in the programs, and the funds will provide for needed equipment and supplies, explained County Administrator Randy Russell.

The children come from low-income households, with approximately 40% coming from homes where opioids have been used in the past, he said.

While many of the programs address the prevention of drug addiction, they also teach life skills, Marco said.

“A lot of people get kicked out of public housing later in life because they don’t have life skills,” she continued. “They were never taught them, or they have had an opioid problem leading up to that and weren’t able to learn them.”

The skills will be taught to youths as young as first grade, Marco noted.

The commissioners will next meet at 8 a.m. on March 3 at the City-County Building, 1500 Chapline St., Wheeling.