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FOLLANSBEE -- City officials have been approached about the possibility of installing a new air monitoring station in the community.
No decision has been made, with Follansbee Council opting to wait until its August meeting to consider a proposal from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
“The DEP wants two hosting sites in Brooke County,” 3rd Ward Councilman Nick Cekinovich said, noting the station would be part of the PurpleAir network.
Cekinovich brought the proposal to council during its Committee of the Whole meeting July 6, explaining he had been approached by a DEP representative who had been monitoring odors of plastic and rubber in the area. The request was placed on the agenda for council’s July 13 regular meeting, but officials opted to delay a decision to allow City Attorney Michael Guadio time to review the proposal.
According to the PurpleAir website, two monitoring stations already are located in Follansbee -- one in the Orchard area and another in Parkview -- with both located on residential properties.
Cekinovich said the current proposal calls for installing the monitoring station at the City Building because the DEP would like the new site to be located on county or municipal property.
Mayor Scott McMahon said another location also has been discussed.
“We also had talked about the fire house,” he said.
McMahon expressed concern about potential liability for the city if it were to host an air monitoring station on municipal property.