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WHEELING -- Members of Wheeling City Council are expected to make a final decision today on the proposed purchase of the 19th Street warehouse property.
City officials plan to buy the vacant property for $150,000 from Americo Inc., owned by local businessman Frank Calabrese, and clear the dilapidated warehouse buildings from the site.
Council previously had considered the site as a potential location for a new Public Safety Building to house a new headquarters for both its police and fire departments. In June, council instead chose to acquire the former Ohio Valley Medical Center property and moved forward with measures to have the police department moved to the Valley Professional Building on the former hospital campus.
A new fire department may likely be constructed from the ground up on the campus, as well, officials have said.
Although the focus of the Public Safety Building's site search shifted away from 19th Street, the option to purchase the property remained in place, and the purchase price dropped after the city opted to acquire OVMC with police and fire department headquarters in mind.
Tonight's city council meeting is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. and is being held virtually online. The public will be able to view the council meeting live on the city's official Facebook page. For public comment under "Those Wishing to be Heard," citizens can call the city clerk at 304-551-2151 up to 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the council meeting to sign up to speak.
The public comment section is at the end of tonight's meeting, however, any public comment specifically about the potential purchase of the property at 19th and Jacob streets will be heard before council members take final action on the legislation.
A number of city leaders have spoken out in support of the acquisition, noting that the property has been described as somewhat of an eyesore at the southern entrance to the city's downtown area from W.Va. 2. City leaders have noted that if the city owns the property, it is likely that a grant or loan from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection can be secured to help pay for environmental remediation, asbestos abatement and demolition.
An estimated value of the property -- once the environmental concerns are addressed and the dilapidated industrial buildings are removed -- is around $400,000, city leaders have said, noting that the property is located in a section of town where many private sector entities have been growing and investing in their properties.
Since city leaders announced the potential purchase of the 19th Street property, a number of residents have spoken out against the move, including one who described it as a "toxic dump." Critics have asserted that the current property owner should be responsible for cleaning up the site.
City officials have said the measure goes beyond code enforcement issues, but instead is a move that ultimately is expected to be a good investment in the future of the city and takes another major step toward cleaning up the city.