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WHEELING -- After months of exploration and anticipation, the city of Wheeling is moving forward with creating additional dog parks -- the next one coming by way of a partnership between the city and the Wheeling Park Commission.
Wheeling City Council members are scheduled to get the ball rolling on the next dog park when a first reading of a new ordinance takes place Tuesday afternoon. The legislation authorizes City Manager Robert Herron to enter into a $58,794 contract with Savage Construction of Wheeling for the new dog park.
"We had been looking for a dog park location in the Elm Grove area for a while," Herron said, noting that a site around the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex had been considered. "We initially thought about an area by the skate park, but there's just not sufficient room out there."
Herron said the city has been working with the Wheeling Park Commission on this project.
He said the city will be entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Wheeling Park Commission stating that the city of Wheeling will build the park, and thereafter, the Wheeling Park Commission will maintain it.
"This is a really good project," Herron noted, extending gratitude to commission President and CEO Bob Peckenpaugh and his staff for their cooperation. "We really appreciate working with the Wheeling Park Commission and their staff on this very nice community project."
The specific location of the new dog park will be on a 1.5-acre site between the White Palace and the golf course, accessible via the main one-way entrance to Wheeling Park. A small parking lot will be created near the area near an access road adjacent to the White Palace, and the dog park will have grassy sections separated for large dogs and small dogs, along with water access, shaded areas, benches (for humans) and maybe even a decorative fire hydrant (for dogs), Herron noted.
Money from the city's Project Fund -- which was bolstered last year by federal CARES Act reimbursements -- will be used to construct the dog park. Herron added that a donor who will be announced at a later date has also made a significant contribution toward the creation of the new dog park.
Herron noted that the new facility and Wheeling Park will be smaller than the city's spacious Fitzsimmons Family Dog Park off of Tunnel Green near East Wheeling.
The legislation for the Savage Construction contract is expected to receive a second and final reading later this month, and Herron said work should begin immediately thereafter. While much of the new dog park is expected to be built this fall, the site may not likely be open to the public until next spring, the city manager suggested.
City leaders have been eyeing locations in both Elm Grove and Warwood for new dog parks, and Herron said legislation on another site may be right around the corner for the neighborhood on the north end of town. The site search is being narrowed down, and a location behind the water treatment plant is Warwood is being considered for the new dog park for that area.
Tuesday's Wheeling City Council meeting is scheduled to take place at noon at the City-County Building on Chapline Street.
Other new pieces of legislation set to be introduced during the meeting include an ordinance authorizing the purchase of more than $18,000 worth of body camera equipment for the Wheeling Police Department, with almost all of the cost being paid through a federal Justice Assistance Grant.
An ordinance authorizing the purchase of five Ford police interceptor all-wheel drive utility vehicles at $37,515 each from Stephens Auto of Danville, W.Va., is also slated to be introduced.