This early rendering shows conceptual designs for renovated and revitalized buildings in the 1400 block of Market Street in downtown Wheeling. (Image Provided)

WHEELING — Wheeling City Council is scheduled to hear readings on several new pieces of legislation tonight, including a resolution to move forward with the Ohio Valley Food and Innovation Hub.

Council is slated to hold its last city council meeting of 2025 at 5:30 p.m. today at the City-County Building on Chapline Street downtown. The meeting will take place in the second floor court room as renovations continue in council chambers and other offices on the first floor of the building.

A resolution to accept a contract for a Section 108 Loan Guarantee for the Ohio Valley Food and Innovation Hub is among the new legislation on tonight’s agenda. The HUD Section 108 Loan Guarantee program provides Community Development Block Grant recipients with the ability to leverage their annual grant allocation to access low-cost, flexible financing for economic development, housing, public facility and infrastructure projects.

According to the resolution, the Ohio Valley Food and Innovation Hub “will promote the city’s economic and community development goals and objectives,” noting that the city was awarded a Section 108 Loan Guarantee contract for the Ohio Valley Food and Innovation Hub in the amount of $2 million. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has submitted the note and other agreements for the city to execute and return to HUD.

The resolution that council is expected to approve this evening will officially accept the loan guarantee, authorize City Manager Robert Herron to execute all accompanying documents and enter into a loan agreement with Standard Cigar Works LLC, which is spearheading the effort to develop the food and innovation hub.

These funds will be used to renovate historic city-owned buildings in the 1400 block of Market Street, where the food and innovation hub is expected to be located.

City officials earlier this year said they estimated the renovation of the 1400 block of Market Street to cost around $11 million in total. The capital stack being used for the project includes the Section 108 Loan Guarantee funds, as well as federal and state historic tax credits, and New Market Tax Credits.

Also tonight, council is slated to act on a new resolution authorizing a change in the funding source for the Greenwood storm sewer improvement project so that costs will be charged to the city’s 2021 A Bonds. Council this past August had authorized the expenditure of $947,500 with Savage Construction Co. of Wheeling for a contract to perform the Greenwood storm sewer work. Originally, that cost was to be charged to the city’s federal pandemic relief funds through the American Rescue Plan Act.

If the resolution is approved tonight, the change in funding source will keep that previously allocated money in the city’s ARPA fund.

Also tonight, first readings are expected to be heard on several new ordinances. They include ordinances authorizing the expenditure of:

– $15,000 with ESMIL Corp. of Mogadore, Ohio for the rental of a skid-mounted, multi-disc screw press system to be charged to the city’s Water Pollution Control Division.

– $81,675 with Tyler Technologies of Dallas, Texas for the purchase of annual system software maintenance to be charged to the city’s WPCD, water/utility account revenue and the general fund.

– $149,042 for the purchase of cybersecurity enhancements and $35,918 for the purchase of firewall subscriptions with GHA Technologies of Phoenix, Arizona, to be charged to the general fund, water department and WPCD.

– $197,600 with Axon Enterprise Inc. of Scottsdale, Arizona, for police equipment to be charged to the city’s state and federal asset forfeiture funds and to the city service fee.

The Finance Committee of Wheeling City Council will meet at 5:15 p.m. tonight prior to the regular council meeting to review the city’s November financial report. The Development Committee of Council will meet at 4:45 p.m. to discuss a lane abandonment request at Elmwood Place and to meet in executive session to discuss property sales.