photo by: Eric Ayres

A rendering shows the concept for Robrecht Park in the area of Wheeling Heritage Trail and the mouth of Wheeling Creek.

WHEELING — City council is set to move forward with the first phase of the long-awaited Robrecht Park project near the mouth of Wheeling Creek.

A second reading of an ordinance to fund Phase 1 of the project is slated to be heard Tuesday night during the first December meeting of Wheeling City Council. The ordinance, if approved by vote by city council, will authorize City Manager Robert Herron to spend $473,149 with Cast and Baker of Canonsburg, Pa., for the Robrecht Trailhead Project Phase 1 earthwork and planting.

If the legislation is passed as expected, the city will use $250,000 from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant and $223,149 from the city’s Project Fund to move forward with the work.

Cast and Baker was the lowest bidder for the job. By comparison, Savage Construction bid $475,416, Ohio-West Virginia Excavating bid $538,474, VS&H bid $504,734 and Anko Construction bid $510,413.

The site of the proposed park is located next to the Main Street Bank property in Celeron Plaza on a commercial site that once housed the former Robrecht Grocery store. The 3-acre site had also been a former railroad right of way dating back to the mid-1800s.

Plans for the development of Robrecht Park have been in the works for several years.

In the fall of 2020, then W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice came to Wheeling to present the city with a certification from the West Virginia Department of Transportation that a grant in the amount of $240,864 had been awarded for Wheeling’s Robrecht Riverfront Park Project via the state’s Alternative Transportation Grant Program.

In January of this year, city council accepted a $20,000 donation that was made toward the development of the park in memory of Cole Bertol. The donation was made on behalf of Bertol’s family and friends, along with the support of the Wheeling Knights of Columbus. Bertol, an avid outdoorsman and kayak enthusiast, died at the young age of 26 in 2021.

The city has received other financial support for the park’s development. The estimated cost of the project for construction of the park is almost $1.8 million. The city has already contributed $300,000 in a local match. A planning grant for the project was also received, as was Brownfields remediation funding to clean up the creekside site.

In other action on Tuesday, council is expected to approve a resolution to implement the city’s annual holiday Food for Fines program from Dec. 1 through Jan. 1. The program allows motorists with overtime parking violations during this period to donate five non-perishable food, personal hygiene or household cleaning items in lieu of the $10 fine. Donations collected through the Food for Fines program will be distributed to local non-profit organizations.

Also Tuesday night, council is slated to hear readings on two traffic ordinances. One ordinance scheduled to be introduced for a first reading on Tuesday would create a no parking zone on Delaware Street near the intersection with South York Street on Wheeling Island. Another ordinance up for a second reading and a final vote on Tuesday would create a 30-minute parking zone in front of 2518 Chapline St. in Center Wheeling Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.