Wheeling City Council is preparing to spend almost $6 million on engineering services for sewer system upgrades, including to the wastewater treatment plant, shown here. (File Photo)

WHEELING — Plans for major upgrades to the city of Wheeling’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and other sanitary and storm sewer improvements are moving forward, as new legislation is scheduled to be introduced tonight to authorize nearly $6 million for engineering services alone.

Members of Wheeling City Council are slated to meet at 5:30 p.m. tonight to tackle a full slate of city business. Among the legislation scheduled to be introduced is a new ordinance authorizing Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron to spend $5,872,220 with Verdantas of Wheeling for engineering services for wastewater treatment plant and the collection system for sanitary and storm sewer improvements.

The cost of the engineering services are expected to be charged to the city’s 2025 bond for prioritized utility improvements. The city last year approved a 30-year bond to finance improvements. A 38% rate increase for water and sewer customers was also implemented last year to help generate money to pay on this debt.

Overall, a total of around $43,850,000 in improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant and other sanitary and storm water systems is expected to be completed over the course of the next couple of years.

On a related note, a new resolution is slated to be introduced tonight to charge around $147,174 from the Valley View Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project, which was recently completed, to the 2021 A Bonds. Originally, the city approved a contract with Cast & Baker of Canonsburg, Pa., in the amount of $1,649,905 for the Valley View Sanitary Sewer project to be charged to the city’s American Rescue Plan Act fund.

According to the new resolution, the city manager believes it to be in the best interest of the city to change the funding source for a portion of these costs from ARPA to the city’s 2021 A Bonds.

Another resolution set for a vote tonight will be for the approval of a multi-year contract for a Section 108 Loan between the city and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Ohio Valley Food and Innovation Hub project in the 1400 block of Market Street. This assistance consists of the guarantee of notes or other obligations in the principal amount of $2 million, plus interest.

The city anticipates using future allocations of its Community Development Block Grand funds to make annual payments of the Section 108 Loan for the 20-year loan term, according to the resolution.

Council is scheduled to hear a first reading tonight on an ordinance authorizing the city manager to transfer funds in the amount of $415,000 to Ohio Valley Area Development Corporation for economic development purposes. A total of $200,000 is to be charged to the city’s regular Restricted Capital Improvement Project (RCIP) fund and $215,000 is to be charged to the city’s Project Fund.

Another new ordinance up for a first reading tonight will authorize the allocation of a $50,000 from the city’s Opioid Settlement Funds from the state to Easterseals of Wheeling for its health record system expansion and coordination of such with medical providers to assist in the treatment of infants and children affected by the opioid crisis. According to the request from Easter Seals, the overall expansion is estimated to cost $400,000, and the organization has applied for additional funding from other state and local municipal entities.

A new resolution is also on tap for this evening’s meeting to authorize the city manager to submit an application to the state of West Virginia’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management requesting funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.