Photo by Eric Ayres Wheeling City Council members Ben Seidler and Connie Cain attend Tuesday night's meeting, when officials noted that the long-awaited demolition of the former Clay School in East Wheeling has begun.

WHEELING – Crews from Raze International Inc. of Shadyside have taken over the site of the former Clay School building in East Wheeling and over the next five months or so will be demolishing the facility.

During Tuesday’s meeting of Wheeling City Council, City Manager Robert Herron reported that work associated with the long-awaited demolition of the old vacant school building on 15th Street has begun.

“It began last week,” Herron said. “The contractor has mobilized. You’ll see some equipment up there. That project will be in full swing shortly.”

Earlier this year, council awarded a $459,300 contract for the job to Raze International Inc., which had offered the lowest of the six bids submitted for the project among interested contractors throughout the region. The cost of the work is to be paid with $319,440 from a West Virginia Environmental Protection Agency D-LAP (Dilapidated Properties Program) grant and another $139,860 from the city’s Project Fund.

The cost to demolish the sprawling 75,000-square-foot building was actually less than the cost to remove asbestos from the building. Asbestos abatement was completed late last year by Reclaim Co. LLC of Fairmont, W.Va., which was awarded a $498,000 contract, the majority of which was paid through a Brownfields grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Demolition of the Clay School is expected to be ongoing through the spring and most of the summer this year.

“It is on schedule to be completed, I believe, by Sept. 1,” Herron said. “So we’re happy about that. There will be some disruption in that neighborhood. You can see that the construction fence is out into the street, but we’ll do everything we can to minimize the inconvenience to the neighborhood in general and also to the J.B. Chambers recreational complex there that is heavily used in the spring and summer.”

Herron also reported that the city’s Community Development Block Grant award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the next fiscal year was received this week.

“It is $1,117,470, which is $14,234 less than last year,” he said. “I think the past couple of years, we’ve been about the same. So it’s a slight reduction — about a 1 percent reduction. We’ll be presenting some ideas for those funds to city council here within the next six weeks. But the allocation did finally come in from the federal government.”

The city manager requested that council hold two readings and cast a final vote on new legislation to purchase equipment for the Water Pollution Control Division. Council did so and approved the expenditure of $90,034 with A&H Equipment Co. of Zelienople, Pa., for a high-definition rover system to be charged to the WPCD.

“That’s a camera that’s mounted on a crawler that goes into sewer pipes,” Herron explained. “We actually have some situations where we need to avail ourselves of this piece of equipment, so the sooner we can get it, the better. It is a device that goes into sewer lines, and we can camera them. It does go uphills where we have pipes on steep grades. That’s a very valuable piece of equipment that we’re looking forward to getting.”

In other action Tuesday night, Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder read several proclamations and presented them to representatives of various organizations. The mayor proclaimed April 2026 as Fair Housing Month, Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The week of April 11-17 was proclaimed as Week of the Young Child to celebrate the occasion’s 55th anniversary and to support the efforts of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The city also proclaimed April 10 as Arbor Day in Wheeling.

“Thank you all for the amazing work that all of these groups do for our community,” Magruder said.

Councilwoman Connie Cain asked residents for patience and understanding as officials continue to compile the proposed street resurfacing list for the season.

“I’ve been receiving a lot of text messages and phone calls regarding paving streets,” she said, noting that the proposed list is still being developed. “Just please give us a minute and let us get the information first.”

As weather breaks and efforts to clean up the community take place, Councilman Dave Palmer gave a shoutout to one organization that regularly helps with these efforts in neighborhoods throughout town.

“I’d like to thank the group Volunteer Wheeling for continuing the support of cleanups in our city,” Palmer said. “They held a cleanup on March 27 out on Mil Acres Drive. They do them throughout the city. If anyone would like to participate, just find a member from Volunteer Wheeling. They provide everything for you.”

Palmer urged anyone in town who would like to step up and help beautify their neighborhood to do so by collaborating with Volunteer Wheeling and spending a few hours pitching in.

“It’s a shame that they have to do this, but I really appreciate their efforts,” Palmer said.

A spring cleanup day in Fulton will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, April 10, noted Councilman Ben Seidler, adding that there will be dumpsters available at the old dog pound property on Industrial Drive.

Next Saturday in Warwood, the public is invited to help prepare the neighborhood’s community garden.

“On Saturday, April 18, from noon to 2 p.m., we’re going to have the Loveland Community Garden Day to get the garden ready for the growing season,” Councilman Tony Assaro said. “It’s located at 3rd Street and Richland Avenue, and all are welcome to attend.”