Photo by Eric Ayres This dilapidated property at 1321 McColloch St. in East Wheeling is among the homes slated to come down as part of the city of Wheeling's next demolition contract. The city was able to secure funds from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's Dilapidated Properties Program (DLAP) to move forward with a new round of property demolitions.

WHEELING – The city of Wheeling’s readiness to move forward with addressing properties on its raze or repair list helped secure funding left in the state of West Virginia’s Dilapidated Properties Program.

During tonight’s meeting of Wheeling City Council, new legislation is expected to move forward to approve the next list of neglected or abandoned private properties to demolish, thanks to the funding from the W.Va. Department of Environmental Protection’s DLAP program.

“We received word that there were some DLAP funds remaining statewide,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said. “They need to spend that before the new allocation of $10 million takes effect. We had projects ready to go, so we were in a position to utilize those funds.”

Properties on the current list include: 1115 ½ Lind St., 1321 McColloch St. (rear) and 1321 McColloch St. (front), 2319 Jacob St., 1121 McColloch St., 505 S. York St., 21 Vermont St. and 3911 McColloch St.

Asbestos inspections have been completed at these properties slated to come down as part of demolition contract No. 10 for the city. Wheeling officials have been aggressively addressing abandoned properties in recent years. City council dedicated $500,000 toward demolitions in the city, and in 2022, officials set aside an unprecedented $1 million for demolition projects – a demo budget that was stretched into several different contracts in light of competitive bidding, with lists of dilapidated houses removed with each contract.

The current contract up for a first reading at tonight’s city council meeting will be for a contract in the amount of $104,800 with Edgco of Lansing for abatement and demolition for the homes listed on contract No. 10. Edgco was the low bidder for the project. By comparison, Raze International Inc. of Shadyside bid $164,700.

The job will be charged to the city’s general fund and reimbursed by the W.Va. DLAP grant funds.

Wheeling officials have had great success in utilizing DLAP funding since the program launched in 2021. The ongoing demolition of the former Clay School in East Wheeling and the removal of the former Wheeling Inn hotel on Main Street downtown – the site adjacent to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge where the new Wheeling Gateway Center is expected to be developed – both used DLAP funding to move those projects forward.

“We’ve spent all of our previously awarded DLAP funds in a timely and appropriate manner, which helps us meet the tight timeframes for these funds,” Herron said of the city’s track record with the program, which has a goal of “turning liabilities into opportunities, one property at a time.”

In other action during tonight’s meeting, council is slated to vote on a resolution approving invoices relating to the cleanup and remediation of the 58-19th St. property, which also benefitted from a loan and grant from the W.Va. Department of Environmental protection, among other sources. The resolution is to approve payment of an invoice to Environmental Standards/Montrose in the amount of $12,133 through the grant.

Another new ordinance up for a first reading during tonight’s meeting will authorize the city manager to spend $19,992 with Wheeling Office Supply for office furniture for the finance department to be charged to the general fund.

Council is expected to hear second readings and vote to approve two big ordinances during tonight’s meeting, as well. They included a $518,900 contract with Lombardi Development of Follansbee for significant upgrades to the 10th Street Parking Garage and a $680,000 contract with Mansuetto Roofing and Sheet Metal of Martins Ferry for a roof replacement at the historic Lower Market House at Centre Market.

Tonight’s meeting of Wheeling City Council, the first of two regular meetings scheduled for the month of May, is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers on the first floor of the City-County Building on Chapline Street downtown.