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Wheeling council approves opioid‑settlement media grant, equipment rentals and several city contracts
Summary
At its May 20 meeting the Wheeling City Council adopted ordinances to allocate part of the West Virginia opioid settlement to WTRF for media-based opioid abatement, to rent centrifuge equipment damaged in recent flooding, and to fund arena upgrades, landscaping and pickleball court resurfacing.
WHEELING, W.Va. — The Wheeling City Council on May 20 approved a package of ordinances authorizing city spending across public‑safety, utilities and recreation programs, including the allocation of opioid settlement funds to a local broadcaster and short-term rental of damaged water‑treatment equipment.
The council adopted an ordinance authorizing the city manager to allocate a portion of the West Virginia opioid settlement funds “to assist WTRF in providing opioid relief abatement via the use of media to educate upon and prevent opioid use.” The motion to adopt the ordinance was approved by council.
The council also approved an ordinance authorizing the city manager to expend $27,000 with Centris of Kenosha, Wisconsin, to rent centrifuge services for the water pollution control division. City Manager Herron said the city is renting centrifuges because the existing machines were damaged by flooding; he said a permanent retrofit and replacement are being designed and will be bid later this summer and that the rental and permanent project are expected to be FEMA‑reimbursed. “The centrifuges were damaged by the flood and renting centrifuges ... it is FEMA reimbursed, but we want to get those permanently replaced,” Herron said.
Councilors also approved transferring $210,691.50 from arena RCMP funds to the Greater Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority for new steel rigging at the WesBanco Arena. A council member urged colleagues to approve the transfer so the arena can “bring in possibly larger shows,” and said current rigging is “not adequate, not safe.”
Contracts awarded or approved included Top Notch Landscaping and Supply LLC of Wheeling for grass cutting services at $65,275 (charged to the general fund) and Semper 5 Paving LLC of Bridgeport, Ohio, for Patterson pickleball court resurfacing at $35,002 charged to ARPA. During the pickleball discussion a council member explained the low‑bid process and said the award followed the specifications from Recreation Resources USA; the member urged passage so courts can return to play quickly.
All motions described above were recorded as approved by the council. The meeting record does not include individual vote tallies or the names of members who moved or seconded each motion.
The ordinances cover a mix of funding sources noted during the meeting, including federal ARPA funds, the West Virginia opioid settlement funds and regular department budgets; some projects (the centrifuge work) were described as eligible for FEMA reimbursement.
Council members did not debate the opioid‑settlement allocation at length during the meeting and no amendments were recorded.
