South Charleston council accepts donated property, designates solar developer and schedules budget hearing

The South Charleston City Council on an otherwise routine agenda approved resolutions to accept a donated property at 152 Tenth Avenue, designate Solar Holler LLC as a developer for solar arrays at city facilities, and set a public hearing on the city budget, and approved appointing Fire Chief Virgil White to a local authority.

Council members voted by voice or unanimous roll call on each item after staff presentation. Margaret (reading a resolution) described the donation offer from Lin Tech International LLC and the resolution authorizing city officials to take any and all actions necessary to accept the gift and to provide a statement of value to the owner. The council also approved a resolution designating Solar Holler LLC to prepare a final proposal and potential power purchase agreement for solar installations at city-owned facilities.

The actions follow routine finance-committee review and were presented as broadly administrative: council members said the donated property requires significant work and that the city’s likely purpose would be demolition and potential lot consolidation to create a larger frontage near East Street and Tenth Avenue. During the property-donation discussion a council member said the owner, described as about 78 years old, asked for a small charitable contribution receipt; the building contains three rental units but is “not in great shape,” as summarized by a council member reading the backstory provided by staff.

The council also set a public hearing on the fiscal 2026 budget as required by the city charter; staff said the package will be circulated to council members for review before formal adoption. City staff reported preliminary property-tax revenue results indicating assessed values could raise about $450,000 compared with the previous year.

Votes at a glance • Appointment of Virgil White to a local authority (identified in the meeting as the “Hawkins Authority” or similar): motion seconded; approved (voice vote). • Resolution to accept donation of real property from Lin Tech International LLC, 152 Tenth Avenue: seconded by Councilman Lilly; approved (voice vote). • Resolution designating Solar Holler LLC as developer for solar energy projects at city facilities: seconded (by Laura); approved (voice vote). • Scheduled public hearing on the fiscal 2026 budget (charter-required): approved; staff to circulate materials to council for review prior to final adoption.

The council chair closed routine business after the motions. Staff said the budget submission will be sent to the auditor’s office for review and that formal adoption is scheduled later in the charter-mandated timeline. No formal dissent or amendments to the resolutions were recorded.