Wellston reports $21 million in active grants, highlights water-plant work and local projects

City officials presented a year-in-review that the meeting record described as a "state of the city," reporting about $21 million in active grants across multiple projects and summarizing department accomplishments and upcoming work.

The presenter said grants are funding work at the municipal water plant, projects on Ohio Avenue and Newark Avenue, and other infrastructure efforts. Staff noted the water-plant phase one excavation and slab work were complete and that the plant is progressing toward being powered on in early next year, though full commissioning was not expected this year.

The code department reported nine new homes built during the year, attributed in part to an active demolition-and-rebuild program. Parks and recreation staff were praised for growing programs — including returning volleyball — and for community engagement; Kate Smith was singled out for her work running tournaments and senior-center activities.

Street and infrastructure highlights included a substantial manual effort to place asphalt and maintain alleys: the presenter said crews placed 277 tons of asphalt (primarily pothole repair) and 90 tons of stone in alleys. The city said it anticipates engineering and funding steps next for a Pennsylvania widening project; staff said they were in contention for an additional engineering award for that phase, though the transcript did not specify a confirmed award amount.

Officials asked council members to review posted materials and directed staff to make the state-of-the-city booklet available online and to local media. The presenter emphasized pursuing funding opportunities and preparing for multi-year project timelines.