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PARKERSBURG -- The administration is asking Parkersburg City Council to approve spending more than $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for major equipment purchases and work on the floodwall.
The budget revisions are on council's agenda for Tuesday night, along with $90,000 to repair the water slide at Southwood Park and $60,000 to pay off the Fire Department's burn tower. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, following a presentation by Mayor Tom Joyce on a potential new Activity and Recreation Center.
The budget revision seeks $1 million for a Fire Department ladder truck, $580,000 for two new Sanitation Department packer trucks and $540,000 for new street sweepers. Joyce said he wants to continue the city's practice in recent years of not going into debt on assets like that when possible.
"Debt on depreciating assets is, I think, poor use of the public (money)," he said. "This, I think, is the best way for us to get critical equipment for preserving our infrastructure and protecting our citizens."
Joyce told council he was considering a request for equipment purchases using ARPA funds during the recent municipal budget hearings.
The revision also seeks $225,000 for the floodwall, to be used for the dredging of Pond Run, permanent gate closures and retrofits of other gates.
The money can be spent directly from the city's ARPA allotment because it's for public health and public safety, Finance Director Eric Jiles said.
The $1 million for the ladder truck will be supplemented by $275,000 allocated for the purchase in the capital reserve fund and $50,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds.
Fire Chief Jason Matthews has proposed buying a slightly smaller truck than the city now uses, which Joyce said is approaching the end of its useful life. It would have the same maximum ladder length of 100 feet but would not have a bucket and platform at the top.
"It's about ... 9, 10 feet shorter than the platform ladder that we have now," Matthews said.
That would make it more maneuverable in certain areas of the city, he said. And the price tag is lower by $500,000 to $700,000.
"He came up with a fantastic solution to a very expensive proposition," Joyce said, noting the existing truck could be used as a backup and the reduced wear would allow it to remain in service longer.
If the revisions are approved, the city will still have more than $3.3 million of its original $22.45 million ARPA allotment unallocated.
The budget revision would also move $90,000 from the general fund's contingency line item to cover repairs to the water slide at Southwood Park "to keep the slide open for, we estimate, three to five more years," Joyce said.
Another $60,000 from contingency would go to pay off the burn tower built five years ago behind station 6 on Camden Avenue and funded by the city and multiple volunteer fire departments. After an increase in the variable interest rate, paying it off now will save money in the long run, including $15,000 for Parkersburg alone, Matthews said.
Tuesday's agenda also includes the first reading of an ordinance that would extend the time periods related to hearings before the Building Enforcement Agency, which consists of the mayor and other city officials and deals with building code violations.
People now have 10 days to request a hearing after receiving notice from the agency to repair, close or demolish a structure and the group has five days from receipt of the notice to schedule a hearing and 10 days to issue a decision. The new ordinance would extend those periods to 20 days to request a hearing, 45 days to schedule and 15 days to issue a decision.
"We're extending the time frame, 'cause honestly, most of the time we end up giving an extension," Joyce said.
A resolution on the agenda would set council's April meetings for April 18 and 25 to accommodate the state law requirement to lay the levy rates for the annual budget on the third Tuesday of the month.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.
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Tuesday's City of Parkersburg meetings
* 6:30 p.m.: Presentation on proposed Activity and Recreation Center, council chambers, Municipal Building
* 7:30 p.m.: Parkersburg City Council, council chambers