Council member Marty Seufer discussed the sidewalk improvement project at the Williamstown City Council meeting. Also pictured is council member Jim Stage. (Photo by James Dobbs)

WILLIAMSTOWN — Williamstown City Council awarded a contract for a sidewalk improvement project and appointed new Bee City members on Tuesday.

Mayor Paul Jordan and council member Pat Peters were unable to attend the meeting.

Maria Hardy, engineer, said a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was sent out to engineering companies for the Sidewalk Improvement Project. This project received $100,000 of funding from the state, which will be used to help the city update any sidewalk that isn’t up-to-date or compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Hardy said Burgess and Niple won the overall qualification and interview packet. Council made a motion to have the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council negotiate a contract with Burgess and Niple. Seufer said the contract would then be brought back to council regarding the wording. The motion passed unanimously.

Seufer said there has been no decision made on what sidewalks will be worked on at this time.

Seufer said the Bee City committee met on May 3, and reset its members. He said some of the previous members had left for various reasons, such as family issues.

Seufer made a motion to make himself, Jim Stage, Calvin Blevins, Joyce McDougal, Edie Lemon and Cynthia Davis the new members of Bee City. The motion passed unanimously.

Williamstown Police Chief Shawn Graham said they received a bid of $12,173.28 from Insight Technologies to help install equipment in patrol cars to start running suspect information while in the vehicle. This will be paid for as part of the 2021 Homeland Security Grant that the department received for the Zeurcher system. During a council meeting in November, Graham said the system would cost $67,318 and the grant would pay for $66,318 of the total.

Graham said this will put the Williamstown police officers on the same information system as the Parkersburg and Vienna police departments.

Council approved the bid unanimously.

Council member Jim Stage said starting today, there will be several streets blocked off in Williamstown. He said there will be three layers of blacktop taken off of the roads on Highland Avenue, starting on Ninth Street and going all the way to Williamstown Bridge.

Seufer said council will set a hearing date for the June 7, council meeting at 7 p.m. for the closing of the alley behind the Williamstown Dental Office. This ordinance will take two readings.

Council member Randy Dick said the Williamstown Pool will be filled next week.