Parkersburg City Clerk Connie Shaffer, left, administers the oath of office to new District 9 Councilman Robert Moore, center, with his wife Gina standing beside him in the executive conference room at the Municipal Building prior to Tuesday’s council meeting. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG — The newest member of Parkersburg City Council took the oath of office prior to Tuesday’s regular meeting.

Robert Moore, 54, was appointed to the seat vacated last month by the resignation of Councilwoman Cathy Dailey. An employee in the shipping department of Profusion Inc. in Marietta, Moore said he applied for the post before Dailey was appointed at the end of 2023.

“I like talking, and I like just communicating with the public,” Moore said. “And I think I can make a difference. We’ll see.”

Moore was one of three nominees submitted to Mayor Tom Joyce by the city Republican Executive Committee to take Dailey’s place. The committee consists of members of the Wood County GOP executive committee who live in the city.

“He’ll do a fine job, I’m sure,” Joyce said.

Parkersburg Development Director Ryan Barber outlines the proposed Community Development Block Grant budget during a Parkersburg City Council Finance Committee meeting Tuesday at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Committee member Warren Bigley said five people applied for the position, although one withdrew prior to interviews. The other nominees submitted to the mayor were Alisa Prince and Ray Vannoy.

Dailey said she was resigning to address family matters and felt she could not give the job, to which she was reelected in November, the attention it required.

Before being sworn in, Moore attended a council Finance Committee meeting during which members voted 3-1 to refer the proposed budgets for federally allocated CDBG and HOME funds for the 2025-26 fiscal year to the full council. The committee was down one member because Dailey was its chairwoman. Vice Chairman Roger Brown ran the meeting.

Council President Mike Reynolds cast the dissenting vote on referring the budget after questioning an allocation of $25,000 to Discovery World on Market, the interactive children’s museum. He noted the city contributed $50,000 to Discovery World from its general fund for this fiscal year.

“I question whether we should give them another bunch of money in the same budget,” Reynolds said.

Parkersburg City Council President Mike Reynolds, right, asks a question during Tuesday’s Finance Committee meeting as Vice Chairman Roger Brown listens. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Joyce said the CDBG funds proposed for Discovery World would pay for memberships so children in low-to-moderate-income households could attend the museum, while the general fund money was to support operations, “as we do for other entities ”

Development Director Ryan Barber, a member of the Discovery World board of directors, said many museums rely on public and donor support. Joyce said Discovery World draws more people to the city than Blennerhassett Island.

After the vote, Reynolds asked Barber to provide him with possible alternatives for the funds’ allocation before council considers the CDBG budget on July 22. Joyce said he would address that.

Other proposed allocations in the CDBG budget include:

* $165,000 to cover all or a portion of the salaries for four employees in the Development Department that oversee federal, state and locally funded programs.

* $153,803 toward repayment of the loan for renovations to Point Park.

* $150,000 for storm water improvements.

* $150,000 for playground facility upgrades.

* $100,000 for the Residential Assisted Demolition Program.

* $55,000 to fund a position in code enforcement.

* $40,000 for Consumer Credit Counseling Services to provide housing counseling to low- and moderate-income households

* $27,292 to make a portion of the loan payment for Fire Station 2 at 16th and Covert streets.

* $20,000 for the YMCA Camp Navigator Scholarship Fund.

* $15,000 for critical equipment upgrades for the Fire Department.

The Parkersburg-Wood County HOME Consortium is administered by the city but includes Vienna, Williamstown and Wood County as well. Proposed allocations for its budget include:

* $181,591 to the Down Payment Assistance Program.

* $150,000 for a low-income housing tax credit project, recipient to be determined.

* $41,000.13 for general administration.

* $40,000 to Habitat for Humanity of the Mid-Ohio Valley, the consortium’s dedicated community housing development organization.

During the regular council meeting, it was announced that Reynolds had appointed Brown chairman of the Finance Committee and Councilman Andrew Borkowski as vice chairman. He also appointed Councilwoman Shaon Kuhl to the Personnel Committee in Dailey’s place.

Two appointments to the Downtown Facade Committee were approved by council: engineer Austin Young on a 9-0 vote and Resiliency Center Executive Director Sydney Weber 8-1, with Councilwoman Wendy Tuck opposed.

Council voted 9-0 to receive and file Joyce’s appointments of Brian Bragg, Ross Clegg, Jimmy Fordyce and Frank Douglas to the Building Code Appeals Board.