(Letter to the Editor - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

I attended the Parkersburg City Council meeting on Feb. 28 to create an awareness about the City’s proposed plan to purchase the Economy Inn at 1954 7th St.

This paper reported in November, this site is being considered as the site for the new fire station and also reported the city is willing to pay $490K, the appraised price, for the property. The property is approximately 1.4 acres.

There are 6 buildings measuring over 28,000 square feet, mostly built in 1959 when building materials commonly contained asbestos. Asbestos remediation is almost a certainty. A WV asbestos company remediated the historic Williamstown Elementary recently. It was a single structure, much smaller, and asbestos wasn’t found in every room, and it cost $217K. Demolition costs are bound to be significant for 28,000 square feet.

All estimated costs considered, the Economy Inn site is now costing more like $762K, PLUS demo costs.

An even bigger concern is how and why the city would consider making such a huge expenditure without publicly publishing the requirement and seeing who else might have property that would meet their requirement. I was told by the Finance Department that expenditures over $25K are routinely competed among sources, with no exceptions.

While at council I distributed a package showing three other suitable sites that fit the footprint of the other two fire stations built already, all cost less if you consider ALL the costs. One is publicly listed and the other two sites are for sale by private owners.

Perhaps if the requirements for a site had been publicized as a request for proposals, other sellers might also have surfaced.

At that meeting I called for council and the mayor to fund an asbestos study before further considering the motel property. I also encouraged them to publish the results, so we all know the potential costs and pitfalls.

If you agree, please call your councilperson or the mayor’s office and let them know of your concern.

Sherry West

Parkersburg