By Erin Beck
Editor
Shinnston City Council members and the city manager have developed a list of several city improvement ideas to consider during the 2022 calendar year.
“We’re looking into the possibilities,” said Chad Edwards, city manager, in an interview.
During Shinnston’s City Council meeting Nov. 29, Councilmember Maryann Ferris suggested more street lights, while Councilmember Rodney Strait suggested evaluating alleyway traffic to determine which may need rocks and which may need paved. Councilmember Andrew Kisamore suggested lighting for the rail trail.
Edwards brought up expansion of sewer lines to the Haywood and Saltwell areas and an upgrade of the wastewater collection facility.
Officials mentioned improvements to water tanks and the water plant.
Council members floated improvements to or replacing the two city buildings. In the interview, Edwards noted both have bad roofs.
“Both buildings are old and in disrepair,” he said. “They’ve served their purposes.”
Edwards also suggested a housing demolition program. In the interview, he said that while Shinnston demolishes dilapidated houses already, he thought it would be more cost-efficient for the city and attractive to bidders to consolidate multiple properties into one demolition project.
He noted that Shinnston has demolished houses before, but it’s “piecemeal.”
“I think we need to have some type of a program,” he said. “We need to have some type of a funding mechanism for that. We have a line item, but line items in the budget do not equate to cash. We need to have a procedure in place.”
Edwards also said John Bart, chief sewer plant operator, would be retiring after 30 years.
Also in Shinnston city business:
- Edwards said the city may consider revising an ordinance during an upcoming meeting so that helmets are no longer required on ATVs.
- He also said the city received $300,000 in American Rescue Plan funding, which is to be used for broadband, sewer and water improvements. That money is doled out by the Harrison County Commission as needed, he said.
