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Record of Proceedings

Hidden City Council Meeting Summary - January 6, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, January 6, 2026
BodyWheeling, West Virginia
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, January 6, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 13:31

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Let us pray for our city to have compassion and unity for our well-beings.

0:04

Amen.

0:09

Of the United States of America.

0:11

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:14

One nation under God and the movable with liberty and justice for all.

0:24

We now call the Hidden City Council meeting of January 6th 2026 to order.

0:31

And we're going to ask the clerk, please call the roll.

0:34

Mr.

0:34

Asara.

0:35

Here.

0:35

Ms.

0:35

Kane?

0:36

Here.

0:36

Mayor McGruder?

0:37

Here.

0:38

Mr.

0:38

Palmer?

0:38

Here.

0:39

Mr.

0:39

Seidler.

0:40

Here.

0:40

Mr.

0:40

Skalvanakis.

0:41

Here.

0:42

And Mr.

0:42

Thorngate.

0:43

Here.

0:43

Quorum is present.

0:44

Thank you.

0:45

We do have the city council minutes of December 16, 2025 in front of us.

0:49

Is there a motion to accept those as received?

0:51

So moved.

0:52

Second.

0:53

Any discussion?

0:54

Changes, additions, deletions.

0:57

If not, I'd ask all those in favor to signify by saying aye.

1:01

Aye.

1:01

And those opposed.

1:03

And so the minutes will be approved as received.

1:06

We now have a public hearing on the Wheeling Island Marina Lease.

1:10

Is there a motion to go into uh hearing status?

1:13

I will make that motion.

1:14

Second.

1:15

Any discussion?

1:16

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

1:18

Aye.

1:19

And all those opposed.

1:20

And so at this point, we will open the public hearing for the island arena.

1:24

I have no one signed up to speak.

1:26

Are any comments?

1:28

Uh city manager, please.

1:30

Any comment box?

1:31

So this is a private sector initiative to create a um private uh kayak uh rental uh and pontoon rental as well as other equipment associated with uh using the river.

1:45

Uh it's a small area to the left of the uh boat launch as as you're looking at it towards the back channel.

1:52

Um the the lease uh is for this year will be for a nominal amount and hopefully uh this business will be successful uh going forward thank you.

2:02

Uh do we have any other comments from council or questions of the city manager?

2:06

Yeah, I would say that uh this is a great idea.

2:08

Uh we've invested a lot of money um down there at the marina over the last few years.

2:12

Um obviously we have new docks down there.

2:13

We also put a kayak uh launch down there, a new launch.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████████████28%
Parks and Recreation██████████████████18%
Public Safety████████████12%
Summary of Proceedings

Hidden City Council Meeting Summary - January 6, 2026

This meeting of the Hidden City Council, held on January 6, 2026, convened a quorum to review and approve various municipal ordinances, resolutions, and committee reports. The session included a public hearing regarding the Wheeling Island Marina lease, the approval of several significant expenditures for infrastructure and technology, and updates on city projects including the state of the city address and ongoing construction at city hall. All agenda items were discussed with unanimous support from the council members present.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes from the city council meeting of December 16, 2025, were accepted as received.
  • The minutes from the Trapping Commission meeting of November 13, 2025, were accepted as received.
  • The minutes from the Development Committee and the amendments from the Finance Committee (both dated December 16, 2025) were accepted as received.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Public Comment: No members of the public were signed up to speak during the public hearing on the Wheeling Island Marina Lease; no comments were received.

Discussion Items

  • Wheeling Island Marina Lease: The City Manager described a private sector initiative to lease a nominal area left of the boat launch for kayak, pontoon, and equipment rentals. Councilor Kane expressed that the idea was "great" and noted the city's recent investments in new docks and a kayak launch, viewing the marina as a "really busy place" in the summer.
  • City Manager Report (Mr. Harron): The manager reported on the urgency of a CDBG road resurfacing project on 12th Street and Grandview Avenue, citing funds dating back to previous fiscal years. He confirmed that the Gaywood storm sewer and Valley View Sanitary Sewer projects were complete and estimated the move back to the first-floor city hall would occur in late March or early April.
  • Councilor Sklavonakis Remarks: The Vice Mayor addressed the recent Washington Avenue bridge fire caused by welding, stating that contractors were aware of the issues and that the incident had not created setbacks or delays in the bridge's completion.
  • Parking Changes: Discussion included the creation of a two-hour parking zone on National Road between Cole Avenue and Junior Avenue Bridge.
  • Bus Stop Relocation: Discussion involved relocating a bus stop on National Road across from Junior Avenue Bridge to be closer to Cole Avenue.

Key Outcomes

  • Wheeling Island Marina Lease: The council approved a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute a lease with Joseph Bonds and Trips Fund Zone for recreational parcels at the marina. Councilor Seidler clarified that any structure would be a removable shed, not a permanent one, due to flood risks; the motion passed unanimously on roll call.
  • Funding and Vendor Approvals (Unanimous Roll Call Votes):
    • Duke's Route Control ($449,999.78): Ordinance approved for the purchase of route control for the Water Pollution Control Division.
    • Esmal Corp ($15,000): Ordinance approved for the rental of a Skid Mountain Multi-Disc screw press system for the Water Pollution Control Division.
    • Tyler Technologies ($81,675.06): Ordinance approved for annual system software maintenance, charged to Water UAR, WPCD, and the General Fund.
    • GHA Technologies ($149,042.00): Ordinance approved for cybersecurity enhancements, charged to the General Fund, Water, and WPCD.
    • Spartan Fire Hydrants ($18,105.00): Ordinance approved for fire hydrant upgrades charged to Water.
    • Atlas Environmental Management ($15,190.00): Ordinance approved for the rental of two temporary fract tanks charged to the Water Pollution Control Division.
  • Alley Abandonment: Ordinance approved to vacate and abandon a portion of an unopened alley along Elmwood (lots 16-21).
  • City Depositories: Resolution approved designating Truist, Community Bank, West Banco, First Choice America, Chase, and Main Street Bank as city depositories for 2026.
  • 14th Street Development: Ordinance approved for $59,000 in engineering services from MG Architects for demolition related to the project.
  • CDBG Amendments: Resolution approved to submit substantial amendments for fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2024 to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the 12th Street/Grandview Avenue road resurfacing project.
  • State of the City Address date set for Tuesday, February 10, at high noon at the White Palace.
  • Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Let us pray for our city to have compassion and unity for our well-beings. Amen. Of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God and the movable with liberty and justice for all. We now call the Hidden City Council meeting of January 6th 2026 to order. And we're going to ask the clerk, please call the roll. Mr. Asara. Here. Ms. Kane? Here. Mayor McGruder? Here. Mr. Palmer? Here. Mr. Seidler. Here. Mr. Skalvanakis. Here. And Mr. Thorngate. Here. Quorum is present. Thank you. We do have the city council minutes of December 16, 2025 in front of us. Is there a motion to accept those as received? So moved. Second. Any discussion? Changes, additions, deletions. If not, I'd ask all those in favor to signify by saying aye. Aye. And those opposed. And so the minutes will be approved as received. We now have a public hearing on the Wheeling Island Marina Lease. Is there a motion to go into uh hearing status? I will make that motion. Second. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. And all those opposed. And so at this point, we will open the public hearing for the island arena. I have no one signed up to speak. Are any comments?

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