QUESTIONS RAISED — James Duke Sr. of Hooverson Heights was among residents who raised questions about a planned water rate hike at Mondays’ Follansbee Council meeting. -- Warren Scott

FOLLANSBEE — On Monday, Follansbee Council heard from a handful of residents who questioned plans to raise the water rate for the city’s downtown and suburban customers.

Last month, council accepted the Follansbee water board’s recommendation to raise the base water rate from $11.29 per 1,000 gallons to $24.21 per 1,500 gallons.

Mayor David Velegol Jr. said the city has been encouraged to raise the number of gallons on which the rate is based because most water providers base their rates on 2,000 gallons or more.

With the increase, bills for customers with an average monthly usage of 3,400 gallons of water will rise from $38.39 to $54.88.

The increase is expected to occur in four months, pending approval of a second reading slated for council’s Nov. 18 meeting. Set for 6 p.m. at the City Building, it was moved from its regular date of Nov. 11 because that is Veterans Day.

James Duke Jr., a resident of Hooverson Heights, noted his neighborhood receives water through the city but is not within its boundaries so he can’t vote for or against the officials who affect his water bills.

Councilman at large John Casinelli told him the West Virginia Public Service Commission in 1996 ordered the city to take over the former Hooverson Heights Public Service District as a condition of receiving state funds for the city’s water plant.

Casinelli said he thought then that Hooverson Heights should be represented on the city’s water board but it wasn’t approved by the West Virginia Public Service Commission.

Mayor David Velegol Jr. said 80 percent of the water line breaks repaired by the city have been in the Hooverson Heights area.

Duke’s father, James Sr., told council many lines in the area were comprised of polybutylene, a material that’s been found to be defective, and the city may be eligible for federal funds to replace them.

Casinelli said staff with Ghosh Engineering working with the city will be made aware of that. But he stressed the rate increase is not to support any major improvements.

“That increase is for operation and maintenance. It’s not for putting anything in the ground or anything like that,” he said.

Velegol agreed, saying, “This is not about fixing things. This is because we’re at a deficit.”

Third Ward Councilman Nick Cekinovich said, “We’re being told this is what we have to do to be solvent.”

Al DeAngelis, a member of the water board, said the city lost about $450,000 in revenue with the closing of the Mountain State Carbon coke plant, which had been a major water customer.

He added it’s also seen a 30 percent increase in costs for utilities and materials used in the systems’ operations.

At the water board’s Oct. 17 meeting, Velegol said $1.5 million had been taken from the city’s general and Urban Development Action Grant trust funds to cover expenses for the water treatment system.

He said the money was used to replace the control system for the downtown water plant and to provide the local match required for a $2 million grant awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers for improvements to the city’s downtown and suburban water treatment systems.

Because water and wastewater treatment providers are expected by the state to be self-sufficient, the outside funds must be repaid in order for the city to be eligible for such grants.

On Monday, Velegol said the Army Corps of Engineers’ grant will be used to improve the water treatment systems serving downtown Follansbee and its Hooverson Heights and other suburban customers.

Resident Marty Bartz is among water customers who questioned plans to establish a new water tank on McKims Ridge in Colliers.

Velegol said the tank has been proposed by Ghosh Engineering because it will improve water pressure for some customers and its site is more easily accessible than the current tank’s location.

Casinelli told Bartz, “That’s just to feed the system. Because it’s going to be there, seven homes there can connect into it.”

Velegol said prior to the meeting, the customers will pay for the lines on their properties.

Council also heard from Skip Cutrone, a local business owner and former council member, who noted in 2016, council approved, through the state’s Home Rule program, a 1 percent sales tax.

He noted from the tax’s annual revenue, $150,000 was to be used for street paving, $50,000 was to be used for the city’s fire station and $38,000 was designated for general use.

Cutrone asked why the funds haven’t been used in recent years for street paving.

Cekinovich said council has budgeted $100,000 for paving this year.

Following the meeting, Velegol confirmed those funds were used elsewhere.

He said it’s not clear the ordinance establishing the tax was bound to those allocations, and that will be investigated.

But Velegol said use of the revenue in other ways is justified in light of the city’s current financial constraints, which have led to it employing a very limited workforce and relying on equipment that is due for replacement.

“You could pave streets (with the sales tax revenue), but while you’re doing that, you could bankrupt the city,” he said, adding, “Nobody’s going to penalize the city because we didn’t follow those allocations.”

Council also heard from resident Johnny Varlas, who complained, “Nothing is getting done in this downtown area.”

Varlas said the present mayor and council have failed to complete projects planned a few years ago, including the replacement of nonfunctioning streetlights along Main Street, development of a town plaza in front of the City Building and renovations to the fire station.

Velegol said replacement of the streetlights has become more costly than expected, requiring underground wiring to be replaced and sidewalk above it to be restored. Funds allocated for one section of streetlights have been diverted to replacing malfunctioning water meters.

The mayor said he’d anticipated about $250,000 in state funds being awarded for the town plaza but since that appears to have fallen through, he’s pursuing federal money for the project.

“There’s nobody in the city that wants that plaza more than I do,” he told Varlas.

Later in the meeting, council heard from Joe Edmiston, an independent grant writer working for the city, who advised $2.7 million in federal Housing and Urban Development funds have been awarded for the fire station while $1.5 million in state funds for it are pending.

Plans call for the station to be extended south to allow the creation of three larger bays for the fire department’s vehicles and a larger apron in front to provide more room for the trucks to pull in and out.

A deteriorating floor spurred the project.

Edmiston noted his yearly contract is up for renewal and said in light of the city’s financial difficulties, he’s proposed a 22 percent reduction in his fees.

Also on Monday, Velegol announced replacement of a stormwater line under Raymond Street is expected to begin in the next few weeks.

Alex Paris of Atlasburg, Pa., is the contractor for the $1.5 million project, which is expected to ease the flow of runoff from the hillside above the city and reduce the risk of flooding.