Follansbee Plaza work eyed for spring

FOLLANSBEE -- Mayor David Velegol Jr. said he expects work on the new Ray Stoaks Plaza to begin in the spring.

Empire Go-Green Recycling of Follansbee is the contractor for the $310,600 project, which will involve creating a town square from the current plaza and the section of Penn Street between state Route 2 and Virginia Avenue, which will be closed.

The project is being funded with $120,000 left to the city by the late schoolteacher, Dorothy Kotroumanis; a $45,000 grant from the Charles and Thelma Pugliese Foundation and a $2,500 grant from the Hancock County Savings Bank Charitable Foundation.

Velegol said some of the work will be done as additional funds become available, and he’s currently pursuing another grant.

Designed by CT Consulting of Akron, plans call for the plaza to include an arched entrance from Route 2, cascading fountain, seat-level brick wall and black cast iron tables with umbrellas as well as flowers and greenery.

Velegol said the ground will include areas of artificial turf and stamped concrete resembling colored stone and similar to that recently installed below the fountain outside the Follansbee American Legion Post.

The plaza will extend from the sidewalk along the City Building to the area beside Little Bear Daycare that was named for Ray Stoaks, a Follansbee city manager for 20 years.

The area has been the focus of the city’s Christmas lighting program and once was occupied by a stage used for public events.

Velegol envisions the new plaza as a place where future community events may be held and people who live and work in the city may stop for lunch and relaxation.

In an effort to share that vision, he arranged for food trucks and musicians to appear at the present site at noon each Wednesday for several weeks in the summer.

Velegol said there are plans to resume the events, which he dubbed "Wild, Wonderful Wednesdays," in the spring, though some accommodations will need to be made while the work is being done.

He said he believes the square will help to draw interest in the city’s downtown business district.

“I see it bringing people into the core of the city. I see it being a game-changer for Follansbee,” said Velegol.