WEIRTON — Weirton Council approved two more allotments of funds derived from the city’s opioid settlement funds Tuesday, although not without concerns expressed about one of the proposals.

Councilmembers unanimously approved providing $240,000 to the WVU Hancock County Extension Service, and $74,926.36 to the Weirton Police Department.

Funding for the WVU Extension would allow for the establishment of a prevention program assistant position.

“They’ll be providing prevention education,” explained Zach White, WVU Extension agent for Hancock County, noting the position would be available for three years, and the program would go through the Health Rocks! Initiative and geared toward middle school students.

Information provided by White noted the program would deliver prevention lessons in schools, increasing awareness of substance use risks, training teachers and volunteers to provide additional lessons, all with the aim of reducing substance experimentation among youth, sustaining prevention education countywide, fostering a culture of resilience and wellness in the community, and show measurable improvements in protective factors in the community.

The funds for the police department will be put toward the purchase of video surveillance equipment in vehicles and neighborhoods.

Resident Benjamin Luke, speaking near the beginning of the meeting, expressed concern about the cameras, citing the potential loss of privacy of residents by having cameras installed throughout the city and the idea of police using them to surveil vehicles randomly.

“Once those cameras start, they don’t stop,” he said, citing the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Police Chief Charlie Kush, though, said the system doesn’t work that way, promising the systems won’t be used to spy on residents.

“It doesn’t alert us. It’s something we can use if we’re looking for a certain vehicle,” Kush said, noting the neighborhood-based cameras would be used more in situations where footage can be reviewed if police receive a report of an incident in a particular area to help identify individuals who may have been involved.

Kush added the video and other data collected through the system would be stored on a cloud service for 30 days and then deleted automatically.

The resolutions authorized the fifth and sixth distributions of the city’s opioid settlement funds.

In March, the city awarded $211,654.85 for the purchase of two vehicles and equipment for use by the police department’s K-9 Division, as well as street-based video systems and license plate reader systems.

Weirton Council also has provided $277,555.10 to the Weirton Fire Department to purchase automated external defibrillators and a mechanical chest compression system, as well as fund any training related to the equipment.

In August, Northwood Health Systems were provided two allotments from the fund, with $66,000 to fund the addition of a peer recovery support specialist for the Weirton Assertive Community Treatment Team, and $82,964 to provide two years of wages and training for an outpatient peer recovery support services staff member.

The city began its distribution of funds with more than $1.3 million, provided by the state and derived from settlements to cases filed against distributors and producers of pharmaceutical opioids. Following Tuesday’s approvals, the city stood with approximately $408,000 in funds remaining; however, City Attorney Vince Gurrera announced a new infusion of $159,694.04 would allow for more money to be sent into the community.

“The full amount goes to the city,” Gurrera said, explaining the funds were part of a recent opioid-related case worked on by himself and City Manager Mike Adams.

Adams noted additional funding requests have been submitted and are being reviewed to ensure they meet the requirements of the West Virginia First memorandum of understanding.