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The City of Follansbee is able to move forward with some long-needed water infrastructure projects, with the official announcement made Monday during a press conference featuring Gov. Patrick Morrisey and local legislators.
To make sure everyone understands the details, Follansbee previously had received approximately $1.3 million through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for improvements to the Hooverson Heights treatment plant.
After going through multiple rounds of bidding, the city found it was still $500,000 short. Officials reached out through the avenues available to them, and were able to connect with the Governor’s Office and others at the state level, asking for assistance in closing the gap.
That help, announced in June, came through funding from the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council. This week’s press conference was just to make it all official.
The project includes the replacement of some very old valves at the treatment plant, install some backup controls, and put new roofs on four of the buildings at the plant.
This is something that should be celebrated as it will provide an improvement in service to a few thousand residents. Follansbee also is moving forward with a project at its primary water treatment plant downtown, that will benefit the rest of the city.
Astoundingly, although it probably shouldn’t be, was the number of people complaining about this project.
Our social media accounts, after posting the announcement, received numerous comments. Some were appreciative, but not everyone.
A few asked whether efforts were going to be made to improve the water lines themselves. That’s understandable as the in-ground distribution systems of just about every community in our area needs some help.
Others, though, went into "what-about" mode.
What about Weirton?
Might we remind our readers the Governor was in Weirton in April to announce $3.3 million from the West Virginia Water Development Authority to be put toward the Walnut Street area improvements. That’s in addition to the $1 million the Weirton Area Water Board had received for that particular project from the Army Corps in March.
I know Wellsburg has been working to get funding through the WVIJDC for a new water line along a portion of Charles Street. From a report we had in March, the project is being designed so it is ready if funding is available.
State government works in cycles when it comes to providing grants, and, given the supposed funding issues going on in Charleston these days, it’s probably a little easier to secure $500,000 than it is to get a full $4.5 million.
Nobody has forgotten Wellsburg, but patience, hard work and networking can pay dividends.
Beech Bottom has been waiting years to get half-a-million dollars so it can move forward on a long-awaited utility project. Officials there are hopeful for some good news on that front later this year. In the meantime, they continue to do what they can.
Chester spent almost seven years trying to get the necessary funds together to upgrade part of its water and sewer systems. The $3 million came from a mix of state and federal grant dollars and investments from the city.
Our area was supported for decades by heavy industry that brought in hefty taxes to our communities, with some of those companies outright subsidizing various community improvements. Those bank accounts are no longer available, so it takes other methods to get the necessary funding.
That often means showing what your willing to do first, as state and federal officials don’t want to just hand out money without seeing the local investment. Also, it’s not going to happen overnight.
I know we would all like to see things happen at the speed of light, as we consume information faster than our brains were designed to do, but life doesn’t happen that way. We accomplish our goals through teamwork, putting ourselves out there to do the heavy lifting, having patience, and not giving up or being jealous of our neighbors when things don’t go the way we would like.
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is part of the news staff of The Weirton Daily Times. He can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter/X @CHowellWDT)