5,087. Down about 100 residents since 2010. Not too bad considering the city of St. Clairsville has been above the state of Ohio’s requirements for city status since the 1980s.
There were once nearly 5,500 St. Clairsville citizens 40 years ago, but it dipped to 5,057 in the census count in 2010. If the municipality falls below 5,000 in the 2030 U.S. Census Bureau count, city leaders no longer would have the ability to apply because of qualification standards on the state and federal levels.
“That’s why we need to start working on attracting new residents now,” said Mayor Kathryn Thalman. “And we’re going to need everyone’s help.”
By “everyone” the mayor means her administration, the Belmont County Commission, and each and every resident of St. Clairsville.
“If one of our residents knows someone who is planning to move to the area, the resident hopefully will recruit them to our city,” Thalman said. “And it doesn’t matter if they are coming home or if they’ll be new to the area. It’s my hope we can get everyone to fight for our great city.”
The city of St. Clairsville has been fighting the same battle all communities have in the Upper Ohio Valley. Not a single city has added population for decades because of a crippling lack of living-wage job opportunities after steel production along the Ohio River was erased at the same time most other manufacturing facilities were shuttered.
“Adding population is a must in St. Clairsville, and that’s it is part of our long-term planning because if we dip below 5,000 and lose our city status, there are a lot of grants we would no longer be eligible for because of the rules attached,” Thalman explained. “There are more opportunities in this area now than there have been, and that’s why I believe we have to build the infrastructure because that’s important to people when they are looking to relocate. We’ve also been working with the Belmont County commissioner in an effort to attract new businesses to St. Clairsville.
“We do have land in the county where new companies can build and operate, and those kinds of developments could add residents to this city,” she said. “The population in St. Clairsville is definitely in our headlights, and that’s why we hope people see that St. Clairsville is a quaint city that is beautiful, the people are wonderful, and they are friendly. We also have some great restaurants, medical care, and many other amenities that people are looking for in a new town.”
The City’s Guts
The city of St. Clairsville was built on an extended ridge along U.S. 40 (National Road), but on both sides of Main Street are businesses, schools, churches, and residential properties. Upgrades to water and sewer underground infrastructure, however, have not taken place for more than 50 years.
“That has been an issue since I became the mayor, “Thalman said. “It’s something I didn’t expect, but I didn’t pay a ton of attention until the water service issue. I was just thankful to live in such a beautiful place.”
That is why, now that St. Clairsville, retained its city status, her staff is constantly searching for federal and state grant opportunities for municipalities.
“I do wish a lot of the issues that we’re dealing with now had been addressed before, but perhaps they didn’t have the money to make improvements,” Thalman said. “It would have been nice if they looked into replacing some of the water and sewer lines back in the 1960s because what we have now just continues to rot in the ground. But, if you look around, all of the towns in this area are pretty much in the same boat.
“When it comes to the underground infrastructure, if you don’t actually see it, you have no way of knowing just how bad it is,” the mayor said. “Unfortunately, we’ve been seeing a lot of it over the past couple of years because repairs have been made. We have had a lot of water breaks in St. Clairsville because of the age of those lines. We are trying to take advantage of the funds that we can get so it’s not as big a strain on our residents.”
Thankfully, Thalman reported, St. Clairsville remains financially stable.
“Revenue in St. Clairsville right now is very strong, and we have worked very hard to trim the budget where we could so we have the funds for the necessary work,” she said. “The funds from the American Rescue Plan helped us tremendously because we received around $4 million, and we spent those dollars on the projects we were allowed to perform.
“We approach our spending with priorities, of course, so we could maximize that money to make the best possible improvements in the city,” the mayor insisted. “We feel good about how those funds were used, and we continue to apply for every grant we can so the improvement can continue.”
