If other members of Wheeling Council approach City Manager Bob Herron with clean-up proposals similar to what has been orchestrated this week on Wheeling Island, the projects definitely would be considered.
Ward 2 representative Ben Seidler assisted this week with the orchestration of a massive undertaking involving more than 50 city employees from several different divisions within the Public Works Department. Those individuals have worked since Monday to remove more than 200 tons of debris gathered from hundreds of homes on the north and south ends of Wheeling Island.
This Saturday morning, Seidler will help with the annual Wheeling Island Clean-Up Day to comb the neighborhoods for any litter and left-over trash. Volunteers will be offered a free breakfast at Eden Family Restaurant (135 Virginia St.) beginning at 7:30 a.m., and then a free lunch at Abbey’s Restaurant at 11:30 a.m.
The Potential for This Clean-Up
“I am very pleased with how that operation has gone, and Councilperson Ben Seidler needs to be congratulated because he put that project together,” Herron said. “He approached us several weeks ago, and the city approached it as all-hands-on-deck because we expected a large volume of material. I was here for the 2004 flood, so I was aware of the potential for this clean-up effort, and we will not know the total cost until everything gets hauled away and placed into the landfill.
“The fact that most of the residents of Wheeling Island embraced this and participated by cleaning up their properties is very encouraging,” the city manager said. “While it was a lot of work for our city employees, I believe in the long run it’s going to be a very positive thing for the people of Wheeling Island.”
Where Else?
As of today, nowhere else. That is because, according to Herron, city officials have not been approached by one of the other six Council representatives with the same request Seidler made more than a month ago.
“No one on Council has asked for a similar operation to this point, but obviously the city would respond to any type of request that might be made,” Herron said. “It would be possible it could happen if another Council member made a request, but I do not know if it could take place this year. Again, this has been an all-hands-on-deck operation, and we’ll have to look at what the cost is to determine when it can take place in another area.
“But yes, it is something we’d be interested in because we do want to keep our neighborhoods as clean as possible,” he continued. “If a Council member feels they have the same issue Councilperson Seidler recognized on Wheeling Island, we’ll definitely take a look at what can be accomplished.”
Technically, though, no city citizen is forced to store away old mattresses, worn furniture, and inoperable appliances like what has been seen this week along the streets and alleys of Wheeling Island.
“The amount of volume we’ve seen on the Island this week has been unfortunate because our sanitation department will take a lot of different stuff every week,” Herron said. “That doesn’t mean everyone should throw everything away at once, but there’s really no reason to accumulate things that you no longer need; just throw it out if you don’t want it.
“I give a lot of credit to Councilperson Seidler for a) coming up with the idea, and b) significantly promoting it so every resident on Wheeling Island knew about the opportunity,” he continued. “It was something that was obviously necessary.”
Why the Island?
The history of Wheeling Island is very rich and has included Civil War activity, the playfulness of the city’s uber wealthy, and extended tenures of live horse and greyhound racing. The West Virginia High School Football Championships, or the “Super Six,” have been staged at Wheeling Island Stadium since 1994, and the Ohio River has offered recreational opportunities since the isle was first inhabited.
Wheeling Island, in fact, is the most populated island along the Ohio River, and includes a total of 374 acres of land. But as the Upper Ohio Valley has lost nearly 50 percent of its population since the 1960s, many economical shifts have shaken the Wheeling area.
“A lot of the residents of Wheeling Island have told me that both the north and south ends have changed a lot of over the years when it comes to single-family homes and rental properties,” Seidler said. “A lot of the bigger homes on the Island have been turned into apartment buildings so there is a high density of rentals. That’s not a bad thing in most cases, but some rental properties have caused a lot of problems because the property owners only care about making money and not about keeping the units in a livable condition.
“Those slumlords give all the others a bad name, and that’s not fair, but thanks to the level of participation this week, a lot of the problem has been eliminated, and I am hoping for the best in the future,” he said. “There was a lot that was thrown away, but hopefully the residents have learned not to keep as much as they have in the past because they really don’t have to do that.”
