NORTH
WHEELING
Officials in the city of Wheeling are looking at a proposal that will allow the Building and Planning Department to begin recouping some of the costs incurred by outsourcing plan reviews for larger commercial projects in the city.
During a recent meeting of the Finance Committee of Council, Wheeling’s Director of Building and Planning Brenda J. Delbert noted that the city is growing, and more commercial projects are coming to fruition. Under the current operation, however, the city loses money when professional reviews of complex documents incur significant costs.
“The code states that we have to approve construction documents before things can be built to make sure that they meet all of the life-saving fire codes,” Delbert said. “But it does leave fees up to the local jurisdiction — and currently we do not charge for plan review fees.”
Delbert said the costs incurred by the city fluctuate depending on the number of larger commercial projects for which plans are submitted, as well as the complexity of each of the plans.
“So far this year, just through August, we’ve spent $43,563 on plan reviews,” she said. “For an average of 15 commercial projects. The most expensive one we did was $11,625. So I’m proposing to start charging for plan reviews.”
Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said the city outsources its more complex commercial plan reviews to a private company that specializes in such work.
— The Intelligencer/ Wheeling News-Register
NORTH CENTRAL
KINGWOOD
The cost of active shooter response training for all county employees was discussed this week at the Preston County Commission meeting.
County Administrator Nate Raybeck updated the commissioners about the ALICE E-Learning program, which teaches how to respond to emergencies and active shooters.
Raybeck said the training would cost an average of $33 per employee per year.
The county’s annual total cost would be around $3,700, but there was some confusion on whether that would stay the same during the three-year contract period.
Commissioners tabled the item until next week for clarification.
Meanwhile, Chris Jeffries was on hand representing Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration to discuss concerns with an emergency response plan development contract.
“I wanted to go over a few things with you. During the last meeting there were some concerns about wording in the contract. Nate (Raybeck) and I worked on it together and I think we got it in the right direction now. I think it shows we can be picked, but that it is not required that we be a primary responder. You can use anyone you want,” Jeffries said.
Commissioners were mostly pleased with the amended contract.
— Preston County News and Journal
MORGANTOWN
Research from West Virginia University students and faculty into how 3D printing works in a weightless environment aims to support long-term exploration and habitation on spaceships, the moon or Mars.
Extended missions in outer space require the manufacture of crucial materials and equipment onsite, rather than transporting those items from Earth. Members of the Microgravity Research Team said they believe 3D printing is the way to make that happen.
The team’s recent experiments focused on how a weightless microgravity environment affects 3D printing using titania foam, a material with potential applications ranging from UV blocking to water purification.
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces published their findings.
“A spacecraft can’t carry infinite resources, so you have to maintain and recycle what you have and 3D printing enables that,” said lead author Jacob Cordonier, a doctoral student in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
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