The White Sulphur Springs City Council opened bids for two major projects earlier this month at their regularly scheduled meeting on No. 13.
One of which is a project aimed at placing cameras around the city to “improve the safety of its citizens,” according to the President of Greenbrier Technologies and Electric Bill Lenherr. The company won the project with a bid of $32,685.51. Cameras will be installed at various locations around White Sulphur Springs, and the police will be able to view the video feeds in real time.
A second major project bid was awarded to Greenbrier Electric for the purpose of installing a generator, at a total cost of $189,961. The funds will come from a state program, and not the city directly.
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In other news, the first reading of a new building code ordinance was held, and passed. The ordinance would adopt the state building code regarding construction of new structures and maintenance to older buildings. Most surrounding municipalities have already adopted similar codes, and White Sulphur Springs will now be on the same page. According to White Sulphur Springs city attorney Fred Giggenbach, “52 municipalities have adopted the state building code. It has parameters on how to build and construct buildings with the municipality.” He went on to explain how the property maintenance parameters will work, citing an example involving a “not quite deteriorated” house that isn’t at a demolition stage yet. In that scenario, a code enforcer would give warnings, then citations, if the property isn’t repaired to comply with safety codes.
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City council also heard a report from Councilmember Mark Gillespie on the success of the new White Sulphur Visitor’s Center. According to Gillespie, there have already been 228 visitors. He emphasized that a sign with “tourism mapping” would be beneficial to the center, and would cost around $2,500 in total. Gillespie indicated that tourists could use such a guide to educate themselves on local attractions and places of interest. The council voted to provide half of that cost to help pay for the new signage.
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The council meets the second Monday of each month at White Sulphur Springs City Hall. The next meeting will be on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.