From the Office of the Director of Public Services
Route 9 & 40
In the Spring of 2003, the City of St. Clairsville received word from Ohio's Department of Transportation that the City's proposed project to repave and construct new curbs and new sidewalks along Route 9 and Route 40 was approved. The cost of this project is in excess of one million dollars.
The City's intention was to start this project in July 2003. However, due to delays in review of the plans the project has been pushed back. The goal now is to start the project in mid-September. Route 9 and its enhancements would be started and completed in 2003. Once Route 9 is complete, the work related to Route 40 would be started and completed in 2004.
This is a major project and although it will cause some inconvenience the result will be a major upgrade along the two state routes that bisect the City. City staff has been both progressive and aggressive in getting these funds from the state. The main goals were to upgrade the quality of these roads and enhance the City's appearance for its residents and for those visiting. Route 9 was in major need of being upgraded and this project will achieve this goal.
Clarendon Hotel
In 2001 the City purchased the Clarendon Hotel for $179,500. This hotel was built in 1890 and quickly became an important stopover along the National Road. It has always been used as a hotel and many of its original 38 rooms are still intact. Our main goal is to return this structure to its former grandeur and to make it, once again, a showpiece right in the heart of St. Clairsville. The City envisions a remodeled and renovated hotel that will stop people in their tracks and become a destination for those doing work in St. Clairsville, the county and the region.
With the hotel renovated, a key structure found in the heart of downtown will now compliment the hard work that has been done by the public and private sector since 1991 to continue to make our downtown the most well known in the Ohio Valley. A Phase 1 environmental survey and structural analysis have already been completed and have come back favorable. A major goal of the City is that once the work on the hotel is complete it will act as an economic stimulus for the entire downtown.
During 2003 the City has been working hard to acquire grant funds and money from the federal government. We have also been working on drawing plans up for the structure. Early this year the City learned that it received funds from the federal government through Rep. Ney's office. With these funds, the City has hired architects to analyze the structural strength of the hotel floor by floor and room by room. The City has also hired an architect that has developed floor plans for the structure. The first floor is earmarked as the entrance to the hotel and as a new restaurant. The two upper floors would continue to be used as hotel rooms. This hotel's strength would be its historical importance regarding National Road and the fact that it would be the only small historical hotel remaining the Ohio Valley that would keep its historic feel and be so close to everything there is to do in the Valley whether entertainment or shopping.
In July 2003, the City of St. Clairsville learned that is was again the recipient of a grant from the federal government worth $275,000. These funds would be used toward the renovation and rehabilitation of the Clarendon Hotel.
The City is currently working with a developer that is interested in operating a hotel and restaurant as proposed by the architects.
Sewer Projects
The City recently completed major work to the sanitary sewer system throughout the City. Yeneka Construction was responsible for the work. New lift stations were put in along Thompson Drive, Patti Lane, the cemetery and Memorial Park. These lift stations serve a vital function by pumping sanitary sewage from the lower lying areas of the City through force mains over the higher lying areas of the City to the sewer plant. Old force mains that were starting to fail were replaced in three separate areas of the City. Force mains were replaced first along Thompson Drive, then from South Marietta to Sunset Drive and finally through the cemetery. Again, rather than waiting for these mains to fail completely, the City saw as its responsibility to jump in and rectify these situations immediately. These projects are now complete and up and running.