Stricter rules now are in effect for South Charleston homes concerning controlled substances or drug paraphernalia.
At its regular meeting Thursday night, South Charleston City Council approved motions to adopt an ordinance allowing the city to evict residents of a home if paraphernalia is found twice in a year during police searches.
The stricter rules allow the city to better tackle the problem of vacant housing and crime that can occur at those properties, South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens said. There have been several instances of owners that live out of state doing little to maintain their property, he added.
"Property maintenance issues in general seem to be a growing issue for the community, not just in South Charleston, but all over West Virginia," Mullens said. "Enough is enough. Now we have more teeth in our legislation to give to our staff to use as a tool to deal with these issues."
Council also passed a resolution confirming its support for the "Roads to Prosperity" bond amendment. If the amendment is approved, the state would use a $1.6 billion bond to finance various road construction projects throughout the state. The special election to vote on the bond will be held Oct. 7. Early voting begins Friday.
"I've been watching the feedback from mayors and cities all over the state, and I haven't seen a negative one yet," Mullens said regarding the road bond. "Infrastructure, if it's not number one, it should be really close to the top of what West Virginia's needs are."
Council also passed a resolution supporting the city's hazard mitigation grant application submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Through the grant, the federal government would purchase eight houses in Jefferson Park sufficiently below 100-year flood zone elevation. Funding would go toward homeowner relocation, among other expenses. If approved, the area would be maintained as public park space after the houses are demolished.
In other news, the city swore in Nicholas Deen and Cole Weese as probationary firefighters for the city fire department. Jason Alford was promoted to lieutenant and Mike Price was promoted to captain.
Reach Max Garland at max.garland@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @MaxGarlandTypes on Twitter.