South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens told City Council that Thursday was a good day for the community because of the announcement that Thomas Health System and Stonerise Healthcare plan to build a $17 million, post-acute care facility on Thomas Memorial Hospital's campus.
The planned 71,000-square-foot facility will be the first of its kind in West Virginia and "we like to be first," Mullens said.
"We're all real excited about it," he said.
Mullens said construction is tentatively scheduled to begin this summer.
He praised Thomas Health System's management for being proactive.
In other action, Mullens swore in Jonathan Pauley, the city's newest patrolman. Police Chief Brad Rinehart noted that Pauley is 18 - the same age Rinehart was when he became a member of Charleston's police force. Rinehart was with Charleston police for 28 years before becoming South Charleston's chief of police.
Pauley graduated from South Charleston High School last year. He completed military police training three months ago. He took the oath in front of a large audience of family and friends.
Rinehart said the South Charleston Police Department now has 41 officers, the largest number since he and Mullens have been in office. He said the department will conduct a hiring exam on March 19 at South Charleston High School.
During department head reports, Mullens asked Public Works Director Gerald Burgy if the city still has road salt on hand.
"I ordered 400 tons of salt today," Burgy said.
Ward 3 Councilwoman Kathleen Walker and Ward 5 Councilman Edd Brooks did not attend the meeting. Council's next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. March 3 on the second floor of City Hall on D Street.
Not mentioned during Thursday's meeting was former Mayor Richie Robb's formal complaint about the Sanitary Board's rate increase, which Robb filed on Feb. 12 with the state Public Service Commission.
Robb claimed the Sanitary Board provided insufficient public notice and failed to provide justification for the increase in documents made available to the public prior to the city's Feb. 4 public hearing.
He also claimed the Sanitary Board made documents available in the City Clerk's office, which is only open part time, and at the board's office, which is "in a remote portion of the city." Furthermore, Robb claimed there was a lack of opportunity to ask questions of a lawyer and engineer who spoke in favor of the increase on Feb. 4.
The city has 10 days from receipt of the complaint to reply.
During a Finance Committee meeting prior to the council meeting, City Manager Rick Atkinson reported that over the past three years, business and occupation tax receipts from manufacturers increased 20 percent and from automotive sales increased 33 percent. He said business and occupation tax receipts from the largest retailers, which account for 80 percent of sales, have remained flat.