Parkersburg City Council approves contribution to drug prosecution | News, Sports, Jobs

Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure discusses his proposal to hire an assistant prosecutor to oversee drug prosecutions and other efforts related to the drug problem during the Parkersburg City Council meeting on Tuesday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG – The Parkersburg City Council voted Tuesday to share the salary and benefits of an assistant prosecutor who focuses on the drug problem with Wood County.

At Tuesday's regular council meeting, with three council members absent, a resolution was passed by a vote of 6-0 to allocate $72,000 from the city's opioid lawsuit settlement funds to the position.

The Wood County Commission voted last week to fund the $144,000 salary and benefits for the position, which District Attorney Pat Lefebure requested to address the rising number of drug and related cases. He also asked Parkersburg to contribute. Mayor Tom Joyce said last week it made sense because the city's police department has the highest call volume in the county.

In a speech to the City Council on Tuesday, Lefebure said the new employee will not only handle drug prosecutions, but will also assist in other drug-related crimes and work with the Parkersburg Violent Crime and Narcotics Task Force and other agencies. The assistant district attorney will help determine where to place suspects in drug-related crimes. “be it prison or rehabilitation after drug abuse”, he said.

In addition to charges related to possession and trafficking, drugs also play a role in petty thefts and child abuse and neglect cases, Lefebure said. His office handled 198 abuse and neglect cases in 2018 and 338 in 2023.

Parkersburg City Council President Mike Reynolds (left) asks a question during Tuesday's council meeting at City Hall as Councilmembers JR Carpenter and Zach Stanley and Councilwoman Cathy Dailey listen. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“The vast majority of these are drug-related offenses,” said Lefebure.

The commission approved the position for three years. Parkersburg's contribution must be approved annually, said city attorney Blaine Myers.

The council also approved on first reading an ordinance that would cap construction fees in newly annexed areas at no more than the cost in the county or previous jurisdiction, with a cap for projects started within five years of annexation.

Councilman JR Carpenter made a motion to send the ordinance to a committee to discuss which area and for what period of time it would affect. Joyce said he thought this was unnecessary as it was not a specific area and was intended as an opportunity to “Create a level playing field” and to promote the incorporation of property owners into the city.

“It’s really quite simple,” he said.

Parkersburg City Councilwoman Cathy Dailey (left) talks with City Planner Connor LaVelle after Tuesday's Urban Renewal Authority meeting. LaVelle is leaving the city to take a job as a city planner for Athens County. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Jouce said a property owner in a recently annexed area learned he would have paid less in building fees if he had stayed in the county.

Carpenter's motion was defeated for lack of support, and he joined the other five council members who voted to adopt the ordinance. A companion ordinance reflecting the change in another section of the city's ordinance also passed 6-0, with Councilwomen Jesse Cottrille and Wendy Tuck and Councilman Chris Rexroad absent.

Another vote (6-0) approved the final reading of an ordinance requiring buildings to get their primary power from a utility or municipal power company to discourage people from using portable generators as a permanent power source.

Councilman Bob Mercer, who was not present at the Sept. 10 meeting where the first reading passed, asked if this was a major problem in the city. Joyce said it doesn't happen often, but it is common and poses a noise and safety issue.

“This happens more often than I expected, I assure you,” he said.

The council then met as the Urban Renewal Authority and approved an application by Virginia resident Vladimir Guevara to purchase a vacant lot at 14th Street and St. Marys Avenue. In his application, he stated that he wanted to build a three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath home with an attached garage. The application passed by a vote of 3 to 2, with Carpenter and Councilwoman Sharon Kuhl opposing. Council President Mike Reynolds was absent from the meeting.

The board voted 5-0 to approve a request from the Planning and Building Departments to demolish two buildings in the 1400 block of Lynn Street that were recently purchased for $2,000 with the mayor's approval. City Planner Connor LaVelle said the request was made “because properties are deteriorating excessively quickly.”

It was the final meeting for LaVelle, who is taking a job as district planner for Athens County. Kuhl thanked him for the work he has done for the city and for what he taught her while she served as URA chair.

“We will miss you,” she said. “You were a professional. You were a valued employee of the City of Parkersburg.”

Evan Bevins can be reached at [email protected].