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Parkersburg City Council President Zach Stanley, left, speaks during Tuesday’s council meeting at the Municipal Building as Councilmen Chris Rexroad and Austin Richards listen. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
PARKERSBURG The first reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale of the Memorial Bridge to a private entity was approved on first reading by Parkersburg City Council on Tuesday.
Council voted 8-0, with Councilwoman Jessica Cottrille absent, to approve the contract with United Bridge Partners of Colorado, which proposes giving the city $4 million for the span and commencing an approximately $50 million rehabilitation project to keep the bridge operational for at least another five decades.
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PARKERSBURG Parkersburg City Council will vote on the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale of the Memorial Bridge to a private entity Tuesday.
Council will also consider the 2021-22 Community Development Block Grant and Parkersburg-Wood County HOME Consortium budgets at the 7:30 p.m. meeting, with a public hearing on plans for the federal funds slated for 6:30 p.m.
Documents for the proposal by United Bridge Partners to purchase and upgrade the Memorial Bridge through an estimated $50 million rehabilitation project were released last week, and company representatives made a presentation to council members during an April 29 Committee of the Whole meeting.
ebevins@newsandsentinel.com James Thomas Hendershot is handcuffed by a bailiff Thursday after being found guilty of second-degree murder and concealing a deceased human body at the conclusion of a four-day trial held in City Council chambers at the Parkersburg Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins) Assistant Wood County Prosecutor Russell Skogstad offers a rebuttal to the defense’s closing argument Thursday during the trial of James Thomas Hendershot on charges of second-degree murder and concealing a deceased human body. The trial was held in City Council chambers at the Parkersburg Municipal Building to accommodate social distancing measures. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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James T. Hendershot and Assistant Public Defenders Andrew Hilber and Reggie Bailey stand as the guilty verdicts are read Thursday in council chambers at the Parkersburg Municipal Building.
James Thomas Hendershot, 38, Parkersburg, was found guilty of second-degree murder and concealing deceased human body today.
He was convicted of the January 2018 murder of his father, James C. Hendershot, who was found by a member of the family in his house on Liberty Street.
Trial began Monday in Parkersburg City Council chambers so social-distancing measures can be observed
Read the story in The News and Sentinel on Friday.
NEWSLETTER
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PARKERSBURG United Bridge Partners is based in Colorado, but company officials envision the proposed $50 million rehabilitation of the Memorial Bridge as a very local project.
“We’re pretty happy about the economic boom this is going to create for the area, especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ryan Dolan, vice president of business development for UBP, during a presentation Thursday before Parkersburg City Council.
The company has submitted a bid to purchase the bridge for $4 million and rehabilitate it to extend its useful life by a minimum of 50 years. The deal is pending the approval of council and the West Virginia Public Service Commission.