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PARKERSBURG – Members of City Council will consider changing the makeup of the Urban Renewal Authority Tuesday before meeting as the authority with an extensive agenda.

A resolution on the agenda for the 7:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting in council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building would change the authority’s membership from all nine council members to one member of council and six people appointed by the mayor and confirmed by council.

A majority of the members – but not all – would have to be residents of the city, according to the resolution. Four would have to possess “necessary experience and expertise” in banking, real estate, finance, development, planning, policy, construction, land preservation “or another practical field.” The remaining two members shall maintain membership “with a recognized local civic organization.”

Councilwoman Sharon Kuhl, who chairs the authority this year, is one of the sponsors of the resolution, which, unlike an ordinance, only requires passage on one reading to take effect.

“Out of the nine council members, myself included, we are not experts in these fields,” Kuhl said. “We’re good at doing the demos, selling the properties once they’re (demolished). But development, we have really (fallen) short.”

While acknowledging there is still work to be done to address slum and blight, Kuhl said improvements have been made and the city needs to move on to developing lots it owns. People with experience in the fields outlined in the ordinance are best equipped to do that, she said.

“We’re trying to get the professionals in our community, who live (or work) in our community,” Kuhl said. “They can come forth with the ideas and how to get this done.”

One example she pointed to is the two-story building at 714 Market St. that was donated to the city in 2023.

“We can’t market that,” Kuhl said.

If approved, the resolution would allow a 90-day transition period for the URA to continue to operate as constituted.

They have a packed agenda Tuesday night, with 10 requests to purchase property:

* 1711 Lawrence St., a bid of $500 by Kimberly Matheny, who wants to use the 4,375-square-foot lot as a yard extension for small-scale agriculture and community-oriented purposes.

* 715 Latrobe St. and 820 and 822 Wood St., a bid of $3,000 from Your Hut Inc. to construct two new homes on the sites.

* 1316 Oak St., a bid of $400 from Laura Eckert to purchase the roughly 3,500-square-foot property to build a two-story home using one of the city’s pre-approved building plans.

* 708 Fourth Ave., a bid of $500 from Shawn Miller to purchase the roughly 6,000-square-foot parcel for a yard extension.

* 1504 Edwin St., a bid of $750 from the 14th Avenue Gospel Mission Church to purchase an approximately 7,500-square-foot, triangular lot to clean up and maintain.

* 813 Dickel Ave., a bid of $500 from Steven M. Spiker, who proposes using the 50-by-105-foot lot as a side yard extension.

* 617 ½ Locust St., a bid of $500 from Joshua Kerr to purchase the approximately 2.25-acre parcel with no street frontage for use as a yard extension.

* 1309 Rayon Drive, a bid of $300 from Roger Jones II for the 70-by-70-foot parcel to use as a yard extension.

* 1122 Lynn St., a bid of $1,000 from Clarence A. Wires and Ruth E. Mitchell to use the 3,125-square-foot parcel as a yard extension.

* 1509 Andrew St., a bid of $500 from Carol Webb to use the roughly 6,348-square-foot parcel as a yard extension.

URA meetings generally start a few minutes after the conclusion of the council meeting.

Also on Tuesday’s council agenda are the final readings of two ordinances setting a pay range for a civilian training officer in the Fire Department, an ordinance increasing pool rates for the first time since 2019 and an ordinance approving pay increases for civil service employees in the police and fire departments and part-time workers, reflecting the 4.2% cost-of-living adjustment in the budget for the new fiscal year beginning July 1.

The pool rate ordinance will include a public hearing.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.