Community Bulletin
Bundling home and auto can lower your premiums — and at Jen Kesling State Farm in Buckhannon, a full-service agency with a 4.9-star Google rating across 300-plus reviews, a bundled quote is a phone call away. Read more →
This story brought to you paywall-free, courtesy of the My Buckhannon team and our community partners
BUCKHANNON — Demolition and preliminary site testing for Buckhannon’s new water treatment plant are expected to begin in October even though a court proceeding over the property’s value has been delayed.
Buckhannon public works director Ethan Crosten told city council September 3 that Potesta & Associates plans to begin preliminary geotechnical and site testing after October 1.
Crosten said the city has been working with the former owner to clear belongings from the site by the end of September.
“That’s the deadline, so we’ll start seeing a little bit more progress in the actual construction and design phase of that,” Crosten said.
At the Buckhannon Water Board’s September 10 meeting, Potesta representative Tim Ball said engineers were working on the plant’s pumps and filters to calculate how the water level changes as water moves through the facility.
“It actually drops as it goes from the upstream side of the plant towards the filters and towards the clear well; it drops at each step, and we’re calculating that drop right now,” Ball said.
Those calculations will establish how high to place the floors and tops of the plant’s concrete structures, Ball said. Once those heights are set, structural engineers can design the concrete and reinforcing steel.
City engineer Jay Hollen reported that All Star Ecology had completed a freshwater mussel survey the previous week at both the existing and proposed raw water intakes and found no freshwater mussels. The plan had been submitted to the state Division of Natural Resources for review and approval, he said. Once approved, it will go to the funding agencies.
The board also approved Resolution 2026-16 authorizing $36,285 in project invoices for Potesta, Steptoe & Johnson and the Upshur County Circuit Clerk.
The city filed a condemnation action in January to acquire two Wood Street parcels needed for the new plant. A judge granted the city immediate entry in February while leaving the amount of compensation to be determined.
City attorney Tom O’Neill told council at the same September 3 meeting that demolition on the property is scheduled to begin in October. The city’s court-approved right of entry allows that work to proceed while the compensation question remains unresolved.
The court is having difficulty finding people to serve as commissioners during the first stage of determining the property’s fair value, O’Neill said. The commissioners’ hearing planned for September has been postponed until early December.
“That does not have any impact on the project itself,” O’Neill said. “We’re only talking about a delay in the process to finalize the amount of compensation that the property owner is entitled to.”
The broader water project is expected to cost approximately $47 million. The U.S. Department of Agriculture formally committed a $31.31 million loan and $2 million grant in June, with the city still seeking the remaining funding from several state and federal sources.
At the September 10 water board meeting, Region VII Planning & Development Council Executive Director Shane Whitehair said discussions with funding agencies were continuing. He hoped to hear about funding decisions in September and have a clearer financial picture in October.
The new facility will replace the city’s aging Wood Street treatment plant. Construction is expected to be completed around 2030.
