Patty Metz shares concerns with Councilman Chris Mancuso following the Vienna City Council meeting Thursday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

VIENNA — Vienna City Council met Thursday to discuss repurposing zoning of plots near the former Ohio Valley University (OVU) and the utilization of the Opioid Settlement Funds within the Vienna Police Department for a youth center.

Wood County Economic Development Executive Director Lindsey Piersol and Ryan Taylor, the CEO of Pickering Associates, came to council to discuss upcoming plans for the parcels of land near Ohio Valley University’s former location. West Virginia University at Parkersburg began repairs on the OVU campus to turn it into the WVUP Incubator and Technology Center.

All of the land there has been zoned for educational facilities. According to City Attorney Russ Skogstad, educational zoning includes dormitories, dining facilities, instruction facilities, sports fields, maintenance buildings and cafes.

A concept was presented to council to turn some of the unused and excess land into housing for the city of Vienna. Turning these land parcels into residential lots requires that they be rezoned but the process requires several steps.

“We’re going to need a plat survey of the property because that is going to become the additional official boundary of the city of Vienna, a request from the property owner that it be brought into the city of Vienna,” said Skogstad. “We will need to look at the size of the parcels being brought in because it is 99 acres.”

Skogstad went on to cite there is a statute that limits the amount of property that can be brought in at once for minor boundary adjustments. The information would then need to be brought to council where a resolution would pass and legal notices would need to be presented to the public about the adjustments and the land must be posted as well. From there the plan would go to the Wood County Commission to explain the reasoning behind the adjustment and what it would do to serve Vienna.

Also at the meeting Vienna Police Chief Carl Powell gave a presentation on a recent survey conducted at Jackson Middle School. The Vienna Police Department has access to funding from the Opioid Settlement fund that both the department and council would like to use to fund a youth center in Vienna. Officials surveyed 282 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students to get their opinion on what they would like to see in an after-school youth center. Results from the survey state that the students would like for the center to operate directly after school to 6 p.m. and have opportunities for music lessons, video games, arts and crafts, and mentoring and leadership lessons.

After the presentation council brainstormed on what would be a good potential location and if additional funds or grant opportunities would be needed to either build a location or refurbish an existing one. Council members were unanimous in their approval for a new youth center.

“I think all of us agree that our youth in this area need – I call it a third place,” said Councilman Chris Mancuso. “Somewhere that’s, even as an adult, it’s not home, it’s not work, but it’s a third place I can go to spend time and hang out with friends and build community, which is such a huge thing for us here.”

Council requested that the Vienna Police Department put out another survey to the families and guardians to see what they would like the youth center to offer for their kids.

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com