ELKINS — Elkins City Council has approved a nearly $1.7 million bid for Phase II of the City Hall Rehabilitation Project, with officials saying the entire project should be complete by July 2026.

All eight present council members approved the bid and gave authorization to City Operations Manager Michael Kesecker to “execute all necessary agreements and documents to proceed with the project.” First Ward Council representative Cody Kerns and Third Ward’s Christopher Lowther were absent from the Nov. 6 meeting.

Before council voted, Fourth Ward’s Andrew Carroll asked Kesecker to explain just what the bid includes. Kesecker stated that it covers “the bulk of the work.”

“Elevator, masonry, finishing the second floor and the Council chambers,” Kesecker said. “Finishing the third floor with carpeting, painting. All the painting throughout the entire building will be done, and just to put it in perspective, we only received two bids when we put this out to bid for Phase II and we were pleasantly surprised at the difference between the two bids.”

The winning bid amounted to $1,679,900 and was submitted by Commercial Builders, Inc. of West Virginia. Only two bids were submitted, with the second bid amounting to $3,649,175 from Wolf Creek Contracting.

Kesecker said during Phase II, City Hall will be moving out of “clean up the mess from the disaster” into remodeling the inside of the building.

Elkins City Hall has been closed for restoration and recovery work since Aug. 31, 2024 after a sewage overflow incident flooded the building’s basement and first floor, including the City Police Department.

Though the damage from the sewage overflow incident mostly impacted the basement and first floor, it was determined that work on the entirety of City Hall was necessary to ensure the longevity of the building.

“If we’re going to stay in this building long-term, the building’s 100 years old. Our architect has supplied me with an email telling me, we do this work, that building will stand for another hundred years,” Kesecker said during the Oct. 10, 2024 council meeting. “That’s how strong, structurally, this building is. I don’t think we need to cut corners. I think we need to look at every space in that building, turning it into a viable space that’s usable.”

“Upon Council’s approval… We’ll be ready to start Phase II of City Hall quickly, which is very good news,” Kesecker told council during the Nov. 6 meeting. “We’re excited about that.”

Kesecker added that it was projected that the entire City Hall Rehabilitation Project would be complete by July 2026, “well ahead” of the Aug. 31, 2026 deadline.

Kesecker also informed the council that, at their next meeting on Nov. 20, he would be bringing forward the winning masonry work bid for the restoration of the outside of City Hall. Kesecker said the masonry work would not begin until spring 2026, as the cold temperatures of the winter months could “affect the effectiveness of some of the chemicals they use.”

Fifth Ward’s Cody Thompson asked if the masonry work would include the top of the building, alluding to loose pieces that have raised concerns in the past. Kesecker said yes.

“All those (pieces) will be restored, repaired, whatever needs done to prevent anything from falling off the building,” Kesecker said. “At the last meeting, I think I explained that (the masonry bid) came in low enough that we were able to add a three- or four-step process to where they will completely clean the outside of the building, so it’s really going to pop and shine.”

Thompson also asked about where the City was in regard to the building’s elevator. Kesecker explained that the bid for the elevator restoration came in under budget, and that officials were working with Otis Elevator Company on scheduling the current elevator’s demolition, shaft reconstruction and the installation of the new elevator.

Later on in the meeting, a question was raised as to when city employees will be able to return to City Hall. Kesecker explained that officials did not want to rush moving employees back in due to qualifying for historic tax credits.

“As you know, we’re pursuing the historic tax credits, and what we don’t want to do is move back into the building too soon to where we would be disqualified for receiving close to $1 million in historic tax credits,” Kesecker said. “So, we’re very cautious with that line. We might get a room done in that building and still not reoccupy it for the sake of being able to pursue these million dollars in tax credits.”

Kesecker said the City could be disqualified for a percentage of the historic tax credits if they moved people back in too soon and had to get an official certificate of occupancy.

The next Elkins City Council meeting will be Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Phil Gainer Community Center.