CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Clarksburg City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday which looked to move the city forward as it talked about the use of American Rescue Plan funds for infrastructure projects.

The council considered and approved two projects to use American Rescue Plan funds to make a sewer repair project in the Milford area and to use funds for engineering and repairs for a slip located on Brown Street. Members of the council unanimously approved $450,000 for the infrastructure of a sewer project in the Milford area and $350,000 to repair a slip on Brown Street from American Rescue Plan funds.

“It is a sewer project, currently it goes underneath of a building and it is broken down underneath the building, so we are going to have to do a project to reroute this storm sewer and sanitary. It might be a combination of, I am not sure if it is storm or sanitary, but we are doing a project to reroute it because of a broken down infrastructure problem,” said James Marino, Mayor of the City of Clarksburg. 21 “That would be a big stain on the city it we did not have that ARPA money and that is exactly what this ARPA money was appropriated for several years ago. So, we are fortunate enough to have that money where we don’t have to borrow, and that kind of thing. So, that is a fortunate thing that we’ll be able to go and do this project without having to borrow money to do it.”

Mayor Marino stated that the Brown Street slip has been a problem for a few years and that the roadway has given way as well as the sidewalks. He added that if not addressed quickly it would become a bigger issue.

“There are several housed that are on Brown and Kelly Street and so forth, and that is a means of egress and ingress to that neighborhood,” Marino said. “We’ll have to take care of that problem.”

An election for the City of Clarksburg will be held on Tuesday, June 6, where there are 10 candidates vying for a seat on the city council. Also, on the ballot is a city charter amendment to set the future election for council members to coincide with the state’s general election.

“The amendment was originally done in 2021, the people voted on it and they passed it overwhelmingly to change the election day,” Marion said. “The secretary of state kind of opinion, he never sent a court order or anything like that, but he opinioned that the council could not increase their length of terms because the council that is set now was according to the charter change that was passed would have been eligible to stay in office until next year. But the city attorney is trying to follow the guidelines that the secretary of state put forth, which said to have another election.”

For more information about the Clarksburg general election, including early voting, click here.