Pictured attending the meeting are Forrest Tennant, PSD chairman; Donald Sweeney, PSD treasurer; Carolyn Flannery, project attorney; Trey Hornor, project engineer; Bonnie Brown, PSD secretary; Kathryn Goddard, project accountant; and Keith Nelsen, project and PSD manager.

Wetzel County Public Service District No. 1 signed documents Feb. 12 to move the proposed Phase IV waterline extension project forward.

The proposed project will provide needed water service to outlying areas in the district.

Included are areas along Chieselfinger Ridge, State Run Road, Eight Mile Ridge, and Richwood Run in the Jacksonburg area of the county.

According to Keith Nelsen, PSD and project manager for the PSD, the legal and accounting services agreements were signed along with an application to the Rural Development Service for $1 million in federal stimulus grant funds for the project.

An additional loan application to fund the design stage is soon to be sent to the Water Development Agency in Charleston.

The PSD has already applied to the Small Cities Block Grant Program in the amount of $1.5 million for the remainder of grant funds needed to start the project. Total cost for the project will be in excess of $3.5 million.

The PSD plans to begin customer signup in the near future. Potential customers will be required to sign a water user’s contract and pay a $100 tap fee at that time. The tap fee is not refundable, but helps the PSD to gauge the interest in the project. The PSD is required to obtain 80 percent customer signup prior to construction to meet guidelines.

Also during this process the PSD will need to gather approximately 30 right of ways and three parcels of land for the installation of booster stations and a 125,000 gallon water tank.

Nelsen encourages anyone in these areas that may not have been contacted in the past to call the PSD at 304-386-4870 for additional information or questions they may have.