OAK HILL, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The Oak Hill City Council took a decisive step during its monthly meeting on Monday by voting to rescind a contract with Dan Hill Construction for the renovation of the former BB&T bank building situated on Main Street.
The building was originally purchased by the city for $675,000 in April of 2022 as a new home for Oak Hill City Hall.
The City Council initially granted approval of the lowest renovation bid from Dan Hill Construction, amounting to $2.1 million, in a 4-2 vote on June 12th.
This decision was made on the eve of Oak Hill’s municipal election, which occurred on June 13th. Subsequently, a new mayor and several new council members were elected.
During their first meeting following the election, which took place on July 10th, the newly formed Council raised concerns regarding the recently approved contract. To address these concerns, the Council collectively agreed to let the city’s legal counsel assess the legality of rescinding the contract.
During the Council’s session on Monday, the legal counsel affirmed that rescinding the contract was legally permissible since the contract had yet to be executed and no renovation activities had commenced on the building.
Chris Gill, a newly elected Councilor representing Ward II, expressed his support for the contract’s rescission, even though he acknowledged that opinions may vary on the matter.
“We’re going to undoubtedly have some people that’s gonna be in our favor and some’s going to be upset about it,” Gill said before Council voted on the motion to rescind. “I have toured both [buildings], and it is my conclusion that the front of this building that we are sitting in now looks perfectly fine to me, but more importantly, it’s fully functional and has more space. Its insides are intact. And in talking with everyone, everyone is happy here.”
Councilman-at-Large Bill Hannabass echoed his support for rescinding the contract and dismissed notions of lavish modifications.
“I hear that some of that blame for the huge expense of $2.2 million [has been] laid upon the employees of the city, the transition team, as wanting to [have the building] lavishly remodeled, and that’s a spin. That is not true,” Hannabass explained. “It’s $2.2 million in order to be occupied, so I want to make that clear.”
A motion was set forth to rescind the $2.1 million contract with Dan Hill Construction.
The motion garnered affirmative votes from Council Members Bill Hannabass, Diana Janney, Roger Evans, Christa Hodges, Chris Gill, and PJ Elder. Councilman Charles Smallwood opted to abstain from the voting process.
Ultimately, the motion to rescind the contract prevailed. Presently, there exists no concrete blueprint for the building’s future, but ownership remains with the city.
