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WEIRTON - For many in Weirton, the past 10 years was a period they'd just as soon forget.

On Jan. 1, 2000, Weirton, West Virginia's seventh-largest city, was home to 20,411 people. And while it operated with a significantly reduced work force from the more than 14,000 it employed at its peak, Weirton Steel Corp. still counted itself among the state's largest employers with more than 4,000 workers.

Ten years later, Weirton's population has fallen to 18,842, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent estimates - a decline of about 8 percent. Faced with pressure from foreign steel imports, Weirton Steel Corp. filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and was later acquired by International Steel Group and then Mittal Steel. In 2007, Mittal merged with Arcelor, forming the Luxembourg steel giant ArcelorMittal under whose auspices the Weirton tin mill now operates, with a staff of about 1,000.

With all those factors, officials are faced with the challenge of revitalizing a city with declining population and property values amid a nationwide economic recession. All things considered, City Manager Gary DuFour said Weirton has "fared pretty well" in rolling with the economic punches.

"Given what happened with the economy ... we managed to hold our own," said DuFour. "We've been working hard to adapt to the situation we're presented with."

That situation forced the city to slash expenditures from fiscal 2009 to the current fiscal 2010 by $768,000 including the layoffs of five employees. At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandated Weirton reduce the amount of harmful materials in its drinking water supply, which led to a $4.9 million upgrade to the city's water treatment plant. As a result, city water customers are now paying $4.50 per 1,000 gallons of water - 51 cents more than at the beginning of 2009.

Still, DuFour commended city leaders for completing several projects this year "that have been beneficial to the community." Upgrades to Penco Road, he noted, included paving, a new drainage system and sidewalks that make the thoroughfare "more pleasing to the eye and more accessible to pedestrians."

Other positives, DuFour said, include the Project Main Street initiative, to which City Council earmarked up to $15,000 in funding this fall. Started by Mayor Mark Harris, the project allows Main Street businesses to spruce up their appearance by repainting their exteriors, paying only the cost of labor as the city picks up the tab for paint.

He also pointed to the ongoing construction of the Village at Colliers Way retail development, the progress of a new Super Wal-Mart on Three Springs Drive expected to open in 2010 and the relative stability of conditions at ArcelorMittal over 2009 as high points of the past year.

This year also saw progress toward revitalizing the downtown area with the opening of two new restaurants in the Fujiyama Japanese Steakhouse and Tudor's Biscuit World. Valley Ventures Inc. also purchased the Magnone Building on Main Street, with plans to turn the decades-old structure into a commercial center, and several dilapidated houses near the west end of Pennsylvania Avenue were demolished this year in hopes of using the space to smooth out a dangerous curve in the road.

However, DuFour said not everything on the city's wish list was completed.

"We had made a major push for replacement of the Colliers Way interchange bridge (off U.S. 22)," he said.

DuFour noted that span is aging but important with its proximity to Weirton Medical Center and the future Village at Colliers Way. "We hope it moves up the (West Virginia Division of Highways') priority list," he said.

DuFour believes 2010 will be "a time of some challenge and opportunity" for Weirton. "There probably will be more impacts we're going to have to take into account as far as tax losses," he said, noting falling property values and declining population will lead to less revenue by way of property taxes, municipal service fees and police and fire service fees.

DuFour hopes to use some leftover money from the Penco Road project in the coming year to do similar work on Three Springs Drive.

"We want to try and improve access for visitors who may want to walk to retail outlets," DuFour said.

He looks for the city in 2010 to attract small manufacturing enterprises and work with ArcelorMittal to bring developers into the dozens of unused parcels of property the corporation currently owns.

Next year, DuFour also would like to see progress on port facilities in the city to take advantage of Weirton's location on the Ohio River. He said there's been talk of an intermodal transportation center along the river that would allow for better access for cargo to nearby road and rail systems.