Commission President Woody Hanna tendered the name of Greg Furlong to serve on the Greenbrier County Airport Authority (GCAA) board of directors during the Tuesday morning commission meeting.
Furlong is employed by The Greenbrier as vice president of sales and event services. An ethics concern surrounding his appointment was raised questioning whether a conflict was present because of his employment. Hanna said a letter from the ethics commission reported there was no conflict. GCAA board president Lowell Johnson will also review the applicant’s qualifications.
Furlong’s business management degree was Hanna’s main reason had for considering him to the position. Commissioner Mike McClung said he hoped that those in Snowshoe don’t feel disadvantaged with [The Greenbrier’s group sales director] on the board. His opinion was that Furlong will “…probably quite regularly be required to recuse himself.” Commissioner Lowell Rose’s concerns centered around whether Furlong would regularly attend CVB meetings, in addition to the GCAA meetings, which, he said, the former Greenbrier board member did not do. Furlong’s appointment to the GCAA board was approved in a 2-1 vote, with McClung opposing.
- Since Aug. 30, the last day 911 Center Executive Director Al Whitaker was on the job, between 45 and 50 people applied for Whitaker’s former position, Hanna said. The commissioners said they were impressed with the qualifications of all the applicants, especially the three they interviewed. They selected David Michael Honaker to serve as Greenbrier County emergency director. Honaker is a native of the county, having lived in Ronceverte and Fairlea. He is a former marine and retired Virginia state police deputy, and will be introduced to the public at the next Commission meeting.
In other business:
- A brief update on the PSD#2 waterline project yielded few details except that the various legs of the project are “moving along with pipes going in the ground, weather permitting.”
- Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation (GVEDC) Executive Director Andrew Hagy was on hand at the meeting to receive a check for $85,988 in civil contiguous funds from Governor Jim Justice’s office for roof repairs. The pass-through grant was in response to storm water damages, which GVEDC, as a quasi-government agency, was qualified to apply for.
- The Greenbrier County Commission received a letter from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, stating that Greenbrier County has exceeded the minimum standards for its community rating system in qualified county flood hazard areas, which will provide homeowners a five percent discount in their recovery and repair costs caused by the 2016 flood. The elevated rating was attributed to the diligent efforts of Commission Clerk Kelly Banton, who served the flood plain manager for the county during the 2016 flood. The program she oversaw is still working for a better rating for flood victims in Greenbrier County.
- County Clerk Robin Loudermilk stated that voter registration deadline is Oct. 16, and early voting for the midterm election on Nov. 6 begins on Oct. 24 through Oct. 30, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, at both the courthouse in Lewisburg and at the community center in Rupert.
