By Dakota Baker
Ronceverte City Council held their monthly meeting on Monday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. The meeting began with an approval of the minutes for the Dec. 11, 2023, meeting and was followed by citizens’ comments.
Melodie Pester, president of the Ronceverte Development Corporation (RDC), thanked the city for their support in 2023, specifically for the city’s help with the open house. Mayor Deena Pack stated the RDC did a great job with the open house this year. Members from the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau then gave council their annual presentation on their work in the area and around the Greenbrier Valley. The Greenbrier County CVB’s mission is to positively impact the area economy by marketing it as a premier tourist destination. According to their reports, in 2023 there were $5.3 billion in direct spending in the tourist industry, 17 percent higher than in 2019, which was the last normal year before the Covid-19 virus. Additionally, there are 53,000 hospitality jobs currently in West Virginia, with $2 billion in income.
In other news, council hopes the city website will be up and running soon and are going to attempt to post a highlighted version of the minutes from previous council meetings to the City of Ronceverte Facebook page. The City of Ronceverte will also now be advertised as a Rail Fan Friendly City. Council also discussed a proposed update to the shelter fees, with the Parks and Recreation department suggesting three time slots to rent the shelter at increased rates. Council has moved to table this vote due to the action items not being on this meeting’s agenda, and they plan to vote on the matter during February’s meeting.
