By Sarah Richardson
At this week’s Lewisburg City Council meeting, Mayor Beverly White reported attending the Shepherd’s Center Community Awards ceremony, where the Community Service Award was presented posthumously to John and Connie Manchester.
“On behalf of the City of Lewisburg, we will always be grateful for the 16-plus years that John served the City, with Connie by his side. Their dedication, love, and hard work were an inspiration for all who worked with them on a project or event in the area. Their passing was a tremendous loss to all of us,” said Mayor White.
Next, Kara Dense, President and CEO of Experience Greenbrier Valley, gave the organization’s annual report to councilmembers. As of this July, she reports that Experience Greenbrier Valley will have been located downtown in their current building for 15 years. They are also up for re-accreditation, which they complete every three years.
A new sidewalk project is planned along West Washington Street. “We were approved by the DOH for another grant for a sidewalk, so brace yourself for another 11 years,” joked City Manager Misty Hill. She recommended Chapman Technical as the project engineer, noting that the firm has handled all of the City’s previous sidewalk projects and wrote the grant application. Council unanimously approved the recommendation, and once engineering is complete, the DOH will open the project for bids.
Next, Council discussed quotes received for directional and information signs in town. The signs included are the signs in City Hall, the parking lot sign, the mesh chain-link signs on the routes into town, the Lafayette St. parking sign, boat launch sign, the CVB directional sign, and others. A majority of the signs are wooden, and have not been replaced in a number of years and are starting to show wear.
“I can tell you in the 16 years I served on Council I don’t remember ever replacing these signs,” noted Mayor White. The cost came in at $9,362.02, and was approved by Council, as it was budgeted for out of the Streets budget. The Lewisburg Foundation has already paid for a sign replacement at Academy Park, which was installed last week.
Councilmember Sarah Elkins reports that the Greenbrier Valley Off-Road Biking Association recently was awarded a grant for bike trail improvements in the Greenbrier State Forest, and is applying for other grants through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). They are seeking $2 million to “be able to build trails,” and asked the City to write a letter of support for their endeavors, which Mayor said she is “more than happy to do.”
Regarding the Court and Foster Street sinkhole, Hill explained that a cold patch may eventually be possible, but due to the ongoing settling, the area will be monitored until a patch can be made. Council approved $28,568 in expenses to cover half the repair costs, with the PSD covering the remainder.
Under the Finance Committee Report, Council approved moving forward with the purchase of the Renick water system (officially known as the Corporation of Falling Springs Water System). Because the system is a public utility, state law requires approval from the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) before the sale can be finalized. Council voted to authorize the purchase agreement and to file a joint application with the PSC, which will review and rule on the transaction.
Next, opioid settlement approvals were discussed, with Mayor White being authorized to sign approvals related to the Purdue Pharma/Sackler Family Settlement and the new National Opioids Settlement: Secondary Manufactures.
In other news:
Mayor White read a proclamation for Celebrating Osteopathic Week, and a public hearing was held regarding “removal of dog waste from private of public property; animals prohibited in the Center Green Space” with no public comments. It was approved on the second reading.
For Chills in the Hills, downtown Lewisburg’s fall celebration, a 3-D cornucopia will be installed in the Green Space, and other fall décor should be going up starting on Sept. 30. Hill explained that they plan to have an area next to the Green Space for locals to carve pumpkins and bring them for display along the brick wall of the Green Space. “We want to stress that this area is under a whole lot of camera coverage,” noted Hill, and said she would like it to be a new community tradition.
