By Lyra Bordelon
A wide array of topics were considered in a lengthy meeting of the Alderson Town Council on Thursday, November 12. Action and discussion around year-end incentives, the Alderson Community Center, Christmas parade, building repair, a blocked portion of Jackson Street, police policies, and more were discussed, with action on several of these items:
- Year-end incentives for full-time city employees were approved, totalling $500 per person. Part-time employees will receive $250, as well.
- After ample discussion in the previous Town Council meeting about the Greenbrier County Board of Education’s potential plans to utilize the Alderson Community Center as the new Alderson Elementary School, no further action was taken by either Town Council or the Community Center’s board at the request of Superintendent Jeff Bryant.
- The normal Alderson Christmas Parade cannot be held due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Alderson is carrying forward, preliminarily planning to hold a reverse parade, where organizations wanting to be involved would set up on the side of the street and parade-goers would drive by. Plans for the reverse parade are still being discussed and are not finalized – keep up with the Mountain Messenger for more on the annual holiday celebration.
- The timetable for Joe and Sarah Alderson to make repairs on the building next to Town Hall has moved up – due to new damage to the roof and the need to enforce Alderson’s code, the Alderson’s now have 30 days to repair the roof before Copenhaver and Town Council take action to demolish the building. With Copenhaver noting that the building did not necessarily have to be moved for the Alderson’s hoped-for renovation, Joe Alderson affirmed the roof would be fixed and progress on the renovation is moving forward.
- A blocked portion of Jackson Street was the reason for Copenhaver and the Town Council to reach out to a local landowner to remove a gate obstructing a section of the street. Council voted to support Copenhaver’s action, which will either see the landowner remove the gate or the town will send employees to remove the obstruction from the public street.
- A new set of policies and procedures for the Alderson Police Department were approved by Town Council. Formed based on similar policies in Ronceverte and Lewisburg, Alderson’s officer in charge, Lieutenant J.R. Byer, explained the new policies will help “everybody know exactly what’s expected of them.” Byer and Copenhaver noted the policies had also been edited to apply better to Alderson’s smaller police department, with Copenhaver saying they are “protecting the town, it’s protecting all of us.”
- Although on the agenda, no action was taken on the Bridge Trust Fund, Sanitary Lines, and the town’s potential K9 contract.