By Dakota Baker
Ronceverte City Council held their monthly meeting on Monday night at City Hall. Council members in attendance were Mark Trent, Gail White, Tanya Hazelwood, and Leah Smith. Smith led the meeting as Mayor Deena Pack was under the weather and unable to attend.
During this meeting council reviewed and approved invoices related to Resolution # 6 – resolution of the City of Ronceverte, invoices related to the design and construction of the water upgrade phase number four project and authorization payment thereof.
Kara Dense, president and CEO of the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau also gave a presentation. Their mission is to positively impact the area’s economy by marketing the region as a premier tourist destination. During her presentation, Dense reported West Virginia had 75 million visitors, which is the most on record the state has ever been able to track, as well as $6.3 billion in direct spending in the state, 60,000 tourism jobs, $2.1 billion in labor, and $1 billion in state and local taxes generated, which has all been record numbers for the state of West Virginia. Greenbrier County alone brought in $39.4 million in direct spending, 2,908 direct jobs, $123 million in employment earnings, and $41.73 million in state and local taxes. If it weren’t for tourism it would cost each household in Greenbrier County an additional $2834 just to keep services where they are currently. She mentioned some exciting events are in the near future such as the Wild Trails Festival and the 100th West Virginia State Fair to name a couple.
In other news, Jamie Baker with Region 4 Planning & Development will be working on an application for funding to demolish the old elementary school, the application is due by Jan. 31. They opened the floor to comment and questions from community members, but none were presented. Additionally, there was some discussion on off leash dogs in city limits and the potential to find a location to house any dogs found off-leash and penalize the owner per day until the dog is picked up in an attempt to prevent any incidents and prioritize public safety. This was not voted on by council as of yet.
Lastly, Pam Mentz mentions they are applying for some more grants to fix more of the sidewalks and lights in town. Next city council meeting will be held on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
