Ronceverte City Council approved a resolution to rename the city council chamber as The Marie Leist Community Room in appreciation for the generosity of the Marie Leist Foundation which has supported many projects around the River City including the renovation of the council chambers.
“Renaming the council chamber is a nice gesture to show appreciation to the Leist Foundation,” Mayor David Smith said. The community room is available for city, civic and other services in the community. Barbara Sweetwater, representing the Ronceverte Womens Club and Suella Milano, representing the Historic Landmarks Commission, were on hand to present a portrait replica of Marie Leist for the newly named Marie Leist Community Room. The portrait was painted by Leist’s daughter Dorothy Barnette.
In other business:
• Eric Hartwell, consultant with Dunn Engineering, gave an update on the water and sewer projects for the council at the Monday night meeting. Having cleared a major hurdle with the approval of Ronceverte’s application for a new waste water sewage plant from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), he said the next step in the process is to apply to the Public Service Commission scheduled for November.
• Mayor Smith asked for and received approval of an ordinance establishing sewer use regulation. The first reading of a second ordinance was also approved which provided for increased rates, charges and fees for sanitary sewer services to all customers served by the City of Ronceverte Municipal Sewer Utility. The second reading and a public hearing will be on the agenda of the November city council meeting. Concerned citizens with questions about their sewer rates are advised to attend.
• City Planner Doug Hylton stated the revision of the River City’s Comprehensive Plan will need outside assistance in organizing community meetings and gathering public input which are requirements to be met before the deadline of June 30, 2014. He recommended hiring Tara Ellis, whose previous experience working with the City of Ronceverte’s Main Street and the Ronceverte Development Corp. has served to qualify her for the job. Approval was received from Council for her $3,500 fee.
• Hylton, in his capacity as Ronceverte Planner, submitted the original minutes from council meetings dating from 1882 to 1904 along with the transcribed version to City Recorder Jan Johnson. He said the minutes were handwritten up to the 1930s before being typed up on a typewriter. The plan is to eventually put a book together with photos of the town as a fundraising project.
• City Administrator Reba Mohler said Halloween’s Trick or Treat night will be conducted on Thursday, October 31 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Participating households are advised to have their porch lights on for the young Trick or Treaters.
