The Lewisburg City Council heard from a contingent of concerned parents from the Graham Addition during the meeting Tuesday evening and presented the council with a list of Halloween night requests to help provide safety measures for trick or treaters in the neighborhood. As stated, the area welcomes over 1,000 children every year. The list included closing Court and Church streets from 6-8 p.m.; increasing police presence; adding temporary lighting and signage to drivers for extra caution; park and walk notices; and press releases announcing these safety concerns.
A main concern was the increasing volume of through-traffic the area receives. On Halloween night, the vehicular volume amps up, said Sarah Skelding, speaking for the group, owing to the parents of trick or treaters, who drive slowly along side their children walking from house to house. The streets become clogged and add to the possibility that a youngster darting across the street could be endangered. “We are encouraging those parents to park and walk instead of driving their children door to door,” she said.
Mayor John Manchester denied the request to close Court and Church streets to through traffic for the two-hour time frame, due to fire and police emergencies which demand keeping the area open. Most of the safety measures requested were acknowledged. The mayor also asked for consideration of other trick or treat neighborhoods where police patrols are required.
The increase in through-traffic and speeding vehicles in the area are issues the public safety commission has been dealing with for some time, said council member Joseph Lutz. Speed berms are on the city’s list of improvements for Court and Church streets, as has been the just completed sidewalk on Court Street, and the police department’s electric signage that alerts the drivers of their speed, are all a part of the city’s efforts to increase safety for the neighborhood.
“Trick or treating on Halloween night is a people-driven event, not a city-sponsored event,” Manchester said.
The usual business of the meeting included:
• The Lewisburg Historic Landmarks Commission and the Lewisburg Historical Society received special recognition from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History at a presentation ceremony held in Washington, D.C. last week. Attendees were Carol Olson, representing the HLC, and Mayor John Manchester, representing the North House Museum and Lewisburg Historical Society.
• Council approved the one year placement of an AmeriCorps worker for the HLC, to supervise and coordinate repairs and improvements to the city’s cemeteries and to make corrections to the last historic district’s survey of properties, said HLC member Skip Deegans. Council also approved a pass-through grant for The Barracks, presented by Nick LaCosse, North House executive director. And a new billboard image for the interstate designed by TAG Galean for the downtown merchants association, shared with Smooth Ambler Spirits, got the green light.
• A donated leave policy was reinstated, at the request of Police Chief Tim Stover a few months ago. The policy allows a city employee to donate up to three days of their vacation leave to a fellow employee dealing with a catastrophic issue (a long-term illness, for example).
• Council member Lutz announced that an ad hoc committee’s search for a new fire chief has narrowed to two candidates whom they are reviewing for the job former Chief Wayne Pennington held for many years. Both are full-time firemen with the department and are fully qualified for the position. The announcement will likely be made by the next council meeting, Lutz said.
• Stover read the police department’s incident report for the year, so far: 206 misdemeanors, 22 felonies, 17 indictments, 147 traffic wreaks, 1100 traffic stops, 553 citations, 717 warnings, and 99 criminal investigations. He noted that there’s been an increase in larceny arrests and drug arrests in the area.
• Interim Fire Chief Matt Carver said with this being fire prevention week, volunteers from the department gave 950 school-aged kids fire protection education. “Yes, we give out crayons and coloring books,” Carver said, “but the kids really listen.” One child even reported that there once had been a fire in his home and he remembered what the firemen told him to do.
Fireman Joseph Thomas advised the gathering that free smoke detectors are available to Greenbrier Countians through the American Red Cross. He said citizens can contact their local fire department to receive up to three smoke detectors per home.
• The mayor was moved to comment on the city departments’ flood responses last June, which he said, “is still very much a part of peoples lives.”
“There were amazing acts of heroism on the part of the fire department, the police department and the city’s public works department.” Referring to himself, the council and other members of the community, he said, “We weren’t there in the middle of the search for victims. We’re separated from that immediacy by your acts of goodness and kindness.”
• The street paving and repairs list for fiscal 2017 will include Monroe Avenue, Lamplighter Avenue, Stratton Alley and Chestnut Street.
• Public Works Director Roger Pence reported that the city will make repairs to Routes 60 and 63 in Caldwell where there was flood damage, and to three other locations along Rt. 60. He also reported that the security renovations at City Hall are in progress and that the Court Street sidewalk project has been completed.
