County Commission Meets
Clayberry has three
County Commissioners, Fran King, Connie Kinder and Chair, Greg
Fitzwater. Fitz chose not to seek reelection and leaves office
Dec 31st. All three were present for the August 26 2020 public
meeting. Around a dozen others graced the peanut gallery. With
a lot to cover, here goes with life in the Land of Little.
Item and after item went smooth up to #9 which had to do with a vote to move along with broadband design contract. That item was tabled. For those out of the loop, a volunteer committee has been working to get DSL speeds and dependability up to 20th century standards. All along their journey the Committee have told us, Frontier will NOT be a provider of the improved system. The hold up on the design vote appears to be a less acceptable contract, not meeting the needs, demands, of the working group. It's been a slow process but so far, it's still moving forward about like a herd of turtles.
Mitch DeBoard is the Business Development Authority (BDA) Chair. He was present for this CCC meeting.
From the Gospel of Mitch, we have several updates including....
The new river access point behind the 911 center is open for business and well used so far. Just after opening a big slip came to the access point. More fill and gravel is needed to restore the place so trailers, vehicles, can back down to the Elk and load or unload boats. The Chair told the three up front, W Va DNR is interested in taking over the ramp with assurances they, the DNR, will maintain and police the spot.
County Clay needs access points elsewhere along the Elk. If tourists can't get to the wawa, they go elsewhere.
One of the worst sections for access is between Hartland bridge down to King Shoals. That long stretch is without any public, lawful, access points. DeBoard announced, the DNR had opened three new access points below, down river, the old Swinging Bridge on the the River Road side heading toward Procious. The three sites are already marked with brown and yellow signs. A fourth ramp area is coming soon.
FYI: the first point is 4 miles
down river from the Swinging bridge. Years ago, before bridges
were common, the State Road guys provided river crossing via
dirt roads near where the Elk was naturally short on wawa.
This site appears to be one of those old (1930's) river
crossings. The
one located at 4 miles is the most accessible and is
in good enough shape to allow four wheel drive vehicles to
back in, down to the river.
The one located at 7 miles is carry in or out only. Parking is limited to 2 or 3 vehicles. That second one is at the seven mile mark, below the bridge. At each site, you really have to look for the Access Point signs which are located 10 feet of the ground, screwed into trees.
We didn't make it down to the third open access point, but hope in the future future. Sorry.
Complaints are coming in on off road vehicles roaring up and down ERTS. Deboard explained, until the State takes over the old railroad rights of way and makes it part of the State Park system, Law enforcement can NOT patrol the tourism draw. BUT BUT BUT, once again, according to the Gospel of Mitch, if people would start taking pics of the offenders and provide em to the Elk River Railroad, the RR will take the trespassing info to Court.
So when would be a good time to open ERTS? You guessed it, just before the Nov election. DeBoard felt, that official ribbon cutting would happen sometime around Nov 1st of this year. Don't expect Gov Jim to walk or bike the trail. We're putting a nickel on it, Justice will ride parts of the ERTS trail, via a side by side, setting the example for others.
Commissioner King was wound up on the 26th. Fran told the BDA Chair of a problem in her neck of the woods, Ivydale. There, Ms King said cars, trucks, junk, is blocking the road to the ERTS parking lot (behind the old Ivydale Elem School building) . She showed a picture to highlight the problem.
How about a Swinging Bridge update. Deboard: The State wants to give the cable span away; but won't say how much they will provide the purchaser for future demolition expenses. Cost to rehab the bridge into a walking only span, somewhere around $120,000. Also, who ever buys the 7' wide structure, they have to maintain liability insurance for ever more.
Note: during previous BDA meetings, word had it, the Elk River Trails Foundation, based out of Clendenin, had some interest in taking on the bridge project. But, so far, that hasn't happened. Want to own a bridge? Call the BDA or State Road, District 1.
The Mouth of the South, Fran King , was verbose when talking about Spread Park. King," It looks horrible!!" Responding, DeBoard reminded the CCC, his organization, the BDA, does NOT have any kind of lease on the place, they have maintained the muchly used river side picnic place, but now, they do not have the funding to keep the grass mowed and weed whacked.
Here comes the Mouth again.
After hearing that the mysterious "Foundation" may have an interest in taking over Spread Park, Ms King voiced what a bunch of us in the county have been thinking for a long time. King told the world, she was concerned that the Foundation, an out of county organization, is taking over everything and leaving county leaders with little to no control. It was explained to the Commission, there are five Clayonians on the Foundation Board so we should be well represented down there. Current Clayonians include: DeBoard, Josh Shamblin, Connie Kinder, Micky Boggs who has never attended a Foundation meeting, and Connie Lupardus, Big Lup as many call her, who does not live in County Clay.
Continuing on, the Foundation purchased the old Newt Bragg property in Dundon and plans to lease it to a State agency for use as a picnic place, river access spot, and DNR maintenance area.
A ERTS Park Superintendent [actually a Park Manager] will be hired and that person will be required to live in Clayberry. 3 to 4 seasonal workers will also be employed.
To the North, just down river from Ivydale, an attorney donated a one half acre clump of riverbank to ERTS for river access purposes. Fran King referenced the spot as Mrs Crawford's home.
Let's go back to the Elk Foundation. Ms King has it right, there are many raising concerns over the secretive (sort of) Foundation is taking over the county. There a couple of side notes to be had here. Since no one else has the floor, we'll do the providing.
Clayberry has had many opportunities to grow but instead, didn't have the brains to do anything. Split between dumb bunnies in charge and Blue Bloods only thinking, "what's in it for me", we have missed opportunity after opportunity. Off the top: we had a chance to purchase the BC&G rolling stock steam locomotives and we said, H no, there's no future there; we had a guy come here 20 years ago from Picadilly Park (NY) offering to put in a manufacturing plant and we turned him away; we had a chance to have a juvenile detention center here and blew that one by getting into a fight; and a chance to have a paved, two lane highway directly over to Summersville and locals objected to that progress. At the time, one business leader said in public, I'll go ahead and turn out my lights right now.
In a nutshell, we haven't got the brain power or insight of a gnat.
But there's more. Appalachians are clannish people. We are hesitant to deal with outsiders. In this case, outsiders include the new Foundation organization. While we haven't seen them do anything weird or off base, they do have a real failing when letting the people know what they are planning, doing, and accomplished. To ease tensions, the Foundation must furnish the world with public relation articles for every newspaper, radio station, in the four county service area. They are not doing that.
As a matter of fact, just last week, one the Foundation members, Dave Knight from Clendenin, was told of this very problem. He seemed to brush off the suggestion with, gosh, we put stuff on Facebook.
Until the Elk River Foundation changes their way, they can expect a brick wall response to their programs. Leaving us in the dark like a mushroom, that ain't going to work no matter how good their intentions are.
Item and after item went smooth up to #9 which had to do with a vote to move along with broadband design contract. That item was tabled. For those out of the loop, a volunteer committee has been working to get DSL speeds and dependability up to 20th century standards. All along their journey the Committee have told us, Frontier will NOT be a provider of the improved system. The hold up on the design vote appears to be a less acceptable contract, not meeting the needs, demands, of the working group. It's been a slow process but so far, it's still moving forward about like a herd of turtles.
Mitch DeBoard is the Business Development Authority (BDA) Chair. He was present for this CCC meeting.
From the Gospel of Mitch, we have several updates including....
The new river access point behind the 911 center is open for business and well used so far. Just after opening a big slip came to the access point. More fill and gravel is needed to restore the place so trailers, vehicles, can back down to the Elk and load or unload boats. The Chair told the three up front, W Va DNR is interested in taking over the ramp with assurances they, the DNR, will maintain and police the spot.
County Clay needs access points elsewhere along the Elk. If tourists can't get to the wawa, they go elsewhere.
One of the worst sections for access is between Hartland bridge down to King Shoals. That long stretch is without any public, lawful, access points. DeBoard announced, the DNR had opened three new access points below, down river, the old Swinging Bridge on the the River Road side heading toward Procious. The three sites are already marked with brown and yellow signs. A fourth ramp area is coming soon.
The one located at 7 miles is carry in or out only. Parking is limited to 2 or 3 vehicles. That second one is at the seven mile mark, below the bridge. At each site, you really have to look for the Access Point signs which are located 10 feet of the ground, screwed into trees.
We didn't make it down to the third open access point, but hope in the future future. Sorry.
Complaints are coming in on off road vehicles roaring up and down ERTS. Deboard explained, until the State takes over the old railroad rights of way and makes it part of the State Park system, Law enforcement can NOT patrol the tourism draw. BUT BUT BUT, once again, according to the Gospel of Mitch, if people would start taking pics of the offenders and provide em to the Elk River Railroad, the RR will take the trespassing info to Court.
So when would be a good time to open ERTS? You guessed it, just before the Nov election. DeBoard felt, that official ribbon cutting would happen sometime around Nov 1st of this year. Don't expect Gov Jim to walk or bike the trail. We're putting a nickel on it, Justice will ride parts of the ERTS trail, via a side by side, setting the example for others.
Commissioner King was wound up on the 26th. Fran told the BDA Chair of a problem in her neck of the woods, Ivydale. There, Ms King said cars, trucks, junk, is blocking the road to the ERTS parking lot (behind the old Ivydale Elem School building) . She showed a picture to highlight the problem.
How about a Swinging Bridge update. Deboard: The State wants to give the cable span away; but won't say how much they will provide the purchaser for future demolition expenses. Cost to rehab the bridge into a walking only span, somewhere around $120,000. Also, who ever buys the 7' wide structure, they have to maintain liability insurance for ever more.
Note: during previous BDA meetings, word had it, the Elk River Trails Foundation, based out of Clendenin, had some interest in taking on the bridge project. But, so far, that hasn't happened. Want to own a bridge? Call the BDA or State Road, District 1.
The Mouth of the South, Fran King , was verbose when talking about Spread Park. King," It looks horrible!!" Responding, DeBoard reminded the CCC, his organization, the BDA, does NOT have any kind of lease on the place, they have maintained the muchly used river side picnic place, but now, they do not have the funding to keep the grass mowed and weed whacked.
Here comes the Mouth again.
After hearing that the mysterious "Foundation" may have an interest in taking over Spread Park, Ms King voiced what a bunch of us in the county have been thinking for a long time. King told the world, she was concerned that the Foundation, an out of county organization, is taking over everything and leaving county leaders with little to no control. It was explained to the Commission, there are five Clayonians on the Foundation Board so we should be well represented down there. Current Clayonians include: DeBoard, Josh Shamblin, Connie Kinder, Micky Boggs who has never attended a Foundation meeting, and Connie Lupardus, Big Lup as many call her, who does not live in County Clay.
Continuing on, the Foundation purchased the old Newt Bragg property in Dundon and plans to lease it to a State agency for use as a picnic place, river access spot, and DNR maintenance area.
A ERTS Park Superintendent [actually a Park Manager] will be hired and that person will be required to live in Clayberry. 3 to 4 seasonal workers will also be employed.
To the North, just down river from Ivydale, an attorney donated a one half acre clump of riverbank to ERTS for river access purposes. Fran King referenced the spot as Mrs Crawford's home.
Let's go back to the Elk Foundation. Ms King has it right, there are many raising concerns over the secretive (sort of) Foundation is taking over the county. There a couple of side notes to be had here. Since no one else has the floor, we'll do the providing.
Clayberry has had many opportunities to grow but instead, didn't have the brains to do anything. Split between dumb bunnies in charge and Blue Bloods only thinking, "what's in it for me", we have missed opportunity after opportunity. Off the top: we had a chance to purchase the BC&G rolling stock steam locomotives and we said, H no, there's no future there; we had a guy come here 20 years ago from Picadilly Park (NY) offering to put in a manufacturing plant and we turned him away; we had a chance to have a juvenile detention center here and blew that one by getting into a fight; and a chance to have a paved, two lane highway directly over to Summersville and locals objected to that progress. At the time, one business leader said in public, I'll go ahead and turn out my lights right now.
In a nutshell, we haven't got the brain power or insight of a gnat.
But there's more. Appalachians are clannish people. We are hesitant to deal with outsiders. In this case, outsiders include the new Foundation organization. While we haven't seen them do anything weird or off base, they do have a real failing when letting the people know what they are planning, doing, and accomplished. To ease tensions, the Foundation must furnish the world with public relation articles for every newspaper, radio station, in the four county service area. They are not doing that.
As a matter of fact, just last week, one the Foundation members, Dave Knight from Clendenin, was told of this very problem. He seemed to brush off the suggestion with, gosh, we put stuff on Facebook.
Until the Elk River Foundation changes their way, they can expect a brick wall response to their programs. Leaving us in the dark like a mushroom, that ain't going to work no matter how good their intentions are.
Cheryl White
Now for the main
event, the feature presentation from the August 26th
Commission meeting
Cheryl White is an elected School Boardster. She made it a point to say, she was there not as a Boardster but rather, a private citizen.
Saddled up with hand outs including copies of the pertaining to State Code, Ms White raised concerns over all the shacks, junk, broken down sheds dotting our hillsides. She asked the CCC to adopt an ordinance giving County Govt the authority to mandated property owners to clean out their property. White: those places are dangerous, unsafe, beautiful the county by putting fangs in the law. She said $$$ is available for such demolition. One example of the eyesores, according to White, is the burnt out, old Baptist Church in Two Run owned by Morgan and Joyce GIbson . There, one of the burnt out walls has already fell down and leaning toward Route 4.
Fran King jumped right in with: I have worked on this before; we are currently doing "blighted buildings"; We asked for 100 structures to be removed (since the Great Wash Out of 2016) and only 3 have been torn down; the Govt application process took forever; there is trash everywhere and our local Magistrates refuse to go after the offenders. Ms King added, she had made complaints to our House of Delegate Rep who has done nothing about the roadside trash.
Let's go back to those pesky Magistrates. While they're not that easy to look at, they know something about laws having to be reasonable to work. Currently, the laws on the books call for minimum fines for offenders amounting to 1000's of dollars. The current law is unreasonable and unusable.
It was a lengthy discussion on all the woes of Clayberry.
When asked, Fran, will you vote for such an ordinance, she refused to answer.
King knows, a trash and dilapidated structure ordinance is really a zoning law. She knows that such a measure has been tried in the past and Commissioners barely escaped getting hung by a rope during those earlier initiates.
There's a much better approach to cleaning up Clayberry. The approach has worked in every other locale in the nation. Even the low life trash infested areas clean up when prosperous neighbors move in. If all the folks around you pick up trash and get rid of eyesores, there's an embarrassment factor that kicks in. It works!
As for a new zoning law, we don't need another way for the Govt to come in and take over the property that you have been paying taxes on for decades. It's bad medicine. There's a reason its called private property.
In Clayberry, if you walk in and tell Bubba, you got to get rid of your old clunkers in the yard, you're most likely getting ready to give Wilson Smith Funeral Home some more business.
Don't want zoning in County Clay? It's time to call the County Commission and make your wishes known.
AW
Cheryl White is an elected School Boardster. She made it a point to say, she was there not as a Boardster but rather, a private citizen.
Saddled up with hand outs including copies of the pertaining to State Code, Ms White raised concerns over all the shacks, junk, broken down sheds dotting our hillsides. She asked the CCC to adopt an ordinance giving County Govt the authority to mandated property owners to clean out their property. White: those places are dangerous, unsafe, beautiful the county by putting fangs in the law. She said $$$ is available for such demolition. One example of the eyesores, according to White, is the burnt out, old Baptist Church in Two Run owned by Morgan and Joyce GIbson . There, one of the burnt out walls has already fell down and leaning toward Route 4.
Fran King jumped right in with: I have worked on this before; we are currently doing "blighted buildings"; We asked for 100 structures to be removed (since the Great Wash Out of 2016) and only 3 have been torn down; the Govt application process took forever; there is trash everywhere and our local Magistrates refuse to go after the offenders. Ms King added, she had made complaints to our House of Delegate Rep who has done nothing about the roadside trash.
Let's go back to those pesky Magistrates. While they're not that easy to look at, they know something about laws having to be reasonable to work. Currently, the laws on the books call for minimum fines for offenders amounting to 1000's of dollars. The current law is unreasonable and unusable.
It was a lengthy discussion on all the woes of Clayberry.
When asked, Fran, will you vote for such an ordinance, she refused to answer.
King knows, a trash and dilapidated structure ordinance is really a zoning law. She knows that such a measure has been tried in the past and Commissioners barely escaped getting hung by a rope during those earlier initiates.
There's a much better approach to cleaning up Clayberry. The approach has worked in every other locale in the nation. Even the low life trash infested areas clean up when prosperous neighbors move in. If all the folks around you pick up trash and get rid of eyesores, there's an embarrassment factor that kicks in. It works!
As for a new zoning law, we don't need another way for the Govt to come in and take over the property that you have been paying taxes on for decades. It's bad medicine. There's a reason its called private property.
In Clayberry, if you walk in and tell Bubba, you got to get rid of your old clunkers in the yard, you're most likely getting ready to give Wilson Smith Funeral Home some more business.
Don't want zoning in County Clay? It's time to call the County Commission and make your wishes known.
AW