LOG FACTORY RATES NEED TO GO UP
Town of Council Meets
Sept 1 2020

   Town Council met on September 1, 2020 at 5:30 pm to discuss grant possibilities, price adjustments, financial insecurity, and more.
  Terry Martin held a public hearing at 5:15 where he presented to the council an opportunity to apply for another HUD grant.  Town residents are encouraged to voice your opinion or write in your opinion.
   “My head is going to pop,” said mayor, Josh Shamblin as the budgets were brought up to the table. Town is doing well, up $5 thousand, and water pulled in $15 thousand due to Clay Roane PSD pulling water again. For the second month in a row, sanitation (that's the Log Factory) lost $4,500 last month.
   Shamblin stated he has been all over the budget to see where the bleed is coming from, but nothing is standing out. All the money dispersion could not be changed. One temporary solution is to place Brandon’s pay on the water budget, but it doesn’t stop the entire bleed. They will still lose each month. With nothing having any wiggle room for change, Shamblin feels they have no choice but to request a rate increase. Josh stated he tried to avoid the option but after discussing with the council, they all agreed. Even with a rate increase of 25%, sanitation bills will still be under $50.
   Heard of the “Color Run” being held on October 10th? Vanessa Dunnigan (Deliciously Vivid) spoke to the council about possibly closing Main Street during the race. Considering the four hour time span, there was no way to fully shut the road down, but are able to close down one lane for the runners.
  The 3.1 mile race is being held to promote tourism, job growth, and a fundraiser for Deliciously Vivid for their Christmas fund. They want to hold another special event for the children. Registration is $30 per person (you will get a shirt), and deadline is October 1st. Register at https://aptiming.com/race/1127.
   Next was the need for a 2nd leak adjustment for Karen Pringle, deceased, as her son is paying off her bill, and lives in Charleston. The first adjustment was from back in the spring when there was a major leak, and no one was occupying the home, and it was never caught. Her son is wanting to pay off the rest of the bill so there are no debts tied to her name. The council did agree to adjust the rate.
   Dunn Engineering plans on using up the rest of the emergency funds for sanitation rehab on guiderails, valves, and any potential issues with the station bases.
   Roger Hanshaw accepted the request to replace the current utility lawyer so that the water storage tank project can be on the move again. He has already received everything he needs, but construction most likely will not begin till the spring.
   As of Wednesday, August 26, Drema has been operating the water plant seven days a week as the other worker had to leave to care for family. They are in need of a Class 2 Operator again, and the only fix for now is Joey Coleman, but he also works for town. Brandon, another town employee stated he and the other two can handle repairs on their own so he can be of assistance at the Wawa Plant.
   Frontier Communications has filed bankruptcy, and has no obligations to pay bills, but the company that bought it out, will pay the bill if the April bill is lowered to around $3. Amy could not remember the name of the company that bought them out, but for now, they will remain under the name, Frontier. Hopefully this is good news for West Virginians.
   It costs $90 to fully replace a town uniform, and lately, the company that provides them, started automatically swapping the uniforms out if they had one chlorine splash on the clothing. Shamblin, however, is not ok with the charge as Joey stated he remembered being told as long as the barcode was in tact, and the rest of the shirt was missing, it would be replaced for free.        Drema seconded hearing this as well. Shamblin has requested to obtain a written policy to see what is supposed to be.
   Parking meters in town are now tore down and piled out behind the plant. Anyone wanting an old meter? They are first come first served and free if you want them.
   That concludes the Town meeting, next will be held October 6, 2020 at 5:30 pm.
JM