It was certainly not planned that way, but a local Boy Scout Troop received an education in the nuts and bolts of how local government works well from the Town of Franklin mayor and council last week.
A group of several scouts, each pursuing an advanced badge on their road to earning status as Eagle Scout, came to the meeting to observe government at work, then ask questions about the law and United States Constitution afterwards.
They were treated to an example of how local government works to try and get an issue right. In this case, they watched as the town council held extended discussion on potential dedicated sheriff’s department parking on Chestnut Street at the Pendleton County Courthouse.
Bob Horan, mayor, welcomed the young men and the town commenced the business of the day.
Much of that business centered around the parking issue. In the September meeting, two separate discussions about parking took place. One focused on Main Street in front of the courthouse and McCoy House, discussing how parked vehicles there impeded visibility with traffic when turning onto Main Street. The other centered on the need for the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Department to have dedicated access to a ramp to the courthouse basement generally used when transferring prisoners from vehicles into temporary custody at the courthouse.
Tim Thompson, Pendleton County sheriff’s deputy, has attended recent meetings to explain his department’s position and needs while answering any questions posed by town officials. He explained in the past that occasionally the department receives prisoners who are dangerous in and of themselves or whose criminal acts may put them in danger of revenge from victims or their families.
He stated that having the prisoner transports able to park as closely as possible to the entrance enhances the safety of both law enforcement and the prisoners in their custody.
Along the way, the town gave its blessing to a parking committee composed of Michelle Connor, who along with her husband has helped the town obtain important grant funding, Carl Hevener, Pendleton County Commission president, and Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator and others.
They as of the October meeting had not yet come up with recommendations for solutions for Main Street.
A misunderstanding soon became clear when the town officials started discussion of the Chestnut Street and sheriff’s department parking issue. The town council had granted the sheriff’s department permission to place cones in the space that prisoner transports would require. That became a painted “No Parking” zone with crosshatches painted in due to legal requirements connected to the completion of the courthouse annex. The miscommunication came up when town officials shared that they had approved the concept of dedicated spaces on Chestnut Street while the parking committee assumed that was not yet a done deal.
Part of that came from the fact that the town had not yet had time in its maintenance schedule to measure out and paint lines demarcating spaces on Chestnut Street, from which the sheriff’s department would get at least some of their request for space to park additional law enforcement vehicles. Some question arose as to whether room existed for two or three spaces. Bruce Manor, town recorder, made the motion to give the department the spaces. Horan tabled the motion until later in the meeting.
Kristen Dingess, council member, took the lead in reading minutes from the previous meeting to clear up the misunderstanding. She said, “My understanding was that the discussion was totally about Main Street” and that the sheriff’s department spots represented “a separate discussion.”
Frank Wehrle, town administrator, confirmed that the parking committee had proceeded as if no decisions on Main Street or Chestnut Street had been made yet.
Through a discussion that went back and forth, sifting through what was known and trying to figure out what was unclear, the Boy Scouts saw government working with citizens for mutual understanding and problem solving.
Later in the meeting, Connor provided the report from the parking committee that established the need for additional parking downtown. Gillespie had noted in the past that though the population of the region has been declining, more individuals own and use their personal vehicles. That has been a cultural shift in the past few generations from families that shared one car in the past. The problem, noted Connor, lies in finding “ideal spaces.”
Another factor in the discussion lies in the awaited report from the West Virginia Department of Highways on Main Street traffic patterns and problems. Wehrle said completion could “take two weeks or two months.”
Minor, who also serves as director of the Pendleton County Office of Emergency Management, when the discussion returned to sheriff’s department parking, said that department vehicles will always need spaces somewhere to park. Thompson added that much of the parking lot used by the courthouse actually is owned by the church next door and courthouse use is by permission on days when the church does not need it. Currently when deputies have to be in the courthouse in numbers, vehicles sometimes need spaces in the town parking lot.
Dingess proposed that everyone “walk through this and see what everyone’s thinking was when the vote (to establish sheriff’s department parking) was taken.” Larry Thompson, council member, said, “I think we voted to pass that and that’s over and done.” Wehrle said that “I don’t think it was decided how many.” Minor cut the Gordian Knot with a proposal to “designate by feet and not by spaces,” the sheriff’s department parking, and let the department figure out how many vehicles it could fit in the space. Dingess also agreed with Tim Thompson that county law enforcement vehicles will often have to take public parking somewhere in town.
Andrea Bodine, council member, pointed out that in an emergency response situation, having the sheriff’s department vehicles convenient to the Courthouse would provide a better response time.
Kyle Dailey, the scoutmaster who arranged the visit, cited his military experience in security affairs and said, “I don’t think anyone but law enforcement should be parking there,” because it increases the risk that a malefactor may establish a position close to law enforcement and prisoners in their charge.
Council approved Minor’s motion. Council also approved a stormwater management plan that will be discussed in another article.
