By Stephen Smoot
“You’ll get to know him as time goes on,” Franklin Mayor Bob Horan said in the first few minutes of the town council meeting.
After Genevieve Glover retired from town service after 35 years, Russ Sasso was named to fill out her term. He brings to the council chamber a variety of experiences, including military. He has already been sworn in and can act in an official capacity.
Council members approved minutes from both a regular and a special meeting held in November. The special meeting took place to formalize a meeting’s public comment rules. The Town of Franklin, following general guidance of the West Virginia Ethics Commission, systematized their policy and brought it into line with most other government bodies.
This includes a five-minute limit and requirement that those speaking in the public comment period sign up with town officials first.
In Open Meetings Advisory Opinion 2006-04, the West Virginia Ethics Commission “approved a City Council’s procedural rules for conducting open meetings. Those rules included a five-minute time limit on public comments when no more than four persons signed up to speak, and a pro-rated four-minute time limit when the maximum of five persons per meeting signed up to speak. In several earlier opinions, this committee approved five-minute time limits on presentations during an agency’s public comment period.”
The commission also recommended that agencies create a mechanism to allow for more time to comment when circumstances make it necessary.
Mayor Horan added that the new policy “lays down a couple of good rules” to establish “a time for the public to be heard and not debate.” The main reason for their adoption, he stated, was “we’ve got to control the time factor.”
The town heard a project update from Cody Turner, representing Thrasher. He came to provide a report on the town water project. Turner shared that “the two clear wall tanks should be in by the end of December or mid-January.” The tanks will have a capacity of 40,000 gallons.
“They’re probably 90 percent done,” Turner said, adding that “they’re sifting through a lot of rock.” Also, Thrasher must deal with “old piping that wasn’t shown on the plans.”
Next Chris Burford and Eric Hartwell from New River Engineers Inc discussed progress on the sewer project. They stated that “we came up in October. The facility plan is 60 percent complete and will be ready for presentation by the next council meeting.”
Responding to queries from concerned citizens, the mayor and council took up discussion of the question of hiring a Town of Franklin police officer.
The mayor stated that “we have wrestled with this for a long time.” He then explained that establishing town law enforcement involves much more work and cost than merely hiring an officer.
Council member Keely Smith requested that the council undertake a public discussion of the topic, which mostly included the barriers to implementation. Frank Wehrle, town administrator, said, “The last time we had local law enforcement was a while ago. The last discussion on it was eight years ago.”
Joanie Nelson, town attorney, and Wehrle conducted research on the topic. She explained that “certainly the town can hire its own cop,” but that would incur a lot of potential issues. Nelson’s chief concern lay in the fact that the town resources would be stretched thin to even hire a single officer.
“One officer is pretty precarious,” she said, adding that “there’s too much authority in one guy, and not enough oversight.” Additionally, the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Department and West Virginia State Police always “have at least two officers on duty at the same time” to ensure backup when needed. A Franklin town officer would have to rely on either agency for support. In criminal cases, a town officer “will likely defer to the sheriff or state police” anyway.
“Safety would be an issue for a single law enforcement officer,” council member Kristen Dingess agreed.
Moreover, town council members could be personally held liable for the misbehavior of a town officer.
The mayor suggested that the council “table the discussion on law enforcement until we are financially equipped to deal with it.”
The mayor then invited Franklin citizen Cassie Piel to commence her comment regarding public security and safety.
“From what I’ve learned,” she stated, “I don’t think you can afford a town cop.” Piel added that she agreed with Nelson, and added that she saw possibilities for “conflicts of interest.” Additionally, she said she understood the position of the council, saying, “I’ve been on the liability end of things.”
Piel then asked about the possibility of a resource officer for the high school and was urged to speak with the county commission or the county board of education.
Piel assured council “I am not your enemy,” then discussed their efforts to start a Neighborhood Watch in Franklin, saying “we need our civilians to help.” She asked, “Can we afford cameras?” because “if they have a face, they have a case.”
Cost would likely be a factor here as well. In their application for a COPS grant in 2022, Pendleton County Schools estimated that replacement of their video cameras on each school campus would total approximately $180,000. The town also has limited spaces under its ownership where they could be mounted.
The meeting ended with good news from Wehrle, that “the new truck that was supposed to be here in 2024 is ready now. We may take possession by the end of the month.” Anticipating not getting the new truck, the town also got a plow to use in the meantime that was attached to a vehicle.
