By Stephen Smoot
Franklin Town Council had a packed agenda for their regular March meeting. About half of the meeting addressed changes proposed to enhance safety. Council members also approved a measure to assist the county’s effort to construct a courthouse annex.
They also heard from a regional development organization’s representative about a grant award currently under examination from the Pendleton County Commission.
Council members heard from Josh Baldwin, a representative sent by Lantz Construction.
The five-year saga of Pendleton County attempting to construct an annex to the current courthouse will likely come to a conclusion this year. The building will use land just to the south of the courthouse.
Lantz requested permission to place temporary restrictions on Chestnut Street since they have limited space in which to place equipment, large trash receptacles, and other important resources in constructing a major structure. They anticipated that the need would last about 18 months.
The town council approved Lantz’s request. Much of the time during construction, traffic will be one direction only. At other times, as least often as possible, Lantz may have to close the street entirely for safety and construction purposes.
Russ Sasso, council member, asked if Lantz had an alternate plan if council refused. They said they had none, adding, “We can’t create more space.”
Frank Wehrle, Franklin Town administrator, requested that Lantz take care of notifying area residents and businesses about issues related to construction, including the potential for occasional noise in excess of what is generally customary.
Further discussion centered on the water needs of the future annex.
Jarred Rawson, council member, shared that “when building a building smack dab in the middle of town, you’re going to get inconvenience.”
Council members then received an update on the “91 percent done” town water project. With the remainder “moving pretty quickly,” Bob Horan, mayor, asked about post project landscaping. The contractors will, as part of “final restoration,” work to “make it accessible for mowing” and other needs.
Town council members then went through the formality of temporarily suspending the regular council meeting to hold a public meeting concerning wastewater upgrades.
Council members heard an update on the planned wastewater project. The middle cost option proposes to install a “package plant” designed for smaller municipalities with the current pond used for sludge treatment.
After hearing the details, the Council opened the floor for public comment. Michele Connor, representing Mon Forest Towns on another issue, said, “The people who eat fish from the local rivers are happy.”
Wehrle explained that the town needed to upgrade the system to meet any “higher level of scrutiny” that may come as a result of the South Branch watershed being part of the Chesapeake Bay regulations and mandates.
For years, West Virginia has been the only state in the region to meet or exceed federally set mandates for each state in reducing stream pollutants that harm Chesapeake Bay wildlife. The Mountain State’s success played a substantial part in helping populations of crab and other species rebound there.
Council members then resumed the regular session.
Connor addressed the council again in the second half of the session. She came to update the town council on activities and opportunities related to the work of the Mon Forest Towns group.
According to its website, Mon Forest Towns is “a collaborative mission to bring sustainable economic development to West Virginia’s hidden gems, improving the quality of life for residents and tourists alike.” The organization centers on promoting towns in the Monongahela National Forest area, such as Franklin, Seneca Rocks, Petersburg, Richwood, and several others.
The overarching goal is to create a Mon Forest “brand” on the same level as Tennessee has created for the Great Smoky Mountains.
One of the projects worked on this year is a network of routes for bicycling throughout Pendleton County, but especially through the MFT towns. Eight regional routes are envisioned with one master route to link them all.
This is a separate project from the upcoming Potomac Highlands regional motorcycling map, a collaboration of convention and visitors bureaus efforts in Pendleton, Hardy, Grant, Hampshire, and Mineral counties.
MFT has also commissioned the capture of raw footage from around the region that can be used “for whatever you want.”
Connor also requested that Franklin provide a watershed use plan to help it become eligible for a grant.
One of the main points raised by Connor was a $25,000 grant for the Pendleton County Commission to create a comprehensive plan that would be created in part by West Virginia University law school students. Part of the requirement would be the establishment of a planning commission for Pendleton County.
“They have not said no and they have not said yes,” Connor shared.
She speculated that the commissioners feared a groundswell of local opposition, which happened during a previous attempt to install county economic planning protocols. Connor added that she felt they may also be concerned that the wind farm controversy could get attached to the issue of a planning commission and comprehensive plan.
“This has nothing to do with wind turbines,” she said, then added that it is not a “sneaky way” to pass zoning laws, such as in Hardy County.
Should the county decline, Franklin can produce its own plan. Connor stated that Seneca Rocks could not do so since it did not possess an incorporated town government. Only if the county commissioners agree can Seneca Rocks also be part.
Connor also warned that opting out of the plan could make it more difficult for the County to get grant funding.
After hearing the request, Horan stated that reaching out to commissioners was “worth a try.” Wehrle proposed that the Commissioners be approached to conduct a joint county and town work session so that the elected officials could speak plainly. He then said, “I’ll approach the commission.”
Sasso indicated support regardless of the county’s final decision, saying “a town plan is better than no plan.”
Toward the conclusion of the meeting Bruce Minor, who also serves on the regional transit board, shared information on new Potomac Valley Transit Authority plans to extend service to Morgan and Tucker counties. He explained that low ridership in Pendleton County made expanding service difficult.
Additionally with the new administration re-examining “green” energy production, PVTA’s plan for its next generation vehicle fleet will pivot toward “blue hydrogen” that uses electrolysis generated by natural gas to create the fuel, rather than wind, solar, or hydroelectric power.
