By Stephen Smoot
Last week, the Town of Franklin held its regular meeting. Mayor Bob Horan opened the meeting and shortly thereafter heard an update from Pendleton County Convention and Visitors Bureau concerning its annual report.
Annie Humes shared, “I did not officially take possession of CVB director until May 2025, so that is one of the highlights too.” She then announced that “overall, our city and county have seen growth in the tourism industry.” As she explained to the Pendleton County Commission last week, numbers nationwide have dropped, but West Virginia tourism remains strong. Locally, in the last 10 years we (Pendleton County) have beaten the growth rate (for West Virginia).
Additionally, Humes touted the growth of approximately 100 jobs in tourism-related fields. She pointed out that “that’s almost entirely from small businesses here.” Almost no major national corporations have tourism jobs in Pendleton County outside of Fisher Mountain.
Priorities for Humes in the coming year will include integrating the CVB more into local events for promotion and coordination.
Bruce Minor, who holds responsibilities as town recorder, but also with the Pendleton County Office of Emergency Management, shared a concern echoed in recent years about tourism growth, especially the “rugged outdoor” type. Minor explained that during summer, experienced rock climbing school instructors and other professionals can assist with search and rescue. Off-season, however, “a lot of that is falling back on the county,” he said.
“People come here. They get hurt. They get lost,” Minor stated.
Humes stated that hotel and motel taxes are divided between CVBs and emergency services to help defray those costs.
Frank Wehrle, Town of Franklin administrator, shared results from the Chesapeake Bay Stormwater grant that funded information gathering and planning sessions. In 2025, Franklin saw significant stormwater problems. Pendleton Senior and Family Services administrators and staff on one occasion spent two hours bailing out the center with buckets to prevent water damage.
One solution comes in the form of permeable pavement. Wehrle stated that Franklin has followed typical modes of development seen almost everywhere in terms of using concrete and asphalt, hard impermeable surfaces. He described the effect during storms as “sheeting across the pavement” and also explained that replacing such surfaces on public property with permeable paving stones could help.
Fissures between the paving stones allow water to collect under the stones to be channeled in directions that mitigate damaging effects.
Another problem has cropped up in the diversion ditch that runs behind the community building and senior center, then angles around the softball field to take water to the river. The half-century old measure was constructed by the town and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
The town received three “concepts” from the grant funded work. These envision different areas of potential work, such as in the town parking lot and/or at the Town of Franklin Park lot. Projects could include “rain gardens” that gather water and use it for flowers or other plants in the garden.
Further funding would be needed to develop the concepts into specific projects with details of work and materials needed.
Wehrle then put cold water in the sparkling champagne by stating that the projects would require money on the scale of a water or sewer project. “This is all expensive work. Very expensive work,” added Wehrle.
It would bring the same costs as that infrastructure. He also asked how rain gardens would be maintained due to having a moderate need of regular labor to keep them in good condition. “We hire maintenance workers, not gardeners,” he stated.
Jared VanMeter, executive director of the Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce, came up next to discuss the “gateway” signs welcoming visitors to Franklin. He stated that “we want to put an offer on the table” to help create new ones. VanMeter pointed out that current signs, erected by the Ruritan and Lions Club in the past, “have signs of organizations that no longer exist.”
He offered that the chamber would help to get them together, but did not want the obligation of maintenance. One of the ways that the chamber would benefit is through including a “Home of West Virginia Trout Fest” on the sign. These would replace those already on US 220.
Wehrle stated that he didn’t want to step on the toes of the organizations that originally put them up because “the town does not own those signs.” It was stated that the organizations would likely have no objection to their being updated.
On another signage issue Russ Sasso, a council member who is not running for re-election, stated that he would continue to maintain the banners honoring fallen soldiers. He stated that he performed that service as a member of the American Legion and not the town and that he’d be honored to continue.
Jamie Nichols from West Virginia Rural Water Association then addressed the mayor and council about impending compliance mandates coming from the United States Environmental Protection Agency regarding service line validation. The EPA puts the responsibility on public utilities, not property owners, to validate service lines and to ensure there is no lead in any of their use.
Even if a local government has already completed a validation, the EPA will require a second limited validation that did not use access points used in the first. Nichols explained that the WVRWA could take on the task of notifying affected residents and performing the work of validation. State and federal funds ensure that the town would not have to pay for the service.
Nichols added that the WVRWA could be a resource for connecting the town to officials who could help with funding.
Keely Smith, council member, expressed concern that some residents may still know the reason for the communication and work. She suggested that the town also send notice over and above that of the WVRWA.
In other business, Wehrle and council members discussed a plan to hire local youth to help maintain the cemetery upon the retirement of the gentleman who has been performing that service.
An agenda item had referred to an address of a property damaged by fire. The owners of the property assured mayor and council that work had started on recovering personal items and that demolition was only awaiting a break in the weather so crews could perform it. Sasso explained that a resident had registered concerns and that he was duty-bound to follow up.
Smith and Sasso both thanked the couple and apologized, saying, “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
