By Stephen Smoot
To open December’s Town of Franklin Council meeting, Mayor Bob Horan asked for prayers for Councilman T. E. Wimer and his wife during their recent challenges.
Mayor and council welcomed several members of the community and also Ray Moeller from West Virginia University’s Brownfields Assistance Center. Frank Wehrle, Town of Franklin administrator, informed officials present that the group had come to discuss the Brownfields, Abandoned, and Dilapidated buildings program, known better as “BAD buildings.”
Wehrle joked about the “negative connotation,” then explained in general the point and purpose of the program. He stated that “the crux of the program is that nearly every place in the state has structures that are run down, in need of repair.” He then added, “This program offers a way for local concerned citizens, not necessarily derived from the town,” to create a list of structures and property owners in need of assistance. It will then prioritize which properties need help and find funding avenues to pay.
Those avenues could come from a number of state and federal sources, as well as nonprofits like regional development foundations and major sources such as Benedum. Other sources could include demolition money from the West Virginia Housing Development Fund and the Appalachian Regional Commission which recently provided funds to a downtown revitalization program linking Region 8 with its Maryland counterpart.
Eventually, the committee will approach property owners to discuss repairs, maintenance, or even demolition of all or part of a structure.
Moeller addressed officials by first praising Franklin Town Hall, calling it “an amazingly cool city hall.” Interestingly, though not brought up, Franklin Town Hall represents an example of repurposing a former building for a new use, which is much of what the BAD buildings program does.
He then thanked Michelle and John Connor, as well as Jared VanMeter, for inviting WVU officials to the discussion.
In his explanation, he shared that the program could operate in areas as different as Charleston neighborhoods and outlying rural towns. “We just did Durbin,” he noted. Moeller stated that each region taking up the project would need to recruit volunteers willing to undergo a day of training and then fulfill their function.
Moeller described the visit with the town council as the preliminary step. Once the local government professes at best its support, at least its willingness to not obstruct, then the process of forming an organization, training volunteers, and then the work commences.
First, an official from West Virginia University provides a day of training designed to explain the project and avoid problems in undertaking it.
Committees assign volunteers to perform “windshield surveys” to “eyeball” problematic properties. In response to a question from Russ Sasso, council member, about the “definition” of a structure, Moeller stated that they take a broad approach to that. The council member also suggested that the proposed committee could and should examine every property in town limits. That would cover all structures while examining some properties and not others.
He also emphasized that volunteers need to take a broad approach in how they identify properties needing help. While a number of uninhabited and uninhabitable structures are owned by outside interests, some properties identified for help may be someone’s home. Each evaluator must own property in the jurisdiction covered so that their own assets are also subject to evaluation. These and other efforts are put in place to ensure that local landowners do not “feel picked on.”
Sasso called implementation “a tough sell” and Moeller agreed, but stated that publicity given the program will encourage some to make efforts to avoid being identified for assistance.
Michelle Connor explained to council that it need not take any action at all outside of “consent, advice, and good will.”
All cautioned that the program does not create immediate results or a solution to all issues. Moeller stated that “towns in the past have benefited from a cumulative effect that raises attention in a cooperative fashion rather than a targeted fashion.” A combination of efforts should prevent the program from going in negative directions, such as weaponizing it to target certain people or businesses.
Council agreed that those who wished to serve with the committee or assist its efforts in some fashion should submit their names to the town office.
Also on the agenda, the council held its second and final reading of the ordinance to synchronize municipal elections with the Pendleton County primary election, held in May. Sasso stated, “This isn’t an if, it’s a when,” referring to legislation requiring their combination. The town will have to pay $1,200 to the county to conduct the election, which is approximately what the town paid for its own polling.
Finally, VanMeter spoke to the town council on behalf of the Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce. He said, “I wanted to thank the town for their support for Main Street Magic.” He also noted, “The parade was bigger than it has been for some time.”
