Tim Walker
AMR Reporter
Community Corrections and Day Report director Daniel Arbogast met with the Pocahontas County Commission at its August 20 meeting to report that Community Corrections received only $51,000 from its grant applications. This required a change to the county’s budget.
The grant application was for $216,000, which, had it been approved, would have required the county to put up matching funds of $53,858.
Disappointment was evident in the room, but the only bright spot was that the commission just needs to make a local match of $12,750.
The commission approved the grant and the match.
The commission discussed a complaint received from Jo Debra Gandee, of Slaty Fork, concerning the Public Service District (PSD) taking an easement across her property without her consent. Commission Attorney Bob Martin said he contacted attorneys for the PSD about this complaint, but they knew nothing about it. He will look into it further.
The commission also discussed a complaint received from Theresa L. Weimer, of Frank, about a burned out and dilapidated property there. In her letter, Weimer said the property is a health hazard because the debris pile is “rat, snake and spider infested.”
Commissioner Walt Helmick pointed out that there is currently no county ordinance addressing this type of problem, but enacting one will require a lot of time and thought to ensure it is done right.
The owner of that property, Jeremy Bauserman, was at the meeting and said the house was still under construction when it burned in December of 2010.
Bauserman talked about efforts he has made to haul some of the debris away in his pick-up truck, but cannot afford to hire an excavation company to do the job right and move the larger parts of the structure. He said he will continue to make efforts to clean up the property.
Helmick pointed out that his proposal to have the County Solid Waste Authority purchase and open landfills for demolition materials could help remedy problems such as this in the future.
In other actions:
The commission
• appointed Robert Sheets to a five-year term on the Historic Landmarks Commission.
• appointed three people to staggered terms on the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation Board: Charlie Sheets to a term expiring on June 30, 2020; Rita Griffin to a term expiring on June 30, 2021; Kim Beverage to a term expiring on June 30, 2022.
In his counsel’s report, Martin said he will present the Fire Board’s proposal to change the towing ordinance to the Towing Advisory Board.
This proposal would allow the Fire Incident Commander, in addition to a law enforcement officer, to call for a tow truck at the scene