Mayor’s Corner

This week, I will try to touch upon some of the various activities going on in Marlinton.
A changeover in employees always adds another layer to getting the job done, but, so far, so good. You may be following some of the other news, as well. Pioneer Days Committees are moving forward in preparation of the festival’s 50th year.
Lots of organizational planning and meeting with the GoMarlinton group. They are spear-heading several cleanup and beautification efforts.
The newly formed Planning Commission has met with Jesse Richardson from the WVU Land Use Academy and will be attending a Training Seminar this month. Also, Laura Finch, a new attorney in town, is helping Marlinton with certain town ordinances and will be a tremendous asset to us in the future.
Several vehicles have been moved off the streets in the past few weeks. Mitchell Chevrolet is assisting with other street cleanup. You may have previously read about a dog running loose being killed by another dog that was on its owner’s property and secured. This episode demands that we all pay more attention to animals running loose in the town.
The DEP Consent Order issue is on-going. I discussed the Town’s position during our May council meeting and emphasized that by the time the Town had received the DEP Consent Order our sewer system was in compliance. Since October, water samples have been within guidelines, except for one exceedance in March – released because of excess flow. Sampling protocols and reporting requirements were being completed. The plan is working, and we are not finished with improvements.
Even the elevator had a breakdown that resulted in a call for service. It was determined that a CD had made its way into the elevator pit, the sump pump sucked the disc up against the intake, the system sensed more than four inches of water in the pit and that sent the elevator back to the top floor and shut down. The elevator program did what it is programmed to do. This is a helpful feature in the event of a flood. Of course, this scenario is not a contract item. The resulting bill was $2,000 – because a CD was sucked into sump.
The flower planters are on the corners and looking good. A buggy for watering is in the works.
The 13th Avenue sewer project – seeding and mulching – should be completed next week.
…and now, I am off to another project.