By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The City of Parsons met in open session on January 23rd. Most of the Council were present with Council Member James Humphrey absent and Council Member David Greenlief attending via telephone. City Attorney Tim Stranko was in attendance as well as City Treasurer Quinnlan Buckley and Police Chief Kevin Keplinger.
Both City Administrator Agnes Arnold and Mayor Bruce Kolsun acknowledged the efforts of the City employees during the recent snow storms. According to Arnold, the snowfall had caused the crews to incur overtime due to their efforts. Arnold also said the City has received a lot of complements about the snow crews.
A new online payment system is scheduled to launch on February 1st, according to Arnold. Arnold said her department has sent out notices and are imputing the water bills in preparation for the launch. Along with the notices sent out, Arnold said information regarding the new payment system is available on the City’s website. Any utility bill can be paid online with the new system, according to Arnold.
City Attorney Tim Stranko and City Recorder Tim Auvil provided updates on the City Sewer Project and GS Millwork. According to Stranko, Thrasher is working on a checklist to address the issues contained in a recent Notice of Violation (NOV) received by the City from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The GS Millwork project will also need a new discharge added to the sewer by order of the DEP, according to Stranko. According to Auvil, money for the additional requirements is available.
The Council also addressed the issue of the open unexpired Ward Two Council Member vacancy. The vacancy is a result of Tim Auvil’s appointment to Recorder to fill a vacancy left when Bruce Kolsun was appointed Mayor following the resignation of Mayor Judy. A special meeting of the Council will be held to interview the three candidates presented. Council Member Kathy DiBacco along with community members Seth M. Rosenau and Richard L. (Rick) Lemons had submitted letters of interest to the City in the matter.
In correspondences to the City, Arnold said the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History is considering the nomination of the Parsons High School to the National Register of Historic Places. A letter regarding the nomination stated that a meeting of the WV Archives and Historic Commission to discuss the matter would be held at the Culture Center at 1900 Kanawha Blvd in East Charleston. The meeting will be held on February 21st at 1 p.m.
The next meeting of the City of Parsons Council will be held on Tuesday, February 6th at 6 p.m. at the Charles W. “Bill” Rosenau Municipal Building located at 341 Second Street in Parsons.