By: Cassady Rosenblum
The Parsons City Council met running through an unusually light agenda. The councilmembers approved the prior month’s expenses totaling $110, 251.23, and recognized Roxanne Bright, who has been promoting ovarian cancer awareness through the “Turn The Towns Teal Campaign.”
Via the campaign, volunteers such as Bright tie teal ribbons throughout town with symptom cards and other information related to ovarian cancer during the month of September. Because there is no early detection test for ovarian cancer, building awareness of the symptoms and risk factors is key, especially since if detected in the early stages, the survival rate for ovarian cancer is between 90% and 95%. Bright, who is an ovarian cancer survivor herself, sported teal nails and said she has been promoting information about ovarian cancer on Facebook. The council applauded her for her efforts, and huddled to take a picture, snapping their masks into place.
Police Chief, Kevin Keplinger, raised the idea of starting a Parsons Police Department Volunteer Association, whose volunteers could receive Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. The council was in favor, noting that police volunteers could help with events such as “the COVID shot line, or car show.” Keplinger admitted there is “some liability,” however, when initiating civilians as police volunteers. “We don’t want people rattling door knobs at 2 in the morning,” he said.
Citizens may be surprised to learn that 80% of what their city government discusses is sewage and water. Over the weekend, a sewer line backed up into a house near Churchill Lane, and the city was unable to make contact with the personnel they pay to be on-call for such events. The issue was resolved when the city paid a private plumber to fix the issue, but all council members agreed this was not a good long-term solution, and a frustrating problem. “It torqued me,” said councilmember Timothy Auvil.
Currently, the city pays several individuals with knowledge of the sewer lines to stay on call after business hours, but it is a nonrestrictive policy, explained Jason Myers, former City Administrator of Parsons. “If you mandate them to stay within (the area),” Myers said, “you have to pay them hourly.” He suggested taking the weekly on-call pay away from the personnel who did not show up as a reprimand.
Interviews for the vacant City Manager job were delayed again due to sickness, this time because Myers’ wife fell ill, and Myers, who lives in Clarksburg, was unable to attend the rescheduled interviews.
City Council meetings are held at city hall are open to the public.