By Jennifer Dearborn
The Parsons Advocate
The Thomas City Council met in regular session. All council members were present. West Virginia State Treasurer, Riley Moore presented a check for $63,064.49 to the council members. Moore explained these funds come from unclaimed property and state checks that were not ever processed(stale dated).
The council set the date for the repairs to the road on Ash Alley. All cars must be moved from this alley by 5 a.m. Wednesday June 16, 2021 and not able to return until 9 p.m. Thursday June 17, 2021. The council also approved a boot allowance for the city workers.
The town has several delinquent accounts for water bills. They have delivered letters to anyone with a balance greater than $150. After June 11, 2021 the town will start turning off water on these delinquent accounts. The council members are also aware of some billing issues and they are working to get all those figured out.
Marc Glass with Woodlands Development Group and Downstream Strategies updated the council on the sampling of the engineering building. This raised some concern from Joe Dibacco, Thomas VFD. “That area is where we let off the fireworks and we need it to be secured,” explained Dibacco. Jody Flanagan, town council member said “The fire department has to apply for permits and the ATF has to come do an inspection before fireworks can be let off. If you change the infrastructure of the area it could cause it to fail inspection.” Glass assured the council nothing will be done until after the 2021 Fireworks Display. Erika Smith, councilmember stated “I think we can work something out to make everyone happy”.
Abandoned buildings and property was once again a subject at this meeting. Brad Hymes, Thomas resident, addressed the council on the property adjacent to his on Third Street. “This was a construction addition that was started in October 2019 and abandoned completely in February 2020. My grandchildren cannot play outside because six feet of my property has caved in due to this construction not being completed” Hymes said. Hannah Tierney again raised her concern for the abandoned property on Brown Street. The council unanimously decided they will send a letter to the owner of the property and also a letter to the state fire marshal’s office. Dibacco also said he would call the state fire marshal as well. The town is looking into hiring a Building Enforcement Officer.
Dan Bucher with Cortland Acres Future Development gave an update on where they are at on the project. They are concentrating on three major things: access, infrastructure, and service. The new access road will have better visibility when turning into or out of the property. We have plans for 70 Workforce Dwellings and a medical facility.
Dibacco also gave an update on Mountaineer Days for the Thomas VFD. The fireworks show will be 45-50 minutes long. “We have help coming from Parsons and Davis Fire Departments, EMS, and police. This year there will not be a water battle or block party. The fire department will also be setting up a roadblock for donations. This goes for the purchase of fireworks for next year.”