Parsons City Councilmen Hoy "Pete" Roy and Timothy Turner served at their final council meeting on Tuesday.
Before the meeting, the remaining council members, Mayor Dorothy Judy and City Administrator and Treasurer Jason Myers celebrated Roy and Turner's tireless dedication to the city of Parsons with a cookout dinner.
Roy and Turner were also presented with certificates of appreciation for their years of service, signed by the mayor at the end of the meeting.
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Roy
Turner said working with the city council was a rewarding experience.
"We all worked very hard to make accomplishments within the city. It was a great group of people to work with and I am sure they will continue working as they have for the best interest of the citizens of Parsons," he said.
He stepped down from his position on council in order to fill his recently elected position on the Tucker County Board of Education.
"I have worked in Tucker County in education for 25 years, and even when I was not currently hired by the Tucker County Board of Education, I volunteered at various events," Turner said. "I look forward to the challenge and I believe I have some skills and talents that I will be able to contribute to their work."
Roy said he decided to step down from the council because it is time to make room for new members.
"I have been on city council for a long time," he said. "It is time for me to get out.
"I have seen a lot of changes for the better and I think they have a good council that will do a fine job."
While Roy could not say exactly how long he has been a councilman, he did say he was appointed before the flood of 1985.
Roy said one of the crowning achievements of his time as a councilman was seeing the rail road bridge bike trail project finished.
"The bridge has a lot of sentimental value for me," he said. "I used to ride across it with my dad when I was small. It was quite a thing to get it finished. I love to ride across it on a bike and walk it. I always had the council's support for the project, too. I appreciated that."
Roy also said he is on the board of directors for the Allegheny Trail Committee, and he plants on maintaining that position.
One project he hopes to see completed is the incorporation of Black Water Canyon into the bike trail system.
"It's a wonderful trail, and when you are descending you just drift forever," he said.
In the end, Roy said he deeply enjoyed serving the city of Parsons.
"All I can say is, 'hopefully I did some good,'" he said.
Regarding other business, Myers said the council briefly discussed the fire in the Corrick family house, which occurred on Tuesday.
"Our future goal was to acquire the house and restore it to its original condition, but that may be a pipe dream now," Myers said. "It was very upsetting.
"The house was one of the first homes built in Parsons, it was a landmark. Our dreams kind of got shattered."
Myers also said council passed the first reading of the proposed sewer ordnance.
The city also received $100,000 grant from West Virginia Division of Highways that will be used to complete the city's first and second street project, Myers said.
However, the grant requires a 20 percent, $20,000, match and the city is still in the processes of collecting those funds.
Myers said he believes the city of Parsons will be able to raise half of the sum and he hopes to receive the remaining $10,000 from the Tucker County Commission.
"If we don't get the grant we won't be able to do a good job on the project, and we will run the risk of not completing it," Myers said. "This project is the first step in revitalizing our downtown. So, it is very important that we raise the money."
Council also adopted a resolution to join the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, LLC, which is dedicated to opposing efforts to increase the permitted size for trucks on public roadways.
Myers explained that people in Washington D.C., are pushing to increase the limit for tractor trailer loads from one trailer to three.
"These increases would be really bad for the smaller trucking industry," he said. "They would snuff out smaller outfits, because they simply would not be able to compete. It also does not seem safe. Large trucks already have difficulty stopping at high speeds, I can't imagine what it would be like for a truck with three full trailers trying to stop.
"We may not see a big impact now, if these increases go through, but when Corridor H is finished we will definitely see it," he said.
In demonstration of the support of the coalition, Myers said the city will be sending letters to West Virginia's Senator's and Congressman asking them to oppose the increases.
Myers also said Mindy Ramsey, an environmental scientist at Tetra Tech, presented an updated source water protection plan to the council. While the city has a local protection plan, Myers said the plan Ramsey presented functioned more on a state level in that it incorporated elements of the local plan as well as state mandates.
"The local plan can be thought of as the nuts and bolts of our source water protection plan, while Ramsey's plan is more of a summary," Myers said.
The Corricks Ford Battlefield Association also will be reviewing applications and conducting interviews for a drainage and earthworks project that will be conducted in the Corricks Ford Battlefield.
Contact Joe Hoover by email at jhoover@theintermountain.com.
