Commission tries to define coordinator role / DEP says delay may not equal fines

Wednesday May 20, 2009
Commission tries to define coordinator role
Pamela Pritt
Editor

County commissioners discussed the role of a county coordinator Tuesday, with lots of ideas, but no concrete job description.

At least not yet.

The topic is on the agenda for June 2, the third time commissioners will tackle the issue and try to further distill the job description into manageable tasks and goals.

Two commissioners have voiced their strong support for the position, while one has reservations.

Commission president Martin Saffer said he believes the position should be filled by a college or post-college graduate with strong abilities and experience working with people and who has writing and communication skills, along with community planning and experience preferred.

“This person will work with existing businesses, county groups and towns to gather an overview of their respective positions and plans in an effort to coordinate goals. An important objective will be to increase positive dialogue and communication between these groups and the commission,” Saffer wrote in an email to the commission’s administrative assistant Sue Helton.

Saffer said he wanted the county coordinator to write a Mission Statement that will be a guideline for planning and actions.

The commission president also said he wanted the county coordinator to “gather consensus and establish common ground so that plans can be made upon perceived self and common interests” and to be a grant writer.

“We have the resources from tax revenue,” Saffer said. “Out of that revenue, we should spend money for the perceived benefit of everyone.”

Starting salary for the position should be $40,000, he said.

Commissioner David Fleming was on board with Saffer’s tide-raises-all-ships approach, but Commissioner Reta Griffith maintained that the county commission has a mission statement—West Virginia State Code.

Griffith said community members had spoken against creating the position.

“The community is not real happy that we’re adding another position to do what we’re being paid to do,” she said.

Allen Johnson, who spoke in favor of creating the position at the last commission meeting said he didn’t think hiring a coordinator would decrease commissioners’ workload.

Johnson said he thought the coordinator should take stock of the movement already going on in the county, find the strengths and “push things along.”

Mike Holstine, who also returned to the commission meeting to support creating the position said Griffith was correct that State Code spelled out the commission’s mission statement.

However, Holstine said, the commission does need a Vision Statement, which would guide the commission “using the tools and techniques” it has.

Holstine said he saw the county as “ripe and full with opportunity” and should play on its strengths of a world-class science center, NRAO, a world-class resort, Snowshoe Mountain, and a nationally-recognized library system.

“A coordinator could put those things out there in the world and advertise it,” he said. “I think we could function better with this position.”

Holstine further pointed out the importance of businesses buying locally, something NRAO does for its food service. In fact, he said, some farmers in the county are growing things to sell to NRAO’s cafeteria and sandwich shop.

Gil Willis, who co-owns Elk River Restaurant said he hoped Snowshoe Mountain Resort would do the same and that a coordinator could get small farms to cooperate to sell agricultural products to the mountain.

The owner of Camp Twin Creeks at Minnehaha Springs, Gordon Josey, said he is new to participation in local government since he spends some of his time in New York; however, he said, he felt the coordinator was an important issue because of the opportunities in Pocahontas County.

“This is something I think could benefit everyone,” Josey said.

Josey said he was also committed to buying locally and purchased everything he could for the camp from Richardson’s and Glades. Serving 1600 meals a day at the camp, he said, made it difficult to buy produce from one local farm, but perhaps a cooperative of farmers could provide the quantity Twin Creeks requires.

A coordinator could put the necessary pieces together seemed to be the general consensus of the group.

Griffith warned the coordinator enthusiasts that they needed to be realistic about their expectations of the coordinator.

“I think you need to be very careful about the weight you put on this person,” she said. “I think you’re looking at many individuals, not one. Don’t rush out and hire someone when you don’t know what you want them to do.”

Fleming agreed that the conversation was exciting and inspiring, but lacked the concrete thought needed for a job description.

“If we knew so well what the job was, we would have been doing it all along,” Saffer said. “We are on the cusp of a lot of great opportunities here.”

Willis suggested a board that would help direct the coordinator and bring in ideas from the community. He also said a three-to-four year contract would be in order to ensure productivity.

“All we can do is continue to try to make this place better,” he said.

Commissioners will discuss the position again at its next meeting.

DEP says delay may not equal fines

The delay in a regional sewage solution for the Snowshoe-Slaty Fork area will not translate into fines either for the resort or for the county, Fleming told his fellow commissioners.

Fleming said he’d talked to Mike Zeto at the Division of Environmental Protection. Zeto, he said, told him the DEP would consider waiving fines for the county, in spite of the delay, and that Snowshoe Mountain Resort is relieved of that onus, as well.

“We’re still making progress on the regional solution,” Fleming said. “At this point, there’s no need to be alarmed about the June 30 deadline.”

Snowshoe’s permit, which allowed the resort to waive its fines while working on a regional solution, expires on June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

Fleming to hold public meeting on arts center property

Fleming said he would not proceed with moving the arts center to county-owned property in Green Bank until he facilitates a public meeting.

Griffith said she directed the county surveyor to move the property for the center closer to Mecks Construction because rare manna grass grows in the original acreage designated for the center.

Fleming said he had heard concerns that the arts center was not a good fit for the area designated for economic development.

“There’s a voice out there that wants to be heard,” Fleming said.

Griffith reminded Fleming that the arts council is in the process of writing grants for a building.

In other business, the commission:

•heard from Frontier Communications about ways the county can save on its telephone and internet bills.

•approved a resolution to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to test the former Hanover Shoe property for hazardous waste.

•accepted the resignation of James Johnson from the Board of Health and appointed Delores Cutlip to finish his unexpired term.

•named a road on the Emery Wyatt property the Rich Patch Road or the Rich Patch Hollow Road, to be determined by 911 Mapping Coordinator Bill McLaughlin.

•approved budget revisions for the commission and for the prosecuting attorney.

•approved the annual financial operating plans for Monongahela National Forest patrols.

•endorsed an agreement to sponsor a multi-purpose building for Parks and Recreation at the request of Senator Robert C. Byrd.

•appointed Bob Simmons to the Parks and Recreation Board to fill the unexpired term of Heather Simmons.

•denied a request from Green Bank Elementary Middle School PTO for playground equipment.