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PARKERSBURG -- Parkersburg City Council voted on three resolutions and presented one ordinance at Tuesday's council meeting.
The first resolution was to allow the temporary vending of beer and/or wine during Parkersburg Homecoming, on Aug. 18-19.
Councilmember J.R. Carpenter said he thought the council had already passed all the vending related bills for the year and they should be passed at once. Parkersburg Development Director Ryan Barber said he had contacted the Homecoming Committee a few months prior, but it hadn't materialized until now.
"If council wants to vote on these once a year, I think it needs to be codified," Mayor Tom Joyce said. "Right now we can pass an ordinance related to streets today, we can pass one in July."
The measure passed 6-3, with Carpenter, Councilmember Ray Eubanks, and Council President Sharon Kuhl voting against.
The second resolution was to reappoint Andrew Woofter III as Administrative Law Judge. It passed unanimously without questions.
For the third resolution, the Parkersburg News and Sentinel had previously reported a public hearing of Community Development Block Grant and HOME Consortium was scheduled at 6:30 p.m Tuesday. City Attorney Blair Myers advised a formal notice for a public hearing needed to be published if it was legally required. Since one hadn't been issued, it wasn't required.
Community Development Block Grant and HOME Consortium were passed unanimously without further discussion.
The ordinance presented was a result of a personnel meeting at 7 p.m. During that meeting, Sondra Wallace, Personnel Director for the City of Parkersburg, said Everett Shears was recently promoted from a foreman to Supervisor of Parks and Floodwall. When reviewing the 11 positions available in the two departments, they decided another supervisor wasn't needed.
"Everett and I were discussing it. He felt it didn't need another supervisor. With the new trail opening by the flood wall, and the lawn needs to be mowed all the time, we would rather have another groundskeeper than a foreman," Wallace said.
The change from foreman to groundskeeper was submitted to full council and approved unanimously.
Council also held a public forum. Alishiya Pearce of 16th Street, Parkersburg, said she is concerned for her and her neighbors' safety due to drivers speeding on her street.
"I live between Oak and Plum (streets). It is dangerous for me and my neighbors to back out of our driveways," she said. "People fly over the hill and there have been many near misses."
Pearce said a radar speed reader was installed, but it stopped functioning after a few weeks but it wasn't placed in an effective location. She said she found a grant through the U.S, Department of Transportation called Safe Streets and Roads for All, which is a $5 billion grant dedicated to pedestrian safety. She said Charleston, Clarksburg, and Bluefield had already applied for and received money from that program.
Jennifer Bryant, of Parkersburg, said she disagreed with changing the council's rules to accommodate Parkersburg Utility Board Manager Eric Bennett. During the public forum, council voted to suspend the three-minute time limit and allow the council to ask questions.
"I would offer for your attention, it was only a matter of only a few seconds to bend the rules to hear from the gentleman about the waterline project. It's worth noting that this very easy and quick undertaking could be done during any meeting to allow for the engagement of citizens," she said.
Kristen Hainkel can be reached at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com