The Sutton Town Council opened their most recent meeting on November 10 with recognizing Sutton Elementary School on their recent national accreditation by the National Community In Schools program. CIS Site Coordinator Susan Schiefer and SES Principal Flora Cox were present along with a few staff members to be recognized by council. They thanked the town for the recognition and provided a brief overview of what the program provides for students in the community.
Gary Beamer provided council members a brief update on the plans for the Christmas Parade. He stated they were working on finalizing the schedule. The parade will be at 1:00 pm on Saturday, December 3. Other activities will include Breakfast with Santa, vendor and craft sales, Mrs. Claus doing a story time at Sutton Public Library, Sutton Volunteer Fire Department providing hot cocoa, coffee and popcorn and possibly music. The festivities will begin on Friday, December 2 with the local churches caroling and the tree lighting ceremony on the courthouse lawn.
Council approved the minutes of the October 13 and October 27 regular meetings after corrections to the 27th meeting minutes on a motion by Catherine Hoover.
Robyn Dolan updated council on her meeting with the Department of Highways about three roads that need to be ditched in town. Jon Crum stated he had looked closer at the drainage issue coming off of Town Hill. He noted the culvert will need to be checked periodically by town workers to keep it clear of debris.
Steve Facemire noted the recycling pickups had been adjusted but was still ongoing.
Beth Atkins informed council that the damaged ceiling tiles in the community building had been replaced. However, they are a bright white in contrast to the others. She is finding out how many total will be needed to replace all of the tiles in the community building. Council also discussed the option of cleaning or painting the existing ones, but they are very old and deteriorating.
Jon Crum noted the need for more American flags for the town. Robyn Dolan stated she was working on getting those as well as WV State flags.
Council discussed the street lights that were out and the pole numbers in order to contact Mon Power to have them repaired.
Beth Atkins updated the council on the search for options for an elevator or chair lift for the building. Her contact at the WV Department of Labor, Kim Ayers, told her to contact inspectors to find contractors who were certified to install the units. Council discussed possibly having the building placed on the historic registry and then they would not have to be ADA compliant in order to rent the space out. She stated she would continue researching options.
Steve Facemire updated council on the new salt spreader. It is in and ready for use. He also updated on the recycling truck repair. The truck has been repaired and will need to be re-inspected before it can released from the REAP program.
Jon Crum updated council on his work with the town ordinances. He hopes to have it completed by the meeting after Thanksgiving for the final review of council before it is sent to legal counsel for their review.
Beth Atkins provided a brief update on the Elk River Trail. She stated Suzanne McGowan with the Sutton CDC met with the Elk River Trails representatives and discussed a building plan for the empty lot on Main Street near the Farmers Market. The land would need to be purchased by someone and the plan was just to show what options are available. She also stated a local individual was still working on plans for the swimming pool, but it was still in the early stages of planning.
Steve Facemire made a motion for council to go into executive session at 7:11 pm to discuss three personnel issues. They reconvened at 7:54 pm with no action taken. The meeting adjourned at 7:55 pm. The next regular meeting will be December 8 at 6:00 pm.
