The Great Kanawha Resource Conservation and Development agency notified the Williamson City Council on May 25 that its application for funding of a pollinator wall has been approved.
“I’m here to tell you it is time to get ready and get planting,” Williamson resident and board member for the Great Kanawha RC&D Helen Stanley told the council. “Your 2022 pollinator wall application has passed through and has been approved.”
Stanley said the grant award is up to $3,500. However, the funds must be used by October.
“Once this money is used, you are welcome to apply for it again to continue the process,” she said.
Stanley said pollinator plants such as butterfly bushes, crepe myrtle and flowering trees will be placed in the more than 70 cells located along the floodwall. The now empty rings dotting the floodwall were previously filled with trees that had to be removed because of disease and safety concerns.
“Once it is completed, the floodwall will be absolutely beautiful,” Stanley said. “We will bring bees and butterflies back to the city. It will be wonderful.”
The spokesperson for the Southern West Virginia Action for Youth Center located on Vinson Street, Ricky Wilkerson, also addressed the council during public comments. He questioned a policy used by the city limiting charity roadblocks to only one per month.
“I don’t want to cause trouble,” Wilkerson said. “But under what ordinance does the city have the authority to do this?”
Wilkerson said he had come to city hall to apply for a permit for his organization to conduct a roadblock. He said he was told his organization could not hold one until June because another roadblock had already been conducted in May.
“We do hot dog sales, apply for grants and get donations,” he said. “But we still have bills to pay and we use roadblocks to help with our expenses.”
Mayor Charlie Hatfield said this was a procedure the city implemented during his first administration.
“There is no ordinance relating to roadblocks, whether allowing them or not,” he explained. “It is just a policy we adopted years ago. (The former city clerk) and I worked on this and decided on a plan. The traveling public does not want to be stopped too often by various groups. The roadblocks can also be a traffic hazard.”
Councilman Ralph Hall agreed with Hatfield: “We got a lot of backlash about all of the roadblocks that used to be held in town.”
Wilkerson proposed the possibility of allowing two roadblocks per month at set intervals. The council agreed to take the request under advisement.
In other actions, the council: • Approved a quote from ODN Consulting to provide technology support for city hall, the utilities department and CVB. Each group will be responsible for one-third ($175) of the monthly $525 fee;
• Approved obtaining quotes from ODN for new phone service once the IT services have been implemented. The new phone service will provide service and security through online connections with the city’s network and server and will allow the city to accept in person credit card payments for water and sewer; and,
• Heard reports from various department heads.
