KINGWOOD — Talk of creating a county dilapidated building ordinance dominated the Wednesday meeting of the Preston County Cleanup Committee.
Committee President V.J. Davis said he found a copy of an ordinance on line for Beach Bottom, in Brooke County, and a second larger one that the committee might look at. The second one covered both dilapidated buildings and debris.
“I believe we need to get something up by spring,” he said.
Dave Price, who represents the Preston County Commission on the board, said he spoke with Donna Martino. He said Martino could assist with getting WVU law students to help with writing the ordinance. County Administrator Kathy Mace said she could reach out to Susan Riddle, executive director of the Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau, and find out who her contact at WVU Law is.
Davis said if the committee could have someone at its Jan. 16 meeting to discuss the ordinance, it could possibly have an ordinance to vote on and recommend to the county commission by April.
Committee members also discussed policy and procedure on accepting and processing applications for local grant funding. Davis said when applications come in he could check them and make sure all of the needed information was included.
“If anything is missing, I can contact the grant writer and let them know what else we need. Once it is complete I can bring it to the committee,” he said.
The committee would then review it and decide whether it meets the criteria to bring it to the county commission for funding consideration.
Committee members voted to meet quarterly in 2019. Meeting dates will be Jan. 16, April 17, Aug. 14 and Nov. 15. They also voted to have special meetings to review grant applications.
Preston County Litter Control Officer Jay Sowers had only one new dilapidated building to report. He said it was located on Dogtown Road and is tied up in an estate.
He also received a report about a building that went down a hill, over a bank and into a yard. He said the building is still intact but is setting at a 30-degree angle. He does not know if it comes under current regulations.
In other business, the committee discussed policy and procedure for Sowers to file and store documents concerning actions he has taken on litter clean up and dilapidated buildings. Sowers and Mace will meet and set up a filing system.
Sowers told the committee the county has a tire problem. He said unless something is done it will continue to escalate.
