On a day when the Potomac River flowed high and muddy following weekend storms that continued through much of the day Monday, the manager of a Keyser apartment complex appeared before the City Council seeking help with a chronically flooding parking lot.
Shirley Browning of Court Manor Apartments said a drainage pipe the city installed is too small for the job and backs up even during moderate rainfall.
“It’s eroding our building when it stays flooded back so badly ...” she said. “It’s one mess back there.”
Browning presented Mayor Glen “Bunk” Shumaker and Council member Sally Burnside with photos documenting conditions at the apartments.
“People are parking all over the place just to stay out of the mud holes,” she said.
After examining the photos, Shumaker said he would consult with city public works staff to discuss the issue, and get back to Browning later in the week. “Let us get with them and see if we can correct the problem, if it is our problem,” he said.
In other business, City Attorney Cody Pancake presented the council with an ordinance to formalize the transfer of the fire station and adjoining lot to the State Department of Highways for construction of a new Memorial Bridge. A second reading and hearing on the ordinance will be held at the City Council’s next public meeting.
In reading the ordinance, Shumaker noted that the city could have accepted a buyout from the state but opted instead for an agreement requiring the state to construct a new fire station. Working with officials from the Keyser Fire Department, the city will present the state with architectural designs for the new facility.
“What they offered us, it would have been foolish to take the money,” Shumaker said, noting ongoing problems with construction of a new fire station in Cresaptown. “There’s no money out of our pocket and they have to put us up in something that is up to today’s standards.”
A site for the new fire station is currently being evaluated on the city’s west end.
During departmental reports, Shumaker surprised the audience by walking into the crowd of about 15 people and presenting Bob Dorsey, longtime member of the Keyser Fire Department, with a can of soda and a pack of crackers. A 67-year member of the fire department, Dorsey, 88, had told the mayor that city council meetings would be more bearable with snacks.
“You always said these meetings would be better with refreshments,” Shumaker said, to laughs.
In presenting the report on the streets department, Burnside said city workers have been busy mowing, collecting trash, fixing potholes and sweeping streets. “it’s just been constant,” she said.
Burnside noted that a resident recently wrote her to compliment city crews on a drainage project. “It’s nice to receive a thank-you note sometimes,” she said.
The next city council meeting will be held Tuesday, May 27 at 4 p.m., the day after the Memorial Day holiday.