by Trish Rudder
The Bath Town Council unanimously passed the first hearing on April 17 to the Boot Drive amendment to Ordinance Sec. 66-27 that will allow solicitation by the Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Department (BSVFD) to fundraise within the town limits on U.S. 522.
The following stipulations will apply: The fire department will be granted up to four dates a year to conduct a boot drive, and the dates shall be mutually agreed upon by the council prior to those dates. The boot drive shall be on U.S. 522 at one of the traffic-controlled intersections such as U.S. 522 and Rt. 9 East; U.S. 522 and Fairfax Street and U.S. 522 and Rt. 9 West.
Those fire department members who are certified in current traffic control training and are outfitted in industry-standard traffic control equipment and clothing shall be permitted to solicit within the roadway.
The BSVFD shall name the Town of Bath as an Additional Insured to its liability or event insurance per boot drive event.
The BSVFD shall provide proof of insurance to the Town prior to any event date.
The second and final reading is scheduled for last night’s May 1 town council meeting.
Town hall repairs
In other town business, town officials said bollards – upright poles — will be installed in front of the Municipal Center on Wilkes Street in the near future.
The front of the town municipal building on Wilkes Street is being repaired after it was damaged when a car ran into it last month.
The damages are being paid by the driver’s insurance company.
Councilman Rick Weber, who chairs the town public works committee, said bollards are to be installed in front of the building where cars are parked to prevent a vehicle from reaching the building. “This has happened more than once,” he said.
Super asks for levy support
Morgan County Board of Education superintendent Erich May asked the town council members on April 17 to support the excess levy that is on the May 8 primary ballot.
May said the levy is the same as the previous levy and the rate stays the same as was voted on four years ago. The rate is 18 percent of the Board of Education’s general fund. Most of the funds – 83 percent — are spent on personnel.
He said one substantive change is that it includes $35,000 of funding for both libraries in Morgan County. Berkeley Springs will receive $25,000 and Paw Paw will receive $10,000.
Instead of a five-year plan, the levy is set for four years to get on the election cycle, he said.
