Monterey Town Council November Meetings

The Monterey Town Council held its monthly meeting on November 3 and it also held a called meeting on November 9.  This story was written from the draft minutes of both of those meetings, since no one from Allegheny Mountain Radio attended the meetings.

At the monthly meeting, Betty Mitchell, representing the Economic Development Authority, gave an update on the Housing Study that is underway.  It is being conducted by the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission.  She reported that focus group meetings were held in both Bath and Highland Counties.  At those meetings, the school systems and employers talked about the housing shortage and its impact.  The focus group meetings have gathered public opinion and Mitchell said the next step is to see how to address the shortage.  Mitchell said she could send any ideas the Town Council has about the study to the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission.  County Attorney Melissa Dowd mentioned that the town owns a lot, that may be a possibility to sell.

There was an update on the Bath-Highland Broadband Authority meeting.  It was reported that broadband is being installed in the eastern part of Highland County.   The Broadband Authority is also working to help localities with getting new cell towers in the area that would expand cell service.

As part of the water grant update, Town Employee Mike Isles reported that there was a problem with a meter on water tank #3 and that he is working on replacing it.  He also reported due to upgrades, he can now read water tank levels remotely from a laptop.

At the regular monthly meeting there were not enough Town Council members present to hold a vote, so the called meeting was set for November 9.

At the called meeting, the Town Council voted to sign a contract to have the floor damage at the Town Office repaired.  The quote received was under the public procurement act amount.

Also at the called meeting, Town Council members discussed snow removal.  It was reported that there has been no response from two contractors that Vice-Mayor Jay Garber contacted about snow removal.  He has also been exploring the option of purchasing snow removal equipment as an alternative.  Vice-Mayor Garber explained Sourcewell, which is a co-op that assists localities with purchases, such as equipment.   Following discussion on the purchase of snow removal equipment, Council members agreed to have Vice-Mayor Garber get in touch with the two contractors again.  The Town Council tabled action on the purchase of snow removal equipment and will discuss the matter again at it’s December meeting.

The next meeting of the Monterey Town Council will be held December 1 at 7pm at the Town Office.