Monterey Town Council Votes to Change Meeting Location

The first action the Monterey Town Council took at it’s regularly scheduled meeting Thursday night was to make this the final meeting at the current time and location. After hearing no public comment on proposed changes, the Council unanimously voted to hold future meetings on the first Thursday of every month, at 7:00 pm, at the Town Office located at 50 Fleisher Avenue. The Council resolved to send a letter of appreciation to the Highland County Public Library Board for previously providing space for the Council to meet.

Next on the agenda, the Council received an update from town resident Katie Gwinn on the public poll she has been conducting on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. Ms Gwinn is currently surveying county residents on their opinion of the project, capturing data on location, age, and gender while still keeping responses anonymous. She is talking to residents personally, as well as setting up polling locations where the surveys can be completed. She estimated she has received 200 responses so far, and expects to have the results by October 25th. For participation in the survey, Ms. Gwinn can be contacted by phone at (540) 468-2248 or by email at katiegwinn@gmail.com.

Turning to old business, the Council voted unanimously to nominate member Ronald Wimer to fill one one of the vacant seats on the Highland County Planning Commission. The nomination will now be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for approval. The Council also discussed needed steps to be taken at the new town office to make it handicapped accessible.

The topic of adjusting town water and sewer rates was addressed, with town attorney Melissa Dowd clarifying that no changes could be made without a public meeting held for input. The rates have been at their current level since 2006,

Under new business, no action was taken on member Cody Cohen’s suggestion for obtaining banners that could be hung in the town year round, until more information on pricing was researched. Members were also informed by clerk Cynthia Kelley that the town had received a grant for $1,059 to be used for litter prevention and recycling.

The last item of the evening was a request to close a portion of Mill Alley East for several hours on Saturday in conjunction with the Humane Society’s Family Fun Day scheduled to be held at the firehouse. Council members felt they had inadequate time to address the request properly, including talking to affected property owners along the street. The Council resolved to create a procedure for handling similar requests in the future.