The Shadow
Town of Iron Gate
P.O. Box 199, 401 Commerce Avenue
Iron Gate, VA 24448
Office (540) 862-0770
November 17, 2022 Minutes
Invocation was given by Sgt. Chris Fisher.
The Pledge of Allegiance
The regular Town Council meeting of Thursday, November 17, 2022 was called to order by Mayor Unroe at 7:02 pm.
PRESENT: Mayor Charles Unroe, Vice Mayor Council Member Richard Erskine, Council Members Debbie Harris, Jennifer Tyree, Kawahna Persinger, Mikki Curtis and Gary Craig; Town Clerk & Treasurer Wendy Biggs and Town Attorney Jared Jenkins. Also present were Jerry Clark with the Alleghany Journal and Ray Allen with the Virginian Review.
Mayor Unroe asked if there were any corrections to be made in the minutes for the regular monthly meeting held on Thursday, October 27, 2022 (there were no minutes for the work session for November, as no work session was held by vote of Town Council); there were none. Mayor Unroe then asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the Council meeting as presented. A motion was made by Vice Mayor Councilperson Erskine to approve those minutes as presented and second by Councilperson Craig. With no further questions or comments, Mayor Unroe asked for all of those in favor of approving the minutes as recorded to say “I”. All six (6) Councilmembers in attendance stated “I”.
Mayor Unroe noted that there were no new bills to be added. Mayor Unroe then asked for a motion to approve the receipts, disbursements, payment of the bills. A motion was made by Councilperson Craig to pay the bills as presented and was seconded by Councilperson Persinger. With that, Mayor Unroe asked for all of those in favor of approving the minutes as recorded to say “I”. All six (6) Councilmembers in attendance stated “I”.
Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Unroe congratulated the three Councilmembers for their re-election to their seats for another four-year term. He stated that they have done well in their positions and he sees them continuing to do well in their next four years- congratulations once again to Richard Erskine, Kawahna Persinger, and Debbie Harris. Mayor Unroe then congratulated Gary Craig on his election as Mayor and he felt that he would be passing the gavel onto very capable hands. Mayor Unroe noted that he looks forward to helping Mr. Craig along the way.
Next week, trash pickup will be on Wednesday as Thanksgiving is on Thursday. The Town employees will be off both Thursday and Friday, so be sure to get out your trash for Wednesday pickup.
There are plans to put up Christmas decorations beginning the week after Thanksgiving. Mayor Unroe noted that the Town crew will start on Monday with the decorations.
Mayor Unroe then asked Sgt. Chris Fisher to give an update on the Iron Gate Christmas parade. Chris Fisher noted that they are hoping for great weather and that many people are looking forward to donuts and cocoa that Mayor Unroe and his family hand out before the parade; Mayor Unroe assured Chris that they will have plenty on hand. Chris noted that they are excited this year to have two bands, which is great. The parade marshal this year will be Carolyn Hatley, in honor of her sister Marilyn “Bo” Bliss. Ms. Bliss seemed to have a hard time saying “yes” to being in the parade, but never had a hard time helping others. She was always willing to give a ride to anyone who needed it, to anywhere they needed to go. She was always there to help people with anything and was always very kind. Chris went on to say that they had a meeting at the Fire Department the other night and everyone seems to be onboard with everything and looking forward to a great parade. If anyone would like to sign up for the parade, please call Chris or Town Hall and Wendy will take your information as well. We look forward to having “A Willy Wonka Sort of Christmas” and all of the people who enjoy a small Town parade. Chris also thanked Town Council for their support as well with the parade.
Mayor Unroe then reminded everyone that the annual Town Christmas dinner will take place on the evening of the work session, which is December 19th at the Iron Gate Fire Department. It will start at 6 pm and Mrs. Biggs will get invitations out as soon as possible. Mayor Unroe thanked the fire department for allowing us to use their facility and hopefully as many people as can will be able to attend.
Committee Reports:
None.
Public Comments:
There were no public comments.
Old Business:
Mayor Unroe commented that Gabriel Irigaray had attended the last Council meeting and gave an overview and an update in the application process. Mr. Irigaray has finished the application and Mayor Unroe noted that he has a copy and he will review it. Mrs. Biggs has already reviewed her copy and sent back a couple of questions. Mrs. Biggs will forward the application from Mr. Irigaray to Mr. Craig as well for him to be able to have for his records. Mayor Unroe noted that Mr. Irigaray was well ahead of the application deadline and he feels very confident that this will help solve a lot of the sewer issues the Town has and put us in a better financial position as well. This is the boost that we have been working for and looking for, for a very long time. Mayor Unroe went on to say that he has the confidence in Mr. Irigaray and that he will be able to assist us and accomplish that goal.
Mayor Unroe then asked Mrs. Biggs since she did not have anything on the agenda for the VDH funding grant, that she still has not heard anything new. The last time we heard from the VDH, they were looking for people to hire that could meet the qualifications for handing out the disbursements. Mrs. Biggs replied that what Mayor Unroe stated was correct.
Mayor Unroe then asked if there was any other old business; with no other Old Business to be discussed, Mayor Unroe moved into New Business.
New Business:
We have a request for an extension for services and the extension is requested due to illness of a family member who is living at the residence. They are asking for the extension of services until the close of business on December 2, 2022. Council has reviewed the request and the resident does qualify for an extension as they have not asked for one for a very long time.
Councilperson Craig made the motion to grant the request as written. Vice Mayor Councilperson Erskine second the motion. A roll call vote was then taken:
Debbie Harris: Yes
Jennifer Tyree: Yes
Kawahna Persinger: Yes
Mikki Curtis: Yes
Gary Craig: Yes
Richard Erskine: Yes
The motion was carried and approved.
The other item under New Business was a letter read by Mayor Unroe for the resignation of Councilperson Craig, effective December 31, 2022, so that he may take the seat as Mayor on January 1, 2023. After reading the letter of resignation, Mayor Unroe asked for a motion to accept the letter of resignation effective December 31, 2022. A motion to accept the resignation of Councilperson Gary Craig from his Council seat on December 31, 2022, was made by Councilperson Jennifer Tyree and it was seconded by Vice Mayor Councilperson Erskine. A roll call vote was then taken:
Debbie Harris: Yes
Jennifer Tyree: Yes
Kawahna Persinger: Yes
Mikki Curtis: Yes
Gary Craig: Yes
Richard Erskine: Yes
The motion was carried and approved. Mayor Unroe noted that Mr. Craig’s seat will need to be advertised as soon as possible. The resignation for the seat is effective December 31st and we will have 45 days from that day to fill the seat and February’s stated Council meeting will be pushing that time period. If Council agrees, advertising should be done as soon as possible (Council agreed).
The next work session as discussed earlier will be at the Iron Gate Fire Department at 6 pm on December 19th with the annual Town Christmas dinner to follow. The next Council meeting will take place on December 29th at 7 pm at Town Hall.
Chris Fisher noted that the Fire Department dinner is December 17th with a social at 6 pm and the dinner at 7 pm and that they would like to extend an invitation to the Town Council to attend. Mayor Unroe thanked Chris and noted that the dinner is always good.
Mayor Unroe asked if there was any other new business to discuss; there was none.
There being no further new business to be discussed, a motion to adjourn was made by Vice Mayor Councilperson Erskine and second by Councilperson Craig at 7:16 pm. Mayor Unroe then asked all of those in favor of the adjournment to say “I”. All six (6) Councilmembers in attendance stated “I”.
