Clifton Forge Town Council Celebrates Big Gains

The town council of Clifton Forge met on the evening of October 8, 2024 to conduct its monthly meeting. Headlining the meeting were several big agenda items to include updates from the Parks and Trails Committee, Town Manager Chuck Unroe, and Michael Foster.  

 

Preceding the meeting agenda was a well deserved recognition by Chief Scott Balser as he presented Linda G. Wilhelm with an outstanding citizenship award for her dedication and hard work with the Clifton Forge Police Department. As part of the recognition, Wilhelm received a certificate of appreciation and an honorary badge.  

 

David Elwood offered a detailed update of the work from the Parks and Trails organization which focused on security concerns and the hard work being done to secure WiFi capabilities at all six parks in Clifton Forge jurisdiction. Due to recent vandalism, security has been at the forefront of the organization’s concerns and as part of a solution, Parks and Trails has been actively pursuing a potential contract with Lumos to estimate infrastructure costs.  WiFi service at the individual parks would hopefully increase park use and also allow for security cameras to be installed for continuous monitoring.  In echoing Elwood, a local supporter of the Clifton Forge Arts Community, Mac Beard also expressed the need for continuous surveillance in order to reduce vandalism and local crimes, especially in the historic area and at the Masonic Amphitheater. The Parks and Trails Committee will hold a clean up day on October 12, 2024 at Washington Park. The next committee meeting will be held Oct 15, 2024 @ Linden Park.

 

Town Manager, Chuck Unroe, then offered his updates to include an invitation to the council and town residents to attend the opening ceremony of the 53rd Clifton Forge Shriners Fall Festival on Oct 18, 2024 at 12pm. Mr. Unroe then cited several updates for ongoing projects including Jefferson School Project, Amtrak Negotiations, and Ridgeway Street paving.  An important audit update was also shared from the completed fiscal year of 2022-2023 with much to celebrate as the audit records as of June 30, 2023 the Town of Clifton Forge General Fund totals $469,601 and an unassigned fund balance of $458,766 for a total net position increased of $1,801,327. Unroe cited the work of the town employees, the council, and the support of the citizens for the positive impact.

 

Michael Foster spoke as part of public comment in order to thank the council for their support of Beer Fest 2024 and to express appreciation to public works department for all of their work during the day. Foster reported they served around 350 individuals from various locations. Beer school, beer trivia, and a guest speaker from Parkway Brewing in Salem, VA were also part of the event. Foster expressed his desire to hopefully include more breweries at next year’s event.  

 

The next Clifton Forge Town Council Meeting will be held November 12, 2024 at 7pm.