The Shadow
IRON GATE Va (VR) – The Iron Gate Town Council met in regular session on Dec. 16. In attendance were four members including acting Mayor Richard Erskine, Mayor-elect Kawahna Persinger, Councilman Brandon Marshall and Councilwoman Jennifer Tyree. Councilman G.W. Gordon was absent due to the death of a friend/co-worker. The meeting was led by Vice Mayor Richard Erskine due to the resignation of Gary Craig.
The main event of the night was the hiring of Jim Guynn, Jr. as the new town attorney. Guynn is the founder of Guynn Waddell Law Firm in Salem, VA.
“Guynn talked with us in closed session and what has happened is, we told him if was willing to take the town on, we would be happy to have him as our attorney,” Persinger stated. Guynn was present for the Nov. 27 meeting and stayed for a closed session afterward.
Mayor-elect Persinger noted that Guynns’s fees are $200 an hour but the town will only use him on an as-needed basis. It was also noted that part of the fee includes Guynn’s travel time to and from Iron Gate.
Persinger went on to say that the town had been experiencing difficulties finding an attorney to accept the task of being Iron Gate‘s town attorney. It was put to a vote and it was unanimous to accept Jim Guynn as attorney for Iron Gate.
The next big issue up for discussion was the empty council seats. The seat left vacant by the resignation of Debbie Harris has been vacant longer than 45 days so the matter has been taken to Judge Ed Stein. Stein will now appoint someone to the position. Persinger said someone has been recommended but it’s up to the Judge from here on out.
Councilman G.W. Reynolds’ seat will also be vacant and the seat left by Kawahna Persinger taking over as mayor in January. According to Persinger, the previous ballot had around a dozen write-in names, so they would be going down those to choose three names for the vacant seats. Iron Gate local Norvella Burrell sent in a letter of interest but preference will be given to those write-ins that technically won a seat.
A resident, Brenda Lindsey, said that with the recent issues over the zoning board resolved and they have four members, they can elect a BZA administrator. ”That makes it legal,“ Lindsey said.
The meeting was adjourned until the next regular scheduled meeting.
