Beckley City Council Regular Meeting - August 19, 2026
Beckley City Council Regular Meeting - August 19, 2026
The Beckley City Council held its regular meeting on August 19, 2026. The meeting included approval of the August 4 minutes, three public comments, updates from council members and the city manager, and public hearings on two ordinances. The council approved a property donation and a recreational trail lease agreement.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mary West highlighted an 80-year-old neighbor’s nearly $10,000 electric bill and urged the city to help. She also criticized traffic signal timing and unsafe street conditions, and requested enforcement of speed limits on LaRue Avenue.
- Tom Mosley (Ward 3 resident) advocated for traffic calming and safer streets, warning that an accident is inevitable. He stressed that safety is nonpartisan and called for concrete solutions.
- Lorenzo Wood (lifelong Beckley resident and business owner) shared a personal history of hardship and asked officials to show more patience and kindness to citizens facing difficulties. He noted upcoming court dates that conflict with his work.
Council and Staff Reports
- Council Member Janine expressed hope for progress on MacArthur Street and the litter control ordinance.
- Council Member Kip thanked Chris Graham and department heads.
- Council Member Frank thanked police and code enforcement, praised unity, and noted efforts in East Park.
- Council Member Nancy reported meeting with Chief Bailey and the city manager to address safety concerns.
- Council Member Natalie delivered a lengthy tribute to Pastor Danny Lusk, who volunteers to clear brush on Pinewood Drive, and urged residents to follow his example of community service.
- Mayor responded to public comments, highlighted proactive problem-solving by staff (Susan and Phil Gerald), congratulated Leslie Baker for a successful Honey Festival, and noted a record 350+ new students at WVU Tech. He announced the governor’s visit tomorrow to discuss water projects.
- Council Member Sherry reported that code enforcement issued permits totaling $73,326, corresponding to building and renovation values of $14,658,264, indicating strong business investment in Beckley. She also recognized teacher Sam Urick.
- City Manager Mr. Gerald thanked staff, announced a reorganization placing Mitch Lehman in outdoor economic development reporting to him, and noted that Leslie Baker’s mother is hospitalized.
Ordinances and Public Hearings
- Property Donation Ordinance (Second Reading): The council approved an ordinance authorizing the city to accept a 4.75‑acre gift of surface real estate in the Glen Morgan addition from Tim Buckland, which will benefit the sanitary board. No public comments were received.
- Recreational Trail Lease Ordinance (Second Reading): The council approved an ordinance authorizing a lease with Beaver Coal Company for developing non‑motorized recreational trails (hiking, biking, horseback riding). Mitch Lehman noted that fewer than 15 U.S. municipalities have over 10 miles of trails within their jurisdiction, making this a significant step for the Beckley Outdoors Initiative. No public comments were received.
Key Outcomes
- Approved minutes from the August 4 regular council meeting (unanimous voice vote).
- Approved Ordinance authorizing property donation from Tim Buckland (unanimous voice vote).
- Approved Ordinance for recreational trail lease with Beaver Coal Company (unanimous voice vote).
- Council directed staff to follow up on concerns raised by citizens, including the high electric bill, traffic safety, and speeding enforcement.
Meeting Transcript
And with that, we'll bring this uh meeting to order. First item on the agenda is a reading and approval of the minutes from the August 4th regular council meeting. May I have a motion to approve the minutes August 4th minutes as presented? So moved. So moved. Second. Second. Anyone from council have any questions or about the uh minutes? Okay. All those in favor of approval say aye. Aye. If there's anyone opposed, say nay. Thank you, council minutes are approved. Next, we'll move on to public comments. We have three today. We will ask that you please speak clearly into the microphone so that people listening in by phone or internet can hear you. Um if we do have anybody from that would like to comment after our three speakers. If you want if you're calling by phone, I'll start three to raise your hand. If you're connected by computer, click the hand icon on your participants' panel, and we will let you speak after our three speakers that are here right now. Mary West, we'll let you start it off. Abbott, you keep in time. Very good. All right, good evening, everyone. Good evening. Back again. And asking for help for this community. I have a lady that has uh 9,600 and some power bill. And I told also the commission this morning the same thing. People need to start stepping up. This lady is 80 years old. They turned the power off. Now the bill is coming out, it's gonna be 10,000 because they keep turning the power back on for two minutes, five minutes, then turn it off and stuff like that. So none of these agencies out here is trying to help her. So I have a lot of people trying to find out what they can find out about this because whose bills gets that high and they get turned off. And uh another thing is these lights, you all need to get on the state highway department and have them that there are streets here in the city area. They should need to make them safe where people can travel. If you get a people across the street making the right hand turn, a signal, then you need to give the ones across making the left turns, a signal. And down here on Robert C. Bird Drive, you have to set through so many lights before you can turn on to Third Avenue if you come back from the Salvation Army. That is retarded. And down at my street, you have to set through lights for what they are uh uh telling you. But why would they give them a signal? And when the signal is off, they supposed to sit still when the light changes, it's changing for everybody else to go until it's safe for them to do so. And then they'll tell you, oh, you supposed to yell to them. I'm sitting in a turn lane and get hit. But I thank the Lord that my case was dismissed. But I tell you one thing, it needs to be fixed up before somebody get killed down there. And all the speed is still on LaRue Avenue. Somebody needs to start coming out 30 seconds and setting and watching for the traffic instead of bothering me. Y'all have a blessed night.
openpublica.com