Access to cemetery limited because of unsafe gates

The Town of Bath’s cemetery corporation has decided to close off access to Greenway Cemetery through a set of large metal gates at the graveyard’s historic entrance for the time being.

Cemetery board member Larry Davis told council he thought the gates could
pull away from their stone
pillars at any time. Davis said the stone and mortar on the gate posts can be repaired to eliminate the danger of the gates falling on cars or
people.

The metal gates were originally from “The Pines” – the hospital for crippled children that later became War Memorial Hospital.

Until they are fixed, the only entrance into Greenway Cemetery will be from Greenway Drive, next to the Warm Springs Restaurant. Access to the graveyard from Johnson’s Mill Road has already been shut because of problems with vandalism and through-traffic.

Wednesday office hours
Residents and businesses wanting to pay garbage bills, research town records or settle up with the water department may be able to
do that on Wednesday afternoons again.

For several years, the town office has been closed at 1 p.m. on Wednesday – a move that was designed to let town employees catch up on work backlogs. Recently, town officials have heard from the public that they want the doors open all day on weekdays.

“All of us have been stopped by people about it. They say, ‘Hey, we go up there to pay our water bill and the door is locked,’” said Councilman Scott Merki.

“We’re in the customer service business,” said Councilman Jim Slough.

“I enjoyed the time to concentrate on work. It was a proven success,” Town Clerk Margie Allgyer said of the half-days on Wednesdays.

Council member Irene Hedrick acknowledged that Allgyer needed to have a quieter place to work, and the town office was too busy to allow her to concentrate on town business most of the time. Town officials suggested moving Allgyer to a more private office so she could be more productive.
She will help design a new office for herself in the back room of the municipal center in preparation for reopening on Wednesday afternoons in the near future.

New dump truck
The town’s Public Works department will be getting a new dump truck with a snowplow just as winter hits. The Bath council approved the lease/purchase of a new Ford F550 truck with a dump bed and plow at their November 16 meeting.

The town will put down $20,000 on the $53,000 truck and finance the rest over 44 months at 6.25% with CNB, said finance chairman David Crosby.
Half of the down payment will come from the town’s garbage truck depreciation account, and will serve as a backup for the garbage truck in an emergency. The other $10,000 payment will come from the town’s coal severance fund, which is a state-supplied pool of money. Councilman Scott Merki said town workers should expect to get the truck around the end of the year.

After a brief discussion, council agreed that the new truck could be lent to the Berkeley Springs Water Works if a need arose, but that control of the truck would remain with the Public Works department. The two departments have shared equipment in the past.

Meeting cut short
The Tuesday, November 16 meeting of the town council was cut short when Councilman Jim Slough fell ill and needed medical assistance during the morning session. Slough’s family said he is expected to make a full recovery, and will remain on medical leave from his work and council business for at least a month.