West Jefferson Council President Ron Garver (right) thanks Cory Coburn for his years of service as a councilman.
(Posted Sept. 24, 2015)
By Sandi Latimer, Staff Writer
On Sept. 21, West Jefferson village council members said their official farewell to Cory Coburn who had served on council since January 2010. He recently resigned citing a possible conflict of interest related to his employment.
Many of Coburn’s former colleagues spoke highly of his work behind the scenes to make accomplishments in many areas. Councilman Doug Eakins commended him for his work on the insurance portion of the village employee handbook, writing it so employees could understand it.
Also on Sept. 21, council took action on the following items:
- Work on streets in West Jefferson’s Westwood Estate subdivision is nearing completion but will cost the village more than was originally expected.
The village set aside $65,700 in February for the work. Mannik Smith Group estimated the work would be done by July 31, however, inclement weather caused delays. On Sept. 21, council set aside another $24,000 for the added work.
- Council approved a contract with URS Corp. to provide underground utility work not to exceed $25,809. Mayor Darlene Steele said the work will include checking and locating underground facilities.
“Some of our water and sewer facilities are so old, we don’t know where they are,” she said.
- Council agreed to purchase reverse osmosis membranes for the current water treatment plant and the proposed expansion. The order is for 112 membranes at $555 each, plus the necessary seals and an engineer to install and retune the system. Council adopted an ordinance authorizing a supplemental appropriation of $65,970 to the Water Fund to pay for the project.
Council President Ron Garver said the village tried to hold out on purchasing membranes until next year. “We need to order them now, and it will take a few weeks to get them,” he said.
Such membranes last eight to 10 years, Garver said, adding, “The ones we have are the originals put in 11 years ago.”
- Council appointed Arlene Castor, Linda Winters and George Wendel to the tax appeals board for the rest of the year. They will only serve for three months because changes are coming in January, Garver said.
