Pinecrest transfer and city manager discussion on agenda for Beckley Council meeting

Two significant decisions that will impact the future of Beckley could be made Tuesday at the Beckley Common Council meeting.

Scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at Beckley City Hall, Tuesday's agenda includes a public hearing and final vote on the transfer of the Pinecrest Business and Technology Park to the Raleigh County Commission and discussion on the city manager position.

Also noted on the agenda is that council anticipates going into executive session to "discuss city manager candidates and employment terms."

Beckley city manager

In July, more than 70 people applied with Baker Tilly, a recruitment agency hired by the city, to be Beckley's city manager.

That number was narrowed down to 13 quarter-finalists by Baker Tilly and then presented to the Beckley city manager recruitment committee in August, where committee members ranked the 13 and chose four semifinalists.

The Beckley Common Council interviewed the four semifinalists for Beckley city manager during a special meeting on Saturday, Sept. 14.

The meeting took place entirely in executive session.

According to an advisory opinion released by the West Virginia Ethics Commission in August 2002, public governing bodies may conduct interviews of job applicants in executive session unless the applicant requests otherwise.

During the Sept. 14 meeting, Beckley Common Council member Natalie Coots said council members individually ranked the four candidates interviewed.

She added that the interviews went well, and she was impressed by the qualifications of the candidates.

Beckley Common Council member Nancy Shoemaker-Dingess said she was unable to attend the interviews due to a family emergency but, after speaking with other council members, was under the impression that council had identified its top two candidates for the position.

"It was between two people, and I guess we still have to vote on it, so I can't really say at this point, but I know that they have two people that really fit the bill well," Shoemaker-Dingess said.

Shoemaker-Dingess said she did not believe any of the four semifinalists were from Beckley but that the top two candidates did have experience as either a city manager or assistant city manager.

When asked if council would vote on a finalist for city manager at Tuesday's council meeting, Coots said it's a possibility, but they have to make sure they follow all the appropriate procedures.

"I've spoken to others, not just our city attorney, and we know that the way we reviewed the candidates and ranked them is what the (WV) Ethics Commission said we were permitted to do," Coots said. "So we're trying very hard to make sure we do it by the book, but I do know that we have to vote publicly before any big announcement can be made."

Pinecrest Business and Technology Park

While it's unclear if Beckley Council will decide on its city manager on Tuesday, it will have to come to a determination on what to do with the Pinecrest Business and Technology Park.

The current plan, which will be voted on Tuesday, is to transfer the property to the Raleigh County Commission, which has available federal dollars to develop infrastructure at the site.

The city does not have funds available in its general fund to pay for such a project and has been threatened with a lawsuit as it agreed to develop infrastructure at Pinecrest when it was deeded the property from the Pinecrest Development Corporation in 2022.

According to the ordinance, the city intends to transfer 131.37 acres of property located within Pinecrest to the county for the purpose of economic development.

Jina Belcher, executive director of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, said only 88 acres of the property are developable as the remaining land consists of wetlands and hillsides.

The idea of transferring the property to the county was initially described as a "win, win" for the city and county by Beckley Mayor Ryan Neal.

However, the city recently received pushback from Woodrow Wilson High School Cross Country Coach George Barbera as well as teachers, students and parents from Beckley-Stratton Middle School.

Barbera said the development of Pinecrest would destroy the cross-country course that he and his father built on the property, which is used for large meets and practice.

As Beckley-Stratton Middle School shares a border with Pinecrest, teachers from the middle school said they regularly used the grounds of Pinecrest for lessons and were also worried about student safety should developers come in and locate so close to the school.

In an attempt to preserve the cross county course at Pinecrest, Beckley Council member Sherrier Hunter made a motion at the Sept. 10 council meeting, when the Pinecrest property transfer was on first reading, to deed the 30 acres that encompass the cross county course to Raleigh County Schools and the remainder of the property to the Raleigh County Commission.

The motion was seconded, but when asked for a voice vote on the amendment, there were no audible "aye" votes but several "no" votes, meaning that Hunter's amendment failed.

Bill Baker, the board of directors president for the Pinecrest Development Corporation, has been previously quoted saying he gave verbal permission to Barbera to use the property at no cost as long as it was not being developed.

Baker said the property contains covenants that require it to be developed for business development and job creation, meaning that it cannot permanently remain a cross country course.

Hunter, whose maiden name is Barbera, said that even knowing what the property covenants state, she still felt it was her duty to try to preserve the cross country course given the public outcry.

"As far as being beholden to a covenant – I can't speak to that; all I can speak to is the importance of what's happening on the course," Hunter said. "It's just such a jewel in the county."

Hunter said the course is not only one of the most beautiful in the state but is also one of the most unique, as spectators are able to view the entire race due to the course's layout.

Named the Coach Willie Barbera Memorial Cross Country Course in honor of Barbera's father, who is also Hunter's cousin, Hunter said she would fight just as passionately to preserve the course even if it didn't bear her family name.

She added that even though her motion to transfer the course to the school district did not pass, she believes it was enough to bring all the impacted parties to the table to discuss how they can work together.

Hunter said she's "cautiously optimistic" that a solution will be reached that benefits everyone.

Shoemaker-Dingess said the city council is being put "between a rock and a hard place" in wanting to fulfill the wishes of the citizens but being unable to because of the property covenants as well as the city's lack of funds.

She added that the deal with the county is also on a clock in that the funding the county intends to use must be allocated by the end of the year.

Shoemaker-Dingess said the decision on Pinecrest is just one of the many decisions that were left over from the previous council that have fallen on the shoulders of the new council, which has been in office for roughly three months.