NRGRDA plans redevelopment study on downtown Beckley

Mar. 10—New River Gorge Regional Development Authority will be procuring a study on the redevelopment of downtown Beckley, NRGRDA Executive Director Jina Belcher told Beckley Common Council during the regular meeting Tuesday evening.

Belcher said that six unidentified investors have expressed interest in downtown Beckley over the past two weeks. They asked for the plan as part of their redevelopment strategy, she added.

The plan will identify walkability from the West Virginia University-Institute of Technology Campus, identify buildings that should be torn down rather than rehabilitated, identify potential housing and residences and address the specific interests of some developers in store fronts, said Belcher.

NRGRDA will cover the costs of enlisting Monica Miller of M. Miller Development Services to speak with contractors and developers to produce a master redevelopment plan.

Miller's Scott Depot consulting firm assisted on development of the Downtown Assessment report in Beckley in 2018. Belcher said Miller's familiarity with downtown will be an asset for the redevelopment plan.

Originally, Belcher said, she and Mayor Rob Rappold had spoken about securing a grant that would provide technical assistance dollars to downtown building owners to enable them to do redevelopment planning and structural engineering. The goal was to attract investors to downtown, she said.

Rappold is also chair of the NRGRDA board of directors.

Instead, she said, they learned that a redevelopment plan is more pressing. She recommended that council expedite issuing a request for vendors to do the redevelopment plan, which Miller will oversee.

"In the last two weeks, we have been contacted by six different potential investor/developers for buildings and their interests in downtown Beckley," explained Belcher. "So in working with a lot of the developers in these different buildings, we have identified the need is not for technical assistance because the developers have been identified, but, rather, for a downtown Beckley redevelopment master plan."

She added that a redevelopment plan was Miller's first recommendation in the 2018 study.

"There's a lot of excitement in downtown, and we want to capitalize on that right now," Belcher noted.

She projected that Miller will hire contractors to develop the strategy and that a list of recommendations of contractors to hire will be brought to council in five or six weeks.

Downtown Beckley Courthouse Square is a recognized historic district and must meet federal and state guidelines to maintain that status. In 2015, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) declared the district among the most endangered historic resources in West Virginia.

Belcher told Ward I Councilman Tom Sopher, a local historian, that Miller will have an artists' rendition of the proposal for downtown space.

"You mentioned tearing down a few buildings," said Sopher. "I was just wondering about designs and parking lots and things of that nature.

"Would that be in this plan we're putting together?"

Belcher said it would.

"Part of the plan is to identify the end use or the best end use of the building or spaces left by the building," she replied. "We've talked to the mayor and (city treasurer) Billie Trump today."

She said the master plan would include any buildings that are slated for demolition.

Ward III Councilman Robert Dunlap, a developer who turned the historic Beckley Newspapers building on Prince Street from a structure that was set for demolition into apartments, asked about the influence of the city Historic Landmarks Commission in the development of the plan.

"Obviously, Beckley Courthouse Square is a historic district," Belcher responded. "We have to be mindful of what that looks like in the demolishing of buildings or redevelopment of buildings.

"We need to make sure we have a representative from that group to be on the board," she added. "Because we want to make sure we're protecting the integrity of the courthouse square."

"This is very important to me, as an alum of the Historic Landmarks Commission," replied Dunlap. "I'm glad you've anticipated their involvement. Thank you."

Belcher told Ward V Councilwoman Janine Bullock that the community input received when developing the original plan would be used by Miller.

"We are basically using that original plan in those surveys as a roadmap to pull back in those key players that were involved in some of the common themes," Belcher said.

She told Council that she would ask Miller to have a draft ready for review within 10 business days. The plan will be circulated to investors for comment for three weeks and then brought to Council for a decision.

In other actions:

—Council approved but did not discuss the 2021-2022 budget. Treasurer Trump said council members were emailed a comprehensive copy of the budget on Monday with line items.

—Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to allow the city to purchase lots at 116 and 118 11th Street from Church of God of America Real Estate Inc. for $7,600. The lots will be used in a plan by Parks and Recreation Director Leslie Baker to expand the Scott Avenue park. Federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are available to be used for the purchase, said Mayor Rappold.

—Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that will authorize a connector road between Harper Road and the parking lot of Calvary Assemblies of God Church on Sunset Drive. The entrance road, which has not yet been named, will go straight from the parking lot to Harper Road and will cross the end of Reservation Avenue, which is the street that is off of Sunset. City attorney Bill File said the proposed road would require motorists to stop on Reservation before accessing the entrance road, so stop signs will be necessary.

—Council passed a resolution authorizing $25,000 to ACT Corps Summer Youth Program, which was requested by Baker and Summer Youth Program representatives. The money makes up deficits the program needs to operate, said File.

—Council approved a resolution noting that City of Beckley plans to apply for grants to the National Coal Heritage Area Authority for matching funds on a $10,000 plan to place trail markers along the Lewis McManus Trail. Jill Moorefield of Beckley Events researched the history of the trial and has discovered four different coal camps and other historical data that the Coal Heritage Authority may use on markers to describe the trail history, said Rappold.

—Council declined to table an application by Sultan's Lounge to operate a private club in downtown Beckley, pending the restaurant obtaining a business license.

—Rappold announced that Beckley is the only city in the state to earn gold status by the State Department of Health and Human Resources Healthy People Healthy Place Committee. He thanked Active Southern West Virginia staff and the Board of Public Works and Beckley Sanitary Board staff for walking on the McManus trail at lunch with Active Southern West Virginia.

—When asked by Sopher, Rappold said New River Drive should be open within two weeks, after having been shut down for repairs in August. Board of Public Works Director Jerry Stump said concrete is being poured Wednesday and Thursday and must set for seven days and that guardrails are being placed.

—At-Large Councilwoman Sherrie Hunter reported a food distribution will be at Epling Stadium on March 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. A second distribution will be March 24.

—Dunlap thanked Beckley Police Department Chief Lonnie Christian for two new patrol officers, Ptl. Redden and Ptl. Powell, who have walked downtown Beckley and are meeting young people and "showing them they were here to help." Sopher said the officers were "very polite, very open about talking to people along the street."

—Rappold said it is unclear when Chilson's, the restaurant at Black Knight Municipal Park, will re-open for dining room service. He said that the latest CARES Act package, which will pay $300 to out-of-work Americans, is more beneficial to some servers than returning to work.

"The fact is, some folks, depending on their financial situation, earn as much money at home with that $1,200 a month supplement than they would if they came out, whether it's Black Knight or any other service level type of job."

He added that Black Knight Golf Course had hosted a disc golf benefit for Lake Stephens on Saturday.

—Ronnie Pack of Bowling Addition in Ward IV notified Council that motorists routinely go fastert than the posted 15-mph speed limit in her neighborhood. She requested that officers write more tickets when patrolling the area.

Ward IV Councilman Kevin Price said he has spoken to BPD Chief Christian about the problem. He noted the lanes "between Vine and Orchard are prime lets-hurry-up-and-get-through dragways, you might say."

Christian said he and Price would continue to work on the problem, and Rappold promised Pack that the city would strive to give her results in the "near future."