Members of the Kanawha County Commission have
appointed county economic development specialist Dave Armstrong to replace
Kasey Russell on the Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority.
Russell, who had been chairwoman of the Solid Waste
Authority’s governing board, resigned this week along with past chairman Rod
Watkins.
The resignations come in the wake of criticism by
county officials of a deal the Solid Waste Authority made with private
businessman George Hunyadi to run recycling operations at the crumbling Slack
Street recycling center in Charleston. Solid Waste officials entered into a lease
agreement with Hunyadi in 2012 to sort and ship recycling from Slack Street,
but sold the businessman most of the authority’s vehicles, sorting and baling
equipment. Hunyadi’s business has since failed, and he sold off most of the
equipment, crippling the county’s recycling program.
The Solid Waste Authority voted to sever ties with
Hunyadi in October, but by then the damage was done. Solid waste officials have
been struggling ever since with how to salvage recycling in Kanawha County.
County Commissioners Kent Carper, Hoppy Shores and
Dave Hardy voted unanimously at a special meeting Tuesday to appoint Armstrong
to replace Russell on the Solid Waste Authority’s governing board. Russell was
one of two board members appointed by the commission.
Armstrong, economic development specialist for the
county commission, had already been tasked to help come up with a solution to
the recycling dilemma, and has been attending regular meetings of the Solid
Waste Authority. Armstrong said he is already working on a plan to save the
county’s recycling efforts.
Commissioners also voted to write a letter to the
state Public Service Commission urging them to appoint a replacement quickly
for Watkins. Watkins was the PSC’s appointee to the solid waste board.
Also Tuesday, commissioners voted to end extended
hours on Thursday at the county courthouse.
For years, the courthouse has been open from 8 a.m.
to 7 p.m. on Thursdays to give county residents who work extra time to conduct
county business. But staff say the extended hours aren’t utilized enough to
warrant paying county workers to stay overtime on Thursdays.
Effective Jan. 1, the courthouse will be open from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Source: 16 December 2014
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