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ELKINS -- An official has warned that the City of Elkins is in a "dire situation" in terms of staffing issues.
Operations Manager Michael Kesecker asked Elkins City Council to help him find a solution during council's most recent meeting.
"One of the things I want to talk to you about is, we are really in a dire situation when it comes to staffing and it comes to employees," Kesecker said during the meeting. "The street department currently, including our supervisor and assistant supervisor, has seven employees, two of which are looking to find jobs elsewhere. That would take us to five employees, including the supervisor and assistant supervisor.
"I know it's warm in here this evening, it's nice outside, but winter will be coming. We have five guys to plow the streets and keep them salted and clean. It's impossible."
Kesecker said the city currently serves as a "training ground," where new employees receive training and develop skills, and then quickly move on to higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
"I've been talking to the mayor, I've talked to some of the council members as I've passed them in the building… I urge you all to work with me to implement a plan to compensate our employees accordingly, the way they deserve to be compensated, and to retain quality employees," Kesecker said.
"We are a training ground right now. We bring an employee in, we get them trained. A close-by agency offers them more money with equivalent benefits, and they leave. That puts a large strain on our supervisors because they're constantly training people, and as soon as they get them ready to do their job on their own with limited supervision, they're gone.
"I urge you, we have to do something to take care of our employees. They are our greatest asset by far. Nothing in the city could be accomplished without the employees," Kesecker said. "We need to look at these departments and make sure we get quality applicants. You attract quality applicants by pay and benefits, and we retain them…
"I'm working with (City Clerk) Sutton Stokes, the administrative officers are all working on trying to figure out a different way to do the step and grade scale, and I think we really need to focus on this."
Council adopted a "step and grade" Classification and Compensation Plan in August 2018, which includes the opportunity for annual review of wages and possible wage increases based on employee evaluations and available revenues.
During the meeting, Kesecker called the city's efforts to solve stormwater issues a "work in progress."
"At the last meeting I talked about the ongoing stormwater issues throughout the city," he told council. "With the help of the street supervisor, we've been receiving phone calls, scheduling appointments with the citizens to go actually to their location. They have provided us with some pictures, some videos. We've taken pictures and videos as well, and it's given us a better idea of where the key areas of concern are, what the causes of the concern are.
"It's a work in progress. It's going to take some time but we are focused on addressing each of the issues, and we've got some good response from some of the people that, we've went to their locations and talked to. So, I think we're moving in the right direction when it comes to stormwater, but again, I have to emphasize, it's a work in progress."
Kesecker also provided council with an update on his dealings with the state Division of Highways regarding the renovation, or perhaps replacement, of the Davis Avenue Bridge.
"I spoke with DOH regarding the Davis Avenue Bridge. They have an engineering firm selected. They're moving forward in the design phase," Kesecker said.
"They assured me that we, the city, would be invited to all design phase meetings, and we will have our fair share of input when it comes to the design phase of the bridge. And I will make sure that we hold them to that, and we work together with them to make sure we're getting what we want."
The bridge is more than 70 years old, and is currently rated in "poor" condition. The bridge's average daily traffic is 8,000 vehicles.
The estimate for repairing or replacing the Davis Avenue Bridge is $4-7 million.