Trending
ELKINS -- The City of Elkins is publicly addressing officials' frustration with an inability to find funding to help solve water issues in the unincorporated town of Whitmer.
In November 2022, the Whitmer Water Association reached out to the state Public Service Commission in hopes of being considered a distressed and failing utility. At that time the WWA was in dire financial condition and had no board members or employees.
The PSC looked at the problem and in April of this year designated the City of Elkins to become involved. Elkins oversaw the hiring of an engineer and helped transform the WWA into a legal entity, which gave it the capability to apply for emergency funding.
"The Elkins Water Board didn't ask to be in this situation, and we are doing our best to figure out how to be of the best assistance we can be to our neighbors in Whitmer without unfairly impacting Elkins water customers," Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco, who is also the chair of the Elkins Water Board, said in a city press release Friday.
"We have exhausted the sources of funding available to help Whitmer water customers until April, so we just aren't sure where these needed funds are going to come from in the meantime."
The Whitmer Volunteer Fire Department is constructing a new building, for which it needs a new 6-inch fire service line. Without this service, the WVFD cannot complete construction and open the building, which is increasing the cost of construction, according to the city's press release.
The Elkins Water Board recently submitted a funding request of $24,000 to the Randolph County Commission, to cover this work and long-delayed water tap installations for other Whitmer water customers. The city's press release states that the commission recently denied this request via letter from Commission President Dave Kesling.
The city's Friday press release states that, "Because Whitmer is unincorporated, the closest unit of local government is the Randolph County Commission."
"Under state law, the PSC has the authority to order another water utility to assume responsibility for distressed or failing water systems," the city's Friday press release states. "In April 2023, the PSC informed the Elkins Water Board that it would eventually be required to take over the Whitmer utility, once the legally mandated process for shifting responsibility is complete. This process typically takes one year, so it is expected to be complete by April 2024.
"On July 6 and Sept. 21, the city approached the Randolph County Commission, still the closest local unit of government with responsibility for Whitmer, for assistance funding urgently needed repairs and upgrades to the Whitmer water system. The commission expressed willingness to help after all possibilities of assistance from the state government had been exhausted.
"To explore what funding is available from the state before the takeover is complete, the Elkins Water Board connected the newly reconstituted WWA with the Region VII Planning and Development Council," the press release reads. "The council was able to secure the WWA a Critical Needs Grant of $151,000 from the Infrastructure Development and Jobs Council (IJDC). The terms of the IJDC grant restrict it to the projects specified in the application; it has already been used to install modern water treatment control software in the plant.
"It appears that, once the operating agreement between the Elkins Water Board and the WWA has been finalized, IJDC may be able to grant about $2 million in additional improvements and upgrades to the Whitmer water plant and distribution system.
"However, no additional funding will be available from the state until the finalization of the operating agreement between Elkins and Whitmer sometime in 2024, leaving a question about how to fund certain urgently needed repairs, upgrades, and equipment purchases," the release states.