MEETING WITH LOCAL DELEGATES

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Carrie, Melissa and Stella met with Linda Longstreth, Mike Caputo and Tim Manchin at the UMWA building in Fairmont, Tuesday afternoon from 1pm to 2pm.

Mike Roncone, Supervisor of Dept of Highways- Marion County, was also in attendance at the invitation of Mike Caputo.

Before the meeting started:

Mike Roncone provided a one page documentation of the April 12 meeting with Resident's.

Tim Manchin cited that he drove the length of Prickett's Creek and Tunnel Hollow Rds from Grassy Run to Rt 310 prior to the meeting.

Carrie and Melissa made a video of the road conditions starting at Grassy Run and ending at Tunnel Hollow and Rt 310

Communications were pleasant and respectful.

Discussion included:

~ the urgent need to have the road fixed

~ the "Pilot Project" to re pave the road

~finding funding for "Pilot Project"

~request to repair ENTIRE road- current repairs being discussed are from Grassy Run to Logging site on Tunnel Hollow...the last .5 mile of Tunnel Hollow is not being considered and needs to be included!

~Establishing weight limits once the road is fixed

~Patching the road until permenant repairs can be made

~contacting Logger Bob Thomas

~Mike Caputo said all residents that signed our petition will receive a note of recognition

~All delegates viewed Carrie's poster of road conditions

~Mike Caputo was provided a copy of the video of road conditions

RESULTS OF MEETING include but are not limited to:

-Mike Caputo's promise to "take this issue to the Governor".

-Mike Captuo also made a request of Mike Roncone to talk with his Superiors ( Roger Phillips ) about making the temporary patching of Prickett's Creek and Tunnel Hollow roads a priority and not a "Rainy Day Project". Mike Roncoe agreed to make the request.

-Continued discussion of weight limit's and seasonal "stays" to stop heavy loads on road during the freeze/thaw cycles

-Discussion that Carrie and Melissa may go to Charleston for further discussion and possibly assist to establish weight limitations

CONCLUSION:

Carrie and Melissa will:

*contact local newspaper and television to provide updates of progress made with requests that they will be published

*provide updates of progress to Govenor Manchin and copy reports to local delegates as well as Dept of Highways "chain of comand" in efforts to keep our Fix The Road! project in the forefront

*send signature packet, photos and letter to Bob Thomas, Maryland Logger that promised to repair what his trucks destroyed, and then left without making repairs

THANK YOU'S, GRATITUDE and MUCH APPRECIATION

-to Linda Longstreth, Mike Caputo and Tim Manchin for taking time from their busy schedule to meet with us, listen and offer assitance with our project!

-to Stella Barnett for arranging the meeting with our delgates

-to Mike Roncone for attending the meeting and agreeing to request that our patching be made priority

MEETING WITH LOCAL LEGISLATORS!!!!!

http://www.legis.state.wv.us/House/Members/delmemview1.cfm?input2=43

Carrie and Melissa are scheduled to meet with local House of Delegates members Mike Caputo, Linda Longstreth and Tim Manchin at 1pm, Tuesday April 20, 2010 to discuss the FIX THE ROAD! campaign and request ACTION.

Thank you to local resident Stella Barnett for arranging this meeting!

~ Information Packet with photos of road, Letter to Road Representatives, Informational leaflet, etc emailed to Governor Manchin through web site and through personal email with the following introductory note:

Hello Governor Manchin,

The following letter and photos (attached) were submitted to Marion County DOH reps, engineers, maintenance and complaints depts as well as DOH reps in Charleston, and local Marion County District Legislators.

Several local DOH reps met with our community April 12. The meeting was inconclusive and unsatisfactory to residents.

283 signatures were collected in support of the document that follows, 60 residents personally attended community meeting ( sign in sheet available) to discuss options.

While we appreciate their time to meet with us, we don't appreciate that local reps. Mike Roncone and Ray Urse advised us that our road is "a rainy day project" and they would get around to it at their convenience...that our population, aprox 100 houses with 300 residents, does not justify taking workers off other jobs for our road repairs.

Our community has offered free skilled labor to assist in the road repairs and were turned away.

Our community was courteous, repectful and entertained the stall tactics offered by the DOH reps. ( pilot project for which they are submitting figures and waiting approval then seeking funds ) We are no longer interested in talk and delays, we request action.

Please take time to consider our situation and feel free to contact us at your earliest convenience.

Watch for packet in mail that includes copies of all signatures, photos of road conditions and the documents that follow.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,

Melissa Brodsky and Carrie Heston- Tunnel Hollow and Prickett's Creek Road residents and concerned citizen activists
please visit our blog: www.fixtheroad.blogspot.com ( currently under construction as time allows)


....This will also be sent via postal mail tomorrow.

~ Contact made with residents that were able to get Cherry Run paved on Bunners Ridge- a road similar to Tunnel Hollow/Prickett's creek with "low population". Will be contacting again soon for follow up.

~ Local resident helping us to contact Caputo for face to face meeting- watch blog for follow up.

“FIX THE ROAD”

Community Meeting with Dept. Of Highways
Resident’s and concerned citizens that travel Prickett’s Creek and Tunnel Hollow roads, DOH Assistant Maintenance Manager Ray Urse and Marion Co. Superintendent Mike Roncone


April 12, 2010
5:00 pm
Crossroads-4H Community Center

*Donations accepted at door to help pay for room rental


Questions/Comments call:

Carrie Heston 304- 694- 9681 or 304- 694- 1132

Melissa Brodsky 304-366-1420 or 304- 282- 2260

This letter is a Road Repair Request and Request for Seasonal Ton Limits for the following roads:

WVDOT/DOH District 4; Legislation District 34
Fairmont, Marion County, WV 26554
Prickett’s Creek Rd. - CR 80
Tunnel Hollow Rd. - CR 31/11
Mudlick Road: CR 84
Durham Lick Road : CR 80/5
Long Run/Samaria Rd: CR 80/3

There are differing opinions on how our roads have come to such disrepair, whether it be the winter’s heavy snows, the recent heavy logging activity during the wet season, salt that may have been mistakenly applied to portions of our road by the DOH trucks or by residents or a combination of these things. Whatever the reasons, the fact is that our roads have become difficult to travel with “floating” surfaces, large areas of mud pits that have surfaced, areas that have buckled upward, low or non existent shoulders that have washed out and deep, damaging potholes.

Presently, many of the passenger vehicles traveling these roads sink and bottom out over the mud pits and road heaves and take daily beatings crashing into and out of deep potholes, playing havoc on suspension, steering and tires. The roads have become dangerous, pulling vehicles unexpectedly on the floating surfaces and requiring drivers to dodge the heaves and carefully skirt dangerous, washed out shoulders.

Mike Roncone, Marion County Supervisor for the DOH, has advised us that the population through these roads does not justify the cost of continued hot patch repair and that from Grassy Run to Mudlick Road, the DOH will be reverting the current tar and chip surface of Prickett’s Creek road back to gravel to lower the cost of upkeep. It is our opinion that once that section is reverted, the gravel reversion will likely continue to the current tar and chip surface of Tunnel Hollow Road and portions of Mudlick, Durham and Long Run/Samaria that are currently tar and chip.

Downgrading our roads back to gravel will have a negative effect on all the vehicles that use these roads, slowing Emergency vehicles and damaging School Buses, Postal Service vehicles, Garbage collection trucks and of course the local resident’s vehicles. Property and resale values will lower, possibly lower than our mortgage amounts since some of our properties were appraised to include the hard road.

As resident’s along these roads, we do not agree that gravel is a cost effective alternative to the tar and chip or hot patch since we are first hand witnesses that the gravel does kick and wash out of the filled holes and sink in the mud pits within days of application in addition to continual need for grading and further applications of gravel whereas the tar and chip surface and hot patch fill has lasted for years until the recent heavy logging on saturated roads in combination with our severe winter.

The resident's of this area will not accept gravel patching in any of the potholes or more extensive road heaves, mud pits or floating surfaces. We formally request the road surfaces be restored to conditions prior to logging activity and heavy winter snows, which were no less than tar and chip and hot patch. We also request proper trenching to divert water running across the road surface as well as raising shoulders on Tunnel Hollow Rd. hill as it enters onto Rt 310/ East Grafton Rd. to proper and safe levels.

Once our roads are restored to the proper condition, the residents along these roads request that the roads are rated and posted for limited tonnage and that vehicles over a certain weight may NOT pass in wet seasons under any circumstance for commercial or private purposes.

Please review the information in the letter and enclosed photos and ask yourself: - If it were YOU or your Mother or Father or your children or your friends or your neighbors- would YOU want your paved road to revert to gravel that would risk slowing an emergency vehicle rushing to your loved, cause continuous damage to your vehicle and lower your property value? Would you, really?

REQUEST ROAD REPAIR: www.wva.state.wv.us/wvdot/roadrepairrequest

WRITE OR CALL OFFICIALS!

Congressman Allan B. Mollohan
Room 209 Post Office Building
PO BOX 1400
Clarksburg, WV 26302-1400

Phone: (304) 623-4422Fax: (304) 623-0571
CongressmanMollohan@mail.house.gov

WV Legislators- District 34
Marion County
Finance/ Government and Finance

Tim Manchin (D - Marion)Capitol Address: Room 212E, Building 1State Capitol ComplexCharleston, WV 25305Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3166Business Phone: (304) 367-1862

tmanchin@manchin-aloi.com

Mike Caputo (D - Marion) Capitol Address: Room 246M, Building 1State Capitol ComplexCharleston, WV 25305Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3249Business Phone: (304) 363-7500 mike.caputo@wvhouse.gov

All the following CHARLESTON representatives will receive postal mail at the same address.
Representative’s name
WVDOT/DOH
Building 5
1900 Kanawha Blvd East
Charleston, WV 25305

Paul Mattox- Commissioner of Highways (304) 558-9220

Marvin Murphy- State Highway Engineer (304) 558-2804

Kristi Goodman- Senior Complaints Dept. (304) 558-2800

All of the following LOCAL D.O.H. representatives will receive postal mail at the same address.
Representative’s Name
PO BOX 4220
Clarksburg, WV 26302

Gary Clayton- Regional Engineer (304) 842-1556

Greg Phillips- District Manager (304) 842-1550

Jeff Pifer- Maintenance Engineer (304) 842-1559

Ray Urse- Maintenance Assistant (304) 842-1585

Bryan Radabaugh- Design Engineer (304) 842-1579

Mike Roncone- Marion County Supervisor (304) 367- 2730

Tammy Carson- Marion County Complaints Dept. (304) 842-1541