The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

January 14, 2010

Lingering snow causing problems

Some say city businesses are being affected

By Christopher J. Jackson

The mountains of snow just won’t melt away quickly enough for some business owners and residents of Oak Hill.

One business owner in particular, John James, owner of Welcome Home Reality on Main Street, said the lingering snow is affecting his business.

“Business owners on Main Street in Oak Hill have lost business because of this easy-to-cure snow problem on the road frontage of their properties,” he said.

The snow that has accumulated on the sidewalks and parking spaces along Main Street and Jones Avenue is impeding customers from easily accessing businesses, James said.

Main Street is one of several state routes in Oak Hill and it’s not the responsibility of the city to maintain them, Oak Hill City Manager Bill Hannabass said.

“They have kept that route open,” he said about Main Street. “They have to put the snow somewhere. It’s an inconvenience and I ask everyone to bear with us.”

Hannabass said he asked the state to help load and remove the snow, but it wasn’t among its top priorities given the amount of problems the recent snowstorms caused.

James isn’t the only business owner in Oak Hill upset with the snow problem.

Hannabass said he’s received several calls from frustrated businesses about the lingering issue, but that the compliments outweigh the complaints.

He said the investment for manpower and the proper trucks to remove the snow isn’t worth it, given the fact the region hasn’t seen a winter of this magnitude since the 1970s.

“It doesn’t come out to have a large investment in snow removal to be able to handle a winter effectively — last year they would have sat idle,” he said. “For an occasional winter like we’re having, it’s not a prudent investment of funds.”

However, James said business and occupation taxes aren’t helping the city and that they should be spent on helping the citizens.

“B&O; taxes paid to the city of Oak Hill should be used to help citizens of Oak Hill, and business owners on Main Street are citizens of Oak Hill,” he said.

Hannabass said the B&O; taxes are being put back into the city.

He said there’s a new office for the chief of police and that local businesses now have a professional police department and a great public works crew.

There’s also a new sidewalk along Main Street in front of James’ business that came about from B&O; taxes, Hannabass said.

“Most people realize they do get a deal for their money,” he said about the B&O; taxes.

Hannabass said he sympathizes with Oak Hill’s business owners.

“Everybody has been inconvenienced, but that’s Mother Nature,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can.”

— E-mail: cjackson@register-herald.com



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