CLARKSBURG, W. Va. — Between four new appointments and one pending joint appointment between the Harrison County Commission and the City of Clarksburg, the Central West Virginia Transit Authority will have a brand new board.
This in response to public backlash after a unanimous vote by the previous board to retain the services of general manager John Aman after he serves a 21 month prison sentence for bank fraud and a 2-1 vote to install board member Zeke Lopez as interim general manager at a $35,000 per year salary, half of what a permanent general manager makes.
“There was certainly no secret that a certain level of disgust had been expressed amongst the public with some of the recent actions of the CENTRA board,” Gary Bowden, Vice-Mayor of Clarksbug said. “Both the county commission and city council felt it very important to take corrective steps to appoint a new board and, we would hope, put in place responsible leadership.”
After discussion and debate Thursday morning, the Harrison County Commission voted 2-1 to appoint Jeff Nelson, owner of a small business, and unanimously voted to appoint Jim Smith, a certified public accountant and business owner.
Nelson serves as chair of the county’s Recreational Advisory Board and Smith previously served as a county commissioner.
In all Commission President Ron Watson said he received around 23 applicants from a variety of backgrounds such as housewives, pastors, bus drivers and politicians interested in serving on the board with the intent of repairing its image.
“All of them could certainly be qualified, are qualified to do the job but we wanted someone who had a track record, who could hit the ground running,” Watson said.
Clarksburg City Council held a special meeting later Thursday evening to make its two appointments, selecting Robert Kramer to a term which will expire in 2015 and Anita Bower to a term which will last three years.
Bowden said they were encouraged to receive around 10 qualified applicants interested in the positions.
Bower submitted her name based on her love of the bus service, her past experiences and disappointment in the recent decisions made by the previous board.
“I have laid the levy. I have typed the levy call and I knew a lot about the transit and I’ve been very concerned about some of their decision,” she said.
With the next levy coming up in 2016 –a levy which was introduced with the help of her husband who served as secretary and counsel for 38 years until March 2010– she wants to restore the reputation of CENTRA as an institution deserving of public funds.
“So first thing I’m going to do is encourage a complete overview of financial decisions, ethical decisions, staffing decisions just to see where we are,” she said.
It may be a few weeks before the new board will meet. A fifth appointment is expected to be made after Bridgeport City Council –which in the recent past has been offered a position to represent the city on the board– discusses it at its meeting Monday and Clarksburg City Council votes at the regular meeting next Thursday, since it was not listed on the special meeting agenda.
The county commission sent a letter to the city recommending either John Wilson, a member of Bridgeport City Council, and Christopher McCarthy, a lawyer, for the joint appointment.
A three day public notice must be posted as well before the board can meet with interim general manager Lopez.
One of the first tasks before them will be to find a permanent general manager as John Aman sent a letter, read by Bowden at the meeting, announcing his decision to officially resign from his position effective 5 p.m. on Friday. He also wrote he will not consider taking his job back at any time in the future.