BUCKHANNON — The Buckhannon City Council met on Thursday evening to discuss upcoming community events, proposed zoning amendments, and to recognize a city official for completing leadership training.
Jody Light, representing the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash, provided a preview of the event’s 10th anniversary celebration. The barbecue competition will host 32 master teams from 12 states, with festivities designed to be accessible.
Image © Kelton Cowger | Mountaineer Journal
“We have a cake decorating contest for the kids from five and up,” Light said. “We actually have some kids coming in from Ohio to do a cake decorating contest in three different age divisions. We have some nice prizes for them, and a couple of things still in the works that will be really nice for the older kids.”
A standout of this year’s bash will be a 10-foot cake commissioned from celebrity baker Duff Goldman’s Charm City Cakes, featured on Food Network’s Ace of Cakes. “We contracted them several months ago,” Light explained. “They’re creating a 10-foot tall [10th anniversary] cake, and we’ve actually had a 3D company create the top. We’ll also have a three-tier real cake from Charm City Cakes.”
Light concluded by inviting Mayor Robbie Skinner to participate in a ceremonial cake cutting on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Council also heard from Shane Jenkins, president of the West Virginia Strawberry Festival, who reported record-breaking attendance during the festival’s 83rd year.
“We saw some of the largest crowds ever at nearly every event,” Jenkins said, citing the return of ground shows and expanded entertainment options. “People came from 49 of West Virginia’s 55 counties and from every neighboring state.”
Jenkins noted that planning is already in motion for next year’s festival, with new ideas like online raffles potentially on the table.
Additionally, the council held the first reading of Ordinance 473, which proposes amending the city’s zoning ordinance to reclassify eight parcels of land from R-1 (Single Family Residential District) to C-2 (Highway Commercial District). The affected properties are located along South Kanawha Street, Putnam Street, and Morning Drive within the city’s corporate limits.
The parcels include:
179 South Kanawha Street (rear)
Putnam Street (Map 10, Parcel 90)
Multiple addresses on Morning Drive (Map 12, Parcels 180, 182, 182.1, 184, 186)
The proposed change is intended to allow for future commercial development along the identified corridor, which borders a major roadway and existing commercial zones. The ordinance passed its first reading and will be brought back during a special meeting scheduled for June 12 at 9 a.m.
That meeting will also include final revisions to the city’s general fund budget.
Image © Kelton Cowger | Mountaineer Journal
In a brief ceremony, Buckhannon Fire Chief J.B. Kimble presented Public Works Director Ethan Crosten with a certificate of recognition for completing a leadership training course.
Additionally, the council voted to move the regularly scheduled June 19 meeting to June 17. The Mountaineer Journal will cover the meeting.
City ordinances, budget documents, Agendas, and meeting minutes can be found on the City of Buckhannon Website.
