BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
KERMIT — The Kermit Town Council discussion Monday focused on funding for various infrastructure projects and the recent noise complaints involving a Diversified Energy natural gas compressor station in town.
One of the first major points was Mingo County Board of Education funding for the Kermit gym.
Other towns, including Lenore, Williamson and Matewan, have received funding from the BOE for similar facilities. The Kermit gym has been identified as a similarly important resource serving the children of the community.
Other communities have received between $10,000 and $20,000 in funding for recreational facilities by petitioning the board.
The council resolved to ask the board for $15,000 in funding for the Kermit gym.
“It’d be hard for them to turn us down if they give it to everybody else,” Councilman Wilburn “Hawky” Preece said.
Contractors completing recent construction on the railroad running through Kermit have still not completed the cleanup process by hauling off the used railroad ties from the project. The Town Council continues to reach out to the contractors to resolve the issue.
The council also discussed recent complaints about noise from a natural gas compressor station owned by Diversified Energy.
Mayor Charles Sparks reported at the meeting that he called Diversified Energy on June 27 regarding the noise issue. Sparks said they responded by saying, “Yessir, we’re aware of that situation over there. We’ve had numerous discussions about what to do.”
Despite reports from the company that noise levels in many affected areas do not reach dangerous levels, residents, including multiple members of the council, have reported daily unsafe decibel measurements all around the compressor station.
Mayor Sparks has drafted a Noise Health and Safety Ordinance that will be circulated in advance of the next council meeting in order to be submitted to a vote. The existing ordinance governing such public nuisances will still stand, but the new ordinance will lay out specific criteria required for high decibel activities in the town.
Sparks took a moment before discussing several recent and pending issues with the town’s water treatment facility to point out that the town received a Drinking Water Gold Performance award for water quality in 2021.
Monday morning, the housing of one of the water pumps at the treatment facility failed, exposing the pump’s motor to water, causing it to fail and need to be replaced. Recent stress and age have caused wear on the wiring conduits involved in powering the pumps, which may be responsible for the recent pump failures.
Sparks requested $13,800 in ARP money to make the needed repairs to the facility. In the past two years, the town has spent around $32,000 rebuilding four of the facility’s water pumps.
ARP funds are earmarked for infrastructure and public safety. The council resolved to allocate the funds to the current water and sewer emergency.
There are at least 5,000 tires in the Tug Fork between the Kermit Bridge and the Warfield Boat Dock. The group, Friends of the Tug Fork River, is making efforts to clean up the tires. The project was slowed initially by regulations involving local crawfish to whom the tires are a natural habitat. More recently, the Kermit-Warfield “Tire Tug of War” set for this week as postponed due to river conditions. The project will be rescheduled.