Our meeting for January 16 is canceled

Our meeting for January 16 is canceled.

After talking to some members and with Brian Carr of the WVDOH, I find that we do not have a sufficient agenda to warrant the travel and time involved for the meeting scheduled this Wednesday. So, as your facilitator, I'm deferring this meeting to our next regularly scheduled agenda on March 19. Assuming the standing invitation from the Garrett County Commission is still good, we will meet there. As usual, the time will be 1:00 p.m. preceded by a 12:00 p.m. lunch. The location and other meeting specifics will be forwarded to you prior to the meeting.

We do have an important agenda for the March meeting. At the initiative of Gary and others, representatives of the Federal Delegation have been invited to present an overview of their perspectives and programs impacting U.S. Rt. 50 and other regional transportation issues. Be sure to mark your calendar now and keep in mind that we will continue to have every other month meetings on the third Wednesday.

In the interval, it is my intention to work with our member county commissions to generate some funding for West Virginians for Better Transportation (WVFBT). We are members of this coalition and they depend on contributions from members to enable them to promote their essential message. The needed upgrades we are advocating for U.S. Rt. 50 require money and transportation funding in WV must have a paradigm change if we are to go forward. WVFBT is our best hope that new ways to finance transportation infrastructure will be found. We need to support them financially.

I'm welcoming members and county commissions to give me input regarding our future efforts as a coalition. I'm hoping that as the next series of meetings shifts to Preston and Taylor Counties, agenda input will come from that neck of the woods. Please contact me with your comments and suggestions about how, working together, we can be more relevant and successful.

Thank you,

Wayne Spiggle
304-726-4868