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Fayetteville Town Council Meeting Recap

Aug 21 2026 | By: Amy Thornton

FAYETTEVILLE, WV-- August 20, 2026:

It was a full house at the Fayetteville Town Hall on Thursday evening, with guests taking up all the seats.  More chairs were brought out to accommodate extra folks.  There were approximately twenty to twenty-five people in the audience.  The following is a highlight summary of the meeting rather than a detailed account of every topic covered. 


The Town Council was present except for Councilors Gabe Pena and Brian Good. 

Meeting opened with prayer by Matt Diederich, followed by the Pledge of Alliance by all present. 

Mayor Sharon Cruikshank expressed condolences for the lady who passed away in Pax from the flooding, sympathy for those affected by flood waters and gratitude to the first-responders including the Fayetteville Police and Fire Department.  All councilors present expressed similar sentiments.  

Mayor Cruikshank read a letter from Sally Wendt, the Executive Director of the Love Hope Center for the Arts, that expressed gratitude to the town, including the fire department and town police for their response when a large tree fell on their grounds during a recent festival.

Councilor Stanley Boyd also congratulated Zenda Vance on her award of Municipal League, Town Recorder of the Year.

Big topics of the evening were about parking spaces, sidewalk maintenance and the chronic flooding problem on Windsor Lane.

Town Manager, Matt Diederich gave an update on the proposed Second Ave. Pedestrian Bridge over Rt. 16.  He said core drilling has been completed and he has submitted an application for additional funding.  More funds are needed, he said, because the bridge must be 18.5’ above Rt. 16.   

Diederich also spoke about paving projects on Short St. and the Fayetteville Town Park, explaining that it’s not just repaving, but extensive work required, such as drainage consideration and bids will be received on Oct. 1, 2026; anticipated to have work completed this fall. 

 

Flooding on Windsor Lane

Several guests spoke during the visitor comment portion of the meeting, including local residents, Chris Ellis and Josh Feazell, both on the topic of chronic flooding on Windsor Lane. A video by Ellis was shown to everyone present of the rising floodwater that occurred in this area recently.

Even though they explained this has been a long term problem, which they have addressed numerous times with the Town Council, both men indicated the issue has been exacerbated by the paving done in 2022.  They both asserted that the paving was done incorrectly, which causes rainwater to flow directly onto their properties, resulting in flooding. 

Josh Feazell says his house is taking on structural damage due to the repeated flooding of his house and asked the Council for an action plan and a date to begin work to repair this problem.  Chris Ellis asked for a paving report and a timeframe to have repairs done to Windsor Lane.  Both Ellis and Feazell offered portions of their property to accommodate a solution to drainage improvements. 

Alison Rosiek-Ibarra also spoke, to introduce herself as a candidate for the Fayette County Commission, of the Plateau District.  She is running as an Independent, challenging Chuck Miller, who was appointed after the passing of Commissioner, Greg Fernett.  

Parking Spaces & Sidewalks

Discussion among the Council included the enforcement of helmets with activities such as skate boarding, roller blades, E-bikes and the like as well as the proposed 15 mph speed limit on Fayette Ave., down to Fayette Circle (2nd Reading).

 

Rob, of ACE Adventure Gear, spoke about the need to remove two parking spaces on the street at the entrance/exit to their business.  He said pulling out of their parking lot is dangerous, as when cars are parked in these spots along the street, it creates a blind spot upon entering Court St. 

 

Mayor Cruikshank said she has been receiving multiple complaints about the disrepair of town sidewalks.  Discussion included possibly sending letters to home owners to partner with the town for the cost of repair or looking into how the town can pay for concrete restoration.   

It was discussed that the sidewalk levy allows for partnership between home owners and the town, where the owner pays for the supplies and the town provides the labor.  There was discussion about using the 1% municipal sales and use tax, under the Home Rule program to fund sidewalk repair. According to WV Tax Division, Fayetteville brought in $1,190,388.02 from this tax for fiscal year 2025.

Local resident, Chris Selvey, made a comment to Council that he has 147’ of sidewalk adjacent to his property that he is responsible for keeping clean of debris and snow. He said an estimate for concrete repair would cost approximately $75,000 and indicated that is too much to ask of a homeowner.  Discussion ensued about who is responsible for sidewalk repair and whose guidelines are to be used, such as the town, county or state road standards. 

Mayor Cruikshank said this item regarding sidewalk maintenance would be moved to the next agenda. 

 

Under New Business, Town Manager, Matt Diederich said the WVDOH TA Grant Sidewalk Contract was for a sidewalk along Laurel St. from the school to Dairy Queen as well as a sidewalk along the curve on Rt. 16 going out of town.  It was $62,500 for the design and next year he will apply for the construction funding. 

It was announced that Steven Trent will be hired as a full time cemetery/ street department employee.

Town Council voted unanimously to provide a raise to the Town Municipal Judge, since one has not been given in twenty years, according to Councilor Okey Skidmore. This will go into effect in October 2026.  

The next Town Council Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 6pm. 

 

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