Buckhannon officials call Strawberry Festival a success but flag staffing strain and infrastructure needs; city to help install county playground

City officials on May 21 praised the safety and success of the 2026 West Virginia Strawberry Festival while warning that current staffing and infrastructure are at capacity and should be strengthened rather than expanded. Public Works Director Ethan Crosten and City Recorder Randy Sanders presented after-action findings, including detailed labor and cost figures tied to festival operations.

Crosten told the Council the Street Department worked 808 hours specifically on festival tasks at a labor cost of $47,320.50; water, sewer and waste departments contributed another 103 hours at $7,810.56. The combined city labor and materials contribution for the festival totaled $84,969.36, according to Crosten’s report. He said several employees reached the 16-hour daily work limit on peak days and that current staffing cannot absorb substantially more workload without exceeding safe and legal limits.

Recorder Randy Sanders called the festival "outstanding," saying it draws major tourism to the region: "the festival continues to be outstanding, receiving strong public feedback and remaining one of the top three tourism-generating events in West Virginia," he said. Sanders and Crosten both said the City should focus on refining and strengthening supporting infrastructure instead of necessarily expanding the event.

Chief Matt Gregory reported that police and mutual-aid partners logged 390 hours of overtime during the festival at a total cost just under $19,000. All officers worked 16-hour shifts during the busiest days; Gregory said an after-action report will guide planning for 2027. He also reminded the Council that the Youth Police Academy runs July 13–17 (8 a.m.–noon) for middle- and high-school students; applications are due June 1 and capacity is 40 participants.

On intergovernmental cooperation, the Council approved an agreement with the Upshur County Commission to assist with installation of playground equipment at Pringle Tree Park. Crosten said the county will preassemble the small slide and compact jungle gym at its garage and requested city crews' assistance with transport and final placement; Recorder Sanders recommended a memorandum of understanding to address liability. Council approved the agreement by motion; Crosten estimated city staff time for the project would be roughly a half-day once the county completes preparation.

Crosten also reported on capital projects: a Chestnut Street sewer upgrade continues, a ~500-foot clay sewer replacement near W. Main Street is planned, the Central Avenue water service change was postponed to coordinate paving, SCADA installation at the Mount Hope meter pit is complete, and preliminary WTP design is ongoing with a selected on-site chlorine gas generator and a design timeline of about 16–20 months.

The Council approved a packet of building and wiring permits circulated in the meeting packet; the permit approval motion carried with Councilmember Jack Reger recorded as abstaining on that vote. The meeting recessed into executive session to discuss personnel and property matters and returned at 9:16 p.m. with no decisions announced from the executive session.