Beckley officials are sworn into office

BECKLEY, WV (WNVS) — One by one, a new mayor and seven members of Beckley Common Council took the oath of office on Monday morning, July 1, 2024.

Four Council members, Frank Williams (Ward 3), Nancy Shoemaker-Dingess (Ward 2), Kip Buchanan (Ward 4), and Natalie Coots (Ward 1) are newly elected.

Williams had previously served on Council, but Shoemaker-Dingess, Buchanan, and Coots are each serving their first term on Council.

The four joined Janine Bullock (Ward 5) and at-large council members Sherrie Hunter and Cody Reedy to make up the new Beckley Common Council.

Mayor Neal said he and members of Council agreed that the downtown area has an obvious problem of vagrancy that will need to be addressed.

“I know the last city council’s addressed that, and they’ve tried to figure out solutions, but we’re going to really work hard to find a solution to that, because I think that’s the top priority,” said Mayor Neal.

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He said business growth and beautification of architecture is another goal for downtown.

Mayor Neal said he wants the city to fully engage with the West Virginia University-Institute of Technology brand.

“We have WVU Tech right here in our backyard,” said Mayor Neal. “I want people to embrace that, and let’s make the most of it.”

Shoemaker-Dingess’ father Charles Shoemaker served as mayor of Beckley from 1983 to 1987, and the Shoemaker family remains active in downtown beautification projects, Shoemaker-Dingess said.

The new council member said she wants Beckley to have the same beautification as Lewisburg.

“We’ve got two interstates feeding into Beckley. We’ve got the national park. We’ve got the bridge. We’ve got the university,” she said. “There’s no reason that Beckley, the downtown, can’t be made vibrant again.”

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At-Large Councilman Cody Reedy was sworn in for his second term of office.

While Reedy is the youngest Council member, he was one of the longest-serving members on Monday.

Reedy said one of his goals is to see business growth.

“I made that comment one or two years into my term, I didn’t think Beckley was open for business,” said Councilman Reedy. “I think we push businesses away. I think it’s starting to change, having a mayor as a businessman, and myself, as a businessman and council-at-large, and other people on Council that have been involved in business. I think we’re all going to work together real well.”

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