By Steve Keenan, The Register-Herald
GLEN JEAN, W.Va. – At the historic Bank of Glen Jean building Thursday, interested parties gathered to explore what structures the National Park Service proposes to demolish and remove in coming months.
NPS staff members from the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve hosted the public meeting and open house to allow the public to more closely inspect a proposal to demolish 35 buildings in park boundaries. Those deteriorating structures include 21 that are considered historic and are either listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
“I think there’s always the potential through the public comment phase of this to drive the direction of where we’re headed,” said Charles Sellars, superintendent of the New River Gorge NPP, Gauley River National Recreation Area and Bluestone National Scenic River. “That’s the whole concept of these meetings and this process, to seek that public comment as a part of our decision-making process.
“So, that’s what we’re doing here today, and we’ll probably have a couple more, I would imagine.”
Sellars estimated that a final decision on how to proceed is still several months away.
“It is certainly part of the equation,” Sellars said of potentially leasing some of the buildings to outside entities instead of tearing them down. “We’re working through that right now. Just being honest, we’re the government, we’re going to study it.
“We were supposed to have a meeting this week on a business management plan … to begin the conversations about what would be referred to as a historic lease, that allows the National Park Service the opportunity to lease structures.
