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Approximately 25 citizens in Copan gathered in the town’s Senior Center on Tuesday night to discuss concerns they have had with the direction the town is heading in.

Pete Elkins (pictured at the chalkboard and below), a former Town Manager and Clerk, led the discussion. He expressed concerns with an employee for the Town of Copan.

The solution to the employee provided by Elkins was for her to hit the door, because he believes that she will cause a lot of trouble for the town. Advice for the Council that Elkins provided is that they need to get applications from people that are working a position for the town. Applications are meant for background checks, and any information that is not true on an application is terminating.

Elkins said the person of discussion was Copan’s Mayor in 2011. He said she signed an ordinance into law that was focused on setting mobile homes. He went on to say that she did this without the Copan City Council’s consent in 2015, which is a felony. That has since been resolved, but Elkins said she is slowly making her way up the chain of command without any motion or action from the council, which he says is illegal.

Another concern that Elkins laid out for discussion was Copan’s sewer lines, which he claimed to be a lost cause.

The only way to fix it is if the Town of Copan sues the contractor that put the sewer lines in. Elkins said out of the 6,000 feet of line that the contractors laid, the contractors are probably going to have to dig up 7,000 to 8,000 feet before laying the line back down by trenching it.

This is something that Elkins said he does not believe the Town of Copan will do. He added that there are plenty of problems surrounding the water plant as well. Copan's residents could be without water at any minute based on the research that Elkins laid out before those gathered on Tuesday night.

One issue revolves around intakes at Copan Lake. Elkins said only one of the three intakes at the lake is operable, and if a log were to get stuck in that intake, Copan would be without water.

A gas leak underneath U.S. Highway 75 was another area of concern. Elkins said for them to go under the highway with a 2-inch line from one property line to the other across the highway (approximately 700 feet) could cost $100,000 because they have to go underneath the roads.

The only solution to this problem to Elkins is to cut the problem off as soon as possible. He said empty gas lines can be dangerous and explosive.

The Copan Police Department also found itself under scrutiny on Tuesday night. There is no police department in Copan these days. Elkins said that the chief and reserve officers that were in place not long ago were questionable at best, mostly because he believed they were not qualified for their positions by looking at their track record. He said a resource officer for Copan Public Schools was also a danger to students because he would make sexually explicit posts on Facebook. This gentleman, Elkins said, would be retained despite complaints.

To help mitigate the absence of a police department in Copan, the Washington County Sheriff's Office has stepped in to patrol the town on occasion. Elkins said they have done an excellent job and they have not harassed the citizens of Copan like former law enforcers did that have since been run out of town. For more on the Sheriff's Office and their involvement in Copan, click here.

The entirety of the meeting lasted for an hour and a half. Elkins said that there needs to be more oversight by Copan's town officials regarding the state of their hometown. He said "the town is governed by committee, not individuals."

The night ended with Elkins saying that the only way Copan can improve is if its citizens attend Council meetings moving forward. He said he cannot stand alone in this matter of wanting to do what is right.

The next Council meeting for the Town of Copan will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 4th. The meeting will start at 6:00 p.m.

To listen to the entire concern citizens meeting from Copan on Tuesday night, click here.