The town of Matewan needs their money, and the City Council is prepared to do whatever it takes to get it.

At the regular council meeting, records showed several business were delinquent paying hotel/motel tax, which is due quarterly.

“There are businesses in town that owe taxes for the third and fourth quarters of 2008,” Mayor Shelia Kessler said. “Two of these businesses owe for the second quarter as well.”

Mayor Kessler declined to identify the businesses.

Council members discussed the situation, and came to the conclusion that some of those businesses may not have had any business in those quarters, and thus would not owe any taxes.

“If they had no business, they need to send a zero income letter,” Kessler said. “But we know one of these businesses has had guests.”

Kessler explained the hotel/motel tax is added to guests’ bills when they pay for their lodging.

“So it’s not that they don’t have the money to pay this tax,” Kessler said. “They collected this tax, but they didn’t pay the town.”

The businesses in question have received letters regarding the delinquent taxes. Police Chief David Stratton hand delivered them, Kessler said.

The council said Chief Stratton should revisit the businesses to inform them the town is demanding payment.

“Notify them they must pay by the end of the business day,” Council member Stevie Fullen said. “If they don’t pay in full, I think we should follow the necessary legal procedures to shut them down.”

The council voted unanimously to pursue the payment by legal means.

“It’s our money, they have, and we need it,” Kessler said.

Tracy Rowan with the USDA spoke to council about a grant Matewan is obtaining from the agency to help upgrade the Red Jacket sewer system. The town is taking over control of the system, which is in need of repairs. The USDA is providing a grant for $335,000, which will be matched by $665,000 from the West Virgina legislature, for a total of $1 million for upgrading the system. Rowan went over paperwork ‘crunched’ the numbers, breaking down the amount for each aspect of the project, which included $30,000 for buying land and right-of-ways, $50,000 for legal fees, $45,000 for accounting fees and $210,000 for engineering costs.

The town had been working with the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority to obtain funding for the system. However, the funding was secured without the input of the MCRA. Authority Chair-man Mike Whitt was at the council meeting to wish them well in their work with the system.

“I would like to commend the council as well as the USDA for their efforts,” Whitt said. “We were prepared to help out, but in the end we did not have to become in involved. But this is a better solution. Matewan should be doing this, not the MCRA.”

Keith Blankenship gave the council a report on the Depot replica, which opened the second weekend in January. He told Council the Depot has seen quite a bit of traffic.

“We had eleven people Saturday,” Depot employee and council member Hen-rietta May said. “There was a couple from Austrailia who heard about Matewan on the internet.”

Blankenship reported the Depot has had two new heat pumps and a sound system installed, repaired the restrooms, purchased some fixtures and has inventory in the gift shop which includes books, quilts, coal figurines and and other novelties.

Future plans slated for the upcoming months in-clude installing a wrought iron fence aroung the Depot, construction of a pavilion/stage and building a gazebo for use as an information center and rest area for visitors.

The grand opening of the gazebo will be May 21. The event will be a fundraising dinner. A guest speaker has yet to be named.