Marmet Mayor David Fontalbert, left, swears in Marmet Capt. Paris Workman Sept. 26. Workman will also remain Police Chief of Montgomery.Photo byTown of Marmet

MARMET, W.Va. -- The Marmet town council met for a special council meeting on Sept. 26, approving the hiring of a new captain for the community’s police force and finalizing a tent ordinance that was under first reading earlier this month.

On Thursday, council members approved the hiring of Paris Workman, the current police chief for the eastern Kanawha County community of Montgomery. Officials said he’ll work for the Marmet Police Department as a captain. Workman told council members he would maintain his full-time position with the Montgomery Police Department while also working full-time for Marmet. However, he will resign from his duties in Smithers, he said.

“We’ve been meeting for the past two months working out different plans and some things we wanted to implement,” Workman told council members, referencing discussions he’s had with Marmet Police Chief Charles Buttrick, who became the town’s top law enforcement officer in April 2023 after serving as interim Chief of Police since September 2021.

Workman said his hiring will ensure that Marmet’s community is protected 24 hours per day. He told council members he planned to work in the community at various times throughout the week and weekends “the biggest part of the time.”

“We don’t want to run a Gestapo, but we want you to know that we’re here,” Workman said. “If you mess up, we’re going to take care of you. That’s the way I do it in Montgomery.”

Workman is no stranger to Marmet. He was previously employed by the town’s police department.

“You know Marmet, you know the town, you’ve worked here for years,” Marmet council member Michael McGhee told Workman on Thursday. “I’m not going to ask you to move heaven and earth. People like to see that car go by their house, they like to see the presence out there, and that’s all I’d want you to do.”

Council members unanimously approved Workman’s hiring. He was expected to begin his duties in Marmet on Friday, Sept. 27.

Buttrick will remain Marmet's chief of police.

Tent ordinance

Also on Thursday, council members approved a municipal-wide tent ordinance. The ordinance passed first reading during the Sept. 16 regularly scheduled meeting.

The ordinance prohibits using tents and other temporary structures as dwellings within the town unless approved by the council. Mayor David Fontalbert said the ordinance allows for special event exceptions, “like Civil War reenactors, things like that.”

The ordinance makes erecting a tent a type of loitering, Fontalbert said. It does not, however, necessarily prevent residents from pitching a tent for recreational purposes on their own property, council members note.

“If you have kids and want to put up a little tent in your backyard, that’s not a problem,” McGhee said.

The ordinance passed unanimously on second reading. It becomes effective from passage.

Marmet recorder Billie Fontalbert and council members Rebecca Bass and Debbie Skeens were absent from Thursday’s meeting.

Marmet Town Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21 at Town Hall, 9403 MacCorkle Ave.

Michael Ramsburg is a Kanawha County communities reporter. He can be reached at ramsburgreports@gmail.com or by calling 304-370-3067.