During the Tuesday night Greenbrier County Commission meeting, Commission President Woody Hanna announced that the next county asset auction will be held on September 9, starting at 8 a.m. The auction will be located in the rear parking lot of the county courthouse, where numerous vehicles up for auction will be on display. Hanna said the list of items for sale will be posted on the county’s Facebook page and in the media. Items include several drug task force repossessions and other vehicles used by the Sheriff’s Office.
In other business
- The commission approved a transfer of $18,254 from the arts and recreation account for environmental cleanup and maintenance work on the Meadow River Trail’s final 6.4 mile extension leading to the city of Rainelle. With the recovery work done on the trail trestles after the 2016 flood, the Meadow River Trail will soon be open for business.
- The commission read a letter from Governor Jim Justice in support of utilizing grant funds from the West Virginia Justice Reinvestment Treatment Supervision (JRI) Program to cover salaries of peer recovery coaches in the amount of $130,000.
According to the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance, the JRI reduces the use of incarceration and takes a portion of the money saved and uses it to invest in evidence-based treatment and supervision programs. The Justice Reinvestment Act in West Virginia is organized around three policy goals: 1) strengthen community supervision; 2) improve accountability for offenders; and 3) reduce substance abuse.
- The Day Report Center was approved to receive $240,000 from the WV Community Corrections grant. Commission President Woody Hanna announced that the center opened on Wednesday, Aug. 23, in their new location in Ronceverte.
- Homeland Security and 911 Center Executive Director Al Whitaker requested that a second round of 21 properties be approved for hazard mitigation grant funding resulting from the floods of last summer. Of the 21 applicants, 14 are in White Sulphur Springs, two in Rupert, three in Rainelle and two in Charmco. An appraiser will assess the properties at pre-flood value as reparations for the affected property owners.
- Commissioner Lowell Rose offered an update on the Meadow River Valley water line extension project. He said that both Lewisburg and White Sulphur Springs have agreed to tie into the water line as part of the plan to unite all water systems of the county. Rose said with the linking of the lines from Quinwood to Charmco and then to Sam Black, and picking up a line to Asbury, there will be enough water to extend out to the rest of the county. Another line linking Rainelle to Charmco will be included as well, Rose said.
- The county is moving forward on breaking ground to develop the county’s sports center, said Commissioner Mike McClung. The county purchased 100 acres of a 140 acre property located near the county landfill for $300,000. The Boone family donated the remaining 40 acres, where the county commission, working from concept drawings by Terradon Engineering, will clear for ball fields, other sports activities and parking areas. The overall intent is to leave the forest in place, retaining as many trees as possible, McClung said. This is a multi-use park intended for all kinds of outdoor activities.
