By Chelsea Blair
The Greenbrier County Commission meeting held on Sept. 24 included a presentation by the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (now known at Experience Greenbrier Valley), a letter of support for the Rainelle Volunteer Fire Department, discussion of support for God’s Way Home and Seed Sowers, and more.
The County Commissioners welcomed Kara Dense, President and CEO of the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau, to discuss the CVB’s annual report. The CVB has been the designated marketing organization for Greenbrier County since 2001, with a mission to positively impact the area’s economy by marketing the region as a premier tourism designation.
The organization is made up of 20 board members and 11 staff members with six being full-time employees and five being part-time. They have been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 2006 and have recently decided to begin operating under a new name, Experience Greenbrier Valley.
Each year, it is required that a presentation be made to the County Commission as well as year-end financials be sent to the state auditor’s office, WV Joint Committee on Government and Finance, and the WVACBB Office. Dense stated that in 2023, WV saw a record breaking 75 million visitors bring Greenbrier County’s direct spending number to $399.4 million and $41.73 million in local and state taxes generated, adding that if it were not for visitors, taxpayers in Greenbrier County would have to pay an addition $2,834 per household in taxes to keep services the same as they currently are. She also shared that Lewisburg was named the Best Small Town Food Scene in USA Today’s Readers Choice for 2024 for the second year and the organization recently won a reward at the Governors Conference for Best Print Media on their Visitors Guide. The commissioners expressed their gratitude to Dense and the Visitors Bureau for all their hard work and dedication to the county.
The next item on the agenda was the consideration of approval of a letter of support for Rainelle Volunteer Fire Department for a fire truck Lease Purchase Agreement. Matt Osbourne, Fire Chief at the Rainelle VFD, was present to speak on the matter, stating that their newest engine to current date is a 2007 model, and the fleet is starting to show age. They are looking to replace the first engine out for structure fires, a 1987 model. Commissioner President Tammy Shifflett-Tincher added that the Rainelle VFD is their own entity but the finance company, being a municipal leasing company, requires a letter of support from a government entity within the coverage area of the fire department. The letter of support was approved unanimously.
Next, a letter of support was also requested by God’s Way Home and Seed Sowers, both recovery support groups of Greenbrier County, for a grant application through the WV First Foundation. Andrew Bales, director of God’s Way Home and Jay Phillips, director of Seed Sowers, spoke about their applications. Bales stated that their application for $210,000 would not only cover the expansion but also continuation of recovery housing as well as a new van to help those in recovery attend work obligations and appointment and cover some payroll expenses and administrative costs.
Phillips stated that Seed Sowers will be submitting two applications, one in the amount of $225,000 that would target the location that serves pregnant and parenting women and children up to the age of three. The application would also cover the expansion of the transitional recovery housing, some being used for continual support, some minor facility upgrades and repairs, and any remaining funding will be used for operational support for the peer recovery staff. The second application, in the amount of $325,000 will more recovery workforce and transportation focused as well as being used for renovations of a new facility. The commissioners approved both letters of support unanimously.
Before the meeting was adjourned, a change to the organizational chart for the 911 Communication Center in the Greenbrier County Homeland Security and Emergency Management agency was documented to eliminate two part time communicator positions and add a full-time communicator position and the commissioners approved the separation of employment for Iris Jean Burdette from the Greenbrier County Assessor’s Office, who was hired February 9, 2017, effective October 7, 2024 and Shelly Vaughan from the Greenbrier County Prosecutor’s Office, hired Jun. 18, 2024, effective Aug. 26, 2024.
Financials discussed at the meeting included an Arts and Recreation transfer of $15,950 for the New Skyline Production 2024-25 Bluegrass Festival on the River in Ronceverte, as well as the following budget revisions: Increasing the general account by $827 for Deputy Sheriff’s uniform fees; building maintenance and repairs by $2,460 for a WV Court Check received for damages to the building; the increase of home confinement fringe benefits by $4,277 which is a check from Gov Deals representing proceeds from the auction of surplus property; the increase of law enforcement capital outlay equipment by $9,975.26 which is also a check from Gov Deals; the increase of law enforcement retirement by $2,176 and an increase of law enforcement overtime of $12,224 per documentation from the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine overtime reimbursement; an increase of law enforcement FICA by $125; and the increase of law enforcement retirement by $535 and the increase of law enforcement overtime by $1,980 per documentation from Cleveland Browns Football Company for overtime reimbursement.
