The Tuesday evening Greenbrier County Commission meeting was short and to the point in its accustomed, professional fashion, with the usual approving and signing of grants for various county departments.
• First on the docket, County Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Via requested approval and signing of a Justice Assistance Act Grant for $23,000 that he has applied for annually in support of the Greenbrier County Drug Task Force, which, he said, does not require a match of funds from the county.
Via also asked the commission to approve his application for the Violence of Crime Act Grant (VOCA) for $54,685. The VOCA grant will allow the prosecuting attorney’s office to hire a qualified individual as a victim assistance coordinator to serve the needs of county victims that are not currently being met. The VOCA grant does include a match of $13,671, which, Via said, as a result of personnel changes and other pockets of funds within his budget, he could meet the matching requirement. He admitted it was doubtful that he’d have sufficient funds available next year, but as a worthwhile annual grant opportunity, he would see what could be done.
• 911 Director Al Whitaker presented a grant award letter for a Homeland Security Grant of $80,000 to assist the State Fair of West Virginia to purchase and install an emergency sound notification system. He said the priority for the system is to issue warnings to the fairgrounds populace of inclement weather or any other emergency. It will be audible to the entire grounds including the camping areas. Only certain persons will be able to access the system from their cell phones no matter where they are at the time, Whitaker said. The State Fair management can also use the system to announce anything from performances on the stage to broadcasts of a lost child on the grounds. The total price tag for the sound notification system is $130,000, leaving a $50,000 remainder to be paid by the State Fair of West Virginia.
• Anticipating a reduction in state funding for the Day Report Center, Executive Director Laura Legg requested a tax ID number to fulfill the credentialing requirements by the Division of Justice and the State Supreme Court in order to begin billing clients for the services the Day Report Center provides. Otherwise, she said, services will be cut. The commissioners agreed to provide assistance by locating an in-county billing agency.
• Sarah Elizabeth Polk, a new hiree for the assessor’s office, was approved.
• County Clerk Robin Loudermilk announced that Oct. 18 is the last day to register to vote in the coming election and that early voting will commence on Oct. 26, 2016.
• Former Lewisburg Mayor DeEtta Hunter offered her opinion on several items concerning the county courthouse for the commissioners during the public comment period of the meeting.
“Someone’s going to get killed,” she began. Visitors to the county courthouse are at risk of being mowed down, Hunter said, by speeding vehicles traveling on Court Street. The lack of a crosswalk at either corner of the block adds to the safety hazards for pedestrians when crossing the street.
Hunter stated she had attended a Lewisburg City Council meeting last week, where the topic of a crosswalk was tabled because the city engineer could not authorize a crosswalk on Court Street adjacent to the courthouse without a sidewalk on the far (west) side of the street to attach it to. During the September 20 council meeting, Mayor John Manchester had stated that without the consent of property owners to donate the front few feet of their properties for a sidewalk to be installed, the viability of the crosswalk was limited. Hunter asked that the item be placed on the next county commission agenda and that the commissioners confer with Manchester for further information.
Furthermore, Hunter said, “The courthouse is an embarrassment.” She also said the Sears kit house, owned by the county and adjacent to the courthouse, is in need of painting and the yard tidied. “It’s a disgrace.”
“Someone’s going to get sued,” she said, this time referring to the inaccessibility for persons with disabilities of the circuit clerk’s office, located on the second floor of the courthouse. There are elevators, but they serve the courtrooms and are restricted from general use.
Lastly, she requested that prisoners in orange jumpsuits sprawled in front of the courthouse awaiting a court appearance were offensive in their demeanor, especially to elderly women passing by on the sidewalk. She said they should remain installed in the jail until their court appearances.
