By Adam Pack
The Greenbrier County Commission met Wednesday, June 8, and discussed the initial steps of a remodel of the West Virginia Building on the State Fairgrounds.
A request had been made to the commission prior to meeting by the State Fairgrounds to have the permit fee waived. This was requested due to the use of the West Virginia building as a public commodity on several occasions and on a continual basis. At 20,000 square feet, the building is the largest on the fairgrounds, and has been used as a staging ground for the equipment and staff for emergency electrical workers during natural disasters, most notably during the Derecho storm of 2012. More recently, the building was used as a vaccination clinic for Greenbrier County, as Commissioner Tincher explained.
“We had 16,000 individuals come out and receive their COVID shot during the pandemic, and so we do recognize this is a facility that is utilized for more than just the West Virginia State Fair.”
Furthermore, on an ongoing basis, the West Virginia Building is the emergency rendezvous point for students fleeing both Greenbrier East High School and the middle school in the case of an evacuation. All these services are offered free of charge.
After signing the request and approving the waiving of the permit fee, members of the commission explained that the remodel will be very extensive, including “plumbing in new bathrooms, new rooms, HVAC, fire suppression, and a kitchen.” according to Commissioner Lowell Rose. The remodel is estimated to cost close to $1,000,000. The motion to waive the permit fee was unanimously approved. The Commission made it clear that though the permit fee has been waived, all work must still be up to code and inspected.
In other news, the county considered signing a resubmission application for the CDBG-Mitigation grant to map critical infrastructure within the county. The infrastructure would include the water and sewer lines in the county, and the commission approved the re-submission unanimously, allowing work to go forward.
The commission also dedicated June 15 as Greenbrier County Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The Greenbrier County Commission meets again on June 21 at 10 a.m. The public is encouraged to attend.