By Chelsea Blair
Tuesday’s regular County Commission meeting began with the approval of $15,787.27 to be transferred from savings to checking for Arts and Recreational funding. $567.35 will go to Alderson and White Sulphur Springs libraries for 2023-2024 programming, $1,219.92 goes to High Rocks for 2023-2024 pickleball equipment, coding robots, and gardening containers; and Meadow River Trail will receive $14,000 for mowing services of the trail.
The first item of new business was the opening of bids for FEMA Hazard and Mitigation Grant Program, Residential Elevation Grant. The grant is for a residential property located at 169 John Perry Lane, Fort Springs. The home was damaged in the flood of 2016 and the grant was submitted in 2018. Commissioner President Tammy Shifflett-Tincher stated that after moving through the process with FEMA and the state, they are now at the point to open bids for the construction. Commissioner Lowell Rose opened the only bid received, placed by Melton Construction LLC from Saint Albans in the amount of $245,000. The motion to send the bid for documentation and review was approved unanimously.
The next and final item on the agenda was consideration to approve a grant agreement for 2024-2025 Department of Justice and Community Service Community Corrections Grant in the amount of $270,000. The total award is to be distributed in four quarterly payments of $67,500 each to assist in funding for the Community Corrections Program. The motion was approved unanimously.