In a special session meeting on Monday, the Greenbrier County Commission agreed to hold a public auction for the purchase and removal of pulpwood on the sportsplex property. On the agenda was a consideration to sign an agreement with a forester to clear an area of forest to begin developing team sports playing fields.

A contract with Westrock, a pulpwood buyer and forester, had been established with the commission, but was not yet signed. After reviewing the contract, Greenbrier County Prosecutor Patrick Via said, in an official letter to the commission, that although the contract itself was in good order, the state code requires that any real property sold by the county must be sold through an auction and, thus, cannot be sold to a specific individual or company.

The sale would also require the purchaser to be capable of chipping the tops of the trees. Rather than being burned or thrown away, the chipped wood could be put to better use in generating electricity.

The commission will be advertising the sale over the next two weeks with the hope that a contract is signed in time for the next commission meeting on Nov. 14. Commission President Woody Hanna stated he expected that Westrock will still likely be awarded the contract, as it is the only company in the area capable of chipping treetops.

The “sportsplex” is a county-planned project to create a park and recreation area located above the Greenbrier River Trail off of Brush Road.