By Adam Pack
The Greenbrier County Commission met on Tuesday, Jan. 11, to cover some beginning of the year housekeeping measures and to discuss the Meadow River Rail Trail, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, TIF projects in White Sulphur Springs, and more.
There will be no changes to the committees which the respective commissioners occupy for 2022, and the commission will continue to meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Regular meetings will still be at 10 a.m. and the public is encouraged to attend. The new County Commission President was selected, with current president Tammy Tincher nominating Lowell Rose to preside. Rose was approved on a unanimous vote and will serve as County Commission president for 2022.
Matt Ford was present to discuss the process of evaluating and interviewing for an engineering firm for Phase III of the Meadow River Rail Trail. After the interview process, though “two firms were very close,” Ford said that the committee had suggested that the County Commission select E.L. Robinson Engineering, which the commission promptly did on a unanimous vote.
Current head of Greenbrier County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Mike Honaker submitted a temporary leave of absence to the commission as well, due to his appointment as delegate for the 42nd district. Governor Justice appointed Honaker to serve in the House of Delegates after Barry Bruce resigned for health reasons. The Commission unanimously accepted Honaker’s request for a temporary leave of absence. This leave was for the upcoming legislative session which Honaker will be taking part of. The leave request was submitted via letter, as Honaker has already started his duties in Charleston, appearing for a special session this week. The Commission wished Honaker all the best in his new endeavor and feels that he will do an incredible job representing us in Charleston.
After the approval of the hiring of Britt Ludwig to serve as further legal aid and counsel to the county, the Commission took up a resolution authorizing the financing of the Rt. 92 Water Tank Project for the city of White Sulphur Springs. The funding, which will be drawn from Greenbrier TIF District #1, is to purchase land along Rt. 92 in order to install a water tank. The tank will increase water pressure further up Rt. 92, which will ensure fire departments can access water with enough pressure to combat fires.
“Fortunately,” Commissioner Rose said, “there hasn’t been a house fire up there, but if there were to be one there would have been inadequate pressure for fire suppression.”
The backpressure will be channeled back to the new line recently put in, which currently would have to be shut off in order to get water pressure further up Rt. 92. The authorization passed unanimously.
The County Commission meets again on the fourth Tuesday of the month, Jan. 25. The public is encouraged to attend.