City Council thanks Novelis for community philanthropy, tours Fairmont facility
Aug. 10—FAIRMONT — If there's an event with sponsors in Marion County, Novelis is likely on the donor list.
Novelis, an aluminum manufacturer with a foundry on East Side, donated $75,000 to the Norwood Park project, which aims to bring an inclusive park to Fairmont. The current Norwood Park sits adjacent to Novelis property and the company donated a portion of its land so the city can make the park larger than originally planned.
Tuesday morning, members of Fairmont City Council and the city's planning department gathered at Novelis to thank the company for its contribution to many city projects, but especially for its donation to the Norwood project.
"Novelis has probably been the most generous benefactor to the citizens of Fairmont that I can remember," Fairmont Mayor Tom Mainella said at the plaque presentation. "[Their] monetary contribution and property for [Norwood Park] is really over the top."
The Norwood Park makeover concept was first unveiled last summer and the project plans to make Fairmont a destination for accessible activities. City representatives were unable to give a solid update on the project at this time but alluded to more information coming in the months ahead.
In addition to the Norwood project, Novelis has sponsored many events held by the city and county, as well as helping nonprofits such as the Disability Action Center.
Councilmember Josh Rice is an employee of Novelis and spoke Tuesday about the pride he feels in his employer's generosity to the city.
"Novelis has been involved with the DAC, United Way, Boy Scouts of America, the parks... they've just gone above and beyond to help our community," Rice said.
Accepting the award on behalf of Novelis was Ashley Lambiotte, the human resources manager for the Fairmont location. Lambiotte has been a driving force behind many of the collaborations the company has supported, according to Rice and she spoke about Novelis' commitment to improving the communities where it has facilities.
"We are a community partner. In order to be a sustainable company, we know that the communities we operate in also have to be sustainable," Lambiotte said. "So we really try to make sure that we can create a sustainable environment, whether it's the recycling projects to help with the environment or the Norwood Park project to provide an all-inclusive park."
After the plaque presentation, guests were given a a tour around the Novelis facility.
City Council Meeting
Tuesday evening, the council reconvened for its regularly scheduled meeting. An item of note on the agenda was a non-exclusive agreement to allow the company WV Fiber to run fiberoptic internet cable into the city.
Currently, the average download speeds around the city clock in at about 30 megabits per second depending on the provider. Fiber internet would boost that to 1 gigabit per second, which is 1000Mbs. The speeds are nearly incomparable.
This will add a new player into the ecosystem of internet providers in the city limits, which is currently dominated by Comcast and Spectrum for residential customers. Now that council passed the agreement with WV Fiber, the company estimates the infrastructure will take around 6 months to build.
"This will significantly change the broadband service available in our community," City Planner Shae Strait said. "Speeds at this level are usually reserved for major commercial corridors. This is the type of change in our internet service that will change how perspective businesses look at the City of Fairmont."
Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522 or by email
