Marion County Commissioners wrap up business before holiday

Nov. 24—FAIRMONT — The Marion County Commission wrapped up some pre-holiday business the day before Thanksgiving, but not before requesting an update on the Soup Opera. Disaster struck the aid agency on Monday, after stormwater runoff led to a burst pipe in the building, destroying food stores in two pantries.

Commissioners floated a few ideas during the meeting. Bobby DuVaul, one of the commissioners, suggested using the two football games on Friday as a collection pad for donations. VanGilder indicated the commission would reach out to Soup Opera Director Misty Tennant, to see what sort of assistance the commission could provide.

"I would certainly hope that the County Commission can do something because this is a devastating situation," Cathy Reed said in reply to Commission President Ernie VanGuilder's request. "When you stop and think that they serve lunch every single day, even during the pandemic they still did it and gave bag lunches out through the door, this is tragic. To have all their food destroyed."

For her part, Tennant also provided an update after the meeting took place. An insurance adjuster was set to visit the premises around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Between the outpouring of support that's come through on the phones and going back and forth between churches, Tennant had a busy morning. She was also working with Mountaineer Food Bank to figure out what the next steps would be to help replace some of the lost food. For now, food donations are being kept on the second floor, which gravity kept safe from any water damage.

The commission also granted two out of three requests for funding. The Op Shop and Marion County Toy Shop both requested the same $5,000 dollar amount separately. The Op Shop is a non-profit community rehabilitation center that creates employment opportunities for adults with disabilities. The money will go toward a new van which the shop needs. The shop also partnered with State Sens. Mike Oliverio and Mike Caputo to raise money for the van.

The Marion County Toy Shop is an effort from a committee to ensure every child gets a present on Christmas. The effort began in 2009 as a collaboration between the Marion County Council of Churches, the Marion County Commission and local news outlets. Commissioner Mike DuVaul learned about the Toy Shop last year. Money raised for the Toy Shop did not increase in accordance with inflation even as toy prices themselves did, leading to the request from the commission.

"Last year, I got to go down there, man that touched a lot of people," DuVaul said. "We were able to help a lot of people out, there were a lot of emotions. Parents were saying, 'this is all we have, this is all we're going to be able to do.'"

A third request from the Ministers Run Water Association for $15,330 was tabled. County Administrator Kris Cinalli told commissioners that an accounting error led to the association requesting less than they needed for their infrastructure project. The commission previously approved roughly $31,000 for their work. The new amount makes up the remaining difference.

Commissioner Linda Longstreth moved to table the amount pending more information from the association.

For procedural matters, the commission passed a resolution creating the County Fire Protection Fund. It will give fire departments in the county roughly $62,000 per year. The money comes from monies the state legislature passed a couple sessions ago for fire protection. Previously, the commission gave $20,000 per year for the same purpose prior to the fund.

The commission also added a request from the Marion County Fire Association to add the 2024-2028 Fire Levy to the May 14, 2024 Primary Election Ballot. The levy seeks to generate about $815,000 for all 13 fire departments in the county.

Another procedural matter was making an on- the-record request for reimbursement from the West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services. VanGilder explained that this motion allows the commission to begin doling out about $11,000 in reimbursement money it receives from a government grant to related entities.

The Mannington Gators were also honored by the commission for their record. The youth football team composed of fourth- through sixth-graders went 10 and 1 and won the championship game against Cheat Lake.

Finally, the Poor Farm returned to the commission's agenda. Shaun Petracca, a real estate broker, presented an offer on behalf of Blissfield Estates to buy 37.45 acres of the property. Blissfield has occupied an adjoining space next to the Poor Farm for over 20 years and hopes to use the potential expansion for an RV recreation park. The company owns and operates a mobile home park, and recently added 40 cabins to its holdings. The business also owns a storage component.

"It's something that's growing," Petracca said. "Look at any of the articles, especially in the mountainous regions and RV sales are up. It just seems to be a trend. People are starting to purchase real estate and set it out for folks to come and park their RV's for a month or whatever and have recreation and those types of things."

Petracca's pitch to the commissioners included roughly an additional $6,000 in taxes per year, with the potential to reach $21,000 between years 3-5, depending on how that first year goes if Blissfield gets the land. RV Recreation is another venture Blissfield wants to add to its business portfolio.

It appears the Poor Farm is a hot commodity these days. During the presentation, VanGilder said the commission was waiting to decide on what to do with the property pending a presentation from another interested buyer in January. The commission also recently authorized a land swap to a property developer in a deal that VanGilder hopes will increase the land value of the Poor Farm. Blissfield previously made an offer for the property in 2021, however VanGilder said that it hasn't been until recently that the commission has been ready to sell. Previously, the commission was focused on making it presentable before any action went forward on a sale.

Final sale of the land could be done through either the commission's development authority or through the commission, both of which come with different mechanisms to decide who gets the land. If it goes through the development authority, it will be a game of offers and counteroffers. If it goes through commission, it will come down to public auction.

The next County Commission meeting is Dec. 6.

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com