County grant process now online, will unveil upgrades to transparency site

MORGANTOWN —  A pair of improvements to Monongalia County’s online presence were among the issues discussed Wednesday.
In particular, County Commissioner Sean Sikora explained, those looking to apply for grant funding through the county can now do so online at co.monongalia.wv.us/.
Grant applications for the 2019-’20  fiscal year can be found by mousing over “Government” and then “Commission.”
“The applications are now there and you can do it totally online or you can download the forms,” Sikora said.
Additionally, the commission plans to unveil upgrades to its financial transparency website — monongaliacountywv. opengov.com — on Friday.
Last August, the county became the first in the state to implement a localized version of the state auditor’s wvcheckbook.gov site aimed at putting details of government spending online in a real-time, searchable format.
About a month later, the commission announced it was purchasing additional enhancements for the site through OpenGov, the contractor responsible for building both the state and local sites.
The county paid a one-time expenditure of $6,000 to OpenGov to rework the site, plus $4,000 annually. The agreement is for five years.
Sikora said he and others, including Morgantown City Councilor Ryan Wallace,  recently met with McCuskey to show off the enhanced features of the county site.
Wallace has expressed interest in setting up a similar site for the city.
In other county news, the commissioners heard from St. Francis Central Catholic student Morgan Tenney, who invited them to view a student art show.
Tenney explained that she is a member of PSALM, or Proud Students Against Land Mines and Cluster Bombs.
The group will have an exhibit titled “The Road Traveled” at the Monongalia Arts Center from Feb. 8-24. The opening reception will be from 5:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 8.
“PSALM has been doing an art show for six years. We do this art show to send out awareness for land mines and cluster bombs, which are very dangerous in many countries,” Tenney said.
Lastly, the commission learned that the West Virginia Division of Forestry will conduct a public tour of Cooper’s Rock State Forest on March 2 to provide information about a planned disc golf course at the park.
The tour will begin near the day-use parking area at 10 a.m. Contact the commission office at 304-291-7257 for additional information.