KINGWOOD — The City of Kingwood is working to repair a sewer line break that left the courthouse annex without sewer service Tuesday. The break is located in the center of W.Va. 7 in front of the building. The commission building wasn’t affected by the break. This allowed employees to use the commission restroom facilities.
In other business, County Administrator Nathan Raybeck said repairs at the Preston County Sheriff’s Department are on schedule. He said the work on heating and air conditioning for the probation office is scheduled to begin today.
Raybeck requested commissioners approve a budget revision that accounts for the $144,000 check received from the insurance company, directing the funds to the line item for payment for services regarding the flooding at the sheriff’s department. He said a bill will be presented at the Tuesday meeting will be for a little over $27,000.
Raybeck told commissioners the West Virginia Courthouse Facilities Improvement grant must be postmarked by Sept. 29. The county will handle the grant in two phases. Raybeck said the commission will do the approval and the mailing of a letter to the West Virginia Division of Arts, Culture, and History — referred to as the SHPO letter — along with a copy of the architectural drawings and estimated budget for the project. He said the estimated budget from the Mills Group put the total cost of the project at $480,700.
Commissioners voted to allow Commission President Samantha Stone to sign the SHPO letter so it could be mailed out immediately.
Raybeck said the second phase of the grant application is the approval of the entire grant package, which is still being assembled in terms of required photographs, the signature page and additional letters of support. The second phase is scheduled to be completed during Tuesday’s commission meeting.
Commissioners voted to approve giving Raybeck permission to develop a request for qualifications (RFQ) that will be presented at Tuesday’s meeting. The request will allow the county to select an architectural/engineering team that will be on call and quickly responsive to the consulting needs of the
commission.
Commissioners received a letter from the governor’s office about the counties’ portion of the All County Fire Protection Fund. According to the letter, Preston County will receive $57,750.42 of the $3 million. Raybeck said once the funds are received all steps will be taken to get the funds distributed to the local fire departments as quickly as possible.
According to the letter, a second allocation of funds will be distributed in the near future to
counties that have in place a countywide excess levy, or a countywide fee, dedicated to fire or emergency services.
Commissioners also signed a proclamation designating Sept. 25 as the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims. Preston County Victim Advocate Stacy Greaser, will hosti a stone ceremony at the Bruceton Mills Dam Pavilion in recognition of the day at 6 p.m. Monday.
Greaser said if you or someone you know is a relative or friend of a murder victim, contact her at 304-329-1886 or at sgreaser@pdrestoncountywv.gov so your loved one can be remembered at this event. Families and friends are encouraged to attend and throw a stone in the Big Sandy Creek in honor of their loved ones.
Commissioners also signed a proclamation brought to them by Linda Huggins, representing the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Proclamation designates the week of Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week..
The next meeting of the Preston County Commission will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
