The MCC said at their regular meeting Wednesday that there had been some controversy surrounding how the repairs would be funded. The bridge is on private property and the commission cannot legally pay for repairs to privately owned roads and bridges.
However, the property on which the bridge is situated is currently leased to the commission for the Beech Creek Community Park, and is not considered private property. One hundred percent of the money to repair the bridge, approximately $38,000, came from FEMA funds.
I want the people to know we have done nothing wrong in repairing that bridge, Commissioner David Baisden said. I am tickled to death to see that work finished. Instead of criticizing, people should have been there helping us with those repairs.
Commissioner Greg Hootie Smith agreed.
We [MCC] leased that property for the long term, Smith said. Being able to pay for those repairs was truly a blessing. If they want to carry us away for that, then carry us away.
If what we did was wrong, I don’t want to be right, Baisden added.
In other business conducted at the meeting, Mingo County Circuit Clerk Grant Preece discussed some new computer equipment his office needs to keep up with the demands of a busy court system. The new system would enable his office to scan documents electronically instead of simply keeping paper copies of court records. Currently, all paperwork filed by attorneys and other court officials in that office are kept as hard, or paper, copies.
We have been really lucky that there has not been a fire, Commissioner Smith, an attorney himself, said. All federal court records are filed electronically now, and we need our people to be trained and ready for when that comes to the state and local level. This is a necessary purchase.
The MCC agreed to pay $13,000 toward the cost of the system. The rest of the expense would be covered by cost cutting measures carried out by the clerk’s office.
Security for Mingo County Circuit Court was also addressed when Grant Coordinator Leigh Ann Ray reported on bids received to replace the security system in the courthouse. The low bid was from Mountain State Building Automation, who agreed to carry out the upgrades for $39,290. Ray said she hoped to obtain some additional funds to go toward the security system from the state, and that the MCC would possibly have to pay no more that $2,000 for their part of that expense.
Office of Emergency Services Director Jarrod Flethcer addressed the MCC about the difficulty he is having assembling a committee to research the need for additional ambulance service to the county.
Eleven people are needed for the Emergency Services Committee, Fletcher said, but so far only five persons, including himself, had agreed to take part. He told the MCC he would keep recruiting and keep the Commission up to date on his progress.
The commission agreed to contribute funds towards repairs and maintenance of a fire truck for the Delbarton Volunteer Fire Department as well as give $1,000 for Cleeta Mullins, Director of the Coalfields Convention and Visitors Bureau, to attend a conference about attracting business and tourism into Mingo County.
There were also updates on the Twin Branch Motorsports Complex and the Dingess water projects. Both are moving ahead on schedule, according to the reports.
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