Commissioners Donate to Proposed Durban Visitors Center/Museum Project

Frontier Communications had updated the Pocahontas County Commissioners about their broadband plans for the county, which we described in Part 1 of this December 3^rd County commission meeting story.

Additionally at that meeting, the commissioners received a request from JoAnn Gilardi of the Northern Pocahontas Historical Society Association (NPHSA) for a $500,000 donation to enable them to purchase and renovate a building for the future Durban Visitors Center and Museum.

Earlier the commissioners had agreed to Commission President Walt’s Helmick’s suggestion that they contribute $200,000 from their ARC COVID funds to this project.

Bryson Vannostrand of Vannostrand Architects in Buchanan, WV, told the commissioners that the building the NPHSA is considering buying to house the visitors center is in good shape, but with the purchase, renovations and start-up costs for the project they will need over $500,000. He said the NPHSA does not have any means to generate the additional $300,000, so he asked the commissioners to up their contribution to $500,000. He said that once purchased, they can turn the second story of that building into two rental apartments which could generate $750.00 in monthly income, which would cover future operational expenses and utilities. Commissioner John Rebinski said and was supported by the other two commissioners on this, that the $200,000 donation they had agreed on is their donation limit for the project, and that the NPHSA should look for and apply for grants to obtain the rest of the money. Later in the meeting, Marlinton Mayor Sam Felton briefed the commissioners about a Mon Forest Towns Partnership related project which could possibly also be a source of grant funds for this project.

The commissioners also voted to spend the money from their American Rescue Plan (ARP) and Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF), which they received a couple of years ago from the Federal government as forms of COVID Relief.

They have received $1,106,000 from ARC, and $2,236,944 from LATCF.

From the ARC funds, they voted to spend:

• $500,000 on the new waste water treatment plant on Beards Heights, to serve PMH, State Police, Marlinton Middle School and a few residences.
• $100,000 for the purchase of the property next to the courthouse – including money to demolish the existing house there.
• $202,000 on Broadband for local match funds for broadband grants.
• $200,000 for the Durbin Visitors Center/Museum
• And $96,000ntowards the purchase of the county landfill.

From LACTF funds, they voted to spend 2 million dollars for the 911 Center building project, and the remaining to be used for establishing a county ambulance service for the southern half of the county.

Additionally, they:

• Received the annual update on the county Libraries and Visitor’s Centers from Joe Miller who said that in the average rural libraries in WV, one in five residents visit the libraries yearly, while in Pocahontas County, the average is 5 yearly visits per resident. He said they are trying to become less dependent on the Hotel/Motel Tax they receive from the county.
• Agreed to Donate $60,000 to the Mon Forest Town Partnership for local matches for grants in Marlinton and Durbin. Marlinton Mayor Felton said these can result in $300,00 or more in grants received by these towns.
• Jamie Baker of Region 4 held a public meeting regarding the Community Development Block Grant application to demolish buildings at the old Howes Tannery site.
• They renewed the designation of the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation as being the county’s economic development agency, and paid them their annual assessment fee of $7.860.80 which is based on $1.25 for every county resident.
• They awarded outgoing Sheriff Jeff Barlow his service weapon
• And they completed a budget revision and resolution for the Animal Shelter, removing it from the sheriff’s budget to the Commission’s budget.