the rail trail. Photo courtesy of West Virginia Rails to Trails.
By Stephen Smoot
The first official meeting of the Harrison County Commission opened with the customary invocation shared by Commissioner Patsy Trecost. He prayed “Heavenly Father, we just thank You for this day, this opportunity to serve You. Help us follow Your example and to love one another, be kind to one another, and show graciousness towards all. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.”
After the invocation, attendees rose and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, then the meeting came to order.
After a discussion on the fate of the drive-in movie screen at the former Sunset Ellis property, as well as approving two Shinnston-related funding requests, Commissioners moved on to consider a special funding request related to golf.
The American Junior Golf Association, based in Braselton, Georgia, holds competitive events nationwide that raise funds to support both the promotion of golf for young people, but also worthy community organizations. On July 13, it will hold the Junior-Am WVU Medicine United Hospital Center Junior Championship
Funds raised will support the Greatest Needs Fund of the United Health Foundation, First Tee West Virginia, and the AJGA Foundation. The Greatest Needs Fund assists West Virginians to gain access to critical health care. First Tee West Virginia works in “seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum” to “create learning experiences that build inner strength.”
The AJGA representative stated that he expected between $50 and $60,000 could go toward the charities supported.. That is up from approximately $40,000 raised and donated from last year’s event.
Commissioners approved the request.
Later in the meeting, Commissioners returned to the subject of the West Virginia Girls’ Softball League’s use of Summit Park. Last month, Commissioners debated the terms of use the League agreed to when granted use of the park. Commissioner David Hinkle raised concerns that the League had not registered properly with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, had constructed batting cages without permission, and in other ways had deviated from the agreement.
The Commission tabled the issue to provide time for the League to rectify those concerns, then revisited it last week.
Commissioner Patsy Trecost made a motion for the League to have the opportunity to lease ballfields at the park for their use. That led to one of the questions that brought disagreement prior, whether one of the fields was a true softball field or not. It was decided that all three fields would be included in the motion for the lease.
Additionally the League had come into compliance with the legal requirements of the Secretary of State’s office.
Commissioner Hinkle objected to the motion, stating that his intent weeks ago lay in making the League responsible for the costs of park use, including utilities and garbage pickup. He questioned whether the motion referred to a lease or a memorandum of understanding.
A bit later in the discussion, a representative of the League stated that they used only one electric line and their own portable toilets instead of those of the park. She added that they could also contract to have garbage removed.
Commissioner Hinkle and Commission President Susan Thomas then briefly discussed the terms under which other leagues used public parks. The Commission President stated that in some situations, leagues did use the parks “for free.” He then engaged with the League representative who laid out what they had done and could do to fulfill an agreement.
Commission President Thomas directed at Commissioner Hinkle “I don’t know . . . I don’t know if you’re trying to push them out. He replied in the negative, saying “I’m not trying to push them out at all Susan. If they sign an agreement, they should honor the agreement.”
He next inquired into their insurance status, to which County Administrator Laura Pysz-Laulis stated she did not have from them.
Commissioner Trecost returned the discussion to the motion that he made, with Commissioner Hinkle answering by saying “So I think at this point, Patsy, from my original motion of where we’re at now, we are so far off from it. You can make a motion for whatever you want, and I’ll vote for it.”
The motion was then amended to include all three fields, take care of utilities, garbage, and grass maintenance, and work with the County Administrator and staff to delineate areas of responsibility precisely. The vote was two to one with Commissioner Hinkle dissenting.
Next came a special funding request from Suibukan of West Virginia. This karate school traces the lineage of the style taught there to Peichin Takahara, the 1700s era “father of Okinawan karate” who combined that island’s traditions with the Chinese martial art of ch’uan fa. That birthed a style that remains one of the oldest from the Okinawan tradition.
Brian and Jenica Greynolds represented the club for a special funding request. They stated that “all six of us were actually selected to be part of the team USA that will represent The United States in Romania this year. It is a four day competition.”
Cost for all six to go totaled approximately $11,000. They asked for $5,000 and the Commission approved $5,500.
Next up came Rail Trail related discussions, starting with details over work to be done towards a crossing near Lost Creek.
After those details were hammered out came a discussion with Kim Malejko, director of Harrison County Parks and Recreation. She engaged the Commission on the idea of creating an advisory group to research trail policies and procedures in other counties to see what could work to help related efforts in Harrison.
Commissioner Hinkle made the motion to do so, explaining that he wished “for them to get with Marion, Mon, Preston, all of them that already have some sort of support.”
County Administrator Pysz-Laulis explained that “they could get together and serve as a board to give input and feedback to the commission of maybe some thoughts.” That includes “people who use the trail a good bit” such as “Spellman who owns the bike shop in Shinnston.”
Sam Rich from Thrasher then provided a Rail Trail update to the Commission. He opened by providing Commissioners with maps illustrating future work on a segment that will run between Lost Creek to the Mount Clare Volunteer Fire Department. Between now and the start of work may have to be permitting with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, improving some lighting, and doing stabilization in some areas.
The section connecting Clarksburg to the North Bend Rail Trail will be put out to bid with the goal of “creating that bike user friendliness and the ability to get to the rail trail safely from Clarksburg city limits. Currently the section is officially abandoned, but in use by the public. Rich shared that the section would need stone and other work to improve it from “very poor condition.”
Commissioners then discussed with Rich certain details until they clarified their questions. They then voted unanimously to put the project described out to bid.
