Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Part-time Marlinton police officer Brian Grimm gave a report on his patrols to the Marlinton Town Council Monday night at its meeting.
Grimm, who attended the meeting through Zoom, said he has received a lot of community support and gratitude from residents for having law enforcement in town.
He reported that most of his work has been traffic stops for speeding and defective equipment, such as broken headlamps or taillights. He also talks to people who are out in town late at night.
Grimm said he is looking forward to working with the new chief, Michael Morris, who was hired in October, but hasn’t started his job, yet. Council is waiting for his credentials to be transferred from Tennessee to West Virginia.
Council also heard from business owner Crystal Dean, who had a concern about the trash fee at the laundromat she recently purchased. Dean said that she is still operating the business as a laundromat, but it doesn’t produce as much trash as it did in the past.
She requested the town review her case and consider changing her trash fee to a lower business classification.
Since the request was not on the agenda, council could not vote at the meeting. It set a special meeting for Monday, December 15, to give councilmembers time to review the request before the vote.
In other business, council approved:
• the proposed contract for legal services pertaining to the Town of Marlinton CDBG-MIT Storm Water Project.
• the proposed contract for right-of-way services pertaining to the Town of Marlinton CDBG-MIT Storm Water Project.
• a bid from Woodford Oil for propane gas. The bid was for the first six months of 2026.
• giving town employees Friday, December 26, off as part of the Christmas holiday.
Marlinton Town Council meets the first Monday of each month, excluding holidays, at 7 p.m. in the municipal building auditorium. The public is welcome to attend in person or online through a Zoom link.

