Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
At Monday night’s Marlinton Town Council meeting, Cassie Walton, with Region 4 Planning and Development, gave an update on the many grant applications the Region 4 Council is applying for on behalf of the town for improvements to the wastewater treatment system.
The particular grant on the agenda was for $3 million – a Community Development Block Grant – which, if awarded, will be matched by the West Virginia Development office.
It was required of council to approve the application as well as three resolutions that accompany the grant. The resolutions are to allow authorization for Mayor Sam Felton to sign all necessary paperwork, a fair housing agreement and a citizen participation clause which requires the town to have public meetings to keep the community informed on the system’s progress.
Council approved the application and the three resolutions to move forward with the process.
Walton also spoke about more grants that will help lessen the size loan the town will need to finish the project.
“What we’re talking about is an approximately $13 million project, so what we want to do is help the town apply to every grant resource possible to try to help grant supplement that $13 million as much as possible.”
Region 4 has already submitted a $2 million request to the Army Corps and Walton said the town is eligible for $1 million from the Infrastructure Council and $2.5 million in a forgivable loan from the WVDEP Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
Council thanked Walton for the update and Region 4’s continued efforts for the town.
Felton said that the original cost of the project was $28 million and that amount has already been lowered to $13 million by multiple funding sources.
In other action, council:
• received a demonstration of the Chronicle Cemetery Software which maps out Mountain View Cemetery, including all 6,000 plots on the property. Once the input of data is complete, a website will go live where the cemetery can be viewed. It will allow people to find graves of loved ones, as well as see where there are plots available for purchase.
• agreed to provide a letter of support for the Mon Forest Towns ARC Power Grant.
• discussed changes to the employee handbook and chose to table approval of the changes to the next meeting.
Marlinton Town Council meets the first Monday of each month, excluding holidays, at 7 p.m. at the municipal building auditorium. The public is welcome to attend in person or online through a Zoom link.
