Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Monday night’s Marlinton Town Council meeting was short and sweet, with good news that a grant from Partner Community Capital has been awarded to the town.
Sarah Cottingham, of Downstream Strategies, spoke to council about the $30,000 grant, which will be used to design a streetscape plan for the town.
“[Partner Community Capital] has a big program right now focused on tourism and recreation in West Virginia,” she said. “That program has pots of money available for technical assistance for things that will help promote tourism across the state. We were able to submit a proposal to that group requesting assistance to complete a streetscape plan for the town of Marlinton.”
The plan will be created by Destination by Design, of North Carolina, which also designed the trailhead plan for Marlinton. The streetscape plan will be separate from the trailhead, which is located next to the Greenbrier River Trail at the intersection of Third Avenue and Ninth Street.
Cottingham explained that once the paperwork is filed and the funding is received, plans are to have the design completed by the spring, which leads into the next grant she discussed with council.
The town of Marlinton also applied for a Department of Highways Transportation Alternatives grant for sidewalks. Cottingham said the if the DOH approves Marlinton’s application, the plan will be ready to put into action.
“That way we can give DOH the greater streetscape plan that would build beyond just sidewalks and kind of tie in with the trailhead design work for all the aspects that Marlinton is hoping to get to boost the aesthetics and the design and function of the street,” she said.
Council thanked Cottingham for her report on the progress of both grants.
In other business, council approved:
• a $300 donation to the Pocahontas County Free Libraries.
• a resolution to confirm the town of Marlinton received a check for $604.55 from the opioid settlement.
• to advertise requests for bids for 87 octane gasoline, diesel fuel, propane gas and heating oil.
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.
