Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The beautification of downtown Marlinton has been a key focus of Marlinton Town Council for years. Between the banners and hanging flower baskets on the lamp posts to the Discovery Junction, the town has seen many additions that make it more inviting and welcoming for residents and visitors.
At Monday evening’s meeting, council made moves toward more upgrades to the town, including more benches in town and at Discovery Junction and a trailhead for the Greenbrier River Trail.
Robin Mutscheller approached council with a project idea for more benches similar to the ones at Discovery Junction. She said she noticed the need for more benches at the venue, as well as the possibility for benches in other locations throughout town.
The six benches at Discovery Junction were donated by the Marlinton Rotary Club and Town of Marlinton. Mutscheller suggested the town have a project where individuals, civic organizations and businesses can purchase benches – simply as a donation or in memory of a loved one.
Mutscheller added that if the town approved to move forward with the project, she would purchase the first bench. She said she spoke with members of the Marlinton Rotary Club and was told the benches cost around $421.
Council expressed its appreciation to Mutscheller for the idea and approved to move forward with the plan.
Next, Tim Johnson, of Destination by Design – who joined the meeting via Zoom – gave a presentation on the plans for a trailhead at the Greenbrier River Trail. The trailhead will be located in the former bus parking lot on Ninth Street.
The lot, which is also used by Frontier, will be transformed into a small, mountain bike park and will include a pump track, trail signage, parking, a food truck plaza and restrooms.
Johnson shared mockups of the trailhead, as well as a “shopping” list of items such as street lamps, benches and signs which will make the trailhead stand out.
The estimated cost of the project is $1,390,498 and will be broken down into three phases.
During the discussion, Mayor Sam Felton said he spoke to Frontier about the portion of the lot it uses and although the business did not vacate the lot, it did fix the fence around its equipment and added privacy slats which improved the look of the space.
Council thanked Johnson for the presentation and his work on the design of the trailhead. A more in-depth article about the project will be in next week’s edition of The Pocahontas Times.
In other action, council approved:
• the first reading of the Proposed Chicken Ordinance, submitted by David Bethany.
• a $250 donation out of the police budget to the Pocahontas County Saddle Club. Town officer Kendall Ober made the request.
• the second reading of the Ordinance for Elected Official Salaries.
• to have Olivia Dean get estimates on mapping software for the cemetery records.
• to increase the bid amount in the Ordinance for Purchasing without Competitive Bidding from $10,000 to $25,000.
• to advertise for bids for new fencing at the town garage.
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.