Monongalia County Commission approves routine agenda items, grant agreements and project requisitions

The Monongalia County Commission approved a series of routine agenda items and formal actions at its Jan. 15 meeting, including payroll and voucher payments, personnel appointments, grant subaward and reimbursement requests, project requisitions, and the initiation of complaints for three abandoned properties.

The commission voted unanimously to approve the consent agenda, which the county administrator presented and listed as including exonerations, vouchers and payroll. Commissioners then set the date for the next administrative closure of estates for March 26, 2025, and approved personnel actions across multiple departments, including hires in the sheriff’s office, court security, school resource officer positions and seasonal parks staff.

The commission approved a subaward agreement for the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program awarding $19,000 to the sheriff’s department for overtime. It also approved requests for reimbursement totaling multiple grant lines: Community Development Block Grant $3,852.80; Governor’s Highway Safety Program (Safe Communities) $1,345.40; Impaired Driving $2,448.84; SAKE grant purpose area 1 $26,018.78; and SAKE grant purpose area 3 $14,315.70.

Two project requisitions were approved: Requisition No. 35 for the Series 2021B Harmony Grove Phase 1 project fund in the amount of $42,500, payable to Adrian Enterprises and Thrasher Group; and Requisition No. 98 for the University Town Center Economic Opportunity Development District subaccount for $1,045,741, described in the meeting as the monthly sales tax district deposit.

The commission also approved the Monongalia County Abandoned and Dilapidated Property Enforcement Agency’s request to move three parcels to the complaint stage under county ordinance 2004-O-1. The parcels are listed by district and map/parcel identifiers in the minutes: (District 5, Map 17, Parcel 38.116 Pond Road), (District 3, Map 17A, Parcel 1051 Red Bud Lane) and (District 3, Map 16B, Parcel 2038 Dews Avenue).

Other formal actions approved by unanimous voice vote included acceptance of a resignation from Denny Beluga from the Monongalia County Building Commission and a county letter of support for the town of Star City’s application to the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants program.

Votes at a glance • Consent agenda: approved (voice vote). • Set administrative estate-closure date: approved (March 26, 2025). • Personnel approvals (multiple hires across sheriff’s office, court security, school resource officers, parks, assessor’s office): approved (voice vote). • Appalachian HIDTA subaward (sheriff overtime) $19,000: approved. • Grant reimbursements: Community Development Block Grant $3,852.80; Governor’s Highway Safety Program $1,345.40; Impaired Driving $2,448.84; SAKE purpose area 1 $26,018.78; SAKE purpose area 3 $14,315.70 — all approved. • Requisition No. 35 (Harmony Grove Phase 1) $42,500 to Adrian Enterprises and Thrasher Group: approved. • Requisition No. 98 (UTC Economic Opportunity subaccount) $1,045,741: approved. • Abandoned/dilapidated property complaints (three parcels) under County Ordinance 2004-O-1: approved. • Acceptance of resignation from Denny Beluga (Monongalia County Building Commission): approved. • Letter of support for Star City RAISE grant application: approved.

The commission recorded routine voice votes for these items; individual roll-call tallies were not given in the transcript. Meeting minutes note that all three commissioners were present and that approval was by general voice vote.