Fairmont Council approves opioid‑settlement grants after executive session

The Fairmont City Council on March 24 approved four resolutions awarding opioid‑settlement grants to local responders and health providers after an executive session to review recommendations.

The awards included $95,270 to the City of Fairmont Fire Department for advanced life‑support equipment and training, $93,500 to the Police Department for a canine, kennel and vehicle modifications, $40,000 to Monongahela Valley Association (doing business as MVA Health Center) for medication‑assisted treatment support, and $61,500 to Taggart Valley United Way for a homelessness coordinator salary. Council considered the items in closed session and reconvened to vote on the resolutions.

Why it matters: Residents and service providers urged the council to prioritize treatment and recovery programs when disbursing settlement funds. The decisions direct settlement money toward first responder capabilities and community treatment and outreach resources.

What council did: After reconvening at 8:25 p.m., council members adopted the Fire Department grant with the clerk recording a 6‑to‑2 result (six yes, two abstentions recorded in the transcript). The Police Department award passed with one abstention recorded. The MVA Health Center and Taggart Valley United Way grants were adopted by roll call with recorded yes votes.

Public comment before the votes framed the spending debate. James Edward Davis told council he had repeatedly sought information about Fairmont’s opioid settlement funds by email before filing a FOIA request and said the city had not spent settlement dollars for an earlier reporting period: “I cannot understand how it takes over 2 years to establish a committee and award funds to combat what we say is an epidemic,” Davis said, urging that appropriations meet “the true intent and purpose of the original settlement.”

George Boyle of Compassion Central urged treatment‑focused allocations, saying treatment and structured sober‑living environments cut relapse and arrest rates compared with incarceration and that “allocating these funds towards treatment, recovery, housing and prevention is not only compassionate, it’s effective and it will make a difference in our community.”

City staff summarized the Fire Department award in public session as funding “ALS equipment, 3 stations, Lucas (a CPR device), AED, 3 AED training units, and CPR outreach.” The Police Department award was summarized as funding a canine, kennel and vehicle modification.

Next steps: The resolutions grant the city manager or his designee authority to take reasonable and necessary steps to implement the awards. Council did not provide further public detail of conditions or timelines for disbursement during the meeting.