Old landfill studied as possible site for new county dog pound

At the suggestion of Commissioner Tommy Swaim, the Morgan County Commission will look at the old landfill on Milo School Road, west of Great Cacapon, as a possible site for a dog pound.

Swaim made his suggestion at last Thursday’s county commission meeting.
Swaim said they could move one of the doublewide trailers, now used for county offices, to the site as living quarters for Holly Jack, the county’s animal control officer.

An existing building at the site may be suitable for holding dogs, Swaim said.

The commissioners had previously discussed spending up to $15,000 to expand the current dog pound near Spohrs Crossroads.
At the April 15 commission meeting, neighbors objected to the expan-sion there because of the noise. They said the dog pound devalues their property.

The commissioners said they would actively search for a new site once funding became available.

Swaim said they could use the $15,000 planned for the expansion of the existing pound to upgrade the trailer with bedrooms, kitchen and bath facilities.

“I just think it is worth looking into,” he said.
All three commissioners planned to visit the old landfill to see if the site is suitable.
Skate Park stormwater
Bruce Beadenkopf, Gordon MacLeod and Mike Burks of Parks & Recreation met with the commissioners to discuss stormwater management at the proposed skate park. With them was Mike Crawford of Berkeley Springs Land Surveys, who is helping with the project as a volunteer.
At issue was whether the county should put in a stormwater management pond even though the town does not require it.

see COUNTY COMMISSION page 9

“The thought was that since the county has stormwater management regulations for flood control, we ought to put some in, even though we don’t have to,” Crawford said.
Beadenkopf said he had received one price quote for $13,000 to install a pond with a fence around it for safety.
Complicating the issue is a $5,000 grant that Rebecca MacLeod applied for and received to install a rain garden to filter runoff from the skate park.
Crawford and Beadenkopf said the original plan called for a stormwater management pond with a depth of one foot. That pond, which would be dry except during rain, did not require a fence.
Once the grant for the rain garden was received and plans were changed to include it, there was less space available for a pond.
If a pond is installed, it would need to be several feet deeper than originally planned to handle the same volume of runoff. A fence would be required around the pond for safety, increasing the cost.
Commission president Brenda Hutchinson asked if it was less costly to go back to the original plan, taking out the rain garden.
Beadenkopf said the cost for the original pond would run $6,000 to $7,000.
Swaim felt the current runoff from the field should be about the same as the runoff with the paved skate park. He said the field was already hardened from activity and almost as impervious as the asphalt.
Commissioners wondered if the planned 40’x28’x1’ rain garden could handle the runoff. Crawford wasn’t sure.
Hutchinson asked Crawford for his best estimate of whether the rain garden could handle the stormwater.
Crawford felt there was a 25% chance that the rain garden wouldn’t be able to handle the runoff.
The commissioners decided to go with the rain garden and put in a pond later if it proves necessary.
Preventing child abuse
Audrey Morris of Starting Points spoke to the commissioners about preventing child abuse and neglect.
She is hoping grant money will come through in the next several months for an in-home family education program.
“It takes a whole community to prevent child abuse and neglect,” Morris said.
She said child abuse and neglect have a huge impact on the community because parents miss work, children miss school and child abuse affects children for the rest of their lives.
Furniture contracts
County Administrator Jody McClintock presented a contract to sign from Sauter Furniture for courtroom and conference room benches at a cost of $30,998.
With the contracts previously signed, the total amount for furniture, fixtures and equipment for the new courthouse is now $409,064.