BUCKHANNON – The Upshur County Commission on Thursday selected an engineering firm to begin designing the capital improvements project at the James W. Curry Library & Park in the Selbyville/Brooks Hill area.

The Upshur County Commission officially chose E. L. Robinson Engineering out of Charleston after the James W. Curry Library Board recommended the firm.

“The funding that will be utilized for these expenses comes from the James Curry Trust,” explained Upshur County Administrator Tabatha Perry. “When the vision came about for the current capital improvement project, we ran the idea through the Trust, and instead of just approving it, [the trust] went ahead and cut [the commission] a check for the project.”

“There are funds in that account for engineering services, and you will need to request additional funding down the road, I’d say, because engineering services, as you know, are costly,” Perry added. “E.L. Robinson was the most qualified engineering firm that we interviewed out of the two, so on behalf of the Board, I request that you go ahead and enter into an agreement with them.”

The project will be conducted in several phases to make the campground more comfortable.

“The first one will be putting in a dump station and additional water hookups for the campsites, and then in the future, there will be the construction of a bathhouse,” Perry said. “We would like to enter into an agreement with E.L. Robinson for them to do the site survey and put together a design that would best serve the existing Curry campsite, and the cost of the agreement for the first three phases was $22,800.”

In other Upshur County Commission news:

• The commission approved and signed the 23-JAG-38 Grant Contract Agreement, Certifications, Resolution, and Conditions and Assurances. The grant award is in the sum of $19,750 to be used to support the position of the Prevention Resource Officer assigned to Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School.

• The commission approved and signed a Federal Aviation Administration Outlay Report and Request for Reimbursement for Construction Programs – Request No. 3 – in the amount of $37,773.54 for an Airport Improvement Program Project at the Upshur County Regional Airport. 

• The commission approved an advertisement for full-time E911 telecommunicator (dispatch) positions. Applications will be accepted until positions are filled.

• The commission approved Upshur County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management volunteer Adrienne Cartier.

• The commission approved Lewis-Upshur Animal Control Facility volunteer Lloyd Davis.