City of Fairmont gives MCPARC unused equipment to benefit city dogs

FAIRMONT — The City of Fairmont will transfer a long neglected dog park kit to the Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission so the equipment can finally be put to use.
The city purchased the equipment several years ago, City Manager Travis Blosser said, in preparation for having a dog park facility, but focus on the needs demanded by the city's parks precluded creation of the facility.
'MCPARC grants us dollars for various projects at some of our other parks,' Blosser said. 'We were just a recipient of some money this year. This is essentially a way that we can give back to them as an organization supporting our community.'
Council approved the transfer at Tuesday's regular council meeting. The dog park kit will be sent to the MCPARC Dog Park inside East Marion Park, which is within Fairmont City Limits. Blosser said the facility is fairly large.
Council also authorized the renewal of a Flexible Benefit Plan for employees. The resolution is a reoccurring and procedural resolution, according to City Communications Manager David Kirk.
Former City Council Member Dave Kennedy called on the city to use its employees to clean up the north entrance of Fairmont, between the stoplight at Cleveland Avenue up to Crematory Hill on US 250.
'It is an embarrassment, I had no idea how bad it was until I had to drive to New Martinsville last night,' Kennedy said. 'It just stuck in my mind.'
Kennedy suggested putting one individual from the city's Code Enforcement Department in charge of keeping all the entrances to the city clean. As far as the cleanup itself, he suggested employing a limited use ordinance to provide legal authorization in case city employees had to enter private land. He said there was precedent for this, when the city rounded up all the junk cars in town. He said property owners could be notified ahead of time when someone was coming out to clean the entrance.
In response, Council Member Dan Weber made a suggestion to put a sidewalk from Cleveland Avenue to the Fairmont Arbors. He then agreed that city entrances were 'horrendous.' He asked if beautification grant money could be used to address the problem.
Blosser agreed that the section of Cleveland Avenue needs to be addressed, and said some property owners had already been cited. Part of the problem is connected to the city's homeless issue. The city is looking at a contractor to clean up the area, Blosser said, and is on the radar of the Public Works Department. He added Public Works is actively mowing the East Park Avenue exit and the Gateway Connector. He asked council and residents to be patient while Public Works organizes itself to tackle the recurring work in an efficient manner.
City Council also recognized April as Child Abuse Awareness Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Mike Baker, executive director of the Marion County Child Advocacy Center, thanked the city for their support. He said the work to help abused children is hard and difficult to see on a daily basis.
'What we can do is try to prevent other children from going through the things that some of our kids have gone through and to promote healing and to help children and families recover,' he said.
The next city council meeting is scheduled for May 13.

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