Thursday, June 19, 2014
Cabell libraries host book battles and science shows, Page 6-7 50 Cents Volume 116 Issue 24
The Cabell County Commission awarded Angelina Stone and Marble of St. Clairsville, Ohio the contract to repair the bell tower.
Courthouse bell tower repairs to begin soon By Jim Ross For The Cabell Standard Work on restoring the cupola and bell tower on the Cabell County Courthouse dome could begin soon and be completed before the end of summer. The Cabell County Commission on June 12 awarded a contract to Angelina Stone and Marble of St. Clairsville, Ohio, for $246,725 to repair the deteriorating wood and metal structure. The company will be paid extra if it must repair any of the gold leaf on the dome or cupola. Gold leaf was placed on the dome in the late 1990s. County Manager Chris Tatum said the county has a box of gold leaf left over from that work. The gold leaf was provided by local attorney and developer John Hankins. Work on the bell tower can begin right away, Tatum said. A crane will remove the cupola for repairs and to set it back in place, he said. Commissioner Bob Bailey voted against awarding the contract. He objected awarding the contract to an Ohio company when a company from West Virginia bid on the contract also, but Angelina submitted the low bid. Angelina’s base bid was $246,725, with an additional charge of $1.04 per square inch for repairs to the gold on the courthouse dome. Wiseman Construction of Charleston bid $326,000 on the base contract and $13.50 per square inch for the gold repair. SEE COMMISSION, Page 3
Barboursville forms its own visitors bureau By Jim Ross For The Cabell Standard The Village of Barboursville will have its own convention and visitors bureau staffed and running by July 1, Mayor Paul Turman said. The Village Council enacted an ordinance to create the bureau. It is advertising for an executive director, and it is in the process of buying the property currently owned and occupied by ZBA Financial Group in downtown Barboursville, the mayor said. Creating the Barboursville CVB will redirect about $100,000 a year that now goes to the CabellHuntington Convention & Visitors Bureau, Turman said. The six hotels and motels collect about $200,000 a year in occupan-
cy taxes, Turman said. About half of that goes to the county CVB, while the other half goes to village government. Forming the village CVB will mean the local agency will receive the full $200,000, he said. “We felt it was time to step up. We just wanted to have our own staff and our own director and cooperate with the county,” the mayor said. “We’re using Gilbert and Hurricane as models for what we can have here.” Although only one hotel in village limits has the space to host a convention, a number of events in Barboursville draw visitors, such as the multistate youth soccer tournament, Turman said. The village has advertised for an executive director and has
received a number of applicants, Turman said. “It’s amazing to me how many people are looking at this job. Most of them have business backgrounds. Very few have been involved with CVBs,” he said. Turman said the applications will be reviewed by the sevenmember Barboursville CVB board, of which he is chairman. Other people on the board include local businesspeople, especially those whose businesses receive at least part of their income from tourism, and the village recorder and finance director, he said. The village has agreed to buy the ZBA building for $435,000 and some furnishings from the building at $15,000, Turman said. The council was scheduled to give
second reading to the ordinance authorizing the purchases on June 17, and the real estate deal should close on June 26, he said. ZBA originally had the building on the market for $500,000, but it had no buyers, Turman said. The company reduced its asking price in exchange for being allowed to have a small space in the building through the end of this year, he said. ZBA will have 30 days from closing to vacate most of the first floor of the building and move into its smaller quarters. The office should be ready for the executive director on Aug. 1, the mayor said. Turman said village officials wanted to buy the historic buildSEE CVB, Page 4
Ceremony honors Mayor Paul Turman Sr. By Kelly Stadelman kelly@theputnamstandard.com While many have contributed to the Barboursville Community Park, it is current Mayor Paul L. Turman Sr. who helped build a bridge and secure a national youth soccer championship. “The mayor had to figure out how much he needed for the project and he had to do it quickly because the bid to host the 2010 youth soccer match was out,” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said. “As a team we were able to come up with the funding and help Barboursville win the bid.” More than 50 people attended the June 11 dedication ceremony where Tomblin read a resolution naming the soccer bridge in the community park the “Mayor Paul L. Turman Sr. Bridge.” In 2010 Turman secured $1.6 million to build a bridge over CSX Railroad tracks that divided the soccer fields and the future. “The governor’s office gave us $400,000, the state Senate gave us $200,000 and the state House gave us $200,000,” Turman said. “Barboursville put $800,000 toward the project so we could get it done.” Putting the funding pieces together for the project was a challenge. Turman had to first come up with the town’s portion, then he had to ask others to contribute. One of Turman’s stops was with Tomblin,
Family members helped Barboursville Mayor Paul Turman Sr. celebrate his special day. Pictured, left to right, Olivia Turman, William Turman, Patty Turman, Tommy Turman, Raymond Turman, Barboursville Mayor Paul Turman Sr., Peggy Turman, Karen Turman, Paul Turman Jr., Lori Turman, Teresa Blake and Lee Blake. who was Senate president at the time. for Barboursville.” “It took a group to fund the project but we Tomblin praised Turman’s tenacity and his had to have a chief to get it done,” Tomblin said. “This isn’t the only project the mayor has done SEE DEDICATION, Page 4