(l-r): Brittany Willard, Becky Richmond, Justn Williams, Jim Bowyer, James Vanoy, Greg Mick, and Doug Pierson.

The Putnam County Parks and Recreation Commission met on Thursday, August 7th, at the Valley Park Conference Center with approximately thirty members of the public in attendance. Public attendance at Parks and Recreation meetings rarely numbers more than three or four.

The unusually large public presence was prompted by a transaction of the commission at its prior meeting. On June 5th, the commission voted to abandon upkeep of the Hometown Park.

The Hometown Park? It would be fair to state that most Putnam residents lack knowledge of the park’s existence. The park, known locally as the Grove or Mitchell’s Grove, has been in existence for close to 100 years and is home to two historical markers made possible by the West Virginia Humanities Council’s Rivers to Ridges Heritage Trail. The suspension of upkeep at the park was viewed as a prudent cost cutting move for a facility that saw little use.

The first order of business on August 7th was to vote upon a motion to fund upkeep at the Hometown Park for the coming year. The vote was rewarded with applause.

One individual present asked the commission the reason for reversing its abandonment of the park. “We received additional information” was the quick reply.

The additional information included letters to reconsider which were submitted by Rob Vanater (Program Director for Rivers to Ridges Heritage Trail), Delegate Kathie Hess Crouse (Dist. 19), the Bancroft Town Council, Kelli Steele (Executive Director of Putnam County Tourism) and seven members of the public.

Putnam County Parks Director Justin Williams also provided members of the commission with a summary of costs relating to park upkeep and statistics documenting park usage gather by Putnam Tourism. The annual cost of upkeep is an estimated $4,756 with a yearly visitor total of 3,200. The 3,200 number was determined by the presence of mobile devices and, consequently, does not count every attendee.

Following the vote to continue upkeep, about two-thirds of the public exited the meeting.

Other business focused mostly upon Valley Park, consisting of discussion of plans, future events, and maintenance updates.