Morgan County Commission approves insurance renewal, trail payment, grant extension and event funding

Morgan County commissioners moved through a series of routine fiscal and project items on June 3, 2026, approving an insurance renewal, a planning invoice for the Cape and Ridge Trail, a grant extension, bank depository designations and two hotel/motel awards for community fireworks.

Insurance renewal: Staff explained the county participates in a multi‑jurisdictional risk pool; the proposal presented reflected higher building valuations and a corresponding increase over the prior year. The figure read aloud in the meeting was recorded in the transcript as '226,93' (formatting in the record appears truncated); staff said the risk pool contribution also includes workers‑comp premium. Commissioners voted to approve the renewal.

Trail planning invoice and grant logistics: The commission approved the first invoice for Cap(e) and Ridge Trail planning (invoice amount read as 14,470 in the meeting) but asked staff to confirm whether payment should be processed as grant match or as a direct payment per the grant terms.

Grant extension: Commissioners approved a time extension for the Sleepy Creek Watershed project to the new project period specified by the grantor and authorized the president to sign the extension paperwork.

Bank depositories and tax book: The commission designated City National Bank and other local banks as county depositories for fiscal year 2027 and signed the final personal‑property tax book as presented by the assessor.

Event funding: The commission approved hotel/motel funding requests for fireworks: Travel Berkeley Springs ($6,000 requested) and South Morgan ($5,000 requested). Commissioners asked that recipients provide receipts and that the requests be included in the upcoming FY27 budget packet.

Votes at a glance:
- Approve meeting agenda (June 3, 2026): approved by voice vote.
- Approve May 20 minutes with funding-source additions: approved by voice vote.
- Approve assessor exoneration: approved by voice vote.
- Approve insurance renewal (risk pool): approved by voice vote (amount in transcript appears as '226,93'; transcript formatting unclear).
- Approve payment to planning/consultant for Cape and Ridge Trail: approved (invoice read as 14,470 in the meeting record; staff to confirm grant/match coding).
- Approve Sleepy Creek Watershed grant extension: approved; president authorized to sign.
- Designate bank depositories for FY27: approved by voice vote.
- Sign personal‑property tax book: approved by voice vote.
- Approve hotel/motel requests (fireworks): Travel Berkeley Springs $6,000; South Morgan $5,000 — approved.

Context and next steps: Commissioners directed staff to confirm grant-match treatment for the trail invoice and asked recipients of hotel/motel funds to return receipts. Several items included follow‑up by the clerk and auditor for proper accounting. Separately, the more contentious estate‑administrator petition was considered in the same meeting and failed to pass; the two matters are not related.