Solar company wins courthouse project

Morgan County business Mountain View Wind & Solar won the contract to design and install solar panels on the roof of the courthouse – a project that will be paid for by a federal grant to improve energy efficiency.
The $196,000 grant will cover the engineering of rooftop panel arrays and installation of the system that will funnel solar energy into the building’s electric grid.

Mountain View Wind & Solar President Mike Mc-Kechnie estimated the energy system would generate at least a 10% electricity savings for the county building.

The company may also use solar panels to create hot water for the building.

Animal control issues
Commissioner Brenda Hutchinson and County Administrator Jody McClintock will begin looking into the possibility of selling the county’s current kennel property on Martinsburg Road and siting a new kennel elsewhere.

Hutchinson asked the other commissioners to consider the move, citing the inadequacy of the current kennel, which doesn’t have separate outside runs for the dogs.

“It’s hard to control the spread of anything there. You have to let them out in a communal yard and there’s no place to quarantine any sick dogs,” said McClintock.

Hutchinson said the county should look at some of its other property as possible places to build a new kennel. The county had set aside money to build a kennel addition, but may sink that money into a new building instead.

“It may be part of our discussion about what to do with the soccer field,” said Hutchinson.

In other animal control business, the county announced they have a new website for their animal control agency.

Residents who have lost animals or want to adopt animals can look at the site, which features photos and descriptions of the animals recently picked up by the county officer.

Old courthouse facade
The Morgan County Commissioners are still trying to figure out where to place the old stone door façade from the previous courthouse. The stonework has been stored on U.S. Silica property since the August 2007 fire. Several historical and public agencies were contacted about housing the items, which include a carved stone that says “Morgan County Courthouse.” None of the groups expressed an interest in the stone.