12-06-2025
Marion County Commissioners earmark $60K for three parks
FAIRMONT — Marion County Commissioner have set aside $60,000, enough for three playgrounds across the county.
But residents have to make themselves heard if they want those playgrounds to become a reality.
'We don't want to waste taxpayers money if you don't have a need,' Commissioner Linda Longstreth said. 'So if we don't have the feedback, we don't want to go there. We can use it for better things in the community.'
Commissioner Bobby DeVaul brought up the idea at the last commission meeting. He said after viewing the success of installing a playground at the Marion County Soccer Complex on US 250 North, he wanted to replicate that success at other locations in Marion County.
Commission President Ernie VanGilder said during the meeting that playgrounds would cost $20,000 each.
'We're looking at maybe doing three separate playgrounds,' VanGilder said. 'We're going to reach out to the community for where people feel they need them most.'
Longstreth added they don't want to throw money out and say, 'here's a playground.' She said the commissioners want to know what's important to residents in their communities and make their decisions based on that. If it turns out demand in the community isn't for a playground but for something else, it's something commissioners will take into consideration.
County Commissioners will collect feedback by phone and through its website for about a month. Longstreth said a form will be available online at the commission's website for Marion County residents to fill out, but residents who don't have reliable internet access can call 304-367-5400 to give feedback.
The County is also working on modernizing its election software. The County uses Windows 7 for their equipment, which Microsoft ceased writing updates for in 2020. Cam Wilson, regional sales manager for Omaha, Neb.-based Election Systems and Software, said election security is at the top of everyone's minds. There's only a handful of jurisdictions in the country that still run Windows 7, Wilson said.
County Clerk Julie Kincaid said no one's voting experience will change substantially after the updates are finished.
'They will be depositing their ballot into a reader that will be located in the precinct instead of feeding it back into the machine when they're finished voting,' Kincaid said. 'That will be about the only difference anyone's going to see with the upcoming election.'
Wilson added the new software will speed up the process and make it quicker to open and close the polls.
Kincaid said the county is paying roughly $400,000 for the upgrades, split into two payments. She said replacing the fleet of equipment instead of merely upgrading the software would cost the county about $2 million.
'We're very blessed we can make this upgrade with that amount of money and still continue to provide correct, and somewhat speedy, elections for Marion County,' Kincaid said. 'We want the latest equipment so we can provide these elections to the public without any issues.'
