KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. –The Kanawha County Board of Education voted Monday to transfer the former Herbert Hoover High School property, including its athletic fields, to the town of Clendenin for public use
The vote was unanimous by the board.
The property, which housed the former high school along the Elk River, was damaged in the June 2016 floods that destroyed homes, businesses and other facilities.
Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Paula Potter told board members the transfer was agreed to after the 2016 flood, and Monday’s vote finalizes it.
She said the district is finishing its work with FEMA to make the transfer official.
“We’re just starting to wrap up our work with FEMA, it isn’t quite complete maybe a couple of weeks, and we wanted to go ahead and put this on the agenda, this was the original agreement with the mayor of Clendenin and we just wanted it to be ready to go, to get that deed over to them,” Potter said.
Before transferring the property to the town of Clendenin, the county was required to complete work on the site. In January, the board approved a contract with the state Division of Highways for earthwork, slope stabilization and drainage improvements. The contract totaled $121,257.35, with the costs reimbursable through FEMA.
She said the town will use the property exclusively for community recreation.
“They’re using it for recreation, they have a walking path, they’re going to maybe use it for boat access in the future, I don’t know about that, but then the athletic fields are there as well for their community use,” Potter said.