ABOVE: Dirt is thrown outside of Dulcimer Medical Center in Fairmont in September to celebrate breaking ground on United Hospital District’s (UHD) $4 million expansion of the Fairmont Clinic. The work is expected to be completed late this coming spring.

FAIRMONT– Changes to the design, control and cost of the Fairmont Area Community Center were among the top stories of 2023. The proposed project continues to move forward, albeit not on a linear path.

What follows are the Sentinel’s top 10 local stories of 2023.

No. 10

Fairmont’s Fareway’s remodeled and expanded bakery made the grocery store a ‘hub,’ allowing it to supply baked goods to six other Fareway stores in the region. While remodeling began at the end of 2022, operations began in the spring of 2023.

No. 9

United Hospital District broke ground on a $4 million expansion project at 1950 Center Creek Drive in Fairmont at the site of Dulcimer Medical Center and Fairmont Family Dentistry. This all resulted from a purchase agreement which was signed at the end of 2021 and transferred ownership of Dulcimer’s land and buildings to UHD. The expansion project, which includes the addition of 12 exam rooms, is expected to be completed by May of 2024.

No. 8

A $72 million bond referendum to build a new school building for all students in the Martin County West school district failed to pass in the general election this past fall. District administration, along with school board members had found that bringing the three current buildings up to code would be costly at roughly $30 million so instead wanted to pass the bond referendum to build a new school at the site of the current high school in Sherburn. Now that the referendum has failed, the board and administration will continue to discuss next steps as a number of items still have to be addressed.

No. 7

The Lakeside Cemetery Association had requested that Martin County take over operation of the 151-year-old Fairmont- based cemetery which spans 34 acres and includes 22 acres of farm land. After holding several work sessions to discuss the potential transfer, the Martin County Board of Commissioners denied the request. The association had made the request in part because it is struggling to find employees as it cannot offer benefits, among some other reasons.

No. 6

Several people were injured in a shooting which took place in rural Martin County on July 3. About two weeks later a suspect had been identified and was taken into custody without incident, according to a press release from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Details which were provided by agencies investigating the case included that there had been a large gathering of people at a farm site in rural Martin County and that shots were fired into the crowd after an altercation.

No. 5

The Fairmont High School Robotics team, the Fairmont Megahertz, ended its 2022-23 season placing first at the state championship and making it the the FIRST Robotics World Championship for the first time. The world competition was held in Houston, Texas in late April and there the team ranked 31 out of 77 teams.

No. 4

In late October work began at the historic Fairmont Opera House as the facility’s trusses required fixing. However, after work began structural engineers discovered that the repairs would be more invasive and thus the opera house announced that it would be closed to the public for all of 2024. Now the organization is focused on fundraising for the project, which is expected to cost anywhere from $2 to $5 million.

No. 3

In April Fairmont City Administrator, Cathy Reynolds, announced her resignation and the city council began working with a recruiting firm, Gov HR USA, to help find both an interim and full-time city administrator. The city of Fairmont went four months without either as the council struggled to find interested or willing candidates. However in September the council approved an employment agreement with Jeff O’Neil, who will serve as interim city administrator for about six months or until a full-time city administrator is found and hired.

No. 2

For over a decade Martin County has been working toward finding appropriate land and securing funding for a new public safety and and justice center that will house the county sheriff, Fairmont police and law enforcement operations. This fall the county submitted a rezoning request for property along Margaret Street in Fairmont to the Fairmont Planning Commission. While the Fairmont Planning Commission recommended approval of the request, the Fairmont City Council denied the request, leaving the county without a site for its project.

No. 1

Since November 2022, the financing plan for the proposed Fairmont Area Community Center has changed at least four times. First, the council at a Nov. 28, 2022 meeting, by majority vote, approved to take $2 million of the $14 million funds raised in local option sales tax that was earmarked for the community center and use them on a new ice compressor and moved the rest into reserves to be used for lakes, parks or trails. Then in December of 2022, the council passed a new motion to pursue additional funding including a new market tax credit, state bonding and an additional half-cent sales tax to go toward the construction of a community center.

In 2023, the financing plan and design of the facility continued to change. In January, at the first city council meeting of the year, new councilors Jay Maynard and Deb Foster voted in favor of recommitting the $14 million raised in local option sales tax back to the community center and by majority vote it passed.

In the spring of 2023 several joint work sessions were held which included the Fairmont Area Community Center Foundation, Fairmont City Council, YMCA and Fairmont Hockey Association. At a meeting on May 10, financing, ownership and maintenance was discussed and it was shared that the proposed site, which is on land owed by Mayo Clinic Health System, would be acquired and there would be a lease-lease-back structure between the Foundation and the city of Fairmont. Sometime following that meeting the city of Fairmont turned over control of the project to the Foundation.

With the change in ownership over the project came some changes in contractors. The city had originally been working with Tegra as the city’s owner’s representative on the project before Tegra pulled out of its contract. After the Foundation gained ownership of the project it brought Tegra back on board. The city had also lined up Kraus-Anderson to be the construction manager on the project but in September members of the Foundation shared that they had put a Request for Proposal (RFP) out for a different construction manager and later hired RJM as the construction manager.

Finally, at a work session on Nov. 1, members of the Foundation provided information on the latest design and associated cost estimates for the project, which is now coming in at about $26 million and at its meeting on Nov. 13 the city council on a 3-2 vote approved the current community center design.