Group put in the work

The Community Center Committee in Fairmont is to be credited for all the work it has done to put together a viable proposal for the new facility, which would be operated by the YMCA.

The committee acted with patience, gathered pertinent information and whittled down the project to its current size, $20 million.

More work remains. The group will now begin the process of raising $6 million in private donations. We wish it luck as it moves forward.

YMCA will seek input

A YMCA coming to Fairmont represents an extraordinary opportunity for new local programming, including child care. The Y has a stellar reputation and makes a healthy difference in the lives of people across the United States. It also makes its facilities and programs available to those who cannot otherwise afford such amenities. That is a definite plus for Fairmont.

Following City Council action this week, the YMCA will come to town in 2020 to gather input from residents about what they would like the Y to offer. We hope people seize the opportunity to weigh in.

Let the matter go already

Earlier this year, a trio of Fairmont City Council members approved an investigation into what, if anything, city staff knew about some expired criminal cases in the City Attorney’s Office. The investigator spoke with several staff members and determined none knew or should have known about the cases.

What staff members had to say in candid conversations with the investigator should not now become a political football or the subject of council reprisals, as some council members seem to want. Enough already. Enough costs and harassment of city staff.

Some action on trade

Farmers, labor, businesses and lawmakers from both major political parties have found reason to celebrate in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this week that the pact will move toward a vote in the House. President Trump negotiated the deal while Pelosi tweaked it to win approval from all sides. The pact offers benefits to all three nations.

The news was amplified Friday when Trump announced that the first phase of trade deal with China has been reached. It holds out the promise that China will purchase more U.S. farm products.

More work remains on the China trade front, but the progress is heartening.