The West Virginia Department of Tourism wants to move this Almost Heaven sign and frame, and the swing it originally housed, from Fort Boreman Park to Blennerhassett Island State Park. The request was discussed during Thursday’s Wood County Commission meeting. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG — The mayor of Parkersburg and the leader of a mental health care provider are potential nominees to represent the region on the board overseeing disbursement of funds from West Virginia’s opioid settlements.

Wood County commissioners on Thursday discussed the upcoming meeting to choose that representative, as well as a request by state officials to move a swing installed last year at Fort Boreman Park.

The commission will play host to a meeting at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Judge Black Annex to select the Region 3 board member for West Virginia First, a nonprofit foundation tasked with distributing three-quarters of the state’s more than $1 billion in opioid settlement funds. Representatives of Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wirt and Wood counties and 21 municipalities within them will cast votes, weighted based on the percentage of settlement funds each is in line to receive. Some will attend the meeting in person, while others will participate remotely.

Wood County Commission President Blair Couch said Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp had nominated Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce, while a couple of local nonprofit organizations suggested Kevin Trippett, president and CEO of Westbrook Health Services.

Joyce said he’s “overly enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve,” noting his experience in the health care field, having worked for St. Joseph’s Hospital and Camden Clark Medical Center for more than 20 years prior to becoming mayor. He said he’s spoken to officials in the region about the position and with experts about the most effective substance abuse treatment methods.

“I believe the long-term solution is to raise a generation of young people to where we don’t need” so many treatment facilities, Joyce said. “I’m as interested in the prevention piece as I am in the treatment.”

Trippett has been with Westbrook for 24 years, including as chief financial officer. He chairs the legislative committee for the West Virginia Behavioral Health Providers Association and through that group has been involved with determining “how state grant funds are distributed to the comprehensive centers throughout the state.”

“I am honored to be considered to serve our eight-county region,” Trippett said. “I feel I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in all the elements the state is looking for in a representative for each of the six regions.”

Given Trippett’s work, he “makes a lot of sense,” Couch said. “That’s who I want to nominate.”

Officials also discussed an email from the state Department of Tourism to the Greater Parkersburg Convention and Visitors Bureau about the Almost Heaven swing installed last year at Fort Boreman Park and eight other scenic spots around the state. In it, Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby says “the swings have been a HUGE success with hundreds of thousands of photos posted already and long lines at several of our locations during peak times. The one exception to that is, unfortunately, in your area.”

County officials eventually replaced the swing with a bench due to people swinging it farther than intended and an incident in which a couple fell off of it.

Couch, county Administrator Marty Seufer and Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard said they have seen people taking selfies at the site regularly.

Ruby said in the email that the swings are in demand and she would like to move the one at Fort Boreman “to a location where it can be utilized as it was designed.”

Couch said he had no objection to the state removing the installation. Seufer said the county could replace it with a bench of its own, and Woodyard suggested it display the county’s logo.

Asked about the swing, the Department of Tourism said Thursday that they are working with West Virginia State Parks to move the swing to Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park.

“We believe the Island will provide a picturesque backdrop which will drive visitation and help us continue promoting Wood County and the Mid-Ohio Valley on a national and international stage,” a department representative said in an emailed statement.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.