Putnam County Opioid Settlement Fund Request
| Submitted | March 26, 2025 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Johnathan Edwards
Johnathan Edwards
2040 University Avenue- Apartment 301
Morgantown, WV 26505
02/24/2025
Brian Wood
Putnam County Clerk
Clerk’s Office of Putnam County
12093 Winfield Road #3
Winfield, WV 25213
Dear Mr. Wood:
Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, §29-B-1-1 et seq., I am requesting an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of public records that show the following; Allocation of opioid settlement funds received by Putnam County, the application that individuals or organizations seeking funding from the county complete, copies of grant applications from individuals or organizations that have been approved to receive these funds, the individuals who will review the funding applications, any meeting minutes of county-level officials where the receiving or distribution of county-level opioid settlement funding was discussed, and how much funding has been awarded as of March 1, 2025, and to whom it was awarded. If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me if the cost will exceed $25. However, I would also like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of how this large sum of allocated funds is being distributed across the county. I am a student reporter at West Virginia University and intend to use this information to more accurately report on these findings. This information is not being sought for commercial purposes. The West Virginia Freedom of Information Act requires a response to this request be made within five business days. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than this amount of time, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records. You can call me at 304-638-6367 or send me an email at jde00006@mix.wvu.edu My physical address is 2040 University Ave. Morgantown, WV, 26505.
From: Putnam County Clerk
March 26, 2025
Johnathan Edwards
2040 University Avenue- Apartment 301
Morgantown, WV 26505
In Re: Freedom of Information Request dated 3/26/2025 for the Putnam County Clerk
Johnathan,
I am writing this response to your request for information from the Putnam County Clerk’s Office in Winfield, WV.
Although FOIA requires a clerk to allow a person to inspect and copy records that already exist, it "does not require the creation of a public record."(Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation v. Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, 490 S.E.2d 708 (W. Va. 1997)). Therefore, if a person requests information from a clerk and the information is not maintained in a particular document or set of documents by a clerk, the clerk has no duty to create a record that would be responsive to the request. However, the clerk should allow a person to inspect available records if the records would allow a person to gather information that would be responsive to the request.
You or a representative of your organization are welcome to look at any public records maintained by the Putnam County Clerk’s office and compile your own data. Our office is located at: Putnam County Courthouse, 12093 Winfield Road, Winfield, West Virginia 25213. With the exception of legal holidays, our office hours are 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Monday – Friday. Please contact my office at (304) 586-0202 to schedule a mutually agreeable time to review the records. I ask that you schedule a time so I can make sure that I have staff available that may be needed to assist you.
With that said, To date, we have received $1,450,848.74 in Opioid Settlement Funds. We received a first payment of $1,207,465.09, then a second payment in December of 2024 of $409,962.92. The County Commission does not have an application process for these funds. Below are the approved expenditures of these funds thus far:
Police Cruiser (Stephens Auto) $43,359
Drug Incinerator for Sheriff’s Dept (Elastec) - $6,010
Costs for Sheriff’s Dept to host a EMS/Police Training on Drugs and Mental Illness - $1,731.92
Sheriff’s Department Drug Testing Field Supplies (Sirchie) – $3,519.82
Monthly Regional Jail Bill - $600,000
Respectfully,
Brian Wood
Putnam County Clerk
12093 Winfield Rd Ste 3
Winfield, WV 25213-7968
O 304-586-0202 Ext. 1257
Cell 304-545-2774
Fax 304-586-0280
Election Fax 304-204-1408
www.putnamcoclerk.com<http://www.putnamcoclerk.com>
NOTICE: The Putnam County Clerk's Office considers this email and any files transmitted with it to be confidential, proprietary or privileged information intended solely for the use of the named recipient(s). The Putnam County Clerk's Office accepts no liability for the content of this email or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information contained wherein. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or action taken or omitted in reliance on this information is strictly prohibited by the Putnam County Clerk's Office; please notify the sender immediately by return email, delete this communication and destroy all copies.
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