By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
“Right now, as a team we call it with every organization, I’m pretty pleased with it,” Tucker County Commissioner Fred Davis said at the regular meeting of the Tucker County Commission.
Michael Simmons and Bailey Falls updated Tucker County Commissioners at the regular scheduled meeting Wednesday, April 27 at 4 p.m. at the Tucker County Courthouse Court Room.
Bailey Falls updates the Tucker County Commissioners about the status of the Tucker County Animal Shelter at the Wednesday, April 26th session.
Simmons, Interim Director of Tucker County 911 provided an update on the latest developments within his department. “So far for this month, the first of April through today, the 911 Center has taken a total of 988 calls,” Simmons said. “87 of those required EMS to respond, 124 of them were for law.”
Simmons also informed the Commission of an upcoming project to replace/update the door intercom system. “That’s required by law with us being a secure facility, to have not only a camera that sees there, but also a way to communicate,” Simmons said. “It’s a push button intercom system and it will interact with the dispatchers inside. They will have not only a phone, but they can open the door with the computers.”
Simmons said the new system would improve employee safety after dark. “If someone comes to the door in the middle of the night with a black hood on and they’re standing at the door ringing the bell to get in, we have the ability to talk to them and not jeopardize ourselves or any of the sensitive data in there,” Simmons said.
Commissioner Rosenau asked when the existing system was installed. Simmons informed the Commission that the existing system was installed during construction of the 911 Center. “That’s the original system that was put in when the 911 Center was built,” Simmons said. “So we are updating a system that has never been updated,” Rosenau said.
Bailey Falls, Director of Animal Shelter, updated the Commission on the shelters recent Rabies Clinic and funding for a new facility. “We had a bigger turn out then we ever had before,” Falls said.
She informed the Commission that the event vaccinated 263 pets and provided 79 microchips. “We planned for a three-hour bubble between the events,” Falls said. “It was supposed to run from 9 to 11 a.m.at Parsons, then 2 to 4 p.m. at Thomas. We finished at 1:30 p.m. in Parsons.” The event was staffed by 17 volunteers between the two locations.
“This is also the first year that we did everything from our internal software system,” Falls said. “We had a crash training course…to print out the official certificates and we have copies of everything and every microchip that was inserted is already registered within our software system, too. So, should any of these pets get loose and end up at the shelter, we can scan it, type in the number and know who the pet belongs to and can give them a call and get their pet back home.”
Falls also informed the Commission of two grants the shelter received: a $9,990 grant through the WV Dept. of Agriculture for a spay/neuter program and a $25,000 capital funding for the shelter construction project from PetcoLove.
“We also received news that we were selected for $25,000 in capital funding for the shelter construction project from PetcoLove,” Falls said. “We’re happy about that.” The Department of Agriculture grant is for low-income individuals through April 30 and then opening up to include all Tucker County residents May 1.
“We are in the process of administering our grant from the Department of Agriculture for the spay/neuter program,” Falls said. “So beginning on Monday, May 1, we wanted to make it available to any Tucker County resident who needed the help. So May 1 it opens up to all residents of the county to help with the cost of spay/neuter. Cause when you’re spay/neutering them, they’re not ending up in the shelter and we’re spending less money on the animal shelter.”
Falls also said the program is going well with several participants attending their appointments and being followed up on. “They’re taking them in and we are just getting all the documentation and getting their certificates,” Falls said. “We’ve already had several people that have had their appointments and had it done and we’ve followed up with them. So that’s been good.”
Upcoming fund-raising events for the shelter are scheduled. A Golf Tournament sponsored by the Friends of TCAS “Putts Fore Pets will be May 20 at Holly Meadows Golf Course and June 3, Friends of TCAS will host a Dog Wash.
The Commission also approved the minutes from their April 18 Special meeting which addressed the yearly Levy rate for the county. “That meeting was concerning the Levy rate for our county,” Tucker County Commission President Mike Rosenau said. “Every year the Commission sets the Levy Rate to dictate the taxes that you pay. In Tucker County…we always go, as long as I’ve been Commissioner, with the State’s recommendation.”
Rosenau said that with the county’s elevated cost and property values the state recommended reducing the Levy rate from 14.21% to 13.46%. “This will offset some of the increase in our property values to what you’ll pay on your taxes,” Rosenau said. “That Levy Rate will dictate what your taxes will be. In Tucker County, the Commission did all we can do for reducing your taxes. We can’t control property values, but we can control the Levy Rate.”
The next meeting for the Tucker County Commission will be May 10 at 9 a.m. in the Tucker County Courthouse Courtroom.
The Tucker County Animal Shelter Advisory Board will meet Wednesday, May 3 at 2 p.m. at the Animal Shelter.