Heather Clower
The Parsons Advocate
The August 22 meeting of the Tucker County Commissioners opened with prayer by Pastor Jay Bunting, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Commission President Diane Hinkle and Commissioner Patrick Darlington reviewed the previous meeting and work session minutes, which were approved by both in the absence of Commissioner Lowell Moore.
Audience and guests were addressed first on the agenda. Ron Hollis from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave an update on the status of the Canaan Valley Multi-Use Facility in addition to outdoor recreation and trail improvements at the Wildlife Refuge. This multi-use room would be available to the public to use for free and will be between nine hundred to twelve hundred square feet. The funds used for these projects would be coming from the seven million dollars appropriated by Congress. Their goals are for the project to move ahead quickly and are aiming to utilize local contractors within our state. If anyone is interested in a temporary position during the construction phase, they can contact Hollis. This building will house staff from the refuge, as well as the Ecological Services Field Office and offices for Law Enforcement who will relocate from Elkins.
The new facility will hopefully offer a welcome center. Being located on the site of the existing administrative buildings it will save because it is already serviced by public utilities. The plans are to incorporate green energy efficient features that meet the Sustainability and Architectural Barriers Act requirements for access. The goal is also to create local jobs and support the economy. Commissioner Hinkle asked Hollis to speak about some of the educational components they offer, in which he spoke briefly about story time involving crafts and a snack, bird walks, the wild school program, an art show, and more. “What we are trying to do is get people outside”, said Hollis as he explained just a portion of what they offer. All of these projects and their scheduling can be found on their website, https://www.fws.gov/refuge/canaan_valley/
Aaron Myers spoke about his concerns with the dilapidated homes and structures in the community of Bretz. Myers stated he has been trying to address this issue for two years because it is leading to a rat and varmint infestation not only in the effected buildings, but the neighbors as well. According to Myers, as a result of the infestation and a recent fire that was started near his home, he has endured approximately sixty thousand dollars worth of damage to his property. Myers had an ordinance that was from several years prior that did have literature regarding how to handle these situations; however, Darlington believed this ordinance was not enforceable due to the required positions not being properly filled. County Clerk Sherry Simmons stated she would be looking back within the minutes and following up with Attorney Ray LaMora to verify. Myer’s wife, Celena, stated, “I put my daughter in bed with me for fear of rats”.
In response to the recent fire Myers was referring to, Brett Ware responded, “I am blindsided by this”. Ware explained the appropriate burn procedures and will be looking into the recent incident. “We will do everything in our power to help you all”, replied Hinkle. Following up post meeting, Hinkle contacted James Snyder from the Tucker County Health Department. “It’s a very delicate situation”, said Snyder. He has been aware of the situation and has been to the properties in question and talked to the residents about keeping their grass mowed and trash cleaned up to deter rats and other nuisance animals from taking up residency. Snyder has also provided rat poison to locals to help in the control of the rats. “We are committed to this and it will be addressed immediately”, Hinkle reassured.
Simmons gave the elected officials report. Their office has been working diligently to clean up the voters files, and even received a letter of gratitude from Secretary Warner for his “sincere appreciation for what the county clerks do”. During their efforts they were able to clean up opportunities to save them from fraud, lower poll wait times, reduce campaign costs, and money will be saved for fewer printed ballots. “Tucker County was able to clean up the voter registration with a total of two hundred and fifty one voters”, added Simmons. A short report was given regarding the software system with CSSI in collaboration with the Sheriff’s Department and Tax Department to balance all of the accounts. They are working towards updating the Sheriff’s Office which has been delayed due to a software glitch. The workman’s compensation audit has been completed and the election school has been set along with poll worker letters being mailed.
Hinkle took a moment to clarify a rumor that has been circulating regarding an EMS Fee bonus. “There is no bonus that is being paid from the EMS fee in any way, shape, or form”, confirmed Hinkle. “The EMS ordinance states the County Commission may maintain up to, but not to exceed, six percent of the special ambulance service fee collected for administration”, she added. There is a cost to administering this fee, including but not limited to data entry, hours of man power, and postage, all of which is derived from the administration fee. “Truth be told, if we were paying them hourly, they’d be making less than minimum wage. Again, there is no bonus that is being paid out of the EMS Fee”, reiterated Hinkle.
Though Commissioner Moore was not present, he asked Hinkle to give a report regarding the dike reimbursement. A letter from the West Virginia Division of Homeland Authority authorized the partial reimbursement payment of just over one hundred and thirty two thousand dollars, and a pending balance of approximately forty four thousand dollars. County Administrator Joel Goughnour updated the Commission regarding the EMS fees collected to date standing at seventy eight percent of what was collected last year. This is equivalent to just over fifty percent having paid their annual fee, totaling just over one hundred and fifty nine thousand dollars. “We need those payments by September 1 to avoid the late fee”, added Hinkle.
911 Director Brett Ware was next on the agenda presenting the quotes he received to upgrade the software system. One hundred and forty two thousand, one hundred ninety five dollars is what it will take to bring the 911 center up to compliance, which is going to be mandated in the near future. Hinkle asked, “With the systems we have now, are we out of compliance?” “Yes ma’am”, answered Ware. “The system is band aided together right now”.
This system will not only benefit the 911 center, but is optional for the other local first responder units to participate in the same system as well. “This would allow the responding EMT’s to see pertinent patient information as the calls are coming in”, stated Ware. The only additional costs, for those wishing to upgrade to the same system, would be the purchase of laptops, a one time, one thousand dollar license fee, and of course a monthly WiFi hotspot service. The upgrade would result in a price increase of the annual service plan as well, which would be around nineteen thousand dollars. However, without the maintenance plan, you would be required to pay for assistance as needed and future updates that would otherwise be included.
“What is the lifespan on this?” asked Darlington. Ware explained this is the base model for future generations and would just need periodical updates to stay current. Most 911 centers are converting to what is being known as New Generation 911. The theory for this is that all 911 systems will be connected and communicable. It would also allow other local responders as well as anyone else on the system to share info with each other and be completely connected. According to Ware, staying with the vendor they currently use and updating this system will reduce training cost and learning curves as well. “Other inferior companies quotes were between two and three hundred thousand dollars”, explained Ware.
Simmons explained that all of the 911 fees go to a special fund and as of this week, that fund has enough to cover the cost of the upgrades without cashing out CD’s and would not affect the county budget. Hinkle expressed concern about training. “Will this require any training by the Volunteer Fire Department, Police Department, or any others who choose to come on board?” she asked. “The company will train me and I will be able to demonstrate it to others”, replied Ware. “EMS, VFD, PD does not have to go along with this change, but as soon as they see it they’ll love it”, Ware added. There will be an additional cost to integrate the phone systems; however, that will be at a later date. Darlington made a motion to upgrade this system and the motion carried. “On behalf of all of 911, thank you”, said Ware. The deployment of the new system is expected to carry out within the next four to eight months.
There were no correspondences to be discussed at this meeting nor unfinished business. The Assessments were approved as were the payments. Commissioner Hinkle stated that the County Commission Association of West Virginia has requested letters from County Commissions to be sent in opposing Senate Bill 625 that would put the authority of the volunteer fire departments under the county, and made a motion that the commission sends a letter opposing this. The motion was unanimously agreed upon.
Commissioner Reports were provided where Darlington briefed that the Parks and Recreation Board were moving forward with the building at Camp Kidd. He stated that a lot of the man power was being donated from the Rubenstein Center and additional work was going to be done by himself and Moore. The Development Authority is continuing on with their projects as well. Darlington added, “I encourage everyone to go out to the Tucker County Fair, these kids work really hard and put a lot of effort into their projects”.
Hinkle announced the Historic Landmark Commission is in need of volunteers and the Solid Waste Authority met with the District eight Department of Highways in regards to the 2018 project list. Hinkle along with Moore also recently attended the State Auditor Training in Flatwoods which was very informative.
At the very end of the meeting, Myers returned wearing gloves carrying a plastic bag. “This is why this needs to be addressed soon”, he said as he made his way to the front. He had just went home to reapply more rat poison when he went into his crawl space under his house and right inside the door laid a very large dead rat. “I don’t mean to come back here like that, but this is what I’m telling you something needs done”. “We are sorry that you are dealing with this”, responded Hinkle. “I am speechless”, added Darlington. “I can assure you we are going to be on this first thing tomorrow morning, and to the best of our ability we are going to address this issue”, said Hinkle. The Myers family also lost a beloved pet of eight years due to the infestation. “We had to have one of our dogs put down due to neurological issues from chewing on the rats who ate the rate bars in March”, stated Celena Myers. “We’re going to do everything we can to turn this situation around”, responded Darlington to the Myers family.
This concluded the commission meeting for this session and the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, September 5 at the traditional court house court room.
