By Stephen Smoot
Commissioner Roger Dahmer led the first regular meeting of the Pendleton County Commission with an invocation, praying “Lord we ask you to guide our actions and our words.” Carl Hevener, commission president, then added that “the way our country is going, I’d like to start reciting the Pledge of Allegiance again,” which all joined in saying.
Discussion opened with an update on the progress of the new Pendleton County General Services Building, located in the former Franklin Elementary School.
Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator, has taken a lead role in getting the structure restored to standards for government service. One major issue faced temporarily since the county acquired the building lay in the fuel consumption of the oil burning heat system.
“Crews,” said Gillespie, “found some sensors in various parts of the school” all set above 80 degrees by the previous owners. This contributed to unexpectedly high fuel bills until sensors were adjusted. He said, “Fuel consumption has dropped tremendously in the past couple of weeks.”
Preparation for the relocation of multiple entities continues. The office of emergency management’s conference room, operations center, and office space should “be ready toward the end of the month. Gillespie asked commissioners to create work priorities for the contractor and also expressed that West Virginia University Extension and the Pendleton County Public Service District would likely move next, possibly, with state run offices in the community building to follow after.
The Pendleton County Commission purchased the building that is now the PCGSB because officials feared the rise in the bed of the South Branch of the Potomac River had reached the point where buildings previously thought safe from flooding no longer are. The nearby Pendleton Senior and Family Services experienced flooding issues in the first half of 2025.
Gillespie and commissioners also tackled another issue, that of undergoing the legally required process, including public meetings, involved in raising the county landline fee upon which the funding of Pendleton 911 depends. Not since its inception in the mid-1990s has the fee been raised.
Despite the decreases in landline use and tremendous increase in costs of operation since that point, the commissioners opted for slight increases in the fees. The commission will hold the special public meeting on the rate increase at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 17.
Commissioners and Gillespie discussed issues concerning the malfunctioning traffic cameras overlooking U.S. Route 33 on North Mountain. Gillespie presented a draft Memorandum of Understanding between the Pendleton County Commission and the Pendleton County Board of Education. It puts into agreement the board’s offer to assist the county with replacing the camera and incurring on the board of education no subsequent obligation.
“I applaud the board of education for wanting to be a partner,” Gillespie noted.
The OEM reconfigured a security camera nearby to provide a less effective viewpoint from which to see road conditions, but it was described as “a good stopgap” but “nowhere near as good.”
Officials noted that no other county in West Virginia funds its own network of traffic cameras. The state operates a 511 website with cameras covering various locations on main routes.
