By Stephen Smoot
“Lord, we thank You for this time of year, the springtime.” Commissioner Roger Dahmer included this statement in his opening prayer prior to a county commission meeting held on a remarkably beautiful spring day.
The meeting opened with Karen Pitsenbarger, county administrator, briefly addressing the vandalism meted out to the side of the county courthouse and the sidewalk in front of the courthouse on Main Street. She said, “We will try to get that taken care of as soon as we can.” Officials noted that an image of the perpetrator was captured on multiple cameras placed in different areas of town and the investigation continues.
Likely the same vandal defaced a privately owned sign placed near the town stop light.
Diana Mitchell, executive director of Pendleton 911, noted that the meeting took place during National Public Safety Telecommunication Week. Additionally, she presented to the county commission a request from The Highlands at Fisher Mountain to name two roads in their new subdivision. They shall bear the names Fairway Lane and North Ridge Trail.
Carl Hevener, Pendleton County Commission president, inquired about the status of the replacement of some old and faded signs in other parts of the county. Mitchell replied that some signs still have not been replaced.
Next Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator, provided an update on progress with the construction of a tower near Seneca Rocks. He shared that with the completion of core drilling, the engineers can now design the foundation, saying “hopefully in not too many weeks, we’ll have a foundation.”
While assembly has started on the tower itself, Gillespie stated that “it could be several months” before completion of the project.
The commission also heard a request for a budget revision from Gillespie. Plans to refresh the interior of the county emergency offices could cost just under $10,000, covering everything including floor demolition. Hevener said, “We haven’t put money in that for years.” Commissioners approved the revision.
Commissioners next discussed with Gillespie a potential change to how Title III funds to reimburse county firefighting units for service on national forest land are distributed. The federal government issues “no ironclad guidance” on how to distribute funds.
In the past, units received reimbursements based on a multiplier of man hours devoted in the field. Some, however, have started to use a formula that also takes apparatus use into consideration. Gillespie agreed that there is a difference between a “fire on a one-acre plot” that gets taken care of quickly, versus a situation where “every truck they have and every person they have fight fires that go on for days.”
Hevener examined the requests and said, “It’s not out of line.” Elise White, Pendleton County clerk, added, “We just need to be consistent.”
Mike Alt, Pendleton County Emergency Rescue training officer, and Tina Eye, president of PCER, attended as well. Alt stated that units would need to keep track of apparatus and side by side use, but agreed that only equipment officially registered would be eligible for inclusion in the request.
Alt and Eye then had to leave the meeting to respond to an emergency call.
Commissioners agreed that requests may take into account apparatus use retroactive to the March 20 fires and that those who already submitted their requests may amend them.
Later in the meeting, Gillespie and commissioners discussed details concerning the stipend provided by the state to boost compensation to emergency response volunteers. Gillespie shared that “it’s obvious that it’s made a difference” in significantly improving response times and also reported that “some are sitting at the stations waiting for a call.”
Commissioners and Gillespie said they had hoped to get input from Eye and Alt, who had just responded to a call, but would reach out later.
After that discussion, the commission invited David Cooper from the Tucker Community Foundation to speak about the possibility of them including Pendleton County into their eight county service area.
Cooper noted that only a very few counties in West Virginia had no participation in a community foundation program. The Tucker Community Foundation endows scholarships and provides grants for community projects and services, including volunteer fire and rescue.
According to its website, the foundation formed first as a response to the devastation of the Flood of ’85. It goes on to say that “a group of individuals endeavored to create a local philanthropic organization. Thirty-three years on, the Tucker Community Foundation exemplifies the impact of rural philanthropy.”
Cooper said that the visit to the county commission represented an inquiry “to make sure we’re not stepping on any toes” by expanding into Pendleton County.
Both Hevener and Dahmer at the same time said, “I don’t see any negatives.”
Amber Nesselrodt, executive director of the Pendleton County Convention and Visitors Bureau, provided an update on the welcome signs that will grace the county lines on major highways at entrance to the county. Gillespie suggested that the department of highways place the signs in such a way as the county line traffic cameras include them in their view to prevent theft or vandalism. She also added that the CVB will work with the Pendleton County Historical Society on repairing and replacing Civil War trails signs.
Finally, the county commission tentatively agreed to provide the CVB approximately $30,000 in funding support. This was half of the support granted last year, but the county commission said at the time that the initial assistance was seed money and further contributions would be smaller.
