By Stephen Smoot
Last week, Region 8 met in the Petersburg office to hold its regular meeting and to hear a report on a regular audit of the organizational finances.
Melissa Earle, executive director of Region 8, discussed recent communications from other agencies. The first referred to the West Virginia School Mapping Initiative. An email stated that House Bill 3166 recently passed. This legislation provides funding and requires “counties to have school safety mapping data in a format consumable by emergency response software.”
Next, Earle cited an email from James Bush, Appalachian Regional Commission Program manager. It contained a chart of how local development district grants would be allocated. Region 8 will receive $80,515, a little more than $1,600 less than last year. All districts in the state combined will receive $1,014,045, which is approximately $20,000 less than in 2024.
Frank Wehrle, representing the Town of Franklin, inquired if the decrease would produce a significant impact. Earle replied that the reduction was not enough to affect programs at this point.
The council also received communications from Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Representative Riley Moore concerning deadlines associated with Congressional Directed Spending requests. Rhett Dusenbury attended the meeting representing Moore, while Chris Strovel appeared on Zoom for Capito.
Auditors provided welcome news to the council. The firm of P. B. Mares oversaw the audit and issued Region 8 an “unmodified opinion” The term sounds generic, but it represents the best possible outcome for an organization. Unmodified opinions, also called a “clean audit” reflect that the auditor has confidence in the organization and its processes.
During the meeting, they issued “a big thank you to Melissa’s team” and stated that “the audit went very, very smoothly. Roger Leatherman, president of the council, replied, “They’re happy with your report.” Scott Miley, Grant County commissioner, said to Earle, “Kudos to your team and your staff.”
Auditors made suggestions on anticipating legal changes that may come. Additionally, they made notations on items that did not warrant negative categorization, but that could also be done better.
Earle then discussed the completion of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. The law requires that planning and development councils update them annually. The final step, council approval before submission to the United States Economic Development Administration, took place during the meeting. “We appreciate everyone’s help with that,” she told the council.
Ralph Goolsby, who facilitated community CEDS meetings for Region 8, praised both the council and Potomac Highlands communities. He said, “Where we had public meetings, people went and supported, asked relevant questions.” Those who participated, Goolsby stated, held “a deep concern for the future of the region.”
He added that multiple meetings gave a better picture, because “each time we have these meetings, you pick up on different nuances.”
Earle then stated that, although a federal Economic Development Administration grant had not arrived yet, that was true in many other years. “The council,” she said, “is a little bit more concerned about that this year.” She also shared that she was keeping an eye on a set of federal grants, specifically those that fund aging programs.
That said, there is “not anything at this point that will cause the council issues . . . at this point, we’re good.”
