Commission president Eric Lupardus opened the special Calhoun County Commission meeting the afternoon of March 2nd, with Commissioner Lee Rush in attendance, and Commissioner Craig Arthur appearing by phone.
Due to the destruction of the Upper West Fork Community building by fire on July 18th, 2026, a new polling place will need to be established. The Upper West Fork Park was the previous location of both Precincts 15 and 19. County Clerk Whitney Butler told the Commissioners that they were in consideration of using the Upper West Fork Fire house and the West Fork Senior Center for separate polling places.
Lynn Tanner, a citizen in attendance, stated that poll workers speak to one another at the two separate polling locations during the election process, which is not supposed to occur. Because of that the polling places should remain in separate locations.
Commissioner Lupardus stated that hopefully the new community building will return as a possibility before the November primary election, but presently Clerk Whitney Butler will contact Upper West Fork Fire Chief Randy Perkins and Rick Poling, Administrator of the Senior Citizens to determine if those locations can be established for the May election.
Commissioner Eric Lupardus requested the consideration of an update of the job description for Litter Control Officer, Matt Hall, as well as making the now part time position, full time. The Commission commended Mr. Hall for having cleaned up 12 dump sites in Calhoun County and removing 127 tires from the county landscape. One local organization has provided a dumpster to assist Mr. Hall in his clean up work.
Larry Whited recommended that Mr. Hall also provide assistance to property owners with dump sites on their private property. The WV DNR can also assist through mandating clean up on local property’s with dump sites.
The Community can call (304)354-0618, extension 9 to leave a message for Mr. Hall with questions or to report dump site locations. Matt Hall noted that their remains many dump sites on area back roads as well as main road areas. When the dump sites are cleaned up, Mr. Hall’s time will be split between litter control as well as park and courthouse maintenance.
Commissioner Craig Arthur asked if Mr. Hall would be paid the same base rate of pay, which was answered that he would as well as be provided a benefit package from the County. The additional costs on the County is $15,288 plus benefits. A motion to approve the increase of hours was made by Commissioner Lupardus with a second by Lee Rush and a unanimous vote. Mr. Hall’s employment changes go into effect March 15th, 2026. Funding will come from the general fund and be added to the budget for the next fiscal year.
A Summer concert series will be scheduled at the Calhoun County Park in hopes of creating a steady stream of visitors and greater use. Local musician John Richards has been scheduled for the 4th of July, 2026. Discussion are happenings with Johnny Staats for a possible Blue Grass Day in addition to the April fools Jam sponsored by musicians Bruce Jones and Rick Falls. Jones and Falls are also considering a two day bluegrass jam in the fall of 2026. Commissioner Lupardus has reached out to RMA Festival Entertainment who has sent recommendations and quotes for additional weekend entertainment. Lupardus told Park Board President Donnie Pitts that the Commission will follow the park’s lead on helping to get new attractions to the County Park. The matter will be added to the March 9th Commission agenda.
County Administrator Jennifer Randolph requested that the Commission consider providing lodging fees for the Solid Waste Authority board members to attend a conference in Bridgeport. Randolph requested lodging and mileage so that the Board will have the opportunity to learn from other solid waste authorities on how to generate funding. The Bridgeport conference will be April 28-29, 2026. The litter control officer Matt Hall will attend as well. The conference is free but the seating is limited. Motion made by Commissioner Arthur to pay for the lodging, with a 2nd by Commissioner Rush, all in favor
In hopes of creating a more practical and safer courtroom for the Commission, an upgrade discussion began with the recommendation to put a new bench in for the Commissioners. Larry Whited suggested that safety measures be taken to replace the courtroom windows. The large table that has served the Commissioners for decades would be given to the O&M Water Consolidation board to use in their new building. Commissioner Lupardus has spoken to the Calhoun Gilmer Career Center to determine the cost of building the new bench. The matter will be discussed on a future agenda
A suggestion came from Larry Whited for the Commissioners to contact the Supreme Court Marshall for recommendations with security issues and materials. Commissioner Eric Lupardus requested that Jennifer Randolph reach out to Arthur Angus of the Supreme Court. Another suggestion was cost saving furniture pieces may be available at the Supreme Court Office or WV Surplus in Dunbar, WV
The Commission will be advertising for the demolition of four FEMA flood litigated project buyouts from 2022. FEMA will not be extending the deadlines and the projects will need to be removed by the end of June.
The Budgets for each elected official was discussed for the first of multiple budget meetings.
County Clerk Whitney Butler, Circuit Clerk Maria Arnold, Sheriff Graham Knight, Assessor Jason Nettles and Prosecutor Michael Hicks presented their budgets and were advised of possible revisions. One revision for all offices was the payment of all postage to be made by the Commission with a postage meter having been installed.
The Commission requested an executive session during the budget discussion with Prosecutor Michael Hicks, but no action was taken from that session.
March 9th will be the next budget meeting after the regular Commission meeting. Once the budgets are determined, County Administrator Jennifer Randolph will provide a copy of the budgets to the media for publication. Larry Whited also requested a comparison between the year before, which Mrs. Randolph agreed to provide.
Also of issue with the 2026/2027 budgets may be due to a bill currently in the legislature to raise county officials salaries. Mrs. Randolph stated that she would create a contingency fund to cover the projected increase. County employee only insurance is under consideration to be covered 100% with 80% coverage by the county for additional family members insurance.
The next regular meeting will be March 9th, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. followed by a budget meeting. Other budget meetings will be March 16th at 1:30 p.m. and March 23rd at 5 p.m.
