Evening Commission Meeting has Vast Number of Accomplishments

The Calhoun County Commission held their first bi-monthly evening meeting as decided upon at the regular morning n g meeting on January 13th. The meeting, opened with the pledge of Allegiance and Commissioner Arthur praying, was very well attended by the community with several a matters on the agenda.

The Commission voted to provide the MOVRC Foster Grandparent program with a $500.00 grant.

zMt. Zion PSD Board President Ari White provided an update on the Mt. Zion Public Service District (PSD) beginning with the water disruptions to the Mt. Zion Systems that closed schools in the area on Friday, January 24th, 2025. Mr. White told the Commission that there were two separate issues. The first being that the automated telemetry of the Mt. Zion system has never worked. The water project that was funded last year will remedy this problem with a new telemetry system that will be possibly put on line in 2026 according to engineers. The pump in the pump house on Phillips Run had a coupling fail, no longer producing water which went undetected at the same time that a private residence had a line break under their home which drained the Mt. Zion PSD storage tanks. The second issue that happened on Saturday morning was attributed to a grave miscommunication between Chad Drennen, Town of Grantsville Operator and Jeremy Westfall, Mt. Zion PSD Operator. Mr. White said that he hoped the O & M agreement would remedy these issues when it was put into effect.

Commissioner Eric Lupardus raised questions with the Mt. Zion PSD board about the miscommunication. Mr. White elaborated further on the matter that Westfall was under the impression that the Town Operator, Drennan, would not be able to provide water past 10 p.m., for which Drennan said that he expressed a preference to leave at 10 p.m., but if Westfall had asked he would have remained. Mr. White instructed his operator that in the future he should contact the board to handle these matters.

Commissioner Lupardus also questioned incidents that had been reported that the Mt. Zion Operator, Westfall, had confronted a Grantsville City employee. Mr. White explained that the Operators, Jeremy Westfall and Trenton Cunningham, saw a city employee come into the Mt. Zion area who had came there to assist Mt. Zion in finding a reported large leak. Mr. Westfall allegedly responded, according to Mr. White, in an aggressive and unprofessional manner. He reported also that a similar incident happened in the Pleasant Hill District and that their operator (Westfall) “frankly should not have been there without discussing it with board members, and he understood that Westfall did discuss it with one board member and was instructed to go there).” White said that Westfall’s conduct was also unprofessional and aggressive there.

Mr. White told the commission that during a ride-a-long with the Mt. Zion operators, there was some bad habits discovered from years of operating it without supervision. He then explained their daily methods of operation.

Commissioner Lupardus further questioned Mr. White about a conversation by the Mt. Zion PSD on “double dipping” by operator Jeremy Westfall when he worked separately for Pleasant Hill PSD.

White said that Westfall is on salary. When Pleasant Hill required Mt. Zion PSD’s assistance, Mr. White told the operator that because he was on salary for the PSD he would essentially do it as a favor. He was however paid by Pleasant Hill anyway and they believed it was unethical and should be presented to the State Ethics Commission.

Commissioner Lupardus asked if the Mt. Zion and Pleasant Hill PSD’s had a mutual operator agreement, to which White responded that they may not but one was being formalized. He said there was a long tradition of them helping each other.

Another issue addressed was a delay in the notification of the Board President that a violation for failing to comply had not been acted on in a timely manner. White said that he believed the failure of him receiving notification was a mistake and that he had requested future notifications be sent to his home so long as he is on the board and that he be called when the office receives them.

A somewhat concerning matter for Commissioner Lupardus was the fact that the Mt. Zion PSD Operating staff had been traveling in a truck for which the heater did not function during the recent frigid temps. The operators were then using their own vehicles to do morning routines but field work required the usage of the non-heated truck. A second truck (dump truck) was available for use, but it did not operate well in cold temps so the operators opted to use the unheated truck. This was occurring while a truck purchased with County funds for the O&M agreement was in possession of the Town of Grantsville and not accessible to any of the other water agencies even though it was technically purchased for use by the O&M group. It was then determined by the Commission that truck would be given (likely leased for a minimal amount) and insured by the Mt. Zion PSD for their use.

It was at this time that the Commissioners went into an Executive Session to further discuss Mt. Zion PSD personnel matters. When they came out of Executive Session, which Commissioner Arthur stated that no action had been taken there, it was made by a motion of Commissioner Lupardus that the County Commission remove Mt. Zion PSD Board member Anita West from the Board.

Ms. West, who was in attendance, requested permission to address the Commissioners, stating that she was not sure why she was being dismissed, because she had been more responsive to the Commissioners and she had tried to run it like a business, and that she was tired of all the drama. She further stated that she was not very happy with their decision.

The motion was passed by all Commissioners for the removal of Anita West from the Mt. Zion PSD Board.

The issue with sound on the live stream has been a matter of contention for everyone concerned who attends or watches the County Commission meeting. Commissioner Lupardus requested that Donnie Pitts, who has extensive experience with sound, look into the matter and advise the Commission on what should be done. Mr. Pitts recommended the purchase of new desk microphones, a small sound board and ceiling speakers that would allow everyone to hear what the Commissioners were saying. He also recommended that Ridgeview News get a cable (Which was purchased last night by Ridgeview on Amazon) that will plug the Ridgeview video directly into the Sound system and will allow near perfect audio.

The Commission discussed the removal or disposal of any office equipment that were not purchased by the County or State be given to the Calhoun Recyling Center for re-purposing or sale. Following a motion by Commissioner Jacob McCumbers, it was voted on unanimously.

Robin Hughes updated the Commission on the Animal shelter that they were beginning to work on a 501c3 and the acquisition of property to be used for the shelter. Commissioner Lupardus made a motion to pay for the 501c3 filing which was approved by all Commissioners. The Commissioners commended the Animal Shelter Board on their efforts.

With the recent snow and the mounds of snow causing issues around the Courthouse property, resident Rodney Carbaugh offered to do snow removal for $100.00 an hour on the areas of parking and sidewalks. The Commission determined that they would follow procedure and advertise for the removal to insure access to the Courthouse. Carbaugh had already voluntarily removed much of the snow from the area for deputies and businesses in Grantsville.

The Courthouse is in need of multiple repairs which were viewed by Commissioner McCumbers that are creating issues. Some interior and exterior. Clerk Jean Simers stated that they apply each year for the Courthouse Improvement grants and have taken care of several issues in the past.

Sheriff Graham Knight described a sewer issue in the annex that needed attention due to the unused jail cell facilities causing sewer gas to be in the building. It was determined that the matter would be revisited at the next meeting.

Business Incentive Options were discussed and it was decided that Shelia Burch of the Little Kanawha Area Development Corporation be invited as well as others to the next commission meeting to encourage business growth in Calhoun County.

The internet service in the Courthouse annex has been an issue due to tapping into the County Clerk’s office and running cables through the air from one building to another. Frontier Communications has refused to put internet into the annex site, even though it’s only a few feet from the Courthouse, saying they do not service that area. Sheriff Knight looked into Star Link as a potential provider which is a satellite service that is growing in the area due to the continual issues with Frontier and Shentel losing service. The issue is a major issue for Sheriff Knight because it is required to keep his tasers updated and charged.

Commission President Craig Arthur suggested that they check into Starlink installation and bring the matter to the table at the next meeting.

The Commission voted and passed a decision to hire and advertise the position of a County Administrator on multiple news sites. The job description was created from multiple like size counties who have administrators with research done by Commissioner McCumbers. There are only eleven counties in the State who do not have a County Administrator.

Commissioner McCumbers had spoken to a few other counties who compensate their 911 employees for having to go out on days that courthouse is otherwise closed because of bad weather, believing Calhoun should do the same. Clerk Jean Simers stated that she was already compensating 911 employees time and a half pay, considering those days of courthouse closure a holiday for other staff having to work.

Jason Wilson questioned if deputies were provided the same pay because they too were required to be out. ”They are not” was the response. One deputy, Hannah Stephens, is civil service and should be considered as well as possible other staff who are required to take calls.

The resignation of Alice Holmes resignation from the Animal Shelter Board was passed by the Commission.

The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

On the agenda