The June 23 Calhoun County Commission meeting was called to order and opening the prayer led by Commission President Craig Arthur.
Special Recognition was given to former Commissioners Kevin Helmick and Roger Propst from Commissioners Craig Arthur, Jacob McCumbers and Eric Lupardus. An engraved plaque was give to both Helmick and Propst with a statement of gratitude for the years of service made to Calhoun County. Kevin Helmick served 14 years as a Democratic Commissioner and Republican Roger Propst stepped up to replace an early exiting Commissioner.
Under delegations, Hortz Motz spoke before the commission regarding the his concern for the county’s water situation. Motz’s meter had recently been replaced with a digital meter that allows his meter to be read from PSD software. He is still concerned about fellow citizens who have not received a new meter as to the reliability of a proper read from the old meters.
He shared that his daughter, who lives in another State, was provided an app from her water company called “Eye on Water.” The app allows the water customer to track water usage and be alerted if there is leak. Motz that this would be something that could be researched for costs and viability.
His third concern was on the status of the water consolidation and did they knew how that consolidation would effect the rates of each district.
His last concern was that of the 2.7 million dollars of broad band funding, asking how it benefited the frontier areas of service. Motz said that he understood that Verizon is in the process of acquiring Frontier and hopes that service will be better under the new management. Telling the Commissioners that the recent number of dropped calls in the area was due to the TSP.
Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) is a program managed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the United States. It is designed to ensure the priority provisioning (installation) and restoration of telecommunications circuits, including fiber optic lines, for organizations with critical national security and emergency preparedness missions. This means that if a fiber optic cable is damaged or an organization requires a new, immediate fiber connection for essential functions, the TSP program helps prioritize those repairs or installations over non-essential service requests.
Motz concluded that he would like to see some progress on this in our area.
Commissioner Lupardus stated that he “thinks it speaks volumes that Citi Net comes to the Commission meetings and encouraged the other local providers to do so as well. As for the water issues he recommended that local citizens attend the Pleasant Hill PSD meetings on the first Monday of each month at 4 p.m.
Melissa O’Brien, External Affairs Officer for Citynet told the Commissioners that their company had appreciated the welcome received from the Calhoun Community, adding that several local citizens are among those working on the installation of Citynet. She provided the map of Citynet locations of installation in Calhoun and updated on the status of Glenville, Grantsville, Arnoldsburg and Spencer locations. Calhoun was among four counties who recently received a portion of $2,779,895 in funding for Citynet. Calhoun County, Doddridge County, Gilmer County, and Lewis County. O’Brien stated that the Bead project is on pause while consideration of the Starlink option is made for some areas to determine the best solution and cost effectiveness for each community. She did state that Starlink is an option but cost and reliability are in fiber. Citylink cost per customer will be at a monthly cost of $50 for lower speeds and $75 and up for the higher speeds.
Commissioner Lupardus commented that the present of Citynet in the area has been a big plus when speaking to potential business considering locating to Calhoun County.
The Commission carried the motion to adopt the “Unsafe Structure Ordinance.” The motion was made by Commissioner Lupardus, a Second given by Craig Arthur and all were in favor.
Commissioner Lupardus clarified that this was set up so that it could not be abused in the future. The purpose of the ordinance is not to take a person’s home, but to create a safer place to live. ..
Also approved by the Commission was the Order to adopt the “Salvage Yard Ordinance.” Motion to approve was made by Commissioner Jacob McCumbers, a second given by Eric Lupards. All were in favor.
Following a recommendation from Sheriff Graham Knight, a 2013 Ford Taurus that had been a former Sheriff’s Department cruiser was donated to the Calhoun Gilmer Career Center. Both the automotive class and the Criminal Justice class will use the Cruiser for training purposes. Motion was made by Commissioner Eric Lupardus, a second by Craig, all were in favor.
Calhoun County School Board member Hortz Motz thanked them for the contribution.
Sheriff Knight who had previously requested funding for drug testing equipment rescinded his request stating that the expense was far to great. He received two quotes, one from Detectichem for $37,000 the second from True Narc in the amount of $42,000. Sheriff knight believed that amount was unacceptable for no more equipment than was provided for the amount of money. He said that Heroin and Fentanyl is still in Calhoun County, and they’ll continue to test with great caution.
Calhoun County Commission approved a proclamation to deem September WV Goes Purple” to bring recognition to National Recover Month.
Commissioner Arthur stated that “Drugs doesn’t just effect one person, it effect families and an entire community. We need to do what ever we can to help.”
Commissioner Lupardus commented that we are fortunate to have the Calhoun FRN. He has heard throughout the State that calhoun has one of the best FRN’S in the community. “We want a better quality of life for our citizens,” he said.
Commissioner McCumbers, who serves with the Mid Ohio Valley Health Department advised that they are working on a threat preparedness event where Calhoun and other counties will work together.
A motion was made by Commissioner Lupardus, seconded by Jacob McCumbers and passed by all.
The Calhoun Civil Service Board met recently and ratified the salary rank pay scale of the Calhoun Sheriff’s Department to help Calhoun stay competitive with other Counties. A motion to accept it was made by Commissioner Lupardus, seconded by Craig Arthur, and passed unanimously.
Budget transfers were made to move money into the 911 account that was going to experience negative numbers. Motion to pass was made by Craig Arthur with a second by Eric Lupardus and passed unanimously..
An Appointment was made for the Benefits Advisory Board of Jacob McCumbers. Motion was made by Eric Lupardus, seconded by Craig Arthur with all in favor.
County Administrator Jennifer Randolph volunteered to become the employee representative. A motion was made by Commissioner Lupardus, Seconded by Jacob McCumbers, and passed by all.
An additional employee is still needed for that committee.
The next Commission meeting will be July 7th, 2025 at 5 p.m.
