Braxton Citizens' News, Community, Town Meeting

Commission proclaims Cervical Cancer Month

The Braxton County Commission approved a proclamation to declare Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in the county at their regular meeting last Friday, January 17. The action came at the request of Becky Batton, BC Health Department Administrator. Following the discussion and reading of the proclamation, Larry Clifton made a motion to approve the request prior to President Lisa Godwin signing the proclamation.

Sheriff Eddie Williams was first to address the Commission after the President called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. The new Sheriff requested permission to hire Scott Crump as a tax deputy, Jason King as a law enforcement secretary and Jim Bonnett as a part-time employee of the Braxton Testing Services. Both Crump and King will be employed on a full-time basis. Their salary will be $22,000 per year with full county benefits. Bonnett will be paid $12 per hour with no county benefits. All three were approved via separate motions and will begin work on January 23.

The Sheriff also requested and was granted permission to purchase 8 fire extinguishers for county vehicles from J.T. Martin at a cost of $79.89 each.

Williams again brought up his request to get the deputies current P-cards for gasoline purchases. He stated that deputies were being forced to use cards that were not in their name and in some instances cards that were originally issued to individuals who are no longer employed by the county. The Sheriff reiterated that he felt the current practice would not be acceptable to the auditor and that each officer should have his or her own card. He requested that the procurement of the cards be returned to him as was the practice during his first two terms. President Godwin said that she and Administrative Assistant Heather Hardway had been in contact with the Auditor’s office and were trying to resolve the problems. She suggested that she set up a zoom call with the Auditor’s office and Sheriff to discuss the matter. Sheriff Williams also suggested that if the situation couldn’t be resolved in a timely fashion the County consider approving another credit card vendor for the use of purchasing and tracking fuel purchases for his deputies.

Marie Lockard, Director of Braxton County Testing Services presented an activity report for the month of December.

Tiffany Prior, EMS Director, presented the Commission with her agency’s monthly activity report for December. She requested that Sheriff Eddie Williams be appointed to the EMS and 9-1-1 Advisory Boards to replace former Sheriff Lou DellaMea. That action was granted on a motion by Larry Clifton. Prior also presented the Commission with a list of additional equipment she wanted to purchase for the new ambulance the County was receiving that day. That equipment cost just over $107,000 and was approved on a motion by Commissioner Clifton.

Tyler Long, 9-1-1 Director, provided the Commission with his agency’s monthly report and requested permission to hire Andrew Wescott-Davis as a trainee. He will be paid $10.50 per hour and receive no county benefits. The request was approved.

Donald Conrad, OES Director requested permission to use the County P-Card to allow him and assistant Cheri Jenkins to attend the WVEMD Planning Conference January 29-30. That request was granted on a motion by Brent Boggs.

Conrad requested that the Commission change his employment status from part-time to full-time. He elaborated on why he wasn’t able to meet the demands of the job in the 20 hours he was allotted as a part-time Director. Following a brief discussion, during which Lisa Godwin stated that Conrad would be paid $35,000 plus county benefits, the Commission approved the change.

Megan Stout reviewed the activities of the Braxton County Animal Shelter with the Commission for 2024.

Justin Rollyson, Maintenance Supervisor discussed the need to have Huffman Electric replace a breaker panel box on the second floor of the courthouse. He said that it was very antiquated and presented a safety hazard. He also requested that the Commission authorize his overtime as the work would have to be performed after normal hours. Both requests were granted.

Creston and Linda Metheny were in attendance to discuss FEMA purchasing their property that was devastated by flooding over a year also. President Godwin and OES Director Conrad briefly explained the lengthy process to the couple and suggested they put the topic on the agenda of their next work session.

Four purchase orders came before the Commission for consideration. All were approved. The Sheriff will purchase 4 tires for a Ford Explorer police cruiser from Mid-State Chevrolet at a cost of $1,020.64. Huffman Electric $1,500 to replace the breaker box in the courthouse. Emergency Services Marketing Corp, Inc. $14,406 for the I Am Responding APP for the county fire departments. Mid-State Chevrolet $698.48 for repairs to Deputy Williams’ truck.

In other business, the Commission approved the use of the P-card for registration fees and rooms at the County Commissioners’ Association of West Virginia’s Legislative Conference February 23-25 at Embassy Suites in Charleston.

The Commission took final action to set up new accounts as requested by the auditor for several special funds.

The Commission approved a request from Denise Bull Byers to set an estate hearing in the estate of Delbert Junior Bull for March 7 at 10:00 a.m.

The Commission discussed and approved an agreement with the Department of Transportation for the Gassaway Trail to Town connector Transportation Alternatives project.

Following a brief discussion, the Commission approved sending out a request for proposal (RFP) for the septic system for the new quarantine facility at the Animal Shelter.

Also, for the Animal Shelter, the Commission approved the WVSNP spay and neuter grant.

The final action of the Commission was to approve the county and EMS invoices for payment and the minutes of the Commission’s January 3 meeting.

Before adjournment, President Godwin announced that the county had received the second installment of the Opioid Settlement in the amount of $121,156.03.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 a.m. The next regular meeting of the Braxton County Commission will convene on February 7 at 9:00 a.m.