HUNTINGTON Ƶ During its regular meeting Thursday, the Cabell County Commission approved the application of a $150,000 grant that would go toward the countyƵs efforts in reducing the number of dilapidated structures.
The grant would aid the countyƵs Unsafe Structure and Property Enforcement Agency in tearing down a small number of properties that the agency has received complaints about, said Charles Walker, grant writer for the Cabell County Commission.
The grant application was due last week. The commission ratified the application on Thursday, County Administrator Beth Zerkle said. Zerkle said the process will be long, but the commission agreed itƵs a Ƶstep in the right direction,Ƶ Commission President Kelli Sobonya said.
The agencyƵs job is to regulate the repair, alteration or improvement of properties in need or the vacating, removal or demolition of buildings that are found to be unfit for habitation. The agency is in charge of regulating the removal and cleanup of any accumulation of debris or trash that is unsafe for public safety and welfare.
The commission approved the agency in August 2023, several months after it approved the Unsafe Structure and Property Ordinance. The ordinance was designed in December 2022 to allow Cabell County residents to report unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous structures or properties outside municipalities.
The commission also approved additional senior citizen levy funds of $20,000 for senior programs and tabled additional senior levy funding for Green Bottom Senior Center to provide them additional time to determine an amount.
The commission discussed allocating opioid funds to Cabell County Emergency Services (CCEMS) for auto loading cots for CCEMS trucks. The auto loading cots were brought up by employees, Sobonya said.
But CCEMS Director Gordon Merry said that the cots are too expensive and would cost approximately $1.7 million to provide each truck, without installation. Merry said the money could be better utilized somewhere else for CCEMS. Merry said he will provide a list of priorities for the commission, per its request.
The commission voted to table a proposed burn ban in Cabell County due to recent rain in the area.
The commission also sent out a letter opposing electric utility AEPƵs rate increase. Sobonya said the commissioners wanted to share their opposition to the increase even though the case has been dismissed. She said commissioners believes the utilityƵs proposal will come back, and they know it would negatively affect Cabell County residents.
The commission approved changing the CCEMS leave policy to reflect current county leave policy with the understanding that it will be voted on by the end of the calendar year.
The commission also approved accrued leave over 240 annual payout (120-hour maximum payout) for CCEMS employees. The commission also approved the new policy to go into effect on Sept. 30, 2024.
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