Pocahontas County Commissioners Choose New Emergency Management/911 Director

After holding an Executive Session at their August 21^st meeting to discuss it, the Pocahontas County Commissioners returned to open public meeting and announced their decision to hire Benjamin C. Brown as the new County Emergency Management Services & 911 Director. Commission President John Rebinski said that Brown, who served as a 911 dispatcher, would be initially hired for two consecutive 6-month probationary periods at a salary of $50,000 per year with full benefits. They mentioned that Brown was one of three applicants they had interviewed for the job.

During the meeting’s mail items discussion, it was mentioned that the County Public Service Commission has informed the commission that it will no longer be a partner in the Beard Heights Water/Sewer Project, but they will not stand in the way of the Town of Marlinton’s participation in that project.

Based on the recommendation of Casandra Lawson of Region 4, the commissioners passed three measures concerning the Demolition Project of the old Board of Education building in Marlinton.  The first was Resolution #6 which authorized payment out of that grant of $4,359.26 to pay Region 4’s administrative fees from October of 2024 through July of 2025. The second was Budget Amendment #3 in the amount of $1,616.95 to cover required advertising expenses, and the remaining measure was approval of the final performance report which closes out that Community Block Demolition Grant.

Dave Jones came before the commission to discuss his need to gain access to the newly constructed Durban/Frank sewer system. Jones explained he owns property at 3830 Stanton-Parkersburg Turnpike inside the Town of Durban, and wants to build a business there, but the newly constructed sewer system’s closest access point is about 2/10 of a mile from his property, so he cannot hook up to it unless it is extended to his property. Rebinski told him that since his property lies within the town, this is a Durban Town issue, not a county issue.  Jones said he was aware of this, but he, being a former Durban Town Council member, is knows that Durban is unable to afford this. He said he had approached Region 4 and they had suggested he should first approach the town, which he has done, and then the county, which is why he was at this meeting, and after doing those, they will assist him in approaching the state about his issue. The commission took no action on this.

The commissioners discussed the projects they are considering listing in their Courthouse Facilities Improvement Grant application. Those include replacing the steps at the sidewalk in front of the courthouse with a handicap access ramp, repaving the back parking lot, replacing the courthouse gutters, and creating a gravel parking area on the newly acquired property next to the Courthouse.  They agreed that because the gutters require approval from state historical people since the building is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, they would not have time to get that before this grant application was due. They decided to get cost estimates on the other proposed projects to see which of them will fall within the $125,000 grant limit.

They decided to take no action on the agenda item regarding a pay issue with one of the County Ambulance Service’s employees, but instead to let the new Emergency Medical Services Director, Christopher Lusk handle that issue when he starts on September 2^nd.

The commissioners voted to split the $90,909.09 money received from the EMS Equipment Fund Grant by dividing 95% of that amount among all the medical transporting organizations in the county and sending the remaining 5% to the Snowshoe Ski Patrol. This 95%-5% split is a requirement of the grant.

Additionally at the meeting, the commissioners:

• Voted to advertise for the open Custodian position on 8/28/25 and 9/4/25;
• Approved the easement for the 911 tower on Beard Heights with PMH.
• Approved the utility right-of-way agreements for their new 911 Center building with PMH and Seneca Health Services.
• Approved hiring Amberly Bennett as a Part-Time Driver and EMT for the County Ambulance Service.