Commission to Continue Efforts to Obtain a USDA Loan to Build New 911 Center

At their October 15^th meeting, the Pocahontas County Commissioners held a discussion on their applying for an approximately 5-million-dollar U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan to build a new 911 Center.

Commissioner John Rebinski explained that the bids they received exceeded the money the commissioners had available for the project by about 5 million dollars, so the USDA loan appears to be the best solution to financing the project, Pocahontas Memorial Hospital (PMH) and the county recently financed their hospital expansion using in part, a 7-million-dollar USDA loan.

While all parties agreed that building a new 911 Center is and should be a priority, Jay Miller suggested that the commissioners scale back the project’s size so that it can be built with existing funds rather than burden the taxpayers with this expense. He said the USDA loan of 5-million-dollars at the current USDA loan interest rate of 3.875% would commit the taxpayers to making monthly payments of $21,765 for the 35-year term of the loan. He said over those 35 years, including the interest, the county will be paying $9,141,475 total to repay a 5-million-dollar loan. He said the difference between the PMH loan, and this one is that PMH has a steady income stream to repay their loan, while a 911 Center has no income source except for taxpayers’ money.

Commissioner Walt Helmick disputed this saying there are other income sources and the current 911 Center needs to be replaced. Commissioner Rebinski pointed out that a new 911 Center is critical to maintaining public safety through emergency dispatches. He also said that he has put a lot of thought and reasoning into this project, and has already scaled it back as much as he can. He also said they might not need to borrow the full 5 million dollars, that is just a worst-case scenario.

Miller suggested the commissioners use the one million dollars of American Rescue Plan money they had set aside for a courthouse annex project to help pay for the 911 Center, but Helmick angerly said that money is “off limits.”

In any event, it could take 18 months or longer to get any USDA loan approved.

Two seniors at PCHS, Noah Nutter and Bailey Zickefoose, appeared before the commission to ask that the commissioners officially recognize the school’s Purple Star Club and issue an official proclamation “recognizing November as “Military Veteran and Active Service Personnel Month, and encourage citizens to increase their understanding and awareness of our veterans and active service personnel and their commitment to our nation and its citizens, their service and sacrifice, particularly as we head into the holiday season.”  They said the Purple Star Club will be sending care packages to our active service members this holiday season.

Additionally, the commissioners:

• Approved the following requests from the 911/Emergency Management Director, Mike O’Brien:

1. The WV Division of Emergency Management Sub-Grant adjustment of an additional $1,000.
2. The selling on Gov.Deal of: The old 911 Tahoe, with a reserve price of $1,500; of a 16 KW LP Generator: and of 4 old Motorola MTR Repeaters.
3. Of the proposal by Vigilant Technology Group for server management services for the 911 Center and the sheriff’s Office, which will provide the same service at half the cost as their old Motorola Service Contract.
4. Of an MOU between the Emergency Management & the Snowshoe Highlands Area Recreation Collaborative Trail Team regarding maintenance of an ATV donated by the Mon Forest.

• Approver Resolution #4 to use $72,721 out of the EPA Tannery Grant to pay invoices related to the project.
• Agreed to issue a resolution in support of the Courthouse Facilities Grant by the County Clerk and the Circuit Clerk for a new scanner and overtime pay to scan records.

Prior to the meeting they held a special work session about the demolition of 5 buildings at the former Howes Tannery site. They identified the buildings, which do not include the old office building or the former garage, which will have to be done separately. It was agreed that they will ask several contractors, including ReClaim which just did the demolition of the former BOE Office building in Marlinton, for estimates, and will proceed after receiving these. They said all asbestos has already been removed from these buildings and disposed of.