Morgan County Commission
77 Fairfax Street, Suite 101 Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 Telephone: (304) 258-8540 FAX: (304) 258-7305 |
Meeting was opened by: Debra Kesecker, County Clerk, at 9:32 a.m.
Members present: Thomas R. Swaim, Brenda J. Hutchinson and Stacy Dugan
On a Stacy Dugan/Thomas Swaim motion, the Commission approved the Commission meeting minutes for January 8, 2009. This motion carried.
Lee Fowler- Health Department Budget for FYE 09-10
Morgan County Health Department Administrator Lee Fowler met with the Commission to discuss the current funding for the Morgan County Health Department. Mr. Fowler presented a slide show and distributed handouts to the Commission regarding budget funding for the Health Department. Mr. Fowler explained how the State of WV has cut back on providing funds for various services provided by the Health Department.
The Morgan County Health Department requested funding in the amount of $60,000.00 for 2010 to be paid upon invoice in four equal payments of $15,000.00 at the beginning of each quarter of the fiscal year. The funding will be used to financially support the mission and goals of the Health Department with regard to the public health of Morgan County.
The Commission agreed to further discuss and evaluate the budget before committing to any amount of funding.
E911/OES Vehicle Usage
Commissioner Dugan stated that there were some public concerns regarding the usage of the Office of Emergency Services vehicle, specifically the vehicle utilized by Dave Michael, Director of Emergency Services for Morgan County. Mr. Michael uses the vehicle to drive to and from his residence, which is outside of Morgan County. Mr. Michael was given permission in 2006 from the Morgan County Commission president at that time to drive the Office of Emergency Services vehicle to and from his residence. Mr. Michael approached the Commission and explained that as an Office of Emergency Services Director, he is on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He also presented a memorandum to the Commissioners explaining County Vehicle Policy and the importance of having his vehicle available at all times. Mr. Michael mentioned how other counties utilize a similar policy for their Office of Emergency Services Directors to drive emergency vehicles to their residences. Mr. Michael explained that he does not utilize the county vehicle for personal use. The Commission requested that Mr. Michael keep a vehicle travel log in the vehicle and turn this in to the Commission on a monthly basis. The Commission thanked Mr. Michael for appearing before the Commission to discuss the issue and commended him for his great work as an OES director. On a Stacy Dugan/Thomas Swaim motion, the County Commission grants Mr. Michael permission to continue to drive the emergency vehicle to and from his residence. Motion Carried.
Assessor Office, Planning, OES- Mapping and GIS Data
Mr. Mike Sobonya from Kimball & Associates presented the Commission with a
Contract for Phase II of the Digital Parcel project which includes the Town of Paw Paw and Cacapon district. Kimball & Associates has completed a digitalized parcel map for the Town of Bath and Bath District. The digitalized map will aid the Assessor’s office, the Planning office and also the Office of Emergency Services. The cost of Phase II is $14,900.00, which would be divided three ways between the Assessor’s Office, the
County Commission office and the Office of Emergency Services costing each office approximately $5000.00. Mr. Dave Michael from the Office of Emergency Services stated that he is unable to fund this project for this fiscal year. Staff will research other funding possibilities such as grants or request funding from other entities that could utilize this data. The County Commission will review and evaluate the budget before they make any commitment to fund this project.
Dick Gay- Hospital Contract (Executive Session)
Mr. Nathan Cochran with the Law Offices of Richard Gay met with the Commission regarding the pending Hospital Contract. On a Thomas Swaim/Brenda Hutchinson motion, County Commission went into executive session at 11:22 a.m. citing WV Code (b) (9). Section 6-9A-4. Motion Carried.
To avoid conflict of interest, Commissioner Dugan recused herself from this discussion.
On a Thomas Swaim/Brenda Hutchinson motion, the Commission came out of Executive Session at 12:22 pm. Motion Carried.
At this time, no decision was made regarding the contract.
Maxie Maggio- Courthouse Change Order
Ms. Maggio has not received the change order from the courthouse construction architect, Silling & Associates. She will present it to the County Commission at a future date.
Brian Peterson- Executive Session- Telephone conference on Pending Litigation
On a Stacy Dugan/Thomas Swaim motion, the Commission went into Executive Session
at 12:28 p.m. relating to a pending litigation regarding a former employee citing WV Code Section 6-9A-4 (b) (2). On a Stacy Dugan/ Thomas Swaim motion, the
Commission came out of Executive Session at 12:39 p.m. Motion Carried.
No action was taken at this time.
12:40 p.m. Adjourned for Lunch
1:40 p.m. Reconvened after Lunch
Jim Hoyt- County Email & Websites
Mr. Hoyt met with the Commission to discuss possible changes to the Morgan County Commission website and email service. Jim Hoyt and Ken Dabkowski will work with county staff to coordinate this effort. The Morgan County Commission website is currently hosted by Maggie Duval. County staff will research what is included in Ms. Duval’s hosting service contract. Staff will also research website editing software prices specifically Dreamweaver and Photoshop Elements. Mr. Hoyt, Mr. Dabkowski and the staff will meet before the February 5, 2009 County Commission meeting to discuss the compiled information and present it to the County Commission.
Scheduling Agenda Issues
The Morgan County Commission instructed staff to update the weekly agenda by adding a section for unfinished business.
This business will take place during the first half hour of each meeting.
Items for Discussion and /or Action
Discussion and or action on Courthouse Hours
The Commission discussed changing the hours of operation for the Morgan County Courthouse Complex. On a Thomas Swaim/Stacy Dugan motion, the hours for the Courthouse Complex will be closing on Thursdays at 7:00 pm and closing on Fridays at 5:00 pm. The change will take effect the week starting January 26, 2009. This motion carried.
Masons Time Capsule
There will be a Cornerstone Ceremony for the new Morgan County Courthouse on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 1:00 pm. The Morgan County Commission accepted the offer of Deford Lodge No. 88, A.F. & A.M., the local Masonic Lodge in Berkeley Springs, to conduct a cornerstone laying ceremony to commemorate the actual construction of the new building. The ceremony is open to the public.
Adjournment
On a Stacy Dugan/ Thomas Swaim motion, the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.
Motion Carried.
Upcoming Meetings
January 22, 2009 @ 4:00 p.m.
Morgan County Commission Meeting
Morgan County Commission Meeting Room
February 2, 2009 @ 9:30 a.m.
Board of Equalization Meeting
Morgan County Commission Meeting Room
February 5, 2009 @ 4:00 p.m.
Morgan County Commission Meeting
Morgan County Commission Meeting Room
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