[0:00] our meeting here. Ask Garrett to lead us
in devotion and prayer and then we'll
[0:03] follow it up with the pledge of
allegiance.
[0:07] » Morning, Garrett. Thanks for being here.
>> Good morning. It's good to see you all.
[0:10] Looks like you're one short this
morning. Um I I thought I would open
[0:15] there's a uh
in the book of Deuteronomy when u if you
[0:21] know anything about what's happening
there. Um, after God has released or
[0:27] brought his people out from Egypt in
Exodus, they just are stiff necked. I
[0:32] love that phrase stiff neck because it's
it's referring to the fact that you're
[0:36] stubborn and he refuses to bow your
head. Um, and so they're they refuse to
[0:41] to say that he is king and lord. And so
he says, you know what, you're not going
[0:44] to get to the promised land, but your
kids will. Um, and so in Deuteronomy,
[0:48] which is just called the second law, um,
Moses is reminding the kids of who are
[0:56] now about to inherit the promised land
of what God has done and and what he's
[1:00] decreed for them. And he says this to
them um, as he's starting out with this
[1:04] this second law or repeat of the law. He
says, "Listen, the Lord our God, the
[1:10] Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, and
[1:15] with all your strength. These words I am
giving you today are to be in your
[1:19] heart. Repeat them to your children.
Talk about them when you sit in your
[1:23] house and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.
[1:27] Bind them as a sign on your hand. Let
them be a symbol on your forehead. Write
[1:31] them on the door pace doorposts of your
house and on your city gates. I think
[1:36] it's just a reminder for us. I mean,
wherever we go, we are to be
[1:41] representatives of the God we serve. Um,
people should see our actions and know
[1:48] who we are. People should come into our
homes and and find the peace of God in
[1:53] our homes. People should come into our
our town and know that, you know, this
[1:58] is a town that that fears and respects
who God is and what he does. And and I
[2:04] just hope that that that's, you know,
kind of the basis of everything that we
[2:08] do. And so, let's uh go to him in this
prayer as we begin this meeting. Father,
[2:12] we thank you that no matter what you
are, King, no matter how many people
[2:18] refuse to bow their heads, that doesn't
negate the fact that you are the one
[2:26] that sustains all things and creates all
things.
[2:30] And uh we know that all things are
working together
[2:34] for the good of your people and for for
your glory. And so I just pray that in
[2:40] meetings such as these that that
in many ways just
[2:45] sometimes can seem mundane and wrote,
they're not. And they're they're
[2:50] purposeful. and and I just pray that for
um for the people who are leading our
[2:55] county in different um facilities and
different areas that that they would
[3:01] have a heart that that is aligned with
you and that they would lead from their
[3:06] their fear and their love of you. Um and
we just thank you for all that you've
[3:11] done and just pray that you're here
guiding the thoughts and the directions
[3:14] of this meeting and all the things that
are on the agenda. We thank you for your
[3:19] sons in his name that we pray. Amen.
Amen. Thank you, Garrett.
[3:23] » Yeah. Thank you, Garrett.
>> All right. If you please rise
[3:28] algiance
[3:33] to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for it
[3:38] stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[3:43] for all.
[3:49] Thank you very much. We'll call this
meeting to order. Tuesday, September the
[3:54] 8th, 2026.
First item on the agenda is the minutes.
[4:00] Approval of the minutes from the
previous meeting. Clerk Strike sent
[4:03] those out to us electronically
last week. So,
[4:09] Mr. President, I approve those as
presented. Uh unless you have any
[4:15] additional comments or corrections, but
move that we approve those.
[4:20] All right. Thank you, Commissioner
Edgler. I'll second that. Minutes will
[4:24] stand approved as submitted.
Next is a president's report and
[4:30] commissioner reports. I don't have a
whole lot really to report this meeting.
[4:36] The only meeting that I've really had
since our prior commission meeting is a
[4:40] PTOIC Valley Transit Authority meeting.
those folks continue to do good work
[4:44] there. Kind of expanding their
[4:49] ride shares and the the uh opportunities
they have there to help out as it
[4:55] relates to
public transit in in a rural area which
[5:00] is obviously extremely difficult.
Provides it own set of challenges but
[5:04] those folks do a lot of good work,
continue to do a lot of good things. So
[5:07] thankful that have those folks on that
board that are working to provide those
[5:12] services to our county and and many
other counties locally. So aside from
[5:18] that, any everything else that we have
would be on the agenda. I don't have
[5:21] anything else really to report. So
Commissioner Eginger, if you have
[5:24] anything, I'll turn the floor over to
you at this time.
[5:26] » I don't have a lot either. commissioner
uh did have the Central Hampshire PSD uh
[5:33] meeting and uh they are in the process
of uh finishing up the several projects
[5:42] that they had over the years. Um you
know, a lot of the the tying up the
[5:48] loose ends on the Peretsville projects
um and uh stuff like that. Um but uh
[5:58] nothing major to report there. Uh no
other meetings to report on this time.
[6:04] Um but since I did do have a few spare
minutes there, I just uh
[6:10] wanted to, you know, touch on the
upcoming uh
[6:14] vote for the uh levy that'll be in
November. Um, and you know, hopefully
[6:22] uh, as I stated a few meetings ago, I I
want to continue to uh for the
[6:28] commissioners to
uh, educate the public um, as clearly
[6:34] and uh, fairly as possible uh, with that
uh, upcoming opportunity to vote that
[6:41] uh, up or down. And uh, again, I just I
just wanted to hit a few highlights
[6:47] there. Um, you know, I uh
the vote on the levy, you know, won't be
[6:56] to make the fee go away. Uh, you know,
obviously if there is a levy, there
[7:03] won't be a fee, but if there's if
there's not a levy, there still will be
[7:08] a fee. Um, and and I'm just touching on
a few of these things because, you know,
[7:12] I've gotten some questions, emails, I've
seen some, uh, social media rhetoric.
[7:18] Uh, so I' I'm just trying to hit a few
of the highlights that I've, uh, noticed
[7:24] people questioning. Um, you know, there
are, uh, good and bad with either way. I
[7:30] I don't know that either way, uh,
is a best way. Um obviously
[7:38] uh you know a change to a levy will put
uh more responsibility
[7:45] from the economic side on a portion of
our uh citizens. Um they will see their
[7:53] bills uh go up considerably. um
especially businesses since the previous
[8:01] commission, including myself, um
[snorts] you know, chose not to apply
[8:06] the fee to businesses in the past. Um
with a levy that would be just like your
[8:12] uh
your regular tax tax bill that you get.
[8:17] It's, you know, a levy works just like
any other levy on your tax bill. So um
[8:23] it will be uh applicable to what you own
um and how much you own and you know
[8:31] therefore you know you will pay more
accordingly. Um that will work in the
[8:37] the other way as well. you know, if if
you uh own a little less than the
[8:43] average, uh you'll probably see your
bill go down. If if you're around the
[8:48] average in the county on what you own,
um and what you pay taxes on, your bill
[8:54] will probably stay somewhere there,
pretty close to the same, may go up a
[8:59] little bit or go down a little bit, but
uh
[9:03] you know, that's I just want to continue
to be as clear as possible. I mean what
[9:08] this is and the reason I uh agreed to
uh allow this to go on the levy is
[9:18] because I do you know believe that the
people should be allowed to uh chime in
[9:23] on it. Um, you know, it's it's been
something that's been in the county now
[9:28] for close to 10 years and uh when the
opportunity comes for the people to uh
[9:35] chime in on it, um I did believe that uh
you know, when the idea came up, um I I
[9:43] believe that it's fair for the people to
be able to uh voice their opinion by way
[9:50] of vote. So, you know, again, um I don't
necessarily want to to say that I uh
[9:59] at this point know, you know, what the
uh benefits of one way or the other is.
[10:04] Again, I think there's uh
when you really break it down, you see
[10:11] that there's uh positive and negatives
uh either way. Um there's a lot more we
[10:17] could talk about on it and you know we
do have uh several weeks yet till we
[10:22] vote on it but I just want to continue
to keep a open
[10:27] um communication from the commissioners
on
[10:33] on the levy and the current fee and how
it works and uh answer any questions
[10:38] that you have. So thank you
commissioner.
[10:41] » Yes sir. Thank you, Commissioner
Eginger, and I appreciate you touching
[10:45] on that. I I have had several folks
reach out to me as well with questions
[10:49] about the potential levy. And I would
again encourage folks to if you have
[10:54] questions, certainly feel free to reach
out. I know HCSA, I believe, is planning
[10:58] to continue to do some education on
the levy as we move forward here, get
[11:05] closer to election time. So, keep keep
an eye ear out for that. And again, if
[11:09] you have any questions or need anything
from us, we certainly happy to try to
[11:12] help in any way that we can. So,
[11:16] okay, we'll move on to our 9:15 agenda
item, which is the Eastern Alageney
[11:22] Council for Human Services,
Tayier Me. Hope I said that right. The
[11:28] head start update. Thank you for being
here this morning.
[11:32] » Certainly.
>> I've been here before. I wear many hats,
[11:37] but each is my nineto five. [laughter]
[11:41] Um I am Tiier me. I'm the public
relations manager for each Head Start.
[11:45] Um and I'm here today because I want to
bring to your attention um a significant
[11:50] proposed change affecting Head Start
programs nationwide. On August 7th,
[11:55] 2026, the Administration for Children
and Families issued a notice of proposed
[12:00] rulemaking entitled reducing federal
burden for Head Start programs. This
[12:06] proposal could potenti substantially
change the current Head Start program
[12:11] performance standards that each Head
Start and Head Starts across the country
[12:15] operate with. Now, these are just
proposed changes. Nothing's final yet.
[12:20] Um, as long as the Head Start Act that
was signed into law by Congress, as long
[12:25] as that is intact, um, Head Start, we
are not closing, we're not going
[12:30] anywhere. These are just some proposed
changes, um, that this administration
[12:36] would like to make to our performance
standards. Um, and anybody that operates
[12:41] in Head Start knows that our Head Start
program performance standards are like
[12:45] our Bible.
Um while some of these proposals could
[12:51] provide each with greater f flexibility
and reduce administrative burden, there
[12:55] are also some proposed changes that
could have significant implications for
[13:00] staffing, program operations,
administrative costs, parent engagement,
[13:04] and the delivery of services to our
children and family. Um, one of the
[13:09] major ones that this administration,
they are proposing reducing the
[13:13] administrative cost cap from 15% to 5%.
The Head Start act says that we can
[13:22] operate up or use up to 15%.
Um, I can tell you that each is head
[13:28] start. We currently operate between a 10
to 12% um, administrative cost. Now, our
[13:36] National Head Starts um association did
some research for us and found that 73%
[13:42] of Head Starts across the country um
operate above a 5%
[13:48] um administrative cost cap. So,
not that we couldn't do it um because
[13:57] most people know that for the past three
years, Head Start has been flatfunded
[14:02] and we will be flatunded next year as
well. And I'm proud to say that at each
[14:06] Head Start, um, we manage, we make it
work. Our children and our staff and our
[14:11] their families do not go without their
needs in our in our facilities. But this
[14:16] 5% ceiling could affect our finance and
accounting, our payroll, human
[14:22] resources, our information technology,
data systems, um procurement, monitoring
[14:28] and compliance regulations, our grant
administration, insurance and risk
[14:33] management, our fiscal reporting, and
our administrative staffing. Um I don't
[14:38] want it to think I don't want anybody to
think that we're here because oh, we're
[14:41] just here for the admin part. Nothing.
But without these things, without the
[14:46] people in our administrative offices,
our Head Start program can't operate.
[14:52] Um, and if it does operate, in my
opinion, it would not operate at the
[14:56] quality of service we believe our
children and families in Grand Hampshire
[15:00] and Hardy County deserve. So, that is a
concern for us. Um, another concern that
[15:07] we have is that this administration
wants us to get away from federal
[15:12] regulatory guidelines and focus more on
state and child care licensings
[15:17] requirements. Well, Egis Head Start, we
do that. We already operate under West
[15:21] Virginia um, child care licensings
requirements. So, that's not a big
[15:27] burden or change for us to have to
happen. Our concern with that is if you
[15:32] take away these federal performance
standards and guidelines is that
[15:38] we our concern is that the consistency
of the Head Start program will vary from
[15:43] state to state depending on those
childcare licensing requirements. We
[15:47] want to guarantee that every child in
West Virginia receives the same
[15:52] highquality service of early childhood
education as any other
[15:58] student or family in in in another
state. Um
[16:05] we have made a commitment to ourselves
that um while some of these proposed
[16:12] changes we we do agree with um we do
feel that it would allow us more
[16:17] flexibility in operating our program
even though we do independently operate
[16:22] ourselves. Um,
we think there could be more flexibility
[16:27] and we're okay with that, but we look at
the bigger picture is that we do live in
[16:34] a rural area. Um, one of the changes
that the administration wants to make is
[16:42] they want to get rid of some of the
health care guidelines. Now at each head
[16:46] start um we do vision, hearing
screenings, um dental screenings, mental
[16:54] health consultations are done regularly
in our classrooms. Um
[17:00] we provide services to our students that
some public schools don't require. Like
[17:08] my child goes to public school, we have
to have a wellness check before we enter
[17:12] school. That's it. At eaches, we take it
a step further. We ask that you provide
[17:17] us with your wellness check and your
last dental check. But when it comes to
[17:21] the vision and hearing and other things,
if we see that there's a problem, we
[17:26] make a referral for that family. If that
family has a problem getting to the
[17:31] referral, we find a way to get them
there. Um Sarah Meyers who is our health
[17:38] mental health and nutrition manager um
she has partnered with the dental
[17:43] department at EA Haw and they send their
dentists into our classrooms and
[17:48] sometimes that's the first time some of
these children have ever had a dental
[17:53] exam. So when this administration or the
federal government wants to
[18:00] cut back on the timeline to get these
things done, that's a concern for us.
[18:05] We're all parents here. I I hope most
everybody's parent here. Um we don't
[18:10] have a lot of doctors here. We don't
have um a lot of dentists that you can
[18:15] call and say, "Hey, my kid needs a
dental exam." You may wait six months.
[18:20] You may wait a year to get in an
appointment there. We've had it happen
[18:23] to our families.
We want we don't want that to change. We
[18:29] want our children to be able to continue
receiving the same
[18:35] physical screenings, dental, vision, um
developmental screenings that we've
[18:40] always given to them on the timeline
that our performance standard says they
[18:44] have to have them. Um, our concern,
another concern with that is that we do
[18:50] have parents that don't recognize the
need to take your child to get a
[18:56] physical, take your child to get a
vision screening, to get a hear a
[19:01] hearing screening, and to get a dental
exam. Um,
[19:06] I think that sometimes
it's a lack of knowing that that is
[19:12] important as well as financially. Can we
afford just to do this? Um,
[19:20] I think it's no it's no secret that we
service um the socially economic poor in
[19:28] our communities that we service. But
just because they're not at a social
[19:32] economical level as everybody else, we
still feel that they these children and
[19:38] their families
deserve the same quality of care across
[19:45] the board that any other child or family
gets. So, we're not going to change our
[19:50] standards on that. Um, we've made a
commitment to ourselves, um, to our
[19:56] staff and to our children and families
because they're watching the news. They
[20:01] they see this and it causes panic. What
does that mean for me and my family at
[20:04] Head Start? What does that mean for my
child at Head Start? Our staff is
[20:07] concerned. Um
myself I am concerned but we have
[20:13] decided that we control our own destiny
at each head start and that's a good
[20:18] thing for us because that we are
independently operated. We have made a
[20:22] commitment that our level of service is
not going to change. Our mission to our
[20:27] children and families in the counties
that we serve is not going to change.
[20:31] Our partnerships with our county BOEs,
I've met with them to assure them it's
[20:35] not going to change. Um, and I'm hoping
and keeping our fingers crossed that we
[20:42] don't get a push back that you have to
change this. Um, we don't feel that we
[20:48] will, but our concern is that some of
these proposed changes could greatly
[20:56] affect
our our rural areas and we don't want
[21:00] that to happen.
if you would see the papers I have here.
[21:07] So now, usually in an NPRM, once it is
publicly released, there's a 30-day
[21:13] comment period. Now, our head national
head start association went to bat for
[21:18] us and got us a 60-day public comment
period. Um, so
[21:23] October 6 will end the public comment
deadline, and it's as simple as going to
[21:28] regulations.gov gov and looking for or
typing in um
[21:35] the Head Start proposed changes. It'll
pull it up and it gives you a section to
[21:42] add a public comment on your thoughts on
Head Start. Um we ask that we've asked
[21:48] everybody like if you're Head Start a
past Head Head Start kid or a Head Start
[21:51] parent like just let them know what Head
Start did for you and your family. Let
[21:54] them know what Head Start does for your
community. But as we consider the
[21:59] proposed NPRM, we believe that it's
important that we look at the impact
[22:04] through a rural lens. Each is not
operating in a large metropolitan
[22:09] community where medical providers,
mental health professionals,
[22:13] specialists, transportation options, and
other community resources are readily
[22:17] available. We serve families across
rural communities where distances are
[22:21] greater and resources are more limited.
Sure, the greater local flexibility
[22:26] could certainly benefit us by allowing
us to tailor our tailor our program to
[22:31] the exact needs of Grant Hardy and
Hampshire County children and families.
[22:35] However, we also have to consider
whether reducing federal standards will
[22:40] create unintended consequences for our
rural program. A requirement that may be
[22:45] relatively easy for an urban program to
satisfy can be much more difficult and
[22:50] expensive for our program because of the
geographic distance, the work for
[22:54] workforce shortages, and the limited
community service. We should therefore
[22:58] consider not only whether a proposed
regulation reduces administrative burden
[23:04] but whether it also allows rural Head
Start programs like each Head Start to
[23:08] continue providing highquality
comprehensive services to children and
[23:13] families who may have nowhere else to
turn. So the question for us isn't
[23:19] simply whether we want more or fewer
regulations. Our question is, what level
[23:25] of federal standard is necessary to
ensure that a child in rural Hampshire
[23:31] County, West Virginia, receives the same
quality of Head Start services as a
[23:36] child in a major city.
So, we're not asking for anything other
[23:42] than your voice and other than your
support for our program and for the
[23:46] children and families of Hampshire
County.
[23:50] Any questions? Thank you very much for
being here and u bringing this to our
[23:55] attention and the attention of our
community. And um
[24:00] and how many children do you guys have
in the program?
[24:05] » Um we are equipped for 263.
I think our last count last week was
[24:11] 240, but we're still um accepting
applications.
[24:16] Now, another thing, and I didn't touch
on it, but some of the additions that
[24:20] they want to add, and these are
additions that we agree with, and we
[24:23] already do in our program, um, one of
them is a nutrition. Um, they want more
[24:30] fresh foods, fresh vegetables, um, lower
sugar content in your menus. We already
[24:36] do that. We follow, um, the USA, USDA
guidelines, and also CACF, national
[24:43] guidelines. Um, we do not serve
processed foods in our three facilities.
[24:48] Um, so we're already doing that. So,
we're we're okay with that change. Um,
[24:53] another one is physical activity. They
want to add a requirement that for every
[24:59] three and a half hours that a child is
in a Head Start program that they get a
[25:03] half hour of physical activity. Well,
our kids from 7:45 to 2:30 they are with
[25:10] us. Um, so we operate a little bit
longer and that's largely due to our
[25:14] partnership with the BOEs and the pre-K
programs that we have within our
[25:17] facilities, but our kids get an hour of
outside playtime, full hour. And that's
[25:23] just outside because there are also
physical activities and movement that
[25:28] goes on in the classroom as well. So,
we're okay with that one, too. Um,
[25:32] because pat ourselves on the back, we
know we already do that above and beyond
[25:36] of what they are expecting from here on
out. Um, another one of our a concern of
[25:41] ours is um they want to take away the
requirement of parent engagement groups.
[25:49] Um,
we don't want to see that go away. We do
[25:53] we have two governing bodies. One is our
board of directors and one is our policy
[25:57] council which is our parent governing
body. Um, that those two are staying. Um
[26:03] but the parent engagement group it
allows parents to come into the centers.
[26:08] Um we bring resources into them. Um I
think that the Morfield Center they have
[26:15] done things with Eastern Action. They've
had people come in and they do a
[26:18] budgeting with the family like let's
talk about your finances. Let let's
[26:23] let's figure out how how you're going to
budget, how you're going to make this.
[26:26] Um we do cooking classes. is I think
Hampshire County has done um some like
[26:30] crock-pot cooking meal classes. Um our
concern with that is that while people
[26:38] think, oh well, you know, it's just a
budget thing, like what's what's parents
[26:40] get from it,
we get something from it. Um some
[26:46] parents,
you don't see what goes on in in in at
[26:51] home. Um, and I guess maybe some things
aren't our business, what goes on in
[26:56] people's home, but when the parents come
in and engage in our facilities and
[27:00] engage in these groups, we're allowed to
see things that most people probably
[27:06] look at and don't pick up on, but
because of the work that our teachers
[27:09] and our staff do, they're able to see if
there's a problem. you know, they're
[27:14] able to catch a red flag and they can
pull that family aside and they can say,
[27:19] "Hey, you know, I noticed this in the
parent group. Everything okay? You want
[27:23] to talk about something? Can I help you
with something?" Um, some parents don't
[27:28] want to reach out. You know, it's a
pride thing. Um,
[27:32] so we don't want to see these groups go
away. We feel they are necessary for our
[27:36] families. They help our families. Um,
and we feel that it's necessary for our
[27:41] teachers and our staff to kind of pick
up a red flag that may not be brought
[27:47] forth by the parentself. So, but like I
said, these are just proposals. Nothing
[27:52] is final yet. Um, I think the last
webinar I said on um it could take one
[27:58] year, two year, three years before they
are finalized. Um, but we are concerned
[28:04] that they might be kind of being
fasttracked. So, we just want to make
[28:08] the public aware. Um, because it is
scary what you see on the news. It is
[28:12] scary, but we like to think that we can
get ahead of this and changes that we
[28:18] want to see happen will happen and the
changes that we think would be
[28:22] detrimental to our program and to our
area. We're just asking for everybody's
[28:27] support on those changes. That's all I
got, sir.
[28:32] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[28:34] » Appreciate you being here and thank you
for what you do for the services you
[28:37] provide to our community and our
counties. We much appreciate it.
[28:41] Appreciate you being on top of this kind
of uh sounds like you're already being
[28:45] very proactive and taking steps to to be
ready as possible. But but certainly in
[28:50] in the event that anything changes or
any there are other new additions to
[28:53] this and you want to come back, we're
certainly happy to to talk and and
[28:57] continue to have conversations and do
what we can to support you.
[29:00] » All right. Thank you so much.
>> Would you have that website?
[29:02] » It's regulations.gov.
Let me see.
[29:06] So that went by kind of quick.
>> I was getting ready to say I used to
[29:09] have a guideline and I think the Hardy
County Commission took them all that
[29:14] day. I was there.
>> Well, could you email some to me and
[29:17] I'll get them in the hallway or you
email
[29:21] me?
[29:29] » I have to get on her county. They took
all [snorts] my
[29:34] » guidelines.
[29:49] Thank you.
[29:59] » Thank you, gentlemen.
>> Thank you.
[30:08] Okay, we'll move on to our next agenda
item, which is the America 250th mural
[30:13] edition.
Greybel is here with us. Come on up. How
[30:17] you doing this morning?
>> Good. How are you?
[30:19] » Very good. Good to see you.
>> Good to see you. How are you all doing?
[30:24] » Good.
Thank you.
[30:36] Okay. So, this is you may get through a
whole meeting without somebody asking
[30:39] you for money today. I don't know.
[laughter]
[30:42] So, um this morning I just wanted to
chat with you real quick about closing
[30:47] out the America 250 mural project. From
my understanding, all of the funds have
[30:52] already been distributed out. So,
there's nothing uh no requirement on
[30:56] your end except for a signature. So, the
only other thing I wanted to bring to
[31:01] your attention is in your packets, there
are some photos of the murals. They have
[31:06] all been installed.
I hope that you guys have had a chance
[31:10] to to take a peek at them. They are
gorgeous. And um I wanted to bring to
[31:17] your attention that we have a fourth
mural that's going to be added as well.
[31:22] And um Kelly and Sam Williams are going
to be covering the expense entirely.
[31:28] It's going to be on the wall at the
South Branch in and you have a photo of
[31:32] that in your package as well. Um there
shouldn't be anything any additional
[31:37] requirements on your end. I think that's
all been taken care of. So it will just
[31:42] be a signature a signature on behalf of
the county commission stating that the
[31:48] uh project has been completed.
Uh the only other thing that I wanted to
[31:53] mention at this meeting is the
newspaper last week had an article out
[31:58] um that had some um misrepresentation I
guess. Uh it said that the murals were
[32:04] painted by Julie Harris that is not
correct. It is Julie Cook that did the
[32:08] murals and she did a fabulous job. Um,
but one of the other things that I
[32:12] really wanted to make sure was brought
out at this meeting is that in the paper
[32:15] it said that the Hampshire County
Commission voted in the spring to donate
[32:19] $5,000 toward the mural project and that
was not the case. That has stirred up
[32:25] some controversy online. So, I wanted to
be sure to bring that to everyone's
[32:29] attention that this money was grant
money funded from the state of West
[32:34] Virginia. There was no tax money from
our locals involved in this whatsoever.
[32:41] So, does anyone have any questions for
me?
[32:45] » Very much appreciate you clearing that
up.
[32:47] » Yes, sir.
>> And uh these things I have had the
[32:51] opportunity myself to look at them and
they are very very well done. Very nice.
[32:56] The mural that's going to be placed at
the South Branch in I believe there's
[33:02] already one on or planned to be one on
the South Branch in Morfield. Correct.
[33:07] » There is already one on the one of
Morfield. Yes, this one will be added to
[33:11] our set of three that we already have
that will be included on the mural trail
[33:18] that's going to be put together.
There'll be a mural trail map that'll be
[33:21] done by the state where people can go to
different counties and look at all the
[33:25] murals and and we're hoping that this
fourth mural will also be included in
[33:29] that as well.
[33:33] The interesting thing about this one is
it represents our end of the trough
[33:38] versus the one in Warfield represents
south
[33:43] » visually.
>> Correct. Yeah.
[33:47] » Um then then one more piece that I
wanted to add is uh this we have more
[33:51] America 250 activities coming up. Um,
one of those is going to be a uh cost a
[33:59] fashion show, I guess, at the school for
the deaf and the blind that's scheduled
[34:05] for October. Um, we're also going to
have a 911 memorial ride from can be
[34:13] cars, vans, motorcycles. It'll start at
the American Legion and go all the way
[34:18] to Shakesville, Pennsylvania for where
where the plane went down. and that will
[34:24] be on October 10th. Uh that will be a
part of our America 250 activities. And
[34:30] then we will close out the year for um
the Veterans Day event that we usually
[34:38] have. This will be our third year that
we've had it at the American Legion
[34:41] where we do a free dinner for vets. But
we're also going to include that with an
[34:45] America 250 block party downtown. So I
wanted to bring that to your attention
[34:49] as well. And that will be on Veterans
Day on November 11th.
[34:57] All right.
>> Any questions?
[35:02] » I don't have any for you. Appreciate
you.
[35:04] » Thank you so much.
>> Thanks for being here. [snorts]
[35:13] » All right, clerk. We're a little ahead
of schedule, so
[35:17] you have anything for us
>> or we can move on if you if you have
[35:22] nothing uh beyond some some things we've
already
[35:26] » dealt with and of course the
exonerations and invoices.
[35:30] » Okay. All right.
>> Then we'll move on to the 945 agenda
[35:35] item which is the police resource
officer with the board of education.
[35:38] » Okay. This was prepared and submitted to
uh sheriff and he reviewed it and agreed
[35:44] with everything in it. And so it's just
something that goes into the program
[35:51] packet as part of that
[snorts]
[36:43] Clerk, this is something I assume we've
done for quite some time. This
[36:46] agreement. Yeah,
>> that is correct. Um and the
[36:52] uh [snorts] high school board um over
the years has prepared most of this
[36:58] packet. Um at this point it's Miss Stump
at the high school vice principal still
[37:04] is
pulling the the threads together and
[37:08] getting ready for submission.
These officers, as I understand it, are
[37:13] one at the high school, one at Capen
Bridge complex, and one at the Romney,
[37:18] » assuming at the Romney
>> Oh, yes.
[37:21] » Elementary.
>> I don't think
[37:23] » no. Middle school. Okay.
[37:32] The officers may do double duty
with the elementary where needed, but
[37:37] sure.
[37:48] Mr. President, I'll move that we give
you the uh approval to sign the pro uh
[37:56] officer agreement.
All right. Thank you, Commissioner Aer.
[38:01] I'll second that motion.
Those in favor signify by saying I. I.
[38:06] » I.
Motion passed.
[38:31] Okay,
end of our regularly scheduled agenda
[38:35] items. So, clerk,
we have the exonerations which I emailed
[38:41] to you last week and actually sent the
the worksheets with them as well. Just a
[38:47] few
Do you need to review those?
[38:50] » I do not. You need to see those.
>> No, I'm fine, but I I will move that we
[38:56] uh accept those uh as presented from the
assessor since our last meeting.
[39:02] » I'll second that. All those in favor
signify by saying I.
[39:06] » I.
>> I.
[39:08] Passed.
>> I had also sent you uh no action needed
[39:13] but an update from the health
department. uh Miss Wilkins had sent a
[39:17] report on what they've been doing and um
also I have the legal rep hourly legal
[39:23] representation agreement from our
attorney in the moral
[39:29] situation. So that's here and I think
his emails said he was very flexible
[39:35] when that was needed to be signed. But
uh so we you guys agreed to do that the
[39:40] last 20 special meeting on the 20th. So
I have that here. as well.
[39:48] » Do that now or?
>> Yeah, I think we can.
[39:51] » Yeah, sounds good.
[40:51] Just as a quick note, I'll just touch on
some of the developments of the marl in
[40:55] the last couple days. I think last time
at our we had our meeting spoke to the
[41:00] fact that the uh the PSC staff had
recommended um a delay because of some
[41:07] of the
changes to the route um that had taken
[41:13] place fairly recently and and I believe
was going to impact several different
[41:17] land owners. Um staff had recommended a
delay. the applicant being next era
[41:24] agreed to that and I believe on Friday,
I think it was Friday that the PSC
[41:31] said they did not agree with that and
are going to keep the
[41:35] current slated dates intact and are not
going to delay due to those changes. So,
[41:40] uh it's kind of a
last minute decision there. I believe
[41:45] there are some things that are actually
due today. So, uh, still continue. Looks
[41:49] like tomorrow is still going to continue
on as had previously been slated and
[41:53] we'll continue to follow to see what
updates there are and any changes take
[41:58] place.
[42:09] » Well, the only other business I have is
the uh invoices for your approval.
[42:15] They do have been previously sent
electronically.
[42:20] » Mr. President, if there's no questions
or concerns about the invoices for
[42:24] discussion, then I would uh move that we
proceed with approval for those invoices
[42:29] since our last meeting.
>> I'll second that. All those in favor
[42:33] signify by saying I.
>> I.
[42:35] » I. Passed. Invoices stand approved. And
clerk, thank you for getting that stuff
[42:40] out to us electronically.
>> It does help. Appreciate it.
[42:43] » Yep. provides an opportunity to be able
to review it and
[42:48] is very beneficial. So, thank you for
that.
[42:49] » And of course, anything like that is
public and if there's any request, we're
[42:54] happy to to answer those.
>> Sure.
[43:01] » Gentlemen, if there's uh nothing else to
be discussed, I would entertain a motion
[43:05] to adjurnn.
>> I move that we adjourn.
[43:09] » All right.