Commission approves updated HCSA bylaws and moves to secure Capon Bridge EMS building with first-refusal condition for town

The Hampshire County Commission voted to adopt updated bylaws for the Hampshire County Emergency Services Agency (HCSA) advisory board and approved an agreement to accept control of the Capon Bridge ambulance building with a first right of refusal reserved for the town.

Chief Hammock presented the updated HCSA bylaws and said the earlier bylaws were outdated. "So we're here just to approve the bylaws for the HCSA board," Chief Hammock said. The commission approved the updated bylaws by voice vote.

On the town building, Chief Hammock and President Eglanger explained that the prior voluntary rescue squad had written to the commission and indicated a desire to transfer its interest in the EMS building back to the county. The original 99-year lease granted an option that substituted the town as tenant or gave the town an option to purchase should the rescue squad dissolve. The town of Capon Bridge told county officials it would not purchase the building now but asked to preserve its option to purchase if the county later stopped using the building for EMS.

President Eglanger said the county’s interest is to secure a building for paid EMS operations in the Capon Bridge area, not to hold the structure for its market value. The commission voted to enter an agreement with the town of Capon Bridge that grants the town first right of refusal to purchase the building if the county ceases EMS operations there. The commission also voted to retain counsel to prepare updated real-estate documentation; commissioners named the firms/attorneys to contact as "Keaton, Fraser, Millicent, and Dante" and directed the clerk to check engagement and fees.

Why it matters: The decisions clear the path for the county to assume control of a local EMS facility while preserving the town’s option to reacquire the property in the future and modernize HCSA governance.