Commission affirms several funding commitments, directs EMS payment and tables multiple funding requests

Hardy County commissioners on Sept. 10 voted on a suite of funding and administrative items, approving several commitments and tabling a handful of other local funding requests.

The panel voted to withhold releasing its pledged funds for the McCoy Theatre’s lighting project until the theater’s fundraising deadline, approved a $20,000 county match for the South Branch Day Report Center’s community corrections grant for FY 2026, and directed monthly allocations of $15,000 to be paid directly to West Hardy EMS rather than routed through an intermediary. Commissioners also approved hiring a part-time maintenance/custodial employee and authorized staff to include an end-user agreement for county computers in the update of the employee handbook. Several outside requests for one-time grants — including a $30,000 request from the Day Report Center to use opioid-settlement funds for staff and funding requests from the Valley View Golf Course and the Big Blue youth center — were tabled for further review.

Why it matters: The votes sustain ongoing county support for community corrections and emergency medical services while pausing new discretionary spending until commissioners review available funds and prior commitments.

Votes at a glance

- McCoy Theatre pledge (09/10/2024): Motion to wait until the theater’s fundraising deadline to release pledged county commission funds — motion carried by voice vote. (Motion: not specified; second: not specified; outcome: approved.)

- South Branch Day Report Center community corrections matching funds: Motion to continue Hardy County’s match for the community corrections grant in the amount of $20,000 — motion carried by voice vote. (Motion: not specified; second: not specified; outcome: approved.)

- South Branch Day Report Center opioid-settlement request: Motion to table a $30,000 request from county opioid-settlement funds for one position for 12 months — motion carried. (Motion: table; outcome: tabled for later.)

- West Hardy EMS monthly allocation: Motion to direct monthly allocation payments of $15,000 to West Hardy EMS (direct payment to the EMS provider rather than through HCAA) — motion carried by voice vote. (Motion: not specified; second: not specified; outcome: approved.)

- Valley View Golf Course funding request: Motion to table consideration of requested assistance — carried. (Outcome: tabled.)

- Big Blue youth center opioid-settlement request: Motion to table pending review of prior minutes and the previously presented multi-year plan — carried. (Outcome: tabled.)

- Maintenance/custodial hire: Motion to approve a part-time hire for custodial/maintenance duties (trial 6-month basis) — carried. (Motion: not specified; outcome: approved.)

- Letters of support: Motions to sign a resolution/letter of support for a West Virginia Department of Highways RTO grant (Convention & Visitors Bureau) and a letter supporting a West Virginia Arts grant application for the McCoy Theatre — both carried.

- End-user agreement for county computers: Motion to consider adding an end-user agreement into the county employee handbook and have the county attorney review language — carried.

Discussion and next steps

Commissioners asked staff to confirm available balances in the opioid-settlement fund before deciding any new awards and to check prior meeting minutes and commitments before making multi-year pledges. Several requests were explicitly tabled pending documentation (minutes or funding totals) or until the commission’s March budget review. Commissioners instructed staff to proceed with the direct EMS payments for March onward.

Notes: Votes were recorded by voice; no roll-call tallies were provided in the public transcript excerpt.