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Belmont County mental health board asks Martins Ferry for support as 10-year levy comes up for renewal
Summary
The executive director described services funded by a county levy that will appear on the November ballot and outlined a planned crisis stabilization unit funded with ARPA dollars and due to open in March 2026.
Lisa Ward, executive director of the Belmont County Mental Health & Recovery Board, asked Martins Ferry officials to support a renewal levy that will appear on the November ballot and said the renewal would not increase residents’ taxes.
“The levy will be a renewal levy,” Ward said. “It will not be a raise in taxes.” She told the council the board’s levy funds prevention and crisis services across Belmont, Harrison and Monroe counties and supports school-based early-intervention programs in all 12 Belmont County schools.
Ward reported increases in local suicide rates and said levy dollars help fund programs such as the Belmont County Cares program and services at the county jail, including a counselor and a reentry specialist. She also outlined a new behavioral health urgent-care facility and crisis stabilization unit being built near Fox Run Hospital; the board secured over $5,000,000 in federal ARPA funds for that project and Coleman Health Services will operate the facility, which Ward said is scheduled to open in March 2026 with six beds.
Ward gave usage figures for last year: the board’s programs performed 588 behavioral-health screenings across adults and youth and Cedar Ridge’s withdrawal-detox facility in Barnesville served 156 people in its first year with a 75 percent success rate, she said. Ward left brochures for council members and noted those materials include a QR code linking to the board’s website for more information.
Nikki Weigand, a Martins Ferry resident and U.S. Army veteran, said she spent years traveling out of state for treatment after the opioid epidemic and praised the board’s work creating local treatment options. “I’m currently 13 years clean, thankfully,” Weigand said, adding that local services now allow people to get care without leaving the area.
Council members asked a few clarifying questions about the levy rate. Ward said the current levy rate is 1.25 mills after a reduction 10 years ago; she characterized the upcoming ballot measure as a renewal of the existing rate. Council members said they supported the board’s work.
Ward’s presentation was given during the meeting’s public-comment period; no city financial action or vote on the levy was taken by the Martins Ferry City Council at the meeting.
