Tim Walker
AMR Reporter
Sheriff Troy McCoy appeared at the August 18 Pocahontas County Commission meeting and expressed his concern about overtime for Courthouse Security Officers because of evening meetings by non-commission agencies. McCoy said that these evening meetings, mostly by the Solid Waste Authority, are sometimes held as late as 7 p.m., and his Courthouse Security Officers go off duty when the courthouse closes at 4:30 p.m. but must return to duty on overtime just before the evening meetings begin. This causes them to wait around for more than an hour without being paid, before reopening the courthouse for the meetings.
McCoy said that the only two agencies that hold evening meetings are the Solid Waste Authority (SWA) and occasionally the 4-H Extension Service. He said that between May 2025 and July 2026, the SWA held 18 evening meetings, which start at either 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., and that has cost about $3,000 in overtime while the Extension Service only meets about four times a year.
The commission discussed several options, including requiring all meetings to be held during regular courthouse hours. However, Commissioner Jamie Walker pointed out that that is impractical because most members of the SWA have other jobs during the day. They also discussed asking those agencies to meet at another location such as at the Wellness Center or library, but it was pointed out that these are public meetings that should be held at the courthouse. The commission decided to send letters to those agencies, asking them to schedule their meetings to begin no later then 6 p.m. and they passed a motion to allow the security officers to remain on duty with overtime pay from 4:30 when the courthouse closes until the evening meeting ends. The motion also included doing a budget revision to provide the extra overtime funds when and if the Sheriff’s Department expends its allotted overtime funds.
The commission also held a lengthy discussion about relocating the Health Department out of the courthouse.
Sheriff McCoy said his deputies need to be out of the jail building because of mold and other air pollutants which are causing health issues, but they need to be in a new location very close to the jail and courthouse.
County Clerk Missy Bennett said that having to move the voting machines out of the ARC building and to the courthouse for public testing before each election, then move them back for a week or so then move them out to polling places is a very burdensome task. She said they need a large office in the courthouse to store them, test them and also use as an early voting site. Both are eyeing the office space in the courthouse used by the Health Department.
Cindy Browning of the Health Department responded that they would be okay with moving out of the courthouse, provided the commission finds another location for them, as State Code requires the commission to provide a location for the Health Department but not necessarily in the courthouse.
Options were discussed, without a decision being made. They included using the old 911 Center when it moves to its new building, buying several former law-office buildings across the street, or using the Edray Office Building which is vacant.
In other matters, the commission approved:
• A time Extension Request for the Broadband Project Grant from September of 2026 to September of 2027, and a change order for that grant, adding $10,187 to it to allow it to also provide service in Marlinton.
• EPA Tannery Project’s Payment Resolution #24 to pay invoices.
• Day Report Center’s new Schedule of Payments and a Resolution for the Community Corrections Program’s 2026-2027 Grant.
• Authorizing the Sheriff’s Department to advertise for bids for a new full-sized law enforcement vehicle.
• The purchase of a generator for the courthouse.
• The removal of the hedges surrounding the courthouse
Following an Executive session, the commission agreed to send a letter to an Animal Control employee to attend the next commission meeting on a personnel issue, and to allow Animal Control to advertise for one week for part-time help there.
