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PARKERSBURG -- When the pandemic is over, Wood County officials want to look at creating an emergency stockpile of personal protective equipment and a levy on the November ballot to support emergency responders.
The Wood County Commission held its regular Thursday meeting to discuss the needs of the county during the pandemic.
As of Thursday morning, Wood County was at 14 confirmed cases.
"This is all new territory for all of us," Commission President Blair Couch said.
Throughout the pandemic, emergency officials have stressed a need for personal protective equipment. Residents have donated protective masks to the sheriff's department and other first responders
"We need to have a strategic stockpile in Wood County," Couch said.
A vaccine for COVID-19 could still be a ways off and it could be awhile before it is widely available.
"Every scientist I read thinks this could come back in the fall," Couch said. "We probably won't have a vaccine by then and we won't have herd immunity. We will probably let our guard down and it will spike back up."
That will result in more social distancing and more disruptions.
"We need to be prepared," Couch said. "The county, the cities and the hospitals should come together to create that stockpile. We can't count fully on the states or the feds. Right now, we are on the begging end of it. I would rather be in the position to say 'We have some and how can we help.' That is what our community is known for."
Over the past few years, county officials have tried to get state lawmakers to give counties the ability to implement a 1 percent sales tax in areas that did not already have it through Home Rule, thus making it an even 7 percent across the entire county.
However, the Legislature has resisted it, Couch said.
"When I talk to other commissioners, especially in Kanawha and Harrison counties, they have a 'Needful Needs/Emergency Services Levy' and that helps them cover expenses for their sheriff's departments, prosecutor's office, health department, 911 center and other things," Couch said. "That is something we will have to investigate,"
They would have to specify and spell out what a levy would go towards and fund.
Officials could look at doing Hero Bonuses for people on the front lines of a crisis like a pandemic and have to report to work daily.
"That may be a great discussion for this summer," Couch said.
The county would have to make a decision by Aug. 1 to be able to get it on the November ballot.
Officials want to get through the current situation to see the full impact on local finances. Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said that may be a reason to start discussing a levy so the emergency responders can be covered.
"If people know where the money is going to go, I am sure they would support that," he said. "We really need to look at this."
Such a levy could go to pay for extra deputies, prosecutors or help emergency responders, Colombo said.
Officials said the impact of the COVID-19 situation might lead them in that direction, but they want to see how it impacts them in meeting payroll and paying their bills.
"Let's get through this and see what we have," Couch said.
The drive-through facility at 2435 Dudley Ave. in Parkersburg has seen use from the public since opening this week. They are conducting business with the County Clerk, the Assessor and the Circuit Clerk.
"We have had some limited success," Couch said.
The Dudley Avenue site is open from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
There has been some confusion about whether people need to go to Dudley Avenue or the Sheriff's Tax Office which operates a drive-through behind the Judge Black Annex, Sheriff Steve Stephens said.
Stephens said they are getting people wanting things from the Assessor's office at the tax office window and they are getting people trying to do things when the Dudley Avenue site is closed or they have had to run back and forth between the two sites to do something both offices are involved in. Their window is open five days a week.
Assessor David Nohe said he could put a person at the Sheriff's window to handle Assessor office business, if it comes up.
"We don't want to make this more complicated for people," Couch said. "We want to make sure we can assist people with things they need. It is going well in regards to that."
Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce attended the meeting and commended the efforts of the Wood County 911 Center to screen for potential exposures to be able to keep the facility functioning for police and ambulance dispatching as well as keeping first responders safe.
State officials have taken notice and have told others that Wood County's protocols were what they should be doing, Couch said.
Wood County 911 Director Rick Woodyard said the overall call volume is down by a third. Joyce, a co-owner of St. Joseph's Ambulance Service, said 911 calls for ambulances is slightly down, but there's been a decrease in transfer calls to take people to medical facilities outside this area and to doctor appointments.
County officials said they have the capabilities to hold meetings via streaming online or through teleconferencing if the state introduces stricter social distancing measures for meetings.
The county has the equipment needed and the capacity to do it, officials said.
"Let's get it set up so we are prepared," Couch said.
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com