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PARKERSBURG -- The Wood County Commission Thursday reported no new COVID-19 cases among employees.
The commission also addressed the general election and other business on Thursday.
Recently, three county employees tested positive for COVID-19 leading to the commission implementing limited public access for the public to county offices in the Wood County Courthouse and the Judge Black Annex.
County offices have been operating for the past week with the outer doors locked with phone numbers of the various offices posted. People can call and someone will come to the door for business that needs to be handled.
Officials are discouraging walk-in traffic and the people who will be allowed in the courthouse will have to wear a face mask. The Sheriff's Tax Office has been handling its business through its drive through window behind the annex.
"The great news is we don't have any more COVID positives inside the county offices," Commission President Blair Couch said. "We are holding tight at three, one who is recovering and still has symptoms, one who has not produced any symptoms and one we don't know anything on.
"Other people are being tested and coming back negative."
The commission has been conducting meetings virtually and through teleconference all week.
They are planning to resume in-person meetings in the Boreman Room of the Black Annex on Thursday, August 20.
From Aug. 3-9, there were 14 new positive COVID cases countywide, Couch said referring to numbers from the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department on which he is a member of their board.
"We have done a lot of testing," Couch said. "About 12 percent of our positives are under the age of 19. Around 22 percent of our positives are 20- to 29-years-old."
Commissioners have begun to think about how the upcoming General Election will be conducted as the pandemic will still be a concern.
They want County Clerk Mark Rhodes to appear before the commission on Aug. 20 to begin to discuss preparations.
Commissioner Robert Tebay is concerned they will have a limited number of poll workers available like they had in the primary.
Commissioners would like to have more polling places open on Election Day.
"I think we need to look at unique ways for people to access voting," Couch said. "Somehow and some way we need to make sure people have the chance to vote."
Commissioners also want a report on how many people are requesting an absentee ballot.
Rhodes said the Republican and Democrat executive committees are suppose to have the list of poll workers turned in by August 25.
"So far it has not been too bad to get people to agree to work at this point in time," he said.
Commissioners want to offer a special recognition for those who want to work. Tebay suggested making a commemorative facemask that would be a keepsake for poll workers for this election.
Voting locations are set in code on when they can be open, Rhodes said.
He suggested that voting times are set by "courthouse hours" and the commission could agree to extend courthouse hours to provide more time for voting.
"Those are ideas that we need to discuss," Couch said. "We want to make sure we have a great and very accessible election."
"We want to make sure every vote counts," Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said.
In other business, the commission is starting to receive information they have requested from the Lubeck Public Service District about a rate increase they want to implement that the commission would have to approve.
Officials with the state Public Service Commission have offered to meet with the commission to discuss any concerns they have and to go over any records they have questions about.
"I think that will lay a foundation for us on how we view these kinds of processes in the future," Colombo said.
Tebay said Lubeck PSD was working on securing a $500,000 grant and he hoped the time officials were taking in reviewing the request for a rate increase would not take away from the PSD's eligibility for that.
County Administrator Marty Seufer said Lubeck was granted an extension until Jan. 2021.
"So we are not making the waters muddy for them," Tebay said.
Seufer said the PSD has sent a lot of documents for commissioners to review.
If approved, officials said the grant would be added to a $1 million water and sewer project that has been in the works since the mid-1990s.
Issues with water line hook-ups and resident participation in the Belleville area will also have to be looked at, Tebay said. Couch added he wanted to see who is participating and who backed out.
The commissioners want officials from Lubeck PSD to come before the commission on Thursday, August 20 to answer questions and begin the review process.
Tebay wants to send letters to the people who have petitioned for water service, but have not hooked up yet, especially if it is impacting how the PSD conducts business.
The commission is within a 45 day period to address the matter. They have asked for a 30 day extension and have not heard back yet to allow more time to get the needed information together.
"If they don't grant us that, my only vote will be 'no' and they will have to start the whole process all over again," Couch said.
In other business, the commission awarded a bid for financing on five new vehicles, 2021 Ford Explorers from Matheny Motors, for the Wood County Sheriff's Department.
The commission opened three bids earlier this week to finance a loan of $240,000.
The commission unanimously awarded the bid to Country Roads Leasing for 48 months at 1.75 percent.
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com