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Wood County Commission, more firms discuss 911 Center

By Brett Dunlap 5 min read

PARKERSBURG -- The Wood County Commission continued its discussions Thursday with three more architectural and engineering firms to see who they want to work with on building a possible new Wood County 911 Center in downtown Parkersburg.

Commissioners met with representatives from E.T. Boggess Architects of Princeton, Williamson Shriver Architects of Charleston and WYK Associates of Clarksburg. The final round of interviews will be held before the commission on Monday.

County Engineer Maria Hardy sat in on the interviews to ask questions the county would want to consider in moving forward with the project.

"We are excited to hear these proposals," Commission President Blair Couch said.

The county has been looking at possible uses for the 170-by-170 foot lot where the old county jail was located, including a new 911 center, the county maintenance department, a large meeting room and emergency shelter facility and storage.

Commissioners said the old building that still houses the maintenance department used to house the Sheriff's Department. They want the new building built first and have everyone move in and then they want the old building torn down and turned into parking spaces.

"No tears will be shed when we knock that building down," Couch said of continuing roof problems, mold and other concerns that are prompting its replacement.

The county is scheduled to receive $16.2 million from the American Recovery Act as well as additional money from opioid abuse settlements. Some of it could go into this project.

Todd Boggess, of E.T. Boggess Architects, said they do a lot of project types.

"One of the things we believe in is a very interactive design approach with our clients," he said. "One of the good things about doing a lot of different kinds of projects is we typically start off each project new and fresh.

"We like to sit down with the client and gain an understanding of what is making the project kick from their standpoint."

They understand what the client wants from the project and that plays into how the design is formed, he said.

"When we do a project we believe the design should be reflective of that community," Boggess said.

Architect Greg Martin, of Williamson Shriver Architects, said they have done fire stations, school buildings and renovations and more all over West Virginia. Around 80 percent of their work is school related, but they are branching more into commercial work. The company works with Harper Engineering of St. Albans, W.Va.

"We can definitely move forward quickly," Martin said. "We don't limit ourselves to location.

"We look for any project that is different from the normal."

James Swiger, President of WYK Associates, said the firm has done a lot of work in the past with Wood County.

In past projects they had taken advantage of other government buildings in the immediate area to be able incorporate a number of improvements in energy efficiency, utilizing solar panels and other measures to save on energy costs, said Ted Zachwieja, of ZDS Design and Consulting of Scotts Depot, who works with WYK.

He said such work can add 15 percent or so more to the building cost, but it would basically pay for itself in savings after 15 years.

Having lived and worked in this area in the past, Swiger knows that building near a river presents its own challenges that have to be addressed in the soil and how the building is constructed. Swiger said they work with a lot of different engineering firms around the state and they are able to find the best fit to serve the needs of the clients drawing from many groups with different backgrounds.

"We go out and get the experts that will make the team better," Swiger said.

Officials said there have been needs that have become apparent throughout the pandemic, like a meeting space that can accommodate a lot of people but can still social distance.

Hardy asked each group if they would consider using local labor in the project where needed and all said they would. She also asked about availability of crews heading into what many see as a busy time for building projects. Each group believed they would be able to handle the needs of the project.

Couch said they will be leaning on the architectural and engineering firms to take input from the main entities involved, commissioners, staff, 911, the sheriff's department and the maintenance department.

"We want the building designed around the maintenance of our fleet of vehicles," he said.

Although a 911 center is also in the initial design, Couch said some officials within the county are still looking at the former Suddenlink call center building near the I-77 and U.S. 50 as a possibility for a new 911 Center, pointing out this site's proximity to the river.

"It will help clean up that part of downtown and give us some of the things we didn't have, meeting space, gathering space and more," Couch said. "We want to work with which ever architectural firm to plan out the project and begin some design ideas.

"We want to come up with something that will last a generation," he said.

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com

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