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PARKERSBURG -- The Wood County Commission approved the hiring of a new Assistant 911 Director and talked about the progress of the new center.
Wood County 911 Director William "Mike" Shook appeared before the commission on Thursday to recommend Dale McEwuen for the position of Assistant 911 Director.
McEwuen is a retired Parkersburg Police Officer with over 22 years experience with training, SWAT experience, dispatching and public relations. He was the runner-up for the director's job when the commission named Shook the director last month.
"(McEwuen) has the right attitude and he was prepared for the interview," Shook said. "He had all the correct answers.
"I have worked with him before and I know he is a hard worker."
Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said he interviewed McEwuen with County Administrator Marty Seufer for the director's job and found him to be "strong and would be a dedicated employee."
"It is a plus that he has worked with you and the Sheriff (Rick Woodyard) before," he said.
Colombo asked if there would be any friction as both men were up for the same job.
"It won't be an issue," Shook assured him.
The commission will bring McEwuen in to have him sworn into the position.
Commissioners wanted a status report on the new 911 center being built in the former Suddenlink building at the intersection of I-77 and U.S. 50.
Shook said they are still waiting on a number of things including the front door, some work involving drywall and a study on what they need to do with a billboard sign on the property. The State Fire Marshal's office is also requiring more work to be done.
"It is kind of disappointing in that the Fire Marshal approved the plans," Commission President Blair Couch said.
"More than once," Colombo added.
Colombo said the project has dealt with a number of different people from the Fire Marshal's office.
"Everyone of them had their own special opinion of how things should be interpreted," he said.
Different people will catch different things, Couch said.
Plans have to be approved to move forward on the work, Colombo said.
"Then you send 6-7 other people in to inspect it and they don't like what the first guy said," he said. "That is not good."
Officials said they could spend the money on everything the inspectors wanted done and the next person could come in and demand they change it.
"That has happened," Colombo said. "All we want is consistency so we can work to get something done on time, the first time."
Couch wants to see if they can get a hold of someone in the fire marshal's office to see if anything can be done. They are planning to meet with the architects from ZMM Architects & Engineers of Charleston at the site soon to discuss what still needs to be done.
The commission also approved the hiring of Kimberly Donahoe as a full-time Telecommunicator for the 911 Center.
In other business, the commission unanimously approved the Constitution Week Proclamation in Wood County for Sept. 17-23.
"Whereas on Sept. 17, 1787 39 men signed their names to a document that established the world's first government of the people, by the people and for the people," Couch read from the proclamation. "Sept. 17, 2023 marks the 236th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution.
"This anniversary provides a historic opportunity for all Americans to remember the achievements of our founders to reflect on the rights and privileges of citizens and cause each of us to be more active and responsible citizens."
The commission encourages people, organizations, civic groups and others to do activities to commemorate it.
The commission also announced vacancies on the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport Authority and the Wood County Recreation Commission. They put Roger Brown and Jill Parsons in nomination for the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport Authority and will see if Sean Andrews wants to continue on the recreation commission.
The commission unanimously appointed Jon Defibaugh Jr. to the Wood County Alternative Transportation Council and nominated Chris Swarr for reappointment to the Wood County Alternative Transportation System Council.
Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com