South Parkersburg Baptist Church volunteer Susie Casto addresses Wood County commissioners Monday about an effort to establish a congregate cooling station at a county facility and staff it with volunteers. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

PARKERSBURG — A volunteer from a local church asked the Wood County Commission Monday to consider helping establish a cooling center.

“The idea is that heat affects everyone … from babies to elderly and obviously unhoused persons,” Susie Casto, with South Parkersburg Baptist Church, said during the commission’s weekly public comment period at their regular Monday meeting.

Casto said multiple area churches have expressed interest in providing cooling centers for people during periods of extreme heat and humidity. One suggestion was a congregate site rather than a single church, many of which are in older buildings of various sizes. The churches would pool their resources to staff and operate the center, with the county hopefully providing the space, Casto said.

She said she approached the director of the county’s new Resiliency Center, built with federal COVID dollars to address some of the challenges the area faced during the pandemic and serve as a venue for meetings and conferences, about the idea. The director, Sydney Weber, suggested the county’s Judge Black Annex on Market Street might be a better fit, Casto said.

“I’m just here to open the door,” Casto said. “I hope that you’re open to a partnership.”

Wood County Compliance Officer Levi Brady, right, discusses a pair of demolition contracts during Monday’s County Commission meeting as, from left, Commission President Blair Couch, County Clerk Joe Gonzales and Administrator Marty Seufer listen in the courthouse. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

Commission President Blair Couch said he appreciated the volunteer-driven arrangement Casto proposed. He said he would get her in touch with a representative from the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department. He and Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said they also planned to discuss the topic with representatives of the Salvation Army of Parkersburg, which has provided emergency cooling and warming space before.

After the meeting, Couch noted that the sheriff’s office might need to post a deputy at such a cooling center.

“They’re offering volunteers. And that’s been a key consideration for us,” Couch said.

Casto said the proposed cooling center would only go into operation in a designated heat advisory issued by the National Weather Service.

The commission came under criticism this winter when the Resiliency Center was not used as a warming station during a period of extreme cold. One individual sleeping in a tent died during that time, with the frigid weather a contributing factor. County officials said then they were not contacted about a need to open a warming center in addition to those provided by local churches and groups, and that the Black annex would probably be a more suitable location.

In other business, commissioners voted 2-0, with Commissioner Bob Tebay absent, to approve a pair of bids by Trigon Unlimited out of Spencer to demolish and clean up dilapidated sites at 246 Tanner Lane and 225 Emerick Lane in Walker.

The price of the contracts – $5,475 for Tanner Lane and $2,495 for Emerick – will be covered by funding from the state Department of Environmental Protection to address dilapidated property, officials said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.