PARKERSBURG – The Wood County Commission is looking at what it can do to provide support to local ambulance services and control costs related to the county’s jail bill.

County officials are planning to meet with representatives of WVU Medicine Camden Clark Ambulance Service about a request to provide financial support. Commission President Blair Couch said during Monday’s meeting that they may place an ambulance discussion on the agenda toward the end of the month.

Officials are considering an emergency services levy that would be voted on in an upcoming election that might also benefit local volunteer fire departments and eliminate the county’s fire fee. They also discussed whether it could be a flat fee or something based on the square-footage of property.

“You have to be fair about it,” Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said, adding he thought something based on square-footage would be better for residents with varying house sizes.

A levy would have to be voted on and renewed every four to five years.

County officials have been looking at getting the Legislature to allow counties to assess a 1% sales tax to counties in areas where municipalities don’t already levy one to raise money for services and other needs, but efforts have not gotten too far, Couch said.

Officials have concerns about the county’s jail bill increasing in the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. The county budgeted over $2.2 million this fiscal year for the jail bill, which the state charges to house inmates from Wood County in regional jails. Officials budgeted $3.3 million for the upcoming year.

They are examining an option similar to one in Kanawha County where an appointed board reviews inmates brought in on a daily basis and sees which ones need to remain in jail and which ones could be eligible for home confinement.

Sheriff Rick Woodyard said his department has been doing a good job identifying people. They went from around 30 people in home confinement to over 70.

Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure said the jail bill is going up because the state is increasing its rates.

The commission is planning to have David Kelly, commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, sometime in the near future to talk about the regional jail bill.

Couch said he wants to be able to show the Legislature they have done everything they could to control costs and see if there is something lawmakers could do to help.

In other business, the commission awarded bids for the demolition and cleanup of structures at 402 Dickens Drive in Mineral Wells and at 190 Valley Mills Road, Parkersburg.

The commission unanimously approved the bids of $6,200 from Empire Builders for the Dickens Drive site and $6,000 from Tim Graham Excavating for the Valley Mills Road property.

County Compliance Officer Levi Brady said the county has seen an upswing in building permits, with four to eight being issued a day.

“They saw the first bit of warm weather ,and it was time to take off,” he said.

The county also opened a bid for the upfitting emergency lighting-communications equipment on sheriff’s department vehicles.

“This is where we have a company install all of the emergency lighting and radio equipment,” Woodyard said, adding they wanted to have it all done at the same time. Years ago they had a situation where they had to bring in another vendor to properly program all the radio equipment, which ended up costing more.

“We have narrowed our bids down to where it is a turn-key solution,” he said.

They are going to have a total of seven vehicles worked on. Five police cruisers will have the lights and radio equipment installed while two civil process vehicles will have limited lighting work done, Woodyard said.

They need new light bars as the former mounts no longer fit the model of vehicles they use.

The lone bid they received was from Miller Communications in Parkersburg for $47,750. Woodyard is reviewing the bid to see if it meets all of their requirements.

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com