Kanawha Commission President Lance Wheeler speaks during the commission's Sept. 19, 2024 regularly scheduled meeting.Photo byKanawha County Commission

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Kanawha County Commission has ordered a county-wide burn ban effective Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.

At their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, commissioners voted unanimously to implement the ban. Their vote was held the same day the panel issued a proclamation announcing Fire Prevention Month, which begins in October.

Commissioners said that even with the small amount of rain received in the county over the past few days, the risk of fire danger remains worrisome.

“I’m concerned and I think it’s something we need to take very seriously,” Kanawha County Commission President Lance Wheeler said. He notes that fire officials in the county are also unsettled by the situation.

“One of the requests I’m getting the most for this burn ban here in Kanawha County is from our fire departments,” Wheeler said. “They’re asking us to implement a burn ban because of the extreme conditions.”

Falling leaves are “tender boxes,” Wheeler said. Coupled with hot temperatures, low humidity, and ongoing drought, the danger only increases for local wildlife, property and other infrastructure, he notes.

On Thursday, the U.S. Drought Monitor released its latest map. Portions of western Kanawha County are now experiencing exceptional drought -- the most severe measurement on the map. The rest of the county continues to experience extreme drought, according to the provided data.

In a release announcing the burn ban, commissioners cited “ongoing, extreme drought, dry vegetation, and breezy weather” as a major factor in their decision to issue the ban.

Commissioners said that before they called for the injunction, they tried to recruit the state’s help in implementing an order, to no avail.

“We’ve reached out for some help from the state,” Commissioner Ben Salango said. “Unfortunately that didn’t happen so I think we need to take it upon ourselves to protect our people.”

Kanawha County Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman, middle, speaks about the county-wide burn ban on Sept. 19.Photo byKanawha County Commission

On Thursday, Kanawha County Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman echoed the call for the ban, saying state law allows the county to call for the temporary prohibition.

“There’s a piece in the state code that allows counties to mitigate dangers and nuisances and if you violate that ordinance, it’s a misdemeanor,” Sigman said.

Earlier this week, commissioners released a statement indicating they had notified the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office of a possible burn stoppage, saying “deputies will be out to enforce” the ban.

On Thursday, Wheeler said that officers would not arrest individuals for violating the prohibition, saying the order just gives deputies “teeth” to enforce the mandate.

But Wheeler warned citizens not to try to push boundaries with the directive.

“If they [deputies] have to come out there two or three times over the weekend because you’re burning brush,” the commission president said, “I think at that point [they’re] able to enforce it.”

The ban is not permanent, commissioners were quick to note Thursday, but said it’s up to officials with Kanawha County Emergency Management to determine when the mandate will be lifted.

“When the [drought monitior] map is [white] and there are no other colors on the map, it might be time to move it,” Sigmond, Kanawha County’s Emergency Management Director, said.

In the meantime, commissioners said they will continue to push for a state-wide burn ban.

Recovery Point update

Huntington-based Recovery Point previously received $350,000 in ARP funding from the commission to remodel this Stockton Street facility.Photo byRecovery Point

Also on Thursday, commissioners heard an update on a Recovery Point project that had previously received $350,000 in funding from the county.

Rory Isaac, who is listed as an officer on the nonprofit’s website, spoke about the project to the panel.

Commissioners previously awarded the money to Recovery Point, which helps individuals in recovery, based on an application they made for American Rescue Plan funding in 2022.

In the petition, representatives with the Huntington-based organization said they were looking for funding to renovate a women’s facility they operate in the 500 block of Stockton Street in Charleston.

They originally requested $670,000 in capital. The commission would ultimately award just over half of that amount to the organization.

Though the monies were granted to, and received by, Recovery Point, the project – which was estimated to take six to 12 months, according to the application --- remains incomplete.

On Thursday, Isaac explained the reason construction has not yet started boils down to the bidding process.

“When we got the [first] bids back,” Isaac told commissioners, “the bids came back significantly – really double -- what we [estimated].”

Isaac said the organization had to go “back to the drawing board,” and engineers and architects worked up new plans to stay within the nonprofit’s budget.

“We have gotten it out for bids again, and it’s come back in the range of...$600,000 and $700,000,” Isaac said.

The organization has secured the rest of the needed funds through donations, fundraisers and other private and public sources, Isaac said.

“We have the money to do it,” Isaac said. “We intend to [sign] the contract in the next two weeks with the low bidder, and begin construction within the next 30 or 45 days.”

Isaac estimates that the project should be complete by June 2025.

Salango requested that Recovery Point representatives provide the commission with a status update on the ongoing project in January 2025.

“So we can make a decision if construction’s not started [by January],” Salango told his fellow members.

Other business

Also at the Sept. 19 meeting, county commissioners:

• Approved the issuance of up to $15 million in bonds for the completion of Kanawha Judicial Annex renovations;
• Awarded Union Mission Ministries $250,000 in opioid settlement funds to purchase four vehicles; and
• Approved $9,000 in spending to stock 3,000 pounds worth of trout and other fish at the Clendenin/Blue Creek, Meadowood, and Indian Lake sites this fall, among other items.

The next regularly scheduled Kanawha County Commission meeting is set for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

Michael Ramsburg is a Kanawha County communities reporter. He can be reached at ramsburgreports@gmail.com or by calling 304-370-3067.