Trending
WELLSBURG -- After announcing plans to reopen the county courthouse on Monday, the Brooke County Commission discussed with Mike Bolen, administrator of the county's health department, ways to protect visitors and staff from COVID-19.
The commission Tuesday also agreed to lease a vacant building on Charles Street and approved a settlement concerning a $1.8 million tax overpayment.
The commissioners agreed to reopen the courthouse, in keeping with Gov. Jim Justice's outlines for a gradual lifting of the stay-at-home order he issued weeks ago. But they said to reduce the amount of contact between people, the public will be encouraged to continue as much county business by phone, mail or the Internet as possible and when that's not feasible, to schedule an appointment with the applicable department.
Commissioner Stacey Wise said for a while, at least, "We'll need to monitor and assess how many people are here at a time."
The commissioners and Bolen discussed possible measures to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
Wise said they could include requiring staff to sanitize counters and other commonly touched areas and visitors researching the county's deed books to wear gloves.
Bolen said staff with frequent contact with the public are encouraged to wear masks and visitors could be required to wear them also, with masks available for those who don't have them.
Wise said plastic shields could be installed also but should be positioned so they don't make transactions and other interaction awkward.
Bolen said signs could be posted to encourage no more than two people to use the elevator at a time and to encourage safe distancing in general.
He said while Justice has announced plans for the reopening of non-essential businesses, his department hasn't yet received instructions on its role in enforcing precautions.
Bolen said he questions whether taking the temperature of visitors is productive, saying it may create a greater risk of spreading the virus because the visitor must stand close to the staff member with the thermometer, which also must be sanitized regularly.
He added none of the three residents found to have the virus had high temperatures at the time of their diagnosis.
In related business, Bolen confirmed an error by state officials recording new confirmed COVID-19 cases led to an erroneous report that Brooke has a fourth case.
He said the county still has three confirmed patients, all of whom appear to be on the road to recovery.
In addition to reporting any new cases to the state, the Brooke County Health Department has been posting them on its Facebook page.
Asked if the state plans to make more tests available, Bolen said he's been told it does but has no details at this time.
In other business, the commission agreed to enter into a lease agreement with Aracich Heating & Cooling for the lease of, with an option to purchase, its former building at 627 Charles St.
Commissioner A.J. Thomas said the commission intends to demolish the two-story building to create additional parking space for the courthouse.
Thomas said the commission will pay $10,000, with the amount to be applied to the eventual sale, which he said is only delayed by paperwork confirming the structure is in Aracich's name.
The commission also approved a settlement with the Statoil Corp. regarding the company's overpayment of $1.8 million in taxes on its mineral interests in the county.
County Prosecutor Joseph Barki III said the overpayment was the result of the company's error and occurred despite multiple attempts by the county assessor's office to advise them of it.
Barki said the commission could have sought to retain the money, claiming negligence on Statoil's behalf, but instead has agreed to credit the company for about $350,000 of the overpayment during the next five years.