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On Feb. 28, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers held a hearing with Alex Mayer, Cabinet secretary of the Department of Human Services, about the department’s practice of keeping children in unlicensed facilities such as hotels and Camp Virgil Tate, located near Sissonville.

In the case of Camp Virgil Tate, Akers was concerned about six days in February that emergency services were called to the facility.

New details

Thursday night, Salango provided more details. He said that children in CPS custody had been staying at hotels but were kicked out after they “destroyed the hotels.�

At the camp, they threatened to kill each other and themselves. They also damaged property at the camp, Salango said.

Young, facility executive director, said he was unaware about the calls until Feb. 17, when he went to repair a roof leak and there was an ambulance on site.

According to an order from Akers, emergency calls had been coming in since at least Feb. 10.

Salango was upset about the risk put on the county by the stay. While the state is typically only responsible for up to $1 million in liability, the county does not have that limit.

In recent years, the commission has provided $60,000 annually to Camp Virgil Tate in addition to special requests.

“I don’t want to see Camp Virgil Tate fail, but if it’s going to put the entire county in financial jeopardy, then it’s going to have to fail,� Salango said after the meeting. “What I’m opposed to is bad management decisions, and I hope they address that.�

Commissioners’ concerns

Other commissioners agreed.

“I am not against 4-H. I am not against Camp Virgil Tate,� said Commissioner Lance Wheeler. “I do have a loss of confidence in the organization and the leadership. I think the idea of having CPS come out with at-risk kids should have been a no-brainer ‘no’ from the start.�

Commissioner Natalie Tennant, who represents the commission on the Camp Virgil Tate board, said that CPS shouldn’t have thought about putting children in hotels or camps, but the camp was “a whole lot better place than a hotel.�

Wheeler and Salango pointed out previous issues they’ve had with the Camp Virgil Tate board, such as not picking the lowest bidder for a project.

“I would like to see a little bit more of due diligence in the work that you all provide. Not from the 4-H or the Camp Virgil Tate side, but as a board and as the executive director,� Wheeler said. “That would give me more confidence coming into July that the $60,000 is going to be used in its best and most effective way.�

Plan of improvement

Tennant came up with the idea of a “plan of improvement� pertaining to the CPS issue.

“We know that we need to have a 4-H camp in Kanawha County,� she said.

After the meeting, Salango said that, to address the liability issue, the plan should include a type of agreement if the camp is going to house “at-risk youth.�

Hutchinson, the Camp Virgil Tate board member, told the commission the board was agreeable with creating an action plan.

The commission votes on the county budget on March 18, but there can be a budget revision after the fiscal year begins on July 1 for a later approval if needed, Salango said.

In the meantime, the Department of Human Services has been uninvited from the property.

During public comment, several 4-H volunteers, parents and participants spoke about what the program has meant to them and the community.

“ I do believe that while there are some real concerns with the liability of having children who are in the state’s care there, it also is coming from a place of kindness,� said Sarah Clemente, a mom whose biological and adopted children have been involved in 4-H. “And unless you have opened your home up to a child, you’re not going to understand that. These kids have nowhere else to go.�

Clogged culvert ordinance

Also Thursday, the commission passed a new ordinance requiring property owners to take care of clogged culverts, drains and streams on their property. This measure will hopefully alleviate flood damage in the county.

The county will hire a waterway enforcement officer who will look for blocked streams and drains that could cause flooding. That person will make contact with the property owner and give them 30 days to make a plan to fix the issue.

If an immediate danger to public safety exists, the county can order the removal of the hazards at the property owner’s expense, according to the ordinance.

Failing to comply with the ordinance is a misdemeanor.

“The flooding, particularly in Campbells Creek and Kanawha Two Mile, every time you get a heavy downpour, we’re seeing it,� Salango said. “Part of the cause is that it’s in a flood zone, but some of the cause is because people aren’t clearing out their culverts. So it doesn’t just affect them, it affects their neighbors.�

In other business

The commission also allocated:

• $153,000 for a new radio tower
• $150,000 to the new Appalachian Outlaw Trails near Belle
• $100,000 to the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Sternwheel Regatta
• $70,400 for software connecting the prosecutor’s office to the sheriff’s body worn camera footage