Greenbrier County Housing Authority board member James Richter gave an update to the Greenbrier County Commission at their latest meeting last Tuesday, announcing that the authority is moving all of its administrative aspects to Raleigh County due to financial constraints.

This transfer of administration has been in motion for some time, as a number of smaller housing authorities have begun to follow a trend of transferring certain responsibilities to larger agencies. Raleigh County has more resources available to help cover costs, Richter says, and six other counties have already transferred administration to Raleigh for similar reasons.

“This has been a very expensive program for the last 30 years for HUD, they suffer budget constraints just like everyone else does,” said Richter. “Nobody will lose their benefits as long as they continue to comply with the requirements of the program,” he emphasized. Checks distributed by the program will be coming from the Raleigh County Housing Authority office beginning in August, the most noticeable day-to-day change for program recipients.

• In other news, the Greenbrier County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has taken on a new hire investigator, Vincent S. Deeds, to help assist the prosecutor’s office with caseloads and processing. Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Via said that although the job title is technically investigator, Deeds will be helping coordinate and manage cases so there can be faster case resolution where possible, hopefully lowering the overall number of grand jury indictments each year as more cases are resolved. He will also assist in the handling of larger and more time-consuming cases.

“He will be a point of instruction and guidance, as well as organization between law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office,” said Via. Deeds is currently Lt. Colonel with the West Virginia State Police, and Via said, “I’m confident that we made a selection where he will do an extraordinary job.” The position becomes effective after Jan. 1, 2019.

• The commission heard two bids for parking lot upgrades for the parking lot behind the Greenbrier County Courthouse. All Construction placed a bid for $207,727.47, and Lynch Construction placed the winning bid at a slightly lower amount, $201,082.79. The upgrades to the lot include extensive work such as adding necessary drainage, striping the lot for spaces, extending the parking lot overall, closing off an entryway, and more.
• Current vacant board positions across the county include two Farmland Preservation vacancies, one Arts and Recreation vacancy, and a vacancy on the Airport Authority. Interested individuals can contact Kelly Banton at the Greenbrier County Courthouse for more information.
• The next Greenbrier County Commission meeting will be held on Aug. 14 at 10 a.m. in the Greenbrier County Courthouse. The public is invited to attend.