WOODSFIELD — The Monroe County Emergency Management Agency is working to provide classes for interested residents to increase the county’s number of emergency medical technicians.

This was one topic discussed when county EMA Director Phil Keevert met with the Monroe County Board of Commissioners on Monday and provided an update. He provided Commissioners Mick Schumacher, Bill Bolon and Diane Burkhart each with a written update containing information on the EMA, EMS, county 911 and Floodplain.

Keevert said one EMT class is going on at the moment in hopes of increasing the number of certified medical technicians working in the county.

“We’re getting a new member for Sardis, a new member for Beallsville,” he said, adding that the instructor informed him that the students are doing an “excellent job.”

Keevert said a problem departments have had in the past was people not being willing to pay to take the course to become certified. It costs around $1,500 per class, he said. But they are working on a solution to that issue.

“What we do, if someone is seriously interested in running for us in Monroe County, we will cover the class,” he said.

In order to qualify to have the EMA cover the cost of the class, the individual must sign a contract indicating that they plan to finish the course and work in the county for at least one year or they must reimburse the county for the cost.

“So we try to help people out to encourage people to take the class. The problem is we’ll get people started and they take one or two classes and they’re done. That happens a lot. It’s just not for everybody,” he said.

Keevert said they are focusing on some of the areas where departments are severely lacking personnel, such as in Beallsville. He said the department currently only has one member.

Keevert said there is a contract in place that states the county must provide EMS services for residents and they are doing their best to keep that going. For some areas of the county, he said they have been depending on departments in New Matamoras, Antioch and Sardis to provide aid for multiple areas.

“It’s a challenge. It’s been a challenge. Not just for here but it’s everywhere,” he said.

As part of his report, Keevert stated that the county 911 center is in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said the organization is processing new address applications for the county Floodplain and ensuring updates are being sent to the county engineer’s office.

In other matters, Sheriff Charles Black Jr. met with commissioners to discuss contracts. He asked to discuss the matter in a closed-door session. The open meeting reconvened after around a half hour with no further discussion.

Commissioners also signed a couple contracts with neighboring counties to house prisoners in the Monroe County Jail. Commissioners signed a contract with Harrison and Gallia counties to house prisoners from each for $75 per day per inmate.

According to a recent release from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, it billed and collected $101,318.75 from housing out-of-county inmates in January 2023.