ST. CLAIRSVILLE — After months of the Belmont County Emergency Management Agency not having a deputy director, the Belmont County Board of Commissioners passed a motion Wednesday to enter a contract with Cumberland Trail Fire District to fill that role.

The contract is for the services of one employee to work 80 hours a month to be utilized by the Belmont County EMA as deputy director in the annual amount of $40,000, effective Sept. 18, 2025, to Oct. 31 2026.

The move was made to replace former EMA deputy director Glenn Trudo, who was sentenced to prison in a Virginia court on a charge of proposed sex act by communication system with a minor under age 15. Trudo was sentenced to three years of imprisonment, but two years and five months of that sentence was suspended.

“This is sort of, I would say, a little bit of a kind of outside the box-type thinking,” Commissioner J.P. Dutton said. “We had a position open at our EMA. We were looking to fill that position, and at the same time conversations occurred with Cumberland Trail Fire District on some initiatives they had there.”

He added that Cumberland Trail and the commissioners thought there might be a way that one employee could tackle various issues that both Cumberland Trail and the EMA have been expeiencing.

“I think it is going to be a good partnership moving forward, and that will start here very soon,” Dutton said.

Dutton later added that the Cumberland Trail employee will be named at a later time.

He said that usually the board of commissioners would make the motion after the Cumberland Trail’s board votes on a motion to approve the contract first, but due to the commissioners meeting before Cumberland Trail’s board, Dutton decided to make the motion during its regular meeting on Wednesday morning.

He added that he believes that the fire board will pass the motion when it meets next.

The commissioners then passed a motion stating the board does not object to or request a hearing before state officials after Golden Ticket Cinemas, which will soon open at the Ohio Valley Mall, sought a liquor license.

Dutton said that he’s excited for the amount of work occurring at the mall.

“We’ve talked a lot about the challenges of retail, and I can’t say enough of the good work being done at the mall,” Dutton said.

Commissioner Jerry Echemann added that it is believed that Golden Ticket Cinemas will be opening around the holiday season.

Echemann then moved to reappoint Dutton to the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance for a two-year term. Dutton said that 14 counties in Eastern Ohio meet four times a year.

“These meetings really allow us to see commissioners from counties that unless we pick up the phone or shoot them an email, we don’t usually run into them on a usual basis,” he said. “Those conversations are sometimes really instrumental in what we’re trying to do in Belmont County by learning from other counties and what they’re doing.”

Resident Richard Hord then asked the board members about their feelings about the efficiency of the Belmont County Tourism Council.

Dutton said that the board believes the tourism council is doing a fantastic job. He added that he isn’t aware of the exact numbers of attendees for the Belmont County Fair, but he believes it was a great success.

“They had a very good crowd this year, it was a very good fair that just occurred,” Dutton said. “The Pumpkin Festival is about to occur. I think that’ll be another great event, too.”

He added that the tourism council is currently spending a lot of time on the Underground Railroad Museum project due to the time sensitivity for the project. Last year, the Underground Railroad Museum received $3.9 million from Gov. Mike DeWine’s Appalachian Community Grant Program. The program is part of a $154 million investment in Appalachian downtowns and destinations.

The funds from the grant have to be spent by October 2026.

Dutton said that due to the funds needing to be spent by October 2026 the project is taking a large part of the tourism council’s time. The museum in Flushing is being relocated to the Black Horse Inn in Morristown, after that historic structure is restored.

“It’s taking up a good bit of their time. But for an important project, the state really sees that as a really big tourism asset for the state,” he said.

Echemann added that another impressive initiative the tourism council has achieved is its visitor’s guide booklets.

“I know they sent a lot of those out in the mail and to out-of-towners, too. It’s very slick and nicely done,” Echemann said. “I mean, not to say that they weren’t before, but I’m just really impressed with those magazines and the quality of the photography in them. The whole thing is really nice.”