At its May 11 meeting, the Putnam County Commission approved a letter requesting the West Virginia Public Service Commission to require West Virginia-American Water Company to provide residents of Deerfield Estates with water service as the company had previously agreed to do in 1996.

The county commission became aware of the 1996 agreement when Deerfield resident Sarah Lane made reference to correspondence between South Putnam PSD (now Putnam PSD), West Virginia-American, and a Deerfield resident on April 13, 2021, when Lane presented a petition to the county commission requesting water service.

The county commission’s letter to the Public Service Commission states that Putnam County has obtained copies of the 1996 correspondence and, upon review, believes that West Virginian-American is obligated to provide water service to unserved residents of Deerfield Estates. The Putnam County Commission also informed the PSC that the county is prepared to provide partial funding for the project in the amount of $5-10,000 per household to help resolve the issue.

In an unrelated water request from Boyd Daniels of Liberty that service be extended to Sigmon Fork Road residents, the county commission voted to have the 5,600-foot extension added to the Water Feasibility Study which Terradon Corporation is preparing for the county.

In other business, the commission addressed four DAEA (Dilapidated and Abandoned Enforcement Authority) complaints which had become subject to fine for failure of the property owner to rectify cited conditions. After receiving updates on the complaints, the commissioners voted to dismiss all cases except for property located at 3735 Teays Valley Road. The rear portion of the property remains overgrown with vegetation and not in compliance. In a split vote, the commission approved giving the property owner Safique Ahmed an additional 30 days to remedy cited conditions. Commissioner Foster stated that he voted against the extension because the property owner’s failure to respond in a timely fashion.

After conducting a public hearing regarding a DAEA complaint for property located at 318 Tiger Lane in Scott Depot, the commission approved 60 additional days for the property to be brought into compliance.

The next county commission meeting is scheduled Thursday, May 27, at 5:30 p.m.