HUNTINGTON ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Cabell County is moving forward with its goal of addressing dilapidated structures throughout the county.
The Cabell County Commission on Thursday voted to advertise bid requests for asbestos abatement for one structure at 102 Cyrus Creek Road in Barboursville and three trailers at 4 Woodrum Lane in West Pea Ridge.
Chad Nelson, county planning and permits administrator and building enforcement agency member, said the two property owners contacted the county, giving it voluntary consent to enter the properties and perform remediation. The county will first check for any asbestos and abate it before hiring contractors to do demolition and returning the properties to their natural state, he said. The property owners will still own their property.
The fund for the cleanup comes from a Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan grant the county received in December 2024. The grant will assist the countyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s building enforcement agency to address dilapidated structures. The grant of $104,000 came from the West Virginia Department of Environmental ProtectionÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Dilapidated Properties Program.
Funds for the cleanup of properties will be reimbursed through the grant. The grant can go toward demolition, any testing that is required, and any ancillary services or legal fees that are required.
Nelson said the projects are complaint-driven through the countyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s building enforcement agency that goes through reports of dilapidated structures. The agency contacts the property owners about the complaints made against their homes and asks them to remediate them.
If the property owner cannot afford to clean the property up themselves, the owners can allow the county to remediate the property. Nelson said itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s important to add that residents cannot apply for remediation of their homes.
The agency was formed in conjunction with the countyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Unsafe Structure and Property Ordinance that was approved in December 2022. The ordinance allows Cabell County residents to report unhygienic, hazardous or threatening structures or properties outside municipalities. Complaints are completely citizen-driven.
Bids are due on or before 10 a.m. Thursday, July 24, at the Cabell County Commission, Suite 300, third floor. The bids will be publicly opened and read aloud during a regular commission meeting at the Cabell County Courthouse.
In other business:
- The commission voted to send out several enforcement letters from its building enforcement agency.
- The commission also approved additional hotel/motel tax funding for the Cabell County Fair of $1,500 for fireworks. The commission approved $10,000 for the fair at its previous meeting last month.
- The commission approved a resolution to allow commission president, Liza Caldwell, to submit a grant application to the West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Service for Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) Assistance Funding in the amount of $219,903.
- The commission proclaimed July 10, 2025, as ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œMountain State Vikings Lacrosse DayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ in Cabell County for the team representing its community during the Division II State Championship and finishing the season with a 7-2 record.
- The commission heard a presentation from Andrew Frazier, Barboursville Volunteer Fire Department chief, and Everette Chapman, Milton Fire Department chief, for the purchase of an AOI interface for the CAD 911 system.
- During the good and welfare portion of the meeting, Commissioner Kelli Sobonya reflected on devastating floods in Texas. Sobonya thanked first responders in Cabell County for being proactive and having several systems in place for natural disasters and Cabell CountyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s CASS alert system. Sobonya said only 3,900 Cabell residents are signed up for the alert system. She urged people to sign up for the free alerts online at
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