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ELKINS -- David Kesling admittedly is pleased with many things the Randolph County Commission accomplished while he served as president in 2023, and he is looking forward to more progress in 2024.
"I'm very happy with a lot of things we were able to do in 2023, but the one thing I'm most proud of was the completion of the pool project," Kesling told The Inter-Mountain. "That was our big goal last year and after it got off to a little bit of a rocky start in the beginning, things went really well. We had thousands of people at the pool last year, not only from our country, but outside the county as well."
The Randolph County Commission first broke ground on the $2,163,372 pool/splash pad project in the summer of 2022. The Randolph County Community Pool and Splash Pad at the Elks Lodge officially opened on Memorial Day weekend in 2023.
Kesling said the fact that no tax dollars were used in many of the commission's big projects in 2023 is something else he is proud of. One of those projects was the purchase of the old Jory & Smith Law Office Building, located across the street from the Randolph County Courthouse. That structure is now home to the Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
"We were able to get grants for the county and not spend local tax dollars on our big projects," said Kesling. "We received a grant that allowed us to purchase and remodel the new Prosecuting Attorney's Office. It was something that needed to be done because they were running out of space where they were at. The best thing about it is that no local tax dollars went for any of that, it was all from federal grant money we received."
Helping organizations throughout the county and funding community projects was another thing Kesling said the commission was happy to do in 2023.
"Our hotel-motel tax that we get allows us to help out a lot of the smaller things that we give out throughout the year," said Kesling. "We like to help out as much as we can, especially when it comes to those items that are going to benefit the county."
Kesling said that the biggest project the commission will be working on early this year is the restoration of the old Randolph County Jail.
"We have the new circuit judge coming in 2025, and we have to make room for whoever it will be," said Kesling. "We have already sent blueprints of the Cain Building, where we are currently located, to the Supreme Court. That way they can look to see if it is efficient for the new judge's offices and courtroom. In order to do that, we had to find a place for the County Commission, so we are looking to restore the old jail and put our offices there."
Kesling said the first floor of the old jail will house administrative offices and a new meeting room, while the second floor will hold the county commissioner offices.
"The restoration of the old jail is a major project for this year," Kesling said. "We still have some money left over from grants to use on the old jail, along with money that we have in our courthouse improvement line, and other savings that will help fund this project."
Kesling's term as president of the commission expired at the end of 2023. Fellow Commissioner Cris Siler was voted to the position for 2024.
"We are looking forward to a successful start in 2024," Kesling said. "We have several things planned throughout Randolph County and we are anxious to get things going."