Greg Stewart was the administrator of Ohio County for 25 years, and then, one day, he wasn’t.
Stewart resigned from the position in December with plans of being hired by the Ohio County Development Authority as the general manager of The Highlands, the retail development site he helped grow the past two decades. That agreement, however, was not adopted by the three commissioners, and instead Randy Russell was hired two weeks ago as the new administrator.
But it was Lou Vargo, the director of the Ohio County Emergency Management Agency, who serves as the interim administrator during a critical time for the Ohio County Commission.
“I will say that it was a very unique experience,” he explained. “When they asked me to do it, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was just there to keep the ship floating, so to speak, until the commissioners did what they had to do to replace Greg Stewart.
“We have a great group of elected officials who run their offices very efficiently, so that made my job very easy,” Vargo said. “I wasn’t placed in that position to make any big changes. I only had to lay the groundwork for the next administrator to take the position to move everything forward.”
Covid and the County
As the director of the Ohio County EMA, Vargo has worked very closely with Howard Gamble, the administrator of Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department, during the past 13 months thanks to the arrival of Covid-19. Not only did they establish two testing centers, but once the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines became available, the duo worked with state distributors and opened a community vaccination clinic at The Highlands.
If the coronavirus weren’t enough on Vargo’s plate, once he assumed the interim duties, he had to work with all departments to develop balanced budgets for each.
“That was a very complex process,” Vargo said. “So, I worked with all of the elected officials and department heads to establish the $21 million budget that we sent to the state for final approval. We also conducted the annual audit, so it was a very busy few months for me.
“But we did keep the county running, and that was the primary objective,” he continued. “There were no lapses as far as the services that the citizens needed during that time. It was a great experience for me, and I was happy to do it for the people of this county.”
New Era, New Way
Not many of West Virginia’s 55 counties have an economic development similar to The Highlands, so that meant Stewart’s duties included not only county operations but also the maintenance and growth of The Highlands on a daily basis.
Vargo, in fact, knew the former administrator frequently worked 12-14 hours a day six times per week, so he assisted with the development of a new flow chart for reporting all county operations.
“I believe I worked very well with everyone to get everything prepared for Randy to come in and move right along without any catch-up work to do, and Randy has been with Ohio County for several years, so he’s already familiar with a lot that goes along with the administrator job,” Vargo explained. “One thing we were able to accomplish was to develop an organization chart within the Ohio County Commission, and that is going to be very helpful moving forward.
“In the past, everyone reported to the administrator, and that proved to be overwhelming,” he said. “But now we have three divisions. We have public safety, finance, and facilities,” he added. “One of the concentrations in the future will be the Ohio County Airport because that facility really is a gem. That will be the focus in the future for continued economic development.”
