CABELL COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The new Cabell County Unsafe Building and Enforcement Agency held its first meeting Monday, Aug. 21, during the regular Cabell County Commission meeting.

The new agency will allow residents of Cabell County to report unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous structures that are a public health hazard. An ordinance was passed in December by the county commission to create the agency.

Board members say they hope this new agency will give residents a voice so that dilapidated structures can be torn down, as they say the citizens are the first line of defense against dangerous properties.

“We think that the people of Cabell County will work to make sure that they don’t have abandoned structures that pose a severe risk to our citizens,” Cabell County Commission President Kelli Sobonya said. “And so we’re hoping that this will be the last resort to call the board together, but it does give us a mechanism to do so.”

Sobonya also said the ordinance passed in December was based on those existing in several other West Virginia counties.