CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler is the new executive director of the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority.
The KCEAA appointed and unanimously approved Wheeler as its new chief after a 28-minute executive session during its meeting Thursday. Wheeler takes the place of interim director Jason Sergent, who had served in the role for nearly a month.
Sergent replaced Monica Mason after her resignation as executive director May 28. He’ll move into the KCEAA deputy director position to work with Wheeler.
Mason’s resignation came amid a tumultuous time for the authority after the high-profile death of John Lucas.
Lucas, 45, of Elkview, died in the early morning hours of April 16 after he was run over by a Kanawha County ambulance and dragged for more than a mile. He was found critically injured along U.S. Route 119 and died a short time later. An arm was severed from his body.
Ambulance driver Alyssa Middleton, 19, pleaded not guilty last month to charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide, and fleeing the scene of an accident-causing death — all felonies — in the death of Lucas. Middleton’s trial is scheduled to begin August 17.
Wheeler’s last day on the Kanawha County Commission will be June 30. He’ll assume the role as KCEAA executive director on July 1.
There are other shake-ups on the board as well. The KCEAA appointed former McJunkin Red Man executive Roy Isaac as the next board president, longtime authority board member Tim Morris as vice president, and former Belle Mayor Dave Fletcher as treasurer.
Kanawha County Commission President and authority board member Ben Salango joined MetroNews “Midday” Thursday after the KCEAA meeting. Salango said budget troubles have been a “persistent problem” for the KCEAA, with deficits reaching $3 million at certain points. When Mason resigned from the executive director position, Salango said the board was in a tough spot.
“Finding someone who has the clinical, operational experience of a paramedic or an EMT, but also has the financial and management experience that you need to be executive director, is like trying to find a unicorn,” Salango said.
After Sergent was appointed interim director, Salango gave Wheeler a call. Salango said he asked Wheeler if he knew anyone with interest or experience in the role.
“I said, ‘Lance, is there anyone that you can think of who has the budget experience and the management experience that we need?'” Salango said. “We talked back and forth, and I said, “Lance, you have that experience.’ He now is running for state senate, so his time on the county commission is limited anyway.”
Wheeler secured the Republican nomination for the 8th District State Senate seat in the May primary, defeating Dr. Steven Eshenaur and incumbent state senator Kevan Bartlett. Wheeler will face Democratic nominee Kim Hundley in November’s general election.
Wheeler will not seek reelection to the Kanawha County Commission. Salango said he tried to convince Wheeler not to run for state senate and instead remain on the Kanawha County Commission, but said Wheeler was determined to seek that seat.
Salango praised Wheeler’s work on the commission over the past five years. Salango called him an “incredible” commissioner and noted that it meant something to say that considering their political affiliations. Salango is a Democrat, and Wheeler is a Republican.
Salango said Wheeler is well-prepared to succeed in the role. He said Wheeler has shone with his work on the commission, specificially as it relates to the budget.
“He can make hard decisions,” Salango said, citing that county commissioners must have the ability to do that.
Wheeler has served on the Kanawha County Commission since 2020 and has been a board member for the KCEAA over the past five years. Salango said Wheeler will bring needed management and financial experience to the authority. However, Salango noted that Wheeler has a lack of ambulance operational experience. That’s where Sergent entered the picture.
“We approached Jason Sergent about serving in the role as deputy director,” Salango said. “The board thought that was best, to have them both serve that unicorn-type position, they’re both going to be working hand-in-hand and side-by-side to make sure that we’ve got the budget covered, to make sure that we have the operational issues covered, and I think together they’re going to be an incredible team.”
Current authority board chairman Tim Morris, who is set to become vice president, detailed some of the issues that KCEAA faces.
“The population of West Virginia is aging, which means they need more services. But the population shrinks, you have less funds,” Morris said. “So, what we have faced over the past few years is people that need us more, with less funding from it. That’s kind of what we’ve been overcoming, and we’ve made some tough decisions.”
Salango said more changes are coming. Specifically, he said the high rate of turnover with the ambulance authority has to change. Salango said it’s a tough job for employees, as they often run into tough environments, but they’re not paid like it.
“We need to pay the EMTs and the paramedics a fair wage,” Salango said. “We need to make sure that we’re not having issues with retention, we’re not losing EMTs and paramedics to adjacent counties, or just attrition, they just don’t like the job anymore; they’re burned out. We’ve got to fix those problems.”
Salango noted the KCEAA approved a pay raise that went into effect in January. He said it was controversial at the time because it was given while the authority was experiencing a deficit with its finances. Salango said now that some of the budget issues are turning around, the authority must make sure savings and increase revenue get passed down to employees. By that token, Salango said the authority wants to make sure they’re not lagging behind other counties with paying employees.
The Kanawha County Commission will have to fill Wheeler’s seat for the next six months or so, Salango said. The new commission member will serve on an interim term, until whoever gets elected in the November election will take that seat.
Salango said discussion of Wheeler’s replacement will likely occur at the July 23 commission meeting. He said that he and commissioner Natalie Tennant will have to agree on the candidate, otherwise it will go to the Republican Executive Committee to submit three names to the county commission.
If that happens, Salango said both he and Tennant would strike a name and whoever’s left standing will become the new commissioner. Salango said he’s not talked with Tennant about the seat yet.
“There’s a reason why every county commission in the state have an odd number,” Salango said. “Most have three members, a couple have five members, there’s a reason why the West Virginia Supreme Court has five members and the United States Supreme Court has nine members. It’s so there’s never a tie.”
The stipulations for the new commissioner are that they must be a Republican and have to be from the Magistrate District 3 or 4. Salango said that area includes Cross Lanes, Elkview, and Sissonville.
There will be an application period, Salango said, similar to when former Kanawha County Commission Kent Carper resigned.
Part of the new board leadership, Morris said he’s encouraged to see what the new KCEAA leadership team will do.
“Kanawha County has a very vast map of people that need to be served, and Jason has done a fantastic job, and Lance will come in and bring a lot of experience from that side of the table. So, I think we’ll be good to go.”