Jefferson County, WV (2026 Nov 5) — Edwina Benites-LM (image above, right), who has served as the County Administrator since April 2024, announced her resignation, effective December 3, 2026. Benites had shared this information in late October with the Commissioners in an email and a letter, but asked that the Commissioners not disclose her departure until after the recent election. Benites will start a new job as the County Administrator in Carroll County, Maryland on December 7, according to an announcement released earlier today by Carroll County.
The County Commission had a full agenda for its November 5 regular meeting, which ran for a solid six hours, including four executive sessions. Here’s the highlights:
Valley Link Opposition — The Commission voted unanimously to send a letter to Valley Link, the company planning to build a 765 kilovolt transmission line across Jefferson County. Commissioner Mike Mood characterized the company’s public communications so far as “smoke and mirrors, talking but not listening” and Commissioner Majdi drew a connection between the AI data centers being built in Northern Virginia and this proposed transmission line across Jefferson County. >>>Read the letter…
FOIA Request Backlog — The Commission went into executive session to receive legal advice about its ongoing backlog of unprocessed FOIA requests. No action was reported following the briefing from Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Groh and outside counsel William Rohrbaugh.
Appointments to Volunteer Boards & Commissions — The Commission filled open slots on several of its boards and commissions, including Kayla Whetstone to the Hope Services Consortium (an entity which works on affordable housing programs), Greg Welter to the Water Advisory Committee, Tasha Catro to the Agritourism Task Force, Karen Magaha to the Farmland Protection Board, and Paul Teeter to the Eastern Panhandle Transportation Authority. Commissioner Keys requested that the County Commission consider revising the bylaws of the Water Advisory Committee at the next Commission meeting. Keys noted that the Committee has had a persistent problem of empty seats due to requirements that block members of the public from serving in favor of reserving seats for local utility employees — a limited pool of people with little free time to serve on this Committee.
Agritourism Task Force Recommendations — The County Commission acted on two recommendations from its Agritourism Task Force with a motion to ask the Planning Commission to review sections 8.6A and 8.6B of the County’s zoning ordinance related to the regulation of farm markets and farmer’s markets. The substance of the recommendations would expand the uses allowed under the ordinance and streamline some of the restrictions.
Government Center Construction Funds — The Commission approved spending $4.1 million on the construction of the new facilities for the Health Department, Probation Office, and Day Report Center in the new County Government Center (393 North Lawrence St, Charles Town). The funds for this construction had already been reserved in the County’s Capital Outlay budget. The County does expect to receive a $375,000 grant to offset some of this expense. According to County staff, the construction of these improvements is expected to begin in January 2027 and the three departments are expecting to move in by early summer 2027. The Government Center already houses the County’s administrative services, the County Clerk, County Assessor, mailroom, and GIS office. The Sheriff’s Tax Office, Engineering, Planning & Zoning, and Prosecuting Attorney’s offices are expected to be relocated by January.
Published 2026 Nov 5 in the Observer Weekly.
By Steve Pearson