Common Council

A REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BECKLEY CONVENED AT 6:38 PM ON NOVEMBER 09, 2021, BY WEB-X DUE TO COVID-19. THOSE PRESENT: Mayor Robert R. Rappold, Recorder-Treasurer Billie Trump, City Attorney Bill File, Secretary Susan Miller, IT Director, Bill Kelly, Assistant IT Director, Amy Evans, Council Members: Sherrie Hunter, Cody Reedy, Tom Sopher, Robert Dunlap, Kevin Price, and Janine Bullock. The following Department Heads were present: Captain of FD and Chief Code Official, Donnie Morgan and, Director of Board of Public Works, Jerry Stump. THOSE ABSENT: Councilman Bob Canter. The Mayor reminded the public that they will be able to make comments when invited to do so by either pressing *3 on their phone and their call will be taken in the order it is received, or if viewing by computer or tablet, raising your hand by right clicking your name and choosing "Raise Hand". The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m. Council members, Department Heads and the public joined the meeting by WEB-X either from their computer, or by phone, using the weblink or phone number provided the day of the meeting on the City’s webpage at Beckley.org or the City’s Facebook page. Council dispensed with the reading and approval of minutes from the regular Council meeting dated October 26, 2021, copies of which had been distributed to each member. Council unanimously approved the minutes as written on a motion by Councilman Price and seconded by Councilwoman Hunter. Council dispensed with the reading and approval of minutes from the Workshop dated November 1, 2021, copies of which had been distributed to each member. Council unanimously approved the minutes as written on a motion by Councilwoman Bullock and seconded by Councilman Reedy. Next was the second reading by title only and public hearing of an Ordinance titled Ordinance Amending Zoning Ordinance Of The City Of Beckley By Expanding Chapter 15, Article I, Sec. 15-3 Definitions And By Adding Chapter 15, Article I, Sec. 15-36 Self-Storage Units. Mr. File recommended a motion be made to amend this Ordinance and delete the definition "Storage Container" from this Ordinance. Mr. File stated the amended Ordinance will still define and regulate "Indoor Self-Storage Facilities" and "Self-Storage Facilities". The amendment deletes from this Ordinance the regulation of "Storage Containers". Council unanimously approved the motion to amend the Ordinance which was made by Councilman Sopher and seconded by Councilman Price. Mr. File read the Ordinance as amended by title only and opened the public hearing. There were no public comments. Mr. File closed the public hearing. The Mayor asked for a motion to adopt the Ordinance as amended. Council unanimously approved the motion to adopt the Ordinance as amended, said motion having been made by Councilwoman Bullock and seconded by Councilman Price. The Ordinance as amended is incorporated into these minutes. Next was the award of bid for roof repair to the Welcome Center. Council unanimously approved the motion to accept the bid from JH Building & Contracting, LLC for $46,500.00, which was made by Councilman Reedy and seconded by Councilwoman Hunter. For edification of Council, Captain of Beckley FD and Chief Code Official, Donnie Morgan, presented the WVABCA application submitted by P&P, Inc. dba Cheers of Beckley which will be located at 327 Neville Street, the application being incorporated into these minutes.  The Mayor asked for a motion to reappoint the following three members of the Beckley Housing Authority for five-year terms: Eddiena Schoolfield, Gary Sutphin, and Kip Buchanon. Council unanimously approved the motion to reappoint which was made by Councilman Price and seconded by Councilwoman Hunter. Next, the Mayor announced that fall leaf pickup is November 15, 2021. Director of Board of Public Works Jerry Stump said the pickup will begin at 7:00 a.m. on the 15th and that yard trimmings and branches no larger than 2" in diameter will be picked up and that everything else should be bagged. The Mayor read a Mayoral Proclamation for Christian Heritage Week which is the week of Thanksgiving. OLD BUSINESS: The Mayor expressed condolences to the family of Dr. Cirilo Z. Villanueva who recently passed away. The Mayor announced that the world-wide International Travel Publisher named WV as the number two region in the world to visit featuring the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mines. A video of the Exhibition Coal Mines was featured in this article. The Mayor congratulated Parks & Recreation Director, Leslie Baker and the staff at the Exhibition Coal Mines and the Youth Museum. The Mayor commented on how nice the Christmas decorations are at the plaza downtown, the decorated trees in Shoemaker's Square along with the wreaths and white lights, and the decorations at the Exhibition Coal Mines. The Mayor thanked Beverly Farris, Jerry Stump, and the employees at the Board of Public Works. The Mayor congratulated all four Raleigh County teams (Independence, Liberty, Woodrow Wilson, and Shady Spring, for earning a trip to the state high school football playoffs. He also congratulated the Shady Spring and Woodrow Wilson volleyball teams for earning a trip to the state playoffs. The Mayor congratulated Jeremy Fox, Seth Evans, Derrick Bandy, Joshua Barber, and Joshua Stacy who will complete their time as Probationary Firefighters on November 30, 2021, and thus become Firefighters. Councilwoman Bullock asked for an update on Fruits of Labor. The Mayor said that he and Mr. Trump visited last week, and they were still painting. Mr. Trump spoke to President of Fruits of Labor, Tammy Jordan, who told him that they are working on opening their location in Montgomery and invite Council to the open house December 6th at their Rainelle location. Mr. Trump said Fruits of Labor had a film crew at their Beckley location last week and the film will be submitted to the Appalachian Regional Commission. The Mayor said that he has asked Mr. File to prepare an ordinance amending the Traffic Control Map to incorporate Chief Christian's recommendations regarding the traffic lanes on Prince Street. NEW BUSINESS: Councilwoman Hunter recommended visiting the JW Marriot Jr. Leadership Center at the lodging center at the Summit Bechtel to see the Wonderland of Trees. She said that the City of Beckley's and Black Knight's tree has the same theme as the City's Rising Cardinals, and it is impressive. She said that Jeremiah Johnson's work is unbelievable. The Mayor said that the viewing of the trees is open for public viewing on weekends and the live auction is at 6:00 p.m. on November 19th. Councilwoman Bullock wished all Veterans a Happy Veteran's Day and reminded everyone that the parade is at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, November 11th. Councilman Reedy said that he has received several complaints about the kiosk used for parking in the parking lot beside Word Park. He suggested the City consider using a parking app called Flo Bird. IT Director Bill Kelly said that the City has a passport parking app that patrons can use and that he would be glad to meet and discuss this with Councilman Reedy at his convenience. The Mayor suggested a Workshop for Council by Mr. Kelly to instruct them on how to use this app. Councilman Dunlap asked for an update on Stiffler Drive. Mr. Trump said that he contacted the Ethics Committee and an Attorney there encouraged the City to be very careful how it spends public money on potentially private property, Mr. File said additional research is needed on the ownership of the road. PUBLIC COMMENTS: There were no public comments. The Mayor said that due to Thanksgiving, the next Council meeting will be December 12, 2021. On a motion from Councilman Dunlap which was seconded by Councilwoman Bullock the Mayor adjourned the meeting at 7:10 p.m. ________________________________ ________________________________ Mayor Recorder-Treasurer