Common Council

AREGULAR MEETING OFTHECOMMON COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OFBECKLEY CONVENED AT6:30PMONMARCH 14, 2023, INCOUNCIL CHAMBERS AND VIAWEB-X. PRESENT: Mayor Robert R.Rappold, Recorder- Treasurer Billie Trump, City Attorney BillFile, and Secretary Susan Miller. Council Members: Janine Bullock, Robert Canter, Robert Dunlap, Sherrie Hunter, Cody Reedy, Tom Sopher, andKevin Price. The following Department Heads were present: Director of ITWilliam Kelly, Assistant Director ofITAmy Evans, Anthony Martin (IT),Captain Parsons with BFD, Chief Code Officer Donald Morgan, Chief ofBPD Dean Bailey, and Director ofParks & Recreation Leslie Baker. The Mayor called themeeting toorder at 6:30p.m.The public hadtheoption to jointhemeeting either inperson orby WEB-Xfrom their computer, orby phone, using theweblink orphone number provided thedayofthemeeting ontheCity’swebpage atBeckley.orgor theCity’sFacebook page. The Mayor ledthePledge ofAllegiance. Council dispensed with thereading and approval ofminutes from theCity Council meeting dated February 28, 2023, copies ofwhich hadbeen distributed to each member. Council unanimously approved theminutes aswritten ona motion byCouncilman Sopher and seconded byCouncilman Price. Next, City Attorney Mr.File described theordinance changing thezone from M”,Manufacturing District to “B-1”, Neighborhood-Highway Business District foreight (8)parcels intheCentral Avenue area. Thepublic hearing andsecond reading ofthisordinance willbeApril 11, 2023. Mr.Filereadtheordinance bytitle, AnOrdinance Amending The City of Beckley Zoning Ordinance Of1971 And The Comprehensive Plan OfThe City Of Beckley AndThe Zone Map OfThe City OfBeckley, AsFrom Time ToTime Has Been Amended, ToProvide ForThe Re- zoning OfSeven (7)Parcels OnCentral Avenue And One (1)Parcel OnVirginia Street, AllInTheCity OfBeckley, Raleigh County, WV, Including Parcels 33, 34,37, 38, 40,And 41AsShown On Beckley Corporation TaxMap29, And Parcels 272And 272.1 AsShown On Beckley Corporation TaxMap 30, From M”,Manufacturing District, To “B-1”, Neighborhood Highway Business District. Mr.Filestated thatExhibit A attached tothisordinance wasprepared at therequest ofMr.Brown andcontains the metes andbounds description. Councilman Sopher thanked Mr.Brown fortheemail regarding theparking situation. Councilwoman Bullock asked Mr.Brown how many businesses are interested inleasing space inthisarea. Mr.Brown said currently there are approximately nineteen. Mr.Brown said another forty businesses maybe interested. Theordinance was unanimously approved byCouncil ona motion made byCouncilwoman Bullock andseconded byCouncilman Reedy. The ordinance ishereby incorporated into these minutes. Next, Mr. Fileread the ordinance bytitle, AnOrdinance Concerning Property ToBe Conveyed ByTheWest Virginia Department OfHealth And Human Resources, AnAgency OfTheState Of West Virginia, ToThe City OfBeckley. Thefirst reading was February 14, 2023. Mr.Fileopened thepublic hearing. The Mayor asked Executive Director ofthe Raleigh County Community Action Association, Crystal Alonso, ifsheor Mike Horn have anyadditional comments. Shesaidno. Mr.File asked if anyone intheaudience hadanycomments orquestions. There were none. The Mayor announced ifcalling inbyphone: dial *3toraise yourhand, ifconnected by computer: click the “hand icon” onyour participants panel tospeak. There were nocomments. Mr.Fileclosed thepublic hearing. The Mayor said Mike, Crystal, andDanielle Stewart explained the purpose ofthisconveyance ataprevious Council meeting. This isaneffort to enable Raleigh County Community Action Association (R.C.C.A.A.)to qualify for more grants forthisproperty. Asbuilding owner(s)they would not be qualified toapply forasmany grants. The City willown thehomeless shelter. They Mayor said over onemillion dollars hasalready been spent onupgrades and repairs tothebuilding byR.C.C.A.A. Councilman Bullock asked ifthe residents ofthehomeless shelter should filea lawsuit would theCitybeliable. The Mayor said the City willhave an agreement with theR.C.C.A.A.which should help protect theCity from thistype ofsuit. TheCity merely owns the building. Mr.Filestated that anybuilding theCity owns isinsured, protecting the City, andtheCity should nothave liability because theCity willnotbe operating thefacility. Theordinance was unanimously approved byCouncil ona motion made byCouncilman Dunlap and seconded byCouncilman Price. The ordinance ishereby incorporated into these minutes. Next, Recorder-Treasurer Billie Trump submitted forCouncil’sapproval the Summary Page oftheBudget forFiscal Year July 1,2023, through June30, 2024. This willbesent totheWV State Auditor’soffice. Hesaidthis mirrors the comprehensive budget hesubmitted to Council several weeks ago. Mr. Trump said there aslight difference inthe aggregate total. Hehadtoestimate the amount ofproperty taxes (when he compiled thisinformation) but, the County has provided accurate figures causing theaggregate total toincrease by afewthousand dollars. This was balanced through expenses. The Mayor complimented Mr.Trump, City Controller Jessica Chandler, andstaff for thework they doontheCity’sbudget. The budget was unanimously approved by Council onamotion made by Councilman Price andseconded by Councilwoman Bullock. The summary page isincorporated into these minutes. OLD BUSINESS: There wasnoold business. NEW BUSINESS: Councilman Sopher said hespent thedayattheCity’sCode Enforcement Office anddrove around with Chief Code Enforcement Officer Donald Morgan forthree hours. They observed numerous structures desperately needing attention. Councilman Sopher said some oftheissues aredilapidated houses, litter, andvarious other issues. Councilman Sopher invited allCouncil members andMr.Trump tovisit and spend adayattheCode Enforcement Office. Afterwards, hesuggested Council have aWorkshop todiscuss solutions. Councilman Hunter suggested theCity implement areporting process including acomplaint form) forcitizens tousetoreport problems such asthese. She saidthereporter needs tohave the option tomake acomplaint anonymously. Shesaidanassessment ofabandoned buildings intheCity andCounty hasbeen completed toobtain afive-year comparison. Shesaid without knowing where anabsent property owner is,itis difficult toserve them notice. Ifa structure contains asbestos, itcanbean issue. Ifthestructure and/orland changes owners, ifanotice ofviolation forlitter, orifastructure meets thecriteria fora dilapidated structure, thenotification process must start from thebeginning which causes delay andtakes an excessive amount oftime intheprocess. Chief Code Enforcement Officer Donald Morgan said citizens canutilize the City’s website toemail theCode Enforcement Office. Currently there isnotofficial complaint form. They Mayor said there is alotofcommunication andnotification among Chief Code Enforcement Officer Donald Morgan, City Attorney Mr. File, andtheBoard ofPublic Works. The Mayor said there arestructures scheduled tobedemolished, some ofwhich will be demolished bytheCity andothers by Empire Salvage. Councilman Sopher said theBeckley Police Department gets involved when safety isanissue. Councilwoman Hunter said some structures have homeless people trying to liveindilapidated structures. Mr.Brown asked theCity toconsider options other than demolishing buildings. Hesaidhe knows investors andother realestate agents arelooking forproperties to rehabilitate. Hesaid when astructure is torn down there aren’tpeople available to rebuild them andwould likeother options tobeconsidered before demolition. He would liketheCity towork withthe community tofind people toinvest the money torehabilitate thestructures. The Mayor said thisisagood point. The Mayor said inthecases heisaware of,the buildings arefarbeyond affordable renovation. The Mayor said Recorder- Treasurer Billie Trump isresearching landbanks where theCitycanpurchase a property andinvite investors tobuild affordable housing. Kanawha County implemented thisprogram. There are forty-twohouses there thatcame from landbanks. Chief Code Enforcement Officer Morgan said there isone house demolition thathasbeen onhold fortwo orthree years. Itwould belessexpensive tobuild anewstructure initsplace. He said duetoother reasons (such ascrime, issues forneighbors, etc.) structures may getdemolished. Hesaid structures are leftstanding aslong astheCode Enforcement Office canallow. Councilman Dunlap mentioned a Demolition ByNeglect Program thathe was involved insixyears ago. TheCity could consider thisinorder totake possession ofstructures thatareissues. Councilman Dunlap said hewould be happy tohelp with aWorkshop todiscuss thisfurther. Chief Code Enforcement Officer Donald Morgan said the WV Code Official Association may visit Beckley. Ifso, hewillletCouncil and surrounding cities know. Councilwoman Hunter saidRaleigh County Chamber of Commerce, “ Make ItShine” isgetting ready tostart alitter index toassess where litter sweeps areneeded. Shesaid Raleigh County isdoing anabandoned building index andwillsupply Mr.Brown with pictures andaddresses toshare with investors. Councilman Sopher said alot ofthestructure’sroofs are onthe ground, theporch isoffthehouse, andthere are nowindows. TheMayor said itisgood to hear some programs areunderway tohelp with this issue. Hesaid hetoo would like astructure saved, ifpossible, rather than demolished. PUBLIC COMMENTS: The Mayor announced ifcalling inbyphone: dial *3 toraiseyour hand, ifconnected by computer: click the “hand icon” onyour participants panel tospeak. Danielle Stewart, onbehalf oftheRaleigh County Community Action Association and the current andfuture residents ofthe homeless shelter, thanked Council for passing theordinance. Shesaidshewould liketowork with the City onthe landbank program previously mentioned. Jerica Jones residing at914Woodlawn Avenue phone number 304-731-1066) saida neighbor parks histruck (which hasaflat tire) infront ofherdriveway blocking access. Sheishandicapped andneeds direct access toherdriveway. Sheis looking forclarity regarding thisissue. The Mayor asked Chief ofPolice Dean Bailey tocontact herwithin forty-eight hours. Councilman Dunlap suggested the curb infront ofherdriveway bepainted blue. The Mayor said theChief willget back with her once heinvestigates the issue. With there being nofurther comments, theMayor adjourned the meeting at7:05 p.m.  Mayor Recorder-Treasurer