Common Council

AREGULAR MEETING OFTHECOMMON COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OFBECKLEY CONVENED AT6:30PMONJUNE 11, 2024, INCOUNCIL CHAMBERS AND VIAWEB-X. PRESENT: Mayor Robert R.Rappold, Recorder- Treasurer Billie Trump, andCityAttorney BillFile. Council Members: Janine Bullock, Kevin Price, Robert Dunlap, Tom Sopher, Sherrie Hunter, Bob Canter, and Cody Reedy. The following City employees were present: Director ofITBillKelly, Assistant Director of IT,Amy Evans, Captain Parsons ofBFD, Board of Public Works (BPW) Director Pam Frey, Chief ofBPD Dean Bailey, Director ofBeckley Events JillMoorefield, andChief Code Enforcement Officer Donald Morgan. ABSENT: Susan Miller, Mayor’sExecutive Assistant, andChief JoeCoughlin ofthe BFD. The Mayor called themeeting toorder at 6:30p.m.The public hadtheoption to jointhemeeting inperson orlisten by WEB-Xfrom their computer, orlisten by phone, using theweblink orphone number provided thedayofthemeeting ontheCity’swebpage atBeckley.orgor theCity’sFacebook page. TheMayor opened themeeting requesting amoment ofsilence tohonor thememory ofCommissioner Dave Tolliver who recently passed away. Council dispensed with thereading ofthe minutes from theregular City Council meeting dated May 28, 2024, copies of which hadbeen distributed toeach member. Council unanimously approved theminutes aswritten onamotion by Councilman Sopher andseconded by Councilman Dunlap. Gail Oakes ofTheatre WV made a presentation seeking financial support for thetheatre intheamount of $10K. The Mayor stated that theCity hassupported thisrequest inthepast. Council unanimously approved therequest to donate $10K toTheatre WV onamotion made byCouncilman Sopher seconded by Councilwoman-at-Large Hunter. Jamie Lehman, State Director of Imagination Station, made apresentation regarding the literacy program they provide forchildren birth toagefive. The benefits were outlined asshestated that thiswasanapproved expenditure forthe opioid settlement funds. Shestated that anadditional $15,750. wasneeded inthe Beckley/Raleigh County area toreach children inthisarea. TheMayor saidthat thisisagood program. Recorder- Treasurer Billie Trump said thattheCity has $2.5Minthebank atinterest and available forCouncil toapprove its distribution toqualified projects. Councilwoman Bullock asked how the children getenrolled intheprogram. Ms. Lehman replied thatthere arevarious agencies involved inidentifying eligible children andthere isalso direct enrollment. Councilman Reedy stated thathisdaughter isenrolled inthe program anditisvery beneficial. Council unanimously approved therequest to donate $16K toImagination Station from theopioid settlement onamotion by Councilman Reedy seconded by Councilman Price. Thepresentation byDestination By Design was postponed. Next, ontheagenda wastheaward ofbid fora1ton, 4WD dump truck with a snowplow. Councilman Reedy stated that thiswill bepurchased with federally directed spending funds, andsince there wasonly one response tothe previous bid cycle, the item hadtoberebid tosatisfy thefederal requirements. This time only onebidwas received anditcan nowbe voted on. Thebid received (which was incorporated intheMay 28,2024, minutes) isfrom Whiteside ofSt. Clairsville, Inc. Itmetallthe specifications andwas intheamount of 141,980. Council unanimously approved thebidonamotion by Councilman Reedy seconded by Councilman Price. Next ontheagenda wastheaward ofbid fortheDLAP grant. Councilman Reedy stated thatthe bidwasforthedemolition andremoval ofthirteen dilapidated structures intheCity through theWV Program forReclamation ofAbandoned andDilapidated Properties. Two bids were received. Each bidmetthe specifications. Reclaim Company, LLC’s proposal was $119,925.00. Empire Salvage andRecycling, Inc.’sproposal was $119,925.00. Theprogram requires thatthelowest acceptable bidmust be chosen. Council unanimously approved theproposal from Empire Salvage ona motion byCouncilman Reedy seconded byCouncilwoman Hunter. Thebidis hereby incorporated intothese minutes. Next wastheaward ofbidforasphalt, concrete, stone/sand, andreinforcement rods. ThebidwasfromSouthern WV Paving, Inc. anditwastheonly bid received andmetWVDOH specifications. Asphalt: Base IIorP&L1 $105/ton, Wearing I 1$ 09/ton, Curb Mix $144/ton, Tennis Mix $144/ton. Council unanimously passed theproposal ona motion byCouncilman Reedy seconded byCouncilman Sopher. The bidwas incorporated intheMay 28,2024, minutes. Theresolution toapprove thePinecrest development wastaken offoftheagenda after consultation with Thrasher andtheir recommendation topublish and RFP. Councilman Dunlap was concerned about thepossibility ofadelay ofthe development ofthePinecrest Business Park. Recorder-Treasurer Billie Trump said itwould beadvertised andhopefully beavailable forCouncil toconsider atthe next Council meeting. Next, theordinance titled, “AnOrdinance Authorizing The City OfBeckley ToSell Two Parcels OfReal Estate Located In The Pinecrest Business Park OffOf Governor Clarence W.Meadows Parkway” needs tobeamended toname thebuyer asMatchpoint, LLC. Mr. File hadadiscussion with theprincipals, and they understand thepossible delays and choose tomove forward with the purchase. Council unanimously approved theamendment totheresolution ona motion byCouncilman Price seconded by Councilman Sopher. Mr.Fileread the ordinance bytitle, “AnOrdinance Authorizing The City OfBeckley ToSell Two Parcels OfReal Estate Located In The Pinecrest Business Park OffOf Governor Clarence W.Meadows Parkway”. Mr.Fileopened thepublic meeting. There were nocomments. Mr. Fileclosed thepublic meeting. The ordinance was unanimously passed by Council onamotion byCouncilman Sopher andseconded byCouncilman Price. Theordinance ishereby incorporated into these minutes. Next, Mr. Filesaidthattonight isthe second reading and public meeting ofthe ordinance heread bytitle, “Ordinance Authorizing Property Swap With West Virginia Department OfVeterans Assistance.” Mr.Fileopened thepublic meeting. There werenocomments. Mr. Fileclosed thepublic meeting. Council unanimously approved theordinance ona motion byCouncilwoman Hunter seconded byCouncilman Reedy. The ordinance ishereby incorporated into these minutes. Mr.Fileexplained that thenext ordinance isbeing presented forsecond reading and public hearing tonight. Hesaid thisisat therequest oftheRaleigh County Board ofEducation (RCBOE) requesting the City toclose analley adjacent toproperty close toStratton Elementary School that isbeing utilized bythe school forvarious purposes including parking. The ordinance istitled, “AnOrdinance Permanently Closing, Vacating And Discontinuing SoMuch OfAPublic Right-Of-Way, Namely, AnUnused Right-Of-Way/Alley Situate Between And Parallel ToTotten Street And Thurmond Street InTheCityOf Beckley”. Mr.Fileopened the public meeting. There were nocomments. Mr. Fileclosed thepublic meeting. The ordinance was unanimously approved by Council onamotion byCouncilman Reedy seconded byCouncilman Sopher. The ordinance ishereby incorporated into these minutes. The BillWithers sculpture project wasdiscussed with Mr.File reporting that thefund needs $30K tocomplete theproject. Director ofBeckley Events JillMoorefield spoke ofthecontributions that Withers had made toentertainment andthat thecommunity hadraised considerable funds. TheMayor asked Recorder-Treasurer ifthe City could afford acontribution of thisamount. Mr.Trump said yes. Council unanimously approved the contribution onamotion made by Councilman Dunlap seconded by Councilman Price. Councilwoman Bullock praised JillMoorefield for herefforts inthis endeavor. OLD BUSINESS: There were no comments. NEW BUSINESS: Councilman Sopher remarked onthepaving of Garfield Street. Hesaidthat the results were excellent. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mary West remarked thatLarew Avenue hasratsinthearea andhas problems with overgrown alleyways. Tony Martin (owner of Axe Hole) onNeville Street remarked thatthedowntown area needs revitalization. Hestated that hisbusiness hasgenerated over 500K inthelastthree years and wasupset thatFrutis ofLabor wasn’topen longer andwas receiving subsidies from the City andState. Christina Baisden asked about theBaker/Tilley recruitment group forCity Manager. She wanted thedata gathered bythe company andsaid itshould be public information. Shespoke of the sunk cost fallacy regarding the Fruits ofLabor building and wanted information regarding it. Danielle Stewart protested that some small grant applications had tosubmit extensive information in theapplication process and wondered ifFruits ofLabor hadto dothesame. The Mayor announced the needfor executive session andsaid nodecisions will  bemade andnovotes willbetaken. Council unanimously passed the request onamotion byCouncilman Price seconded byCouncilman Sopher. Council unanimously approved exiting executive session onamotion byCouncilman Price seconded byCouncilwoman Bullock. Council unanimously approved entering back intothe regular council meeting ona motion made byCouncilman Dunlap seconded byCouncilman Price. Council unanimously approved adjournment onamotion made byCouncilman Price and seconded byCouncilman Sopher. TheMayor adjourned themeeting at8:05p.m. Mayor Recorder-Treasurer