Common Council

AREGULAR MEETING OFTHECOMMON COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OFBECKLEY CONVENED AT6:30PMONJULY 09, 2024, INCOUNCIL CHAMBERS AND VIAWEB-X. PRESENT: Mayor Ryan Neal, Interim CityManager Billie Trump, Interim Recorder-Treasurer Jessica Chandler, andtheMayor’sandCM’sAssistant Susan Miller. Council Members: Natalie Coots, Nancy Shoemaker-Dingess, Frank Williams, KipBuchanan, Janine Bullock, andCody Reedy. Thefollowing City employees were present: Director ofITBillKelley, Assistant Director ofITAmy Evans, Anthony Martin IT, Chief Coughlin ofBFD, Board ofPublic Works (BPW) Director Pam Frey, Chief Bailey ofBPD, Director of Beckley Events JillMoorefield, Director ofParks & Recreation Leslie Baker, andChief Code Enforcement Officer Donald Morgan. ABSENT: City Attorney Bill FileandCouncilwoman Hunter. 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. Council dispensed with thereading ofthe minutes from theCouncil meeting dated June 25, 2024, copies ofwhich hadbeen distributed toeach member. Council unanimously approved theminutes as written onamotion byCouncilman Williams seconded byCouncilman-at- Large Reedy. Next ontheAgenda wastheResolution Bank Depository. Interim CityManager Mr.Trump summarized thethirst three paragraphs oftheresolution explaining thatthe sixbanks listed arethebanks that areapproved atthebeginning ofevery fiscal year fortheCity ofBeckley’s funds. Councilman Williams asked ifthe City hasmoney inallsixbanks listed. Mr.Trump said thisisalistofthebanks thatthe City ofBeckley can useandit does notmean that theCity hasmoney in each bank listed. Theresolution was unanimously approved byCouncil ona motion byCouncilwoman Coots seconded byCouncilwoman Bullock. Theresolution ishereby incorporated into these minutes. Next wasthebudget revision forcoal severance. Mr.Trump explained that at thebeginning ofeach fiscal year thestate requires theCity todobudget revisions to thecoalseverance budget, then the municipal budget. Therevision tothe coal severance budget hastobesubmitted tothestate byJuly 15, 2024. Included in thecoalseverance budget revision isa decrease of $26,370intheUnassigned Fund Balance. Mr.Trump saidtheCity hastomodify itsspending toreflect that reduction. Therevised amount forthe Unassigned Fund Balance was 21,940.00. TheMayor asked Council if anymember hadquestions regarding the revision. Councilwoman Coots said that itishardfor hertovoteforsomething thatshehasn’thadachance toreview. Sherequested thatwhen items require a vote could Council beprovided with the supporting paperwork allowing them enough time toreview itprior tothe meeting. Mr.Trump said thathewill email Council thebudget because a budget revision isneeded onthegeneral fund inthemunicipal budget andwillbe onthe Agenda forthenext Council meeting. Hesaidthattherevision tothe coal severance budget isstandard. The Mayor saidthathetried tocontact Mr. Filetoask hisopinion onthis, butwas not able toreach him. Mr.Fileisout oftown forcontinuing education units. Council unanimously approved therevision tothe coal severance budget onamotion by Councilman Buchanan seconded by Councilman-at-Large Reedy. Therevised Coal Severance Budget ishereby incorporated into these minutes. Next onthe agenda wasthe renaming of theplaza attheBeckley Intermodal Gateway (BIG) “The BillWithers Plaza”. Director ofBeckley Events updated Council. Shepreviously sent Council an email regarding theBill Withers project. Shewaspleased toannounce that the money hasbeen raised fortheBill Withers sculpture. Shesaiddonations are stillbeing received tohelp with thecost ofitems such assignage, etc. isstill needed soShethanked everyone that contributed andhelped make thisproject asuccess. Shesaid thattheCity has ordered some musical playground equipment andpicnic tables forthis space. She thanked everyone who attended the BillWithers Festival this past weekend. Shelooks forward tothe completion ofthe sculpture. The entire building willstillbecalled theBeckley Intermodal Gateway butthe plaza iswhat isbeing considered having itsname changed toThe BillWithers Plaza. She hopes thesculpture will becompleted before Veterans Day this fall. Councilwoman Bullock thanked Mrs. Moorefield andMichelle Rotellini for their work onthisproject. The Mayor asked members ofCouncil if anyone hadany questions regarding this. Council unanimously approved renaming theplaza attheBIG to “TheBill Withers Plaza” onamotion made byCouncilman- at-Large Reedy seconded byCouncilman Williams. OLD BUSINESS: Councilwoman Bullock asked Mr.Trump ifhethinks the families thatown thecemetery could donate theproperty totheCity for perpetual care. Sheishaving adifficult time getting funding forthecemetery. Shesaid that thiscemetery is onthe national registry ofhistoric places. The contact information for thefamily members hasalready been gathered. Mr. Trump said thatthere willbealegal process andthatMr.Filecanassist inthis matter. Councilwoman Bullock said that GStreet isgoing tobepaved. TheCity does not have atimeframe butthinks it willbepaved before winter. NEW BUSINESS: Councilwoman Coots said that shehas aquestion forMr. File andshewillaskhimlater. Shesaid that shewent tothe Raleigh County Family Resource Center today andthey need volunteers. Shesaid thework thatisbeing done there forfamilies inthecommunity isamazing. Sheexpressed appreciation forthework Kelly Gunnoe does with thisorganization. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mary West made arequest thateach Council meeting begin with prayer. She voiced her concerns regarding theresidents of Hargrove Apartments. Shesaidsigns are needed onLarew Avenue alerting tractor trailers sothey donotuseLarew Avenue. Shevoiced concerns about speeding drivers onLarew Avenue andproblems with overgrown alleyways. Shesaidthat themoney thattheCity received from the Fair Housing Actneeds tobeused to provide affordable housing forthepeople onthestreets ofBeckley. Jashad Releford spoke about hisconcerns for racial equality. Rose Hicks voiced her concerns regarding Queen Ann Drive (in front ofBridgeport Tool & Equipment). Shemade arequest forleftturn signals on traffic lights tobeinstalled atCity National Bank uptown andalso onthe traffic lights near CVS andCentral Avenue. Shesaid thecommunity needs anindoor plaza forcommunity events to beposted andaplace foracommunity bulletin board tobeposted. Dr.Kristi Dumas welcomed thenew Council members andthanked Council persons atlarge Hunter andReedy, and Councilwoman Bullock fortheir stance ontheissues forthecitizens ofBeckley. Shesaid thisCity needs government transparency. Shesaid thisCouncil should focus onregaining trust ofits constituents. Shesaidthecitizens of Beckley want change and need hope that decisions made willbeintheir best interest, aswell astheneed tofeelsafe downtown. Shesaid businesses are needed inthe downtown areaandshe would like toseefreeparking downtown. Tom Mosely expressed theneed forthe City tohave aCommission forSafe Streets. Dr.Deanee Johnson isthe Executive Director ofJust ForKids. She wanted tointroduce herself toCouncil andgetJust ForKids onanupcoming agenda foraCouncil meeting inthenear future regarding opioid money tohelp this organization. Shesaid thefamilies and children attheChild Advocacy Center are heavily impacted bythe opioid epidemic. Brittany Massey spoke about thepoor living conditions atHargrove Apartments, aswellasthewayshesaidpeople were treated bytheformer owner. The Mayor said thatheandCouncil toured Hargrove Apartments onJune 19th andtheliving conditions were notsuitable forliving. The Mayor saidthathefeels confident thatthefacility willbeinmuch better shape with thenew ownership. He offered hisempathy fortheresidents of Hargrove Apartments. Councilman-at- Large Reedy said thenew owners reached outtotheCity andwanted theMayor and Council members tosee how badthe conditions were from theprevious owner. Hesaid thathethinks there arefour partners who aregoing toremodel the facility. Hesaid Beckley Housing Authority meets thefirst Monday ofeach month at4:00at100 Beckwoods Drive. Heoffered hisempathy fortheresidents ofHargrove also. TheMayor saidthathe thinks that disputes between landlords and tenants arenotsomething thattheCity hasany control over. Councilman-at- Large Reedy said thatMr.Filewillreturn next week and willbeglad toanswer questions that anyone may have. Councilwoman Bullock asked the residents ofHargrove ifthey have made a listofitems that they need. Sandra Pittman spoke regarding theliving conditions atHargrove Apartments. Councilwoman Coots asked ifthe conditions atHargrove were ever better. Sandra said the conditions were better in 2009. Christian Baisden said thatMark Rose become theowner ofHargrove Apartments in2016. Councilwoman Shoemaker-Dingess saidthattheCity needs tohold landlords accountable by way ofordinances. Shesaid ifthe landlords donotcomply within the specified time they should befined or shut down. Councilwoman Shoemaker- Dingess said another reason why ordinances areneeded aretokeep drugs outandtokeepthe building secure. She said theCity’sCode Enforcement needs tobeinvolved andtheCity needs to strengthen inthisarea. Brittany Grimes also spoke regarding theconditions at Hargrove Apartments. Christian Baisden said thattenants need toknow their rights, standards needtobesetforlandlords, and theCity needs tocreate andimprove low income housing. Shesaid thatCode Enforcement needs tobeinvolved. She said Executive Manor isinfested with bed bugs andhasbeen for over sixyears and something needs tobedone tohelp with thisproblem. Sheasked Council tomeet with theBeckley Housing Authority, the Pinehaven Homeless Shelter, andwith anyothers having avested interest to improve thehousing situation inBeckley. Attorney Adam Taylor istheVice President oftheBoard ofLegal Aidand welcomed anyone involved inthe Hargrove Apartment situation tocontact hisoffice. HeisthePresident ofthe Board oftheWV Collective which isa 501C3. Hesaidthecosttorentthe Raleigh Playhouse Theatre istoo expensive andmany organizations that hold events there including WV Collective may notcontinue todoso because itistoo expensive. Heasked for suggestions from Council. Hesaidthat Mayor Rappold suggested astipend. Councilwoman Coots thanked him for providing things inthearea forouryouth. Robert Dunlap encouraged Council with opportunities thatthey havetohelpthe City andthanked thepublic forthetime hewasable toserve theCity. Maris Lowery said theBeckley Babe Ruth has two teams thatwillbetraveling this month forcompetitions andasked the City tocontribute tohelp cover the costof food, fuel, andhotel expenses. Each Council member present (Councilwoman- at-Large Hunter was absent) said that they would beglad tocontribute half ($500) of what theyareallotted perCouncil member each fiscal year. Councilwoman Shoemaker-Dingess asked Mr.Trump how much the City contributed lastyear. Mr.Trump said that each Council member has $1,000. ofdiscretionary funding each fiscal year thatthey can contribute some, none, orallof. Itisat Council’spleasure. Mr.Trump saidlast year each Council member contributed 1,000. each foratotal ofseven thousand dollars. TheMayor asked how much Maris how much money hasbeen raised thus far. He said $800wasraised today andfundraisers are stilltaking place. The Mayor asked howmuch money isneeded. Maris said hedoes notknow, this ishis first time doing thisandheisstill figuring itout, buttwoteams andparents are traveling. Councilman-at-Large Reedy said that Sophia’steam competed atthe state level andthey asked for $12K. Danielle Stewart shared alistofproposed ordinances andalist ofvarious proposals with Council members both ofwhich are hereby incorporated intothese minutes. Councilman Williams thanked people for their suggestions onhowtoimprove the City. Heencouraged citizens ofBeckley tokeepCouncil informed iftheyare living inunfavorable conditions. Councilwoman Bullock asked ifa Workshop can bescheduled regarding the Fruits ofLabor (FOL) lease. Shesaid without FOL having alease itisaliability fortheCity. ShesaidthatSeed Sower moved outofthe building. Sheasked Mr. Trump ifheknows when aWorkshop will be. Mr.Trump said thathehasnotseen thefinalized lease andassoon astheCity receives it,then aWorkshop canbe scheduled. Councilman Buchanan said each Council member needs acopyofthe lease. Council unanimously approved adjourning themeeting onamotion made byCouncilman-at-Large Reedy seconded byCouncilman Bullock. The Mayor adjourned themeeting at7:32p.m. Mayor Interim City Manager