City Council

July 23, 2013 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 23rd day of July, 2013, at the Public Safety Building located at 500 Quincy Street in Fairmont, West Virginia. Mayor Straight called the meeting to order. Councilmembers present were: First District Robert D. (Bob) Gribben Second District Travis L. Blosser Third District Deborah D. (Debbie) Seifrit Fourth District William H. (Bill) Burdick Fifth District Charles E. (Chuck) Warner Sixth District Daniel K. (Dan) Weber Seventh District Robert Garcia Eighth District Robin W. Smith Ninth District Ronald J. (Ron) Straight, Sr. Also present were: City Manager Jay Rogers City Clerk Janet L. Keller City Attorney Kevin V. Sansalone City Planner Kathy Wyrosdick IN RE: OPENING CEREMONIES Rev. D. D. Meighen gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Councilmember Garcia. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Straight noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the regular meeting held on July 9, 2013. He asked if there were any corrections, deletions, or amendments. Motion: Councilmember Warner moved to approve the minutes as submitted. Councilmember Garcia seconded the motion. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. 1  PUBLIC HEARINGS There were no public hearings scheduled for this meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: TABLE HISTORIC REVIEW COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS Councilmember Gribben said that he would like to make a motion to table the Historic Review Commission appointments that are scheduled on this agenda. He mentioned that there are some issues that he thought Council would need to discuss in Executive Session and it would be better to postpone those appointments to the next Council meeting. He went on to say that there are differences that Council is facing now because previously Council had some authority over this Historic Preservation Review Commission and that was changed several years ago so that if there are any needs for appeal they go directly to Circuit Court and because this involves personalities, he thought this item should be postponed. Mayor Straight asked Councilmember Gribben to make that motion when Council gets to the appointments on the agenda. IN RE: MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS Councilmember Seifrit stated that she had a few things to say. She said that as a person on this Council, she represents the people in the Third District. She said that she has gotten emails this week and read the letters about the parking tickets and she agreed with the people that our Police Officers ought to be getting DUI’s and giving tickets for speeding and running stop lights. She asked about a year ago that her area be patrolled because there are kids that play there and the speed limit is 15 mph but people fly on that street and continue to fly on there but instead the police department gave her neighbors tickets for parking going the wrong direction. She went on to say that the majority of the things that she brought up over six or seven years since she has been on Council has been about safety for the people of this community and hardly any of them have been listened to. She then mentioned that she has asked for the following: 1) Speed bumps at the Hospital; 2) Painting for Gaston and 7th Street because you cannot pull up from Virginia Avenue and go through that intersection and look to the left because of people parking along the curb; 3) No parking signs on East Park Avenue, where you turn into Shop ‘N Save, only needed to be moved back about 10 yards and then you would not have the traffic jams where you turn onto Indiana Avenue to go to Shop ‘N Save because there is only one lane and people are backed up almost to Morgantown Avenue; 2  4) Stop signs changed on Brown Street and State Street so that people can’t fly through there and have to come to a stop in both directions. She said that way they cannot go 40 to 45 mph through there. 5) 4th Street and Virginia Avenue is probably one of the worst intersections in the City; it is a really bad intersection but yet if you go on Dearborn and Maryland Avenue, there are stop signs painted and looks like a Christmas tree and even has “stop” writing across the street but there are more problems at 4th Street and Virginia Avenue. Councilmember Seifrit stated that her bubble has been burst when she came to City Council because she wanted to help the people of this community grow and it seems like with this form of government, everything is dropped to us and then we vote yes or no and there is never a chance to brainstorm. She went on to say that there are things coming up in the community and she would hope that we don’t have to give credit for getting things improved as long as it gets done. She then stated that she was going to resign tonight but someone talked her out of it and now she is going to continue to work for the safety and for the benefit of this community. IN RE: CONSOLENCES EXTENDED TO TWO FAMILIES Councilmember Burdick extended sympathy to County Commissioner Randy Elliott and his family on the recent passing of his mother. Councilmember Burdick also extended condolences to the family of Marion County Chamber of Commerce Director Tina Shaw with the recent passing of her mother. IN RE: PARKING TICKETS Regarding the parking tickets that were issued, Councilmember Burdick stated that he thought the Police Department did their job, the Police Chief did his job, and the City Manager did his job. He noted that he wished another solution could have been possible. Councilmember Warner said that people need to understand that it is the law and because it has not been enforced for a period of time, we get a little lax on some things that we get by with but it is the law, a State law and is not something that Council came up with. He then stated that he applauded the Police for doing their duty and upholding the law. He said that if you constantly run a red light and finally get stopped for it, are you saying that you should have received a warning that you are going to get a ticket for running a red light. He noted that it doesn’t make any sense and ignorance of the law is no excuse and the job was done and was done correctly. IN RE: PALATINE PARK Councilmember Burdick stated that we went into that meeting with the Marion County 3 Commission not knowing what was going on. He mentioned that four years ago the City talked about giving Palatine Park to the County and they were not interested in it at that time. He noted that this concerns him. He said that hopefully Council can resolve the situation in a fair and equitable manner to both the City and the County. IN RE: FIRE DEPARTMENT ON MONROE STREET Councilmember Warner mentioned that he was pleased to see the article in the newspaper about the old fire department building on Monroe Street possibly being put to use for promotion of the performing arts and public use. CITIZENS PETITIONS IN RE: PALATINE PARK CHARLIE REESE, representing the Marion County Commission, updated City Council on the progress of Palatine Park. He mentioned that the employees of the Marion County Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and people from the Day Report Center have been busy clearing the riverbank along Palatine Park. He mentioned that the DNR has agreed to take over the boat ramp in that area. He went on to say that he will be meeting with the splash park people later this week. He said that he wanted to address some of the rumors that are being circulated. He said that riverboat gaming is not allowed in West Virginia. He went on to say that as far as the rumor that you can’t build on the 100 block of Adams Street is absurd. He mentioned that it was the building that was bad, not the lot that it was sitting on and the lot is structurally sound, as any place in Fairmont. He then talked about the deed restrictions. He said yes, they were aware of those the day they started after this and they are the same deed restrictions that we have in our lease on that piece of property. He said they were aware of them from day one and they will soon be removed from their deed, therefore, there will be no deed restrictions. Councilmember Seifrit asked if there has been any resolution with the locks and dams. Mr. Reese replied that he has heard it was only on weekends and special events. He said that if DNR has a bass tournament they would probably let the people through. Councilmember Gribben asked if they are allowing the large boats up to Fairmont. Mr. Reese replied that he has not seen any large boats. Councilmember Blosser asked about the piece of property that the Marion County Development Authority purchased from CSX and how much they paid for that property. 4 Mr. Reese responded by saying that the County paid $250,000 for the property. He noted that it started out with them wanting to buy the rest of the parking lot at the election center. He mentioned that the County thought they owned the parking lot and after some deed research they found out that they only owned half of that parking lot. He said that they went to CSX and said that they would like to buy the rest of the parking lot and they said buy it all or nothing so they bought it all. Councilmember Burdick asked about where the funds are coming from. Mr. Reese explained the purchase is probably paid out of Coal Severance and since it is going to be a tourist attraction, the hotel/motel would be a way to fund some of it. Councilmember Blosser asked if all of this was publicized in an open meeting when the decision was made. He said that nobody knew about this whole project until the announcement was made at the July 2nd joint work session. Mr. Reese said that legally, it doesn’t have to be. He then said that he did not know, he was not a lawyer, he was just a part-time employee of the Marion County Commission. Councilmember Blosser said that he knows how the City of Fairmont operates and did not know if the County Commission has those same rules and policies but we usually meet behind closed doors in Executive Session about property dealings and then come outside of that to make a decision. Mr. Reese said that it was purchased through the Marion County Development Authority; the deed is not the Marion County Commission. Councilmember Blosser said they would have been given that money in a budget cycle. Mr. Reese replied yes. Councilmember Weber said the newspaper had printed the evaluation of the property. He then asked how did that evaluation arise. Mr. Reese said they went to the Assessor’s Office and that was a year ago when we started on this project. He noted that they have been working on this project for a year. He then mentioned that they were the assessed values. Councilmember Weber asked if the properties were going to be appraised. Mr. Reese then asked for what purpose. He said that they have already purchased the property. 5 Councilmember Warner said for the actual value. He said the assessed value is no value at all. Mr. Reese said that when you are selling real estate, riverfront property is high. He noted that they do not plan to sell the property. Councilmember Weber asked Mr. Reese if he knew the parking lot and Water Street was city property. Mr. Reese replied yes. He said that he knows what the City owns and at this point they are not interested in selling it. Councilmember Weber asked if they were interested in buying. Mr. Reese said at one meeting there was talk by the Commissioners about trading the 100 block of Adams Street for Palatine Park. He then said you will have to talk to the Commissioners. Mayor Straight stated that he would hope that Council can get into some kind of a session with the County Commission and Mr. Reese about the questions that the City has. He then said that the County has been at this project for over a year and Council just got aware of it during the July 2nd meeting. He then said that he would hope that the County Commission can give the City time to get our ducks in a row. Mr. Reese said to let him and the County Commission know when we can meet again or start discussing the reality of this project. IN RE: DEMOLITION ANTHONY HORTON, 914 Lewis Street, addressed Council regarding the demolition of three structures in his district. He said that he understood that $150,000 has been allocated in the demolition fund and he would like to see some of that money used to demolish some of these structures. He mentioned 322 Garrett Avenue and was told that this structure is currently being demolished. Mr. Horton then thanked the City Manager for getting the properties cleaned up that he reported at the last Council meeting. He then gave the City Manager the address and pictures of the other two structures that needs to be demolished. IN RE: PARKING TICKETS SONJA DAVIS, 1370 Overhill Road, addressed Council regarding the left of curb parking tickets that have been issued. After she stated her frustration over the tickets, she said that clearly the City is in desperate need to generate money for their coffers. She added that since the 6 police issued the tickets during the middle of the night like thieves, obviously they have too much time on their hands and then asked for a reduction in the police force. MATTHEW BRUCE, 404 Bellview Avenue, also addressed Council regarding the left of curb parking tickets. He said giving the tickets upset the entire community. He then asked why all of a sudden the tickets were written. He said they were very much unexpected. He said that he has lived on his street for 20 years and have parked the same way every day for that period of time and has never received a ticket for being parked left of the curb. He said that he was upset and concerned as to what is going on and why it happened. He went on to say that there was no warning and this has always been an acceptable practice for the police department allowing them to park this way. He said that he did not know it was a law and now that he knows it is a law, he will park the correct way. Mr. Bruce then stated that his issue is why there was no warning before the tickets were issued. He said $90.00 is a lot of money and he received tickets on two of his cars for a total of $180.00. He said again that it has always been accepted and even a City of Fairmont police officer lives on his street and he has never been given a ticket the entire time he has lived there. He then asked again what has happened all of a sudden for it to be a problem. Mr. Bruce said that now he knows about it, he will correct it and park the right way. JUSTIN SHARP, 1360 Overhill Road, also spoke about the left of curb parking tickets. He said that he did not know it was the law and he has been parking the wrong way for two years. He said that if everyone on his street parks in front of their house the correct way, it will make it hard for a fire truck or emergency vehicle to get through. He said that all of the cars were parking on one side of the street, facing both directions, so the emergency vehicles could get through. He said that it has been accepted and he was not aware of the law. RICKY SHARP, 121 Calvin Street, addressed Council regarding the parking tickets. He said that he used to live in his son’s house on Overhill Road and sometimes in the winter Sands Drive is so slick that you cannot get up and down that hill in order to go on Overhill Road the correct way. He said it was very bad of the town not to warn people first. He said that a notice could have been put in mailboxes or on the cars before the tickets were issued. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: PARKING TICKETS Mr. Rogers discussed the parking tickets. He said that he apologized for those that got a ticket and didn’t know that was the law; however, he cannot apologize that the Police Department did their job. He said that he cannot explain why it was an accepted practice of the City and why it was allowed to be done. He went on to say that as far as warnings, discussions have been held in this Council Chambers and at meetings about the conditions of our neighborhoods and how we need to do things to strengthen our neighborhood and to clean up the neighborhoods. He noted 7 that it was just not the high grass or the high weeds or the broken window, everything goes together about a neighborhood and if parking is done illegal, then how does that start to deteriorate. He mentioned that if we don’t care about the neighborhood because we park a certain way then do we not start caring about the grass being cut at somebody’s house, etc. He said that two years ago we initiated a project called Project Safe Neighborhood and there were over 350 houses in that neighborhood and the City knocked on all of the doors, handed out flyers and said these are some of the violations that were seen in this neighborhood. He said at that time, the Police Department wrote 300 left of curb tickets after handing out a warning and coming back a week later. He said about a week or ten days ago the Chief said that we have given them a warning, maybe not on your street, whether it was left of curb or speeding, the violations are still occurring. Mr. Rogers then said that one thing that is an issue and the Public Works Department is looking at, is that we have narrow streets in Fairmont; automobiles have gotten larger and have families have two, three or four vehicles. He said in a lot of areas you will see restriction of parking on one side or the other to allow for safety to get through. He said that the biggest thing that Chief Moran expressed to him in doing all of this is that it is a safety issue and it is the law. He noted that it has been a law since 1968 and it is a State law and the City doesn’t have the opportunity to not enforce the law and we can’t override that law. He went on to say that we don’t have the ability to repeal it, only the State does. He then said could we have handled this better or could we have done other things, sure we can. He closed by saying that the bottom line is that he can’t apologize that the Police did their job and he cannot explain why it was not done before. The Mayor said that he received numerous phone calls about the tickets. He even said that two of his children got parking tickets. He said that on the street they live on kids are dodging in and out of cars and now it is uniform and speeding can be taken care of. He then told his kids to pay their tickets. He then mentioned that just because you get by with it for 20, 30, 40, or 50 years, doesn’t make it right. Councilmember Weber stated that Council did not institute that policy and Council did not say two weeks ago to go ticket those cars. He said Council did not know anything about it and it was not discussed and was not voted on. Mr. Rogers said that it did not have anything to do with the Council meeting. Mayor Straight said Council does not sit up here and vote on things so the Police Department can go out and ticket cars. Councilmember Weber said that we are a nation of laws and always have been a nation of laws ever since the beginning of our country and those laws are there to be enforced. He went on to say that some may feel that there is selective enforcement of those laws and he may agree with you but the laws are there to be enforced and the police are there to do the jobs that they are 8 supposed to do. He mentioned that it is a State law and we have to abide by the State laws and abide by how the law is written. IN RE: DEMOLITION FUND The Manager said that the $150,000 for demolition did not become available until the budget revision was approved at the July 9th meeting. He said that we are working toward removing the blighted and vacant properties and we will have discussions about where Mr. Horton’s suggestions are in that mix. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CITY ORDINANCE NO. 1579 DULY ADOPTED NOVEMBER 27, 2012, PERSONNEL RULES, TO AMEND THE PAY PLAN AND LIST OF OCCUPATIONAL CLASSES TO PROVIDE FOR THE FOLLOWING: CORRECTION AND UPDATE OF CERTAIN CLASS TITLES; DELETION OF ANTIQUATED CLASS CODES; AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A DATE FOR PAYMENT OF LONGEVITY PAY Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for August 13, 2013 regarding an ordinance to amend the Pay Plan to correct and update certain class titles and to establish a date for the payment of the longevity pay. Motion: Councilmember Blosser moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance and the reading of a synopsis in lieu of the entire ordinance. Councilmember Seifrit seconded the motion. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for August 13, 2013 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION TO THE WEST VIRGINIA DEVELOPMENT OFFICE PARTICIPATION GRANT PROGRAM ON BEHALF OF THE FAIRMONT PARKS COMMISSION FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO PALATINE PARK Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution on behalf of the Fairmont Parks Commission for Improvements to Palatine Park. Motion: 9 Councilmember Warner moved for the adoption of the proposed resolution and the reading of a synopsis in lieu of the entire resolution. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Garcia. The Clerk read the proposed resolution by synopsis for the first time. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the resolution adopted by unanimous vote of Council. IN RE: TABLED, APPOINTMENTS TO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW COMMISSION Councilmember Gribben moved to table Items 3, 4, 5, and 6 on the agenda regarding appointments to the Historic Preservation Review Commission. He also requested that Council have an Executive Session at the next meeting in order to discuss the appointments. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Weber. The Mayor declared the appointments to the Historic Preservation Review Commission tabled by unanimous vote of Council. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember Smith moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Garcia. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 8:10 p.m. 10