City Council

March 11, 2014 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 11th day of March, 2014, 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 Finance Director Eileen Layman 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 February 25, 2014. He asked if there were any corrections, deletions, or amendments. Councilmember Gribben moved to approve the minutes as submitted. Councilmember Seifrit seconded the motion. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. 1  PUBLIC HEARINGS IN RE: AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S 2013-2014 ANNUAL BUDGET: GENERAL FUND Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on March 3, 2014, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on an ordinance to provide for a General Fund Budget Revision. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed ordinance. EILEEN LAYMAN, Finance Director, spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance. She mentioned that this is the third revision for this fiscal year and will have the fourth and final revision to come. She said that this revision mostly takes care of housekeeping items within the budget and moving from department to department. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:04 p.m. IN RE: AN ORDINANCE TO APPROVE AND ADOPT CURRENT REPLACEMENT PAGES TO THE FAIRMONT CITY CODE Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on March 3, 2014, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on an ordinance to approve and adopt the 2014 replacement pages to the Fairmont City Code. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed ordinance. JAY ROGERS, City Manager, stated that this ordinance is an annual occurrence and these are the ordinances that have been adopted previously through last year and will be updated and become replacement pages to the City Code. He said that everything that has been done in the past year has been codified and put into the Code Book by the Walter Drane Company and this ordinance adopts those replacement pages. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:05 p.m. 2 IN RE: 2014-2015 CITY BUDGETS: GENERAL FUND, PARKING FUND, COAL SEVERANCE AND OUTSIDE AGENCIES Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on February 26, 2014 and March 5, 2014, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on the 2014-2015 City Budgets. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed budget. EILEEN LAYMAN, Finance Director, spoke in favor of the proposed budget. She reported that the budgets are as presented to Council in the budget work session. Councilmember Blosser thanked the Finance Director and City Manager for all of their work in preparing the budget and getting it balanced. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:07 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL GARCIA Several Councilmembers extended congratulations to Michael Garcia, the new WVU Mountaineer and nephew of Councilmember Garcia. Councilmember Garcia thanked Council for all of the kudos to his nephew, Michael. He said that he tried out last year and was one of the four finalist and he chose to try out again and this time was successful. He said that he is very excited for the challenge. IN RE: PROBLEMS IN THE CITY Councilmember Seifrit stated that we have some problems and people do not see the progress that is made in our City because they are always looking for the problems. She mentioned that the new State Office Complex is being built and the roads are being paved and if you come up Main Street the town looks better especially in the summer. She went on to say that there are a lot of improvements going on here but, of course, the only thing you ever hear about is the negative. She said that we have been accused of having a silver spoon in our mouths so she then requested that some of these people that complain to donate their time whenever there is a cleanup 3 because the more the people do in the community, the more the people that work for the City don’t have to do it. She then suggested that people just cleanup in front of their house. IN RE: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS Councilmember Seifrit asked about the recently adopted ordinance regarding Electronic Communications. She asked if bullying was included in that ordinance. Mr. Rogers replied that he did not know if bullying has been defined as a term of harassment or not under the State Code. Kevin Sansalone, City Attorney, stated that he thought if someone used the computer to send a message that was not wanted or perceived to be harassing, it was constituted as a violation of the ordinance. He said that the definitions that are outlined in the ordinance contemplate what most people would think of as being that form of action. He went on to say that the actions that are prohibited under the ordinance would constitute what most people think of as . . . (not audible). Mr. Sansalone then said that a lot of it revolves around whether the person who is a recipient tells the other individual, the sender, to cease and desist. He noted that it would take some action from the receiver of the message. IN RE: 4TH STREET BRIDGE Councilmember Warner stated that he was disappointed in the time schedule of having that bridge replaced and hopeful that when the weather warms up and we can get some warm asphalt from the plants that we might be able to at least fill some of those holes. IN RE: FAIRMONT 101 Councilmember Warner mentioned that he was pleased that we have Fairmont 101 starting again. He noted that was a great opportunity for people to learn about the inner-workings of the City of Fairmont and why we can do things and can’t do other things. He then stated that some of those people that are critics, he would urge them to join Fairmont 101 and learn what it is that they are criticizing. 4 IN RE: CITY STREETS Councilmember Weber stated that in lieu of the 4th Street Bridge and some of the other streets, the City Manager is meeting with the DOH about some of our problems and 4th Street is a major problem and Fairmont Avenue is absolutely horrendous and Locust Avenue is getting worse by the day. He then mentioned the Lowell Street entrance has a hole so big that you could fall down to China. He noted that we have a problem and the problem is that we are on two major highways, Route 250 and Route 19, and those are State roads and we are not in charge of those roads. He went on to say that we just have to be a little patient until springtime comes and the potholes can get fixed. IN RE: STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONS Councilmember Garcia mentioned that he attended the State Wrestling Tournament in Huntington and he said that Marion County did very well. He then asked that the State champions and place winners be recognized at the next Council meeting. IN RE: FORMER MAYOR EARL STRAIGHT Mayor Straight announced that his father, former Mayor Earl Straight, turned 103 years old on Sunday, March 9th. CITIZENS PETITIONS IN RE: VARIOUS COMPLAINTS LINDA CAMPBELL, 416 Barnes Street, addressed Council regarding various issues. She mentioned the following items:  The lights are not working on the Gateway Connector.  There are no street lights on Barnes Street.  The street sweeper has never cleaned Barnes Street.  Garbage is not picked up on a regular basis on Barnes Street and she wants to be reimbursed for paying her garbage bill.  There is a vacant lot (Kittle property) next door to her property that has ground hogs and possums living on the lot and it needs to be reported to Code Enforcement. 5  CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: LIGHTS ON THE GATEWAY CONNECTOR The City Manager reported that our personnel in the Traffic and Public Works Division have been out and working through the electrical problems with the streets lights on the Gateway Connector. He said that they have found some minor issues as well as a lot of major issues. He noted that while inspecting the lights, the workers found bulbs with the wrong wattage and parts that are the wrong size and even the wrong type. He said that when a mechanism is the wrong kind, the problem can affect the entire line and cause lights to go out in an entire area. Mr. Rogers went on to say that workers made an adjustment so they can control the lights manually, allowing them to work through the daylight hours to fix the problems. He noted that they have started at the Welcome Center and worked their way down and they will order materials they need to correct the issues. IN RE: FAIRMONT 101 Mr. Rogers announced that applications are being accepted for the Fairmont 101 class. He noted that they are only taking 20 individuals in each session and applications are coming in pretty steady. He mentioned that the first session will begin on April 24th and for those who are interested can go to the City’s website or call the City Manager’s Office for more information. IN RE: WATER LEAK Mr. Rogers informed Council of a leak on a 10-inch water line under the Watson Bridge. He said that the crews are on scene and looks like the disruption should last maybe until the early evening. The City Manager then reported that they have noticed an increase in water usage at the plant and as the weather warmed up they were still seeing things high and with the snow melt, personnel were out actually walking and looking for things and that is how they found this leak. IN RE: LEGISLATIVE BILLS Mr. Rogers updated Council on some of the 2014 Legislative Bills. 6  CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S 2013-2014 ANNUAL BUDGET: GENERAL FUND Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance to provide for a General Fund Budget Revision. Motion: Councilmember Warner moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Weber. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the ordinance adopted by unanimous vote of Council and the ordinance designated as Ordinance No. 1613 was duly adopted. IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE TO APPROVE AND ADOPT CURRENT REPLACEMENT PAGES TO THE FAIRMONT CITY CODE Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance to approve and adopt the 2014 replacement pages to the Fairmont City Code. Motion: Councilmember Blosser moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Garcia. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the ordinance adopted by unanimous vote of Council and the ordinance designated as Ordinance No. 1614 was duly adopted. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE CITY OF FAIRMONT'S FISCAL YEAR 2014-2015 CITY BUDGETS: GENERAL FUND, PARKING FUND, COAL SEVERANCE AND OUTSIDE AGENCIES Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution approving the FY 2014-15 City Budgets. Motion: 7 Councilmember Garcia 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 Seifrit. 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: ONE APPOINTMENT, FAIRMONT BUILDING COMMISSION, UNEXPIRED TERM TO END OCTOBER 31, 2014 Mayor Straight entertained a motion for one appointment to the Fairmont Building Commission for an unexpired term to end October 31, 2014. Motion: Councilmember Warner moved to appoint Chris Parr to the Fairmont Building Commission for an unexpired term to end October 31, 2014. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Seifrit. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared Chris Parr appointed to the Fairmont Building Commission for an unexpired term to end October 31, 2014 by unanimous vote of Council. IN RE: LEVY RATES Councilmember Weber asked about the meeting being adjourned to April 15th to approve the Levy Rates. He then asked if Council was going to get a copy of the Levy Rates for all of those participants. Mr. Rogers asked if he was talking about the different levies in the County. Councilmember Weber replied yes. Mr. Rogers explained that we only do this to approve our rates; however, we can get Council that information and what our citizens will pay for the Library, Transit, and MCPARC. 8  ADJOURNMENT The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember Smith moved at 7:55 p.m. to adjourn this meeting to Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in order to approve the Levy Rates. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Garcia. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned until 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 15, 2014 by voice vote of Council. 9