City Council

April 22, 2014 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 22nd day of April, 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 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. Absent: Second District Vacant Also present were: City Manager Jay Rogers City Clerk Janet L. Keller City Attorney Kevin V. Sansalone Finance Director Eileen Layman 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 Smith. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Straight noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on April 8, 2014 and from the Levy Meeting held on April 15, 2014. He asked if there were any corrections, deletions, or amendments. Councilmember Warner moved to approve the minutes as submitted for the 1 regular meeting of April 8th. Councilmember Gribben seconded the motion. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council for the April 8th meeting. Councilmember Seifrit moved to approve the minutes as submitted for the Levy Meeting of April 15th. The motion was made by Councilmember Warner. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. PUBLIC HEARINGS IN RE: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ADOPTED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF WEST VIRGINIA CODE §8-1- 5A AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF FAIRMONT TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN HOME RULE PLAN TO THE MUNICIPAL HOME RULE BOARD IN ORDER TO PERMIT THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE MUNICIPAL HOME RULE PILOT PROGRAM Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on April 14, 2014, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on an ordinance to authorize the City of Fairmont to submit a written Home Rule Plan to the Municipal Home Rule Board. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed ordinance. Mr. Rogers stated several staff members are in attendance in case Council has questions. He explained that we have reached the point in the process or the last step in what has been collectively a two-year process from efforts on many of Council parts, and the WV Municipal League to get the Home Rule Pilot Program expanded and to get that implemented by the Legislature in allowing the program to move to 20 cities. He mentioned that several work sessions were held about the ideas and thoughts that we can put into our proposal and then the mandatory requirements of the public hearing that we have held. He noted that Council unanimously supported the initiatives that we had in the plan. He went on to say that the ordinance before Council tonight simply authorizes the filing of the application as is customary with all of our ordinances for the 30 day period to become effective and that will allow us some time after May 22nd to then submit the 2 application to the WV Development Office who is the guardian of the Municipal Home Rule Board. Mr. Rogers then state that the application is due June 2nd and we are prepared to submit that. He then said that our understanding is that sometime after June 2nd the Municipal Home Rule Board will convene and start to review those applications. He reminded Council that if the City of Fairmont is successful in being selected as a Home Rule City, we will then go through the process of adopting the ordinances for the specific proposals that we have. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:06 p.m. IN RE: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE RENEWAL OF THAT CERTAIN LETTER OF CREDIT, NO 2001-525, ISSUED BY WESBANCO BANK TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT FOR PURPOSES OF SATISFYING A PORTION OF THE SELF-INSURED SECURITY AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS OF THE WEST VIRGINIA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ACT Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on April 14, 2014, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on an ordinance to renew that certain Letter of Credit issued by Wesbanco Bank for the Workers Compensation Act. 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 said that she received word today from Wesbanco that we were approved for the renewal of the annual letter of credit of $1,000,000 through Wesbanco pending Council’s approval of the ordinance. She said that this is required in our self-funding of the Workers Compensation and as stated in the synopsis of the ordinance, the operating account is maintaining status quo for the past several years so we are on target to complete the year within the budget. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:07 p.m. IN RE: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT PROVIDING FOR THE PURCHASE OF ALL OF THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF REAL ESTATE, TOGETHER WITH THE IMPROVEMENTS THEREON, KNOWN AS 211 GUFFEY STREET, FROM DW PROPERTY, INC., AND MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS PT LT 141 GUFFEY STREET, AND BEING PARCEL 66 OF MARION COUNTY TAX MAP 07 IN UNION CITY DISTRICT, 3 FAIRMONT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on April 14, 2014, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on an ordinance to purchase 211 Guffey Street. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed ordinance. Mr. Rogers pointed out that this was one of the three pieces of property that Council discussed during a work session prior to the purchase of the former Wesbanco facility on Merchant Street. He said the City Attorney has worked through the issues with DW Properties, Inc. to get us to this point and did a very nice job in being able to get us the ability to purchase the property for only the expenditure of $1,800 while the total value of the property listed by the Assessor’s Office is $34,920. He said that once we receive the deed and record that and take title to the property, we will work to allocate the funds to demolish the structure and clean up that portion of blight on the street. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:10 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: NOTEWORTHY SWEETS Councilmember Gribben reported that Noteworthy Sweets has plans to improve their business and expand into the portion of the building where Aspire Uniqueness was previously located. IN RE: FAIRMONT GENERAL HOSPITAL APPRECIATION DAY Councilmember Seifrit reminded everyone about Fairmont General Hospital’s Appreciation Day on Saturday, April 26th, at the Knights of Columbus. IN RE: MARK MILLER COMMENDED Councilmember Burdick commended Mark Miller for helping with the clean- up of Pennsylvania Avenue on Make It Shine Day. Mayor Straight also commended Mark Miller for assisting with the clean-up. He noted that when he finished on Pennsylvania Avenue, he came over and helped with the East Grafton Road bypass. 4 IN RE: UNION MISSION FUNDRAISER DINNER Councilmember Burdick reported that he attended the Union Mission Fundraiser Dinner. He noted it was a good event. IN RE: NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER Councilmember Burdick reminded everyone that next Thursday is National Day of Prayer at the Court House. IN RE: FIRST FRIDAY EVENT Councilmember Burdick stated that next Friday will be the first “First Friday” event and the location is to be determined. IN RE: MAROON AND WHITE GAME Councilmember Garcia reminded everyone that Thursday evening is the annual maroon and white game. He asked everyone to support our local college football team. IN RE: CONDOLENCES TO THE DOLOG FAMILY Councilmember Garcia extended condolences to the Dolog family on the passing of their 19 year old son this past week. IN RE: TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT COMMENDED Councilmember Warner commended the workers that are getting the lights working along the Gateway Connector. He then said that he would like to see them get the lights working under the bridge. He asked if there was any way we can get control of that lighting system from the State and use that as a City maintenance project. IN RE: CONDOLENCES TO MCLAUGHLIN FAMILY Mayor Straight extended condolences to the McLaughlin family on the passing of William McLaughlin who used to reside in Fairmont years ago and was the CEO of CB&T Bank. CITIZENS PETITIONS There were no citizen’s petitions for this meeting. 5  CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: 2ND DISTRICT VACANCY Mr. Rogers reminded the public that the City Clerk began taking letters of interest and resumes for the position of Councilmember for the 2 nd District vacancy due to the resignation of Travis Blosser. He said that the nd candidates must be a resident of the 2 District and must be a qualified voter. He stated that letters of interest and/or resumes will be accepted until Friday, May 9th, at 12:00 noon then Council will proceed through their process of reviewing those on May 14th at a Special Meeting and then we will be able to select that seat. IN RE: CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER ON MERCHANT STREET Mr. Rogers said that the contractor, DeBellis Construction, has been placed under contract for the renovation of the Wesbanco Bank on Merchant Street for the new Customer Utility Billing Center. IN RE: FAIRMONT 101 The City Manager announced that the Fairmont 101 orientation will begin this week. He then invited Council to attend any of the sessions. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ADOPTED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF WEST VIRGINIA CODE §8-1-5A AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF FAIRMONT TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN HOME RULE PLAN TO THE MUNICIPAL HOME RULE BOARD IN ORDER TO PERMIT THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE MUNICIPAL HOME RULE PILOT PROGRAM Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance to authorize the City of Fairmont to submit a written Home Rule Plan to the Municipal Home Rule Board. Motion: Councilmember Warner moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Garcia. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. 6 The Mayor declared the ordinance adopted by unanimous vote of Council and the ordinance designated as Ordinance No. 1615 was duly adopted. IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE RENEWAL OF THAT CERTAIN LETTER OF CREDIT, NO 2001-525, ISSUED BY WESBANCO BANK TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT FOR PURPOSES OF SATISFYING A PORTION OF THE SELF-INSURED SECURITY AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS OF THE WEST VIRGINIA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ACT Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance to renew that certain Letter of Credit issued by Wesbanco Bank for the Workers Compensation Act. Motion: Councilmember Seifrit moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Warner. 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. 1616 was duly adopted. IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT PROVIDING FOR THE PURCHASE OF ALL OF THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF REAL ESTATE, TOGETHER WITH THE IMPROVEMENTS THEREON, KNOWN AS 211 GUFFEY STREET, FROM DW PROPERTY, INC., AND MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS PT LT 141 GUFFEY STREET, AND BEING PARCEL 66 OF MARION COUNTY TAX MAP 07 IN UNION CITY DISTRICT, FAIRMONT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance to purchase 211 Guffey Street. Motion: Councilmember Garcia moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Smith. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the ordinance adopted by unanimous vote of Council 7 and the ordinance designated as Ordinance No. 1617 was duly adopted. IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE VACATION AND ABANDONMENT OF THOSE CERTAIN PORTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING UNOPENED RIGHTS OF WAY, IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, UNION CITY DISTRICT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, TO-WIT: A PORTION OF VIRGIN ALLEY LYING BETWEEN PARCELS 359 and 360, OF MARION COUNTY TAX MAP 03-10; A PORTION OF POLK or LLOYD STREET LYING BETWEEN PARCELS 360 and 361 OF MARION COUNTY TAX MAP 03-10; and A PORTION OF FERRY STREET LYING BETWEEN PARCELS 361 and 376 OF MARION COUNTY TAX MAP 03-10; AS DEPICTED ON THE PLAT ENTITLED “REVISED PLAT TO ACCOMPANY ABANDONMENT LEAVING 40’ TO CITY OF UNOPENED STREETS TO MARION COUNTY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY” DATED FEBRUARY 2014, PREPARED BY NORMAN J. KROJAEGER, P.S. 804; RESERVING ALL UTILITY RIGHTS AND FURTHER RESERVING THE RIGHT OF WAY OF WATER STREET Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for May 14, 2014 regarding an ordinance providing for the abandonment of an unopened right-of-way on Water Street. Motion: Councilmember Warner 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 May 14, 2014 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF A WEST VIRGINIA STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION GRANT FOR SPONSORSHIP OF THE FAIRMONT REALTOR TRAINING WORKSHOP 8 Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a WV State Historic Preservation Grant for Realtor Training Workshop. Motion: 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: ONE APPOINTMENT, FAIRMONT AIRPORT AUTHORITY, UNEXPIRED TERM TO END OCTOBER 1, 2016 Mayor Straight entertained a motion for one appointment to the Fairmont Airport Authority for an unexpired term to end October 1, 2016. Motion: Councilmember Warner moved to appoint Alan Parks to the Fairmont Airport Authority for an unexpired term to end October 1, 2016. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Garcia. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared Alan Parks appointed to the Fairmont Airport Authority for an unexpired term to end October 1, 2016 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 7:27 9 p.m. 10