City Council

February 10, 2015 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 10th day of February, 2015, 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 Marianne Moran Second District Frank G. Yann Third District Robert Linger Fourth District William H. (Bill) Burdick Fifth District Fran Warner Sixth District Daniel K. (Dan) Weber Seventh District Philip R. (Phil) Mason Eighth District Thomas (Tom) Mainella Ninth District Ronald J. (Ron) Straight, Sr. Also present were: City Manager Jay Rogers City Attorney Kevin V. Sansalone City Clerk Janet L. Keller 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 Linger. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Straight noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on January 27, 2015. He asked if there were any corrections, deletions, or amendments. Councilmember Weber moved to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Linger. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. 1  PUBLIC HEARINGS No public hearings were scheduled for this meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: WEST VIRGINIA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE CONFERENCE Councilmember Mainella reported that he attended the WV Municipal League Conference last week in Charleston. He said he came back from there feeling pretty good about what is going on. Councilmember Mason stated that he also attended the Municipal League Conference. Councilmember Warner noted that she attended the Conference and also attended the City Clerk’s meetings and said unless you have attended one of them, you have no idea what our Clerk goes through and everything that she is responsible for. She then invited all Councilmembers to attend any of the Clerk’s meetings in the future. Councilmember Yann mentioned that Council met with the Delegates and Senators while in Charleston. He said that you can be assured that the City Manager did a great job and he was very impressed with the way he presented himself and he did a great job in answering questions and representing Fairmont. Councilmember Linger said that he shares the feelings that everyone else has about the Municipal League and it was a very good experience. Mayor Straight stated that the Municipal League meeting is a time to get out and talk to other municipalities and see what is going on with them. He said that Council got to meet with our Legislators as far as things that we are trying to do. He noted that the meeting went very well and the City Manager did an excellent job in his presentations. IN RE: 517 BUSINESS INCUBATOR PROJECT Councilmember Weber announced that he attended the open house for The 2 Excelerator on Friday. He said that he thought it was a very important endeavor that they are taking and once it gets started, it will be a big help to those people who want to start a small business. IN RE: MARION COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Councilmember Weber presented Council with a handout from Dora Grubb regarding the Historical Society. IN RE: FAIRMONT 101 CLASS Councilmember Moran mentioned that the new Fairmont 101 class begins April 16th. She encouraged the general public to attend but also the Councilmembers. She noted that it is well worth your time and you will learn a lot. IN RE: FRIENDLY FURNITURE BUILDING Councilmember Linger reported that he went to the Friendly Furniture Building the other night and attended a meeting about future plans of that building. IN RE: CORNER ROUND BUILDING Councilmember Linger stated that the corner round building (formerly Fairmont Tire Building) continues to get some work done to clean it out and the owner of that property has interested people that want to start a business within that building once it is cleaned out. IN RE: 4TH STREET BRIDGE Councilmember Burdick noted that it was good to see that the 4 th Street Bridge will be torn down. He said that he had an issue with people on it last week and the City Attorney took care of the issue. IN RE: POLICE DEPARTMENT Councilmember Burdick noted that he was still concerned about the turnover in the Police Department. 3 IN RE: CONDOLENCES TO MARK HAYES AND FAMILY Mayor Straight extended condolences to former Police Chief Mark Hayes and his family on the recent passing of his sister. CITIZENS PETITIONS IN RE: FUNDING REQUESTED FOR KOREAN MEMORIAL COLUMBUS CARPENTER, 1501 Rose Street, addressed Council regarding funding for the Korean Memorial. He asked Council for any funds that they could donate to the Korean War Memorial. He did not put a price tag on his request but simply asked for anything that the City could spare. He mentioned that 50,000 people died in the Korean War in three years and 11,000 are still not accounted for and by helping with the memorial, local students will be reminded of what has become the forgotten war. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: 4TH STREET BRIDGE Mr. Rogers reported that he had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Department of Highways regarding the 4th Street Bridge. He stated that the project has received its necessary clearances from the Federal Highway Administration and they will begin making offers to residents in the affected area this month and the utility relocation plans have been sent to the appropriate agencies, including the City of Fairmont for the relocation of water and sewer. He added that the State estimates six to nine months to acquire all right-of-ways and they anticipate letting the project in late fall of 2015 and expect some work to begin on the project before the end of the calendar year. Mr. Rogers then said that the contract documents will allow for the demolition of the current structure to take place preceding the construction of the new bridge. IN RE: STREET LIGHT OUTAGES The City Manager discussed street light outages and repairs. He stated that he met with Allan Staggers of Mon Power and he acknowledged that they have had some problems and difficulties in dealing with the outages but they 4 are actively working on it. He reported that they had over 60 lights on a spread sheet at the end of December of 2014 and that list now has approximately 15 lights on it. He mentioned that Mon Power has a process go to through and if it is more than a light itself, if it is the wiring or fixture or something on down in the circuit, that will actually be transferred to another crew and be part of another work order program. IN RE: 517 BUSINESS INCUBATOR PROJECT The City Manager reported that he also attended the FCDP Excelerator open house on Friday. He then presented Council with a Certificate of Appreciation that he received from the FCDP in recognition of valuable contributions to and support of the FCDP in the development of the 517 Excelerator. IN RE: 2015-2016 BUDGET PRESENTED The City Manager stated that pursuant to Section 5.02 and 5.03 of the City Charter and with the assistance and cooperation of our Department Heads and Finance Director Eileen Layman, he was pleased to present to the Mayor and members of City Council the proposed Fiscal Year 2016 General Fund Budget accompanied by budgets for the Parking and Coal Severance Funds. The Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Years 2016 through 2020 has also been transmitted to the Mayor and Council as part of the budget process. The City Manager’s Budget Message is as follows: As City Manager, it is my duty to present the Council with a balanced budget, which has been accomplished without any proposed increase in fees or taxes to the citizens or businesses of Fairmont. It continues to be my goal as City Manager to develop a Budget Document that provides our Departments with the resources necessary to ensure their successful operation and functionality so they may deliver services to the residents and businesses of Fairmont. The proposed FY16 Budget Document includes appropriations sufficient to meet our annual debt service obligations while we continue to invest in our infrastructure network. Consideration to the future needs of our citizens, departments and employees have been considered and planned for as well by way of these documents. 5 General Fund Budget $14,360,312 The proposed FY16 General Fund Operating Budget of $14,360,312 is an increase of $283,889 (2.02%) over the current FY15 Operating Budget of $14,076,423. The proposed FY16 General Fund Operating Budget anticipates modest increased revenues from the collection of the Excise Tax on Utilities, Ad Valorem Tax, Fines & Forfeitures, and Intergovernmental Revenue (with the acceptance of a COPS Grant and funding also provided by the Marion County Board of Education). Revenues from Business and Occupation Taxes, Business Licenses, Building Permits and Charges for Services are projected to remain steady or slightly increase for the coming fiscal year. Miscellaneous Revenue is projected to decrease by $60,000 because of the prior year reclassification to Miscellaneous Revenue from laying the levy. Discretionary spending has been kept to a minimum and prioritized to give our Departments the supplies, equipment and training they need in order to function and to meet our objective of providing services to our customers. No provisions have been included in the General Fund Operating Budget for position reclassifications or base pay increases for our employees in FY16. Total personnel costs have increased from the previous year in amount of $80,000, (less than 1% ) with a 7% increase to both the Fire and Police Pension Plans, longevity increases and a half year increase in Council pay. PERS retirement and overtime costs are budgeted at a lower level in FY16. As required by the provisions of the WV Code, contributions to the Marion County Armory Board, the Marion County Health Department, the Marion County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Region VI Planning and Development Council have been provided for in the FY16 Budget in the amount of $55,003. The City is also obligated to fund the Animal Control contract with the Marion County Commission in the amount of $47,650. The City received an additional $103,300 in requests from Outside Agencies and the proposed FY16 Budget recommends funding only 36% of those requests at the level of $36,700. I would like to commend the City Council, our Finance Director and our employees for their efforts to reach a balanced General Fund Budget. I would also like to remind the Council that, in years’ past, we have been able to carry- over a fund balance at the end of the fiscal year and it would be my 6 recommendation that we provide for a contingency line item at that time as well as any desired increases in contributions to outside agencies or the additional funding of Departments or programs. Parking Fund $243,977 The Fairmont Parking Authority continues to make strides towards making the Parking Fund a self-supporting enterprise fund. The year to date actuals for the current fiscal year remains steady from fees collected at the Adams Street Parking Garage, as well as from the leasing of spaces at Veterans’ Plaza and the former Armory lot. The Authority continues to work with staff to implement recommendations from their Operations Plan and is determined to reduce its dependence on the General Fund. To that end, in FY16 there is a reduction of $25,239 in Contributions from Other Funds. Of the total budget for the Parking Fund in FY16, $65,424 is dedicated to the debt service for the Adams Street Parking Garage. Additionally, an allocation of $75,000 has been proposed from the Capital Improvement Plan to address signage, beautification and landscaping for several of our parking areas to improve the City’s image in these well used public spaces. Coal Severance $60,005 The entire distribution of Coal Severance Tax collected by the City of Fairmont has always been restricted to snow removal and this practice is continued for the FY16 Budget as well. The Coal Severance Budget for FY16 is consistent with the revised FY15 Budget. The proposed budget allocates $31,657 for supplies (salt & cinders) with the balance being appropriated for overtime and maintenance of the snow removal equipment. We hope that continued moderate winters will allow the Department to meet its expectations even with projected revenues from the Coal Severance Tax declining. Capital Improvement Plan $1,345,000 An increase of $195,000 in revenue from major construction projects is forecasted for FY16 with projects such as the Advanced Technical Center, Fairmont State University’s Housing additions, the DNR project at Palatine Park and other projects expected to begin or continue in FY16. Our Capital Improvement Budget for FY16 dedicates, for the first time in several years, a greater amount to actual capital improvements than to debt service. Debt service is budgeted at $530,282 (39.43%) to address the existing debt on the Public Safety Building, the Adams Street Parking Garage, the Customer Service Center and two fire trucks as well as proposed new debt ($61,703) for a pumper truck in the Fire Department. The FY 16 budgeted debt service is the lowest level of debt service the City of Fairmont has held in the last five years. 7 From FY12 to FY 16, we have reduced our annual debt service by almost $200,000. The FY 16 Capital Plan, allocates $814,718 (60.57%) to the capital needs of Building Inspection, Public Works, the Police Department, the Fire Department, Data Processing, the Parking Authority, Snow Removal and our Parks system representing an increase of $235,491 from the prior fiscal year. The largest allocation is to Public Works as I have continued to budget $200,000 towards street paving to be combined with the anticipated revenues from the Street Maintenance Charge to give the City an anticipated Budget of $1,593,600 for our paving projects in 2015. In closing, Mr. Rogers told Council as they review the FY16 General Fund Budget, please feel free to contact him to discuss any questions or concerns they may have. IN RE: BUDGET WORK SESSION Mr. Rogers reminded Council of the budget work session to be held on Tuesday, February 17th at 5:30 p.m. in the Fire Department Training Room at the Public Safety Building. He noted that he and Finance Director Eileen Layman will take Council through a presentation of the proposed General Fund Budget and its components and the Department Heads will also be available to discuss components of their budgets as well. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE TO APPROVE AND ADOPT CURRENT REPLACEMENT PAGES TO THE FAIRMONT CITY CODE Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for February 24, 2015 to approve and adopt current replacement pages to the Fairmont City Code. Councilmember Weber moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance and the reading of a synopsis in lieu of the entire ordinance. Councilmember Warner seconded the motion. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for February 24, 2015 by voice vote of Council. 8 IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S 2014-2015 ANNUAL BUDGET: GENERAL FUND Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for February 24, 2015 to provide for a General Fund Budget Revision. Councilmember Mainella moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance and the reading of a synopsis in lieu of the entire ordinance. Councilmember Weber seconded the motion. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for February 24, 2015 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: TWO RE-APPOINTMENTS, BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS, THREE- YEAR TERMS TO END JANUARY 1, 2018 Mayor Straight entertained a motion for two re-appointments to the Board of Zoning Appeals for terms to end January 1, 2018. Motion: Councilmember Weber moved to re-appoint Joseph Manchin IV and John Six to the Board of Zoning Appeals for terms to end January 1, 2018. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Mainella. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared Joseph Manchin IV and John Six re-appointed to the Board of Zoning Appeals for terms to end January 1, 2018 by unanimous vote of Council. IN RE: ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Straight moved that Council adjourn to Executive Session under WV Code Section §6-9A-4 (b)(2)(A) under Item #2 under 2.11(a)(1)(A) of the City Charter. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Mainella. 9 The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned to Executive Session by voice vote of Council at 7:32 p.m. The Mayor noted that no further action will be taken when the meeting is reconvened. IN RE: MEETING RECONVENED Mayor Straight declared the meeting reconvened at 8:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember Mainella moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Weber. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 8:01 p.m. 10