City Council

April 14, 2015 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 14th day of April, 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 (Rob) 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 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 Warner. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Straight noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on March 24, 2015. He asked if there were any corrections, deletions, or amendments. Councilmember Warner 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 1 Council. PUBLIC HEARINGS There were no public hearings scheduled for this meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: DISTRICT MEETING Councilmember Mason said: “Mayor, I had a very successful meeting on the 31st of March, had about 26 citizens, including myself attend an open forum. It was a very discussion, good open comments, some points were made that we don’t know about. The street cleaning, we know we need to get the streets cleaned and I suspect Jay will comment on that during his report. Litter was an issue that was discussed. April 18 is the Make Marion County Shine or something like that where people will join at Palatine Park and split up and go clean up the town and Marion County. There were concerns, a couple personnel concerns that I have mentioned to Jay and don’t need to discuss them here but I passed them on to Jay. There was a concern about obviously the paving of Fairmont Avenue and my comment to the people present was that my understanding is that Fairmont Avenue will be paved this year. Is that correct or maybe you can comment later, Jay. So that was something and I told them that we have a concern about the ADA, Americans with Disability Act, approval for the sidewalks and curbs. I believe that is part of the delay. Just to report, there was a concern about the building, which I think is a beautiful building, at the corner of Locust and Jackson but I think that is on record to be brought down on schedule.” Mr. Rogers responded by saying that is privately owned. Councilmember Mason said: “the semi-circle.” Mr. Rogers said again that is privately owned. He said that the building that we have out for bid is a building that the City owns that is known as the Teamsters Building that . . . Councilmember Mason said: “the Teamsters Building”. Mr. Rogers finished to say that is directly beside the OIC Building. 2 Councilmember Mason said: “There was several comments that I thought were very beneficial. I noticed that there was a contract put together to go with the State of West Virginia for employees who work at the new State Complex to park in the building parking garage adjacent to across the street from it. A few of the business owners, it was a good cross section, new business owners, older business owners and so on that mentioned that downtown parking for business owners is a problem. If they are unloading supplies and they get five tickets in a very short period of time before they are able to get unloaded. I was wondering if there might be a pass or a relationship that could be made available to downtown business owners who might pay something similar to what the State Complex people are paying to be able to park in the new parking garage. I think if you work it out to 12 months, it is about $23 that they are paying per month.” Mr. Rogers stated that they have that available to them now. Councilmember Mason said: “at that rate”. Mr. Rogers said yes, sir. Councilmember Mason said: “then we need to encourage that. I don’t think that was . . . aware at least on some of them. I can help do that. I can help pass that word back. I promised them that I would. Final thing, final comment, it was brought to my attention that a lot of the banks have alleys that are considered thru ways but are not really paved or treated as streets, BB&T, WesBanco, MVB use their drive thru, their drive thru empties out into an alley but we don’t apparently pave the alley. I think it would be helpful to the banks, they are pretty important to us, to be able to maintain the alleys that are adjacent to their drive thru. These are just some of the things. I passed everything on to Jay and I think that is the general point that is the highlights of the evening.” Mr. Rogers said okay. Councilmember Mason said: “it was very successful and I was very pleased, a lot of people did show up, a lot of good discussion and we will be doing this on a quarterly basis. Thank you.” Mayor Straight said thank you. Councilmember Weber said: “Most people have town meetings, I put town 3 meetings, we are not a town, we are a city. They do a town meeting so they can pontificate about a lot of ubiquitous things and they are very chimeric in nature. I believe this what my Council partner here was seeking. One of the things that we have is that we have a City Council that meets every second Tuesday and fourth Tuesday of every month and this is an opportunity for people to come and just speak with a full Council and not just one Councilmember but the full Council. So there is, in my opinion, a situational ethics problem that we have with this particular Councilman that if a situation comes up that he feels that he can then pontificate on then that is what he will do and have it every quarter or whatever is absurd. Ideology is not governance. Ideology is ideology. That is why we have a Constitution. The Constitution spells out that we do not have a dictatorship, that we elect our officials. We don’t dictate to them and we have checks and balances with our Constitution. A dictator has no checks and balances. This situation that we have that our Councilman did on March 31st is to pander to his base and we all know about pandering to bases. The people that he panders to or panders to him when a strong Mayoral form of government and want to remove the current Mayor, the City Council, the City Attorney, Finance Director, and the City Planner. Having a Mayoral form of government would support the group of citizens that would elect a Mayor that then they could control. This narrative that I am saying would have you believe that if succeeded by your candidate who became a Mayor, you then could call him or email him and he would then have your road paved, your leaking water lines fixed very quickly, your trash picked up, your parking tickets fixed, and even a street light that the city would pay for. This is not governance, it is a form of dictatorship without checks and balances. If you want to be a puppet in a marionette show, that’s your choice. I believe citizens want and desire a fair and equal form of government not “I’ll make a call and get it done”, “I’ll get that ticket fixed” or “you don’t have to worry about the handicapped space in your business”, “I’ll get that fixed” or “I’ll just call the Mayor”. Councilmember Mason said: “Mayor, I want to respond.” Mayor Straight replied no. IN RE: MONONGALIA BALL PARK Councilmember Burdick reported that he attended a ball game at the Monongalia Ball Park. He noted that there was a good crowd. 4 IN RE: PRESIDENT LINCOLN Councilmember Burdick noted that it was 150 years ago today that President Lincoln was shot. IN RE: CITY MANAGER’S WEEKLY UPDATE Councilmember Yann suggested that the City Manager post his Weekly Report on the City’s website. He noted that some items may have to be condensed or personnel items removed but thought it would be nice for the public to view the Weekly Report. Mr. Rogers said that he has been discussing that process and maybe publish it more on a monthly basis because the Weekly Report may contain items that are confidential or items may deal with matters that can’t be shared with the public. He noted that hopefully it is something that we can get going in the next couple of weeks. IN RE: COUNTY CLERK JANICE COSCO Mayor Straight asked everyone to keep County Clerk Janice Cosco in their thoughts and prayers since she has been under the weather. IN RE: LEGISLATIVE LUNCHEON The Mayor reported that he, the City Manager, and Councilmembers Moran, Linger, and Mainella attended the 2015 Marion County Legislative Insight Luncheon. He noted that it was very well attended. CITIZENS PETITIONS IN RE: ARTS AND HUMANITIES COMMISSION CEREMONY D.D. MEIGHEN addressed Council regarding the Arts and Humanities Commission. He said that for the past 34 years, the City of Fairmont has endorsed the Fairmont Arts and Humanities Commission. He noted that it has always been said that a City is known by how it appreciates and shows it support to the arts programs. He said that since 1984, the City of Fairmont has underwritten the major portion of the grant with the Arts and Humanities Commission. He then thanked Council for that because on 5 Sunday it was celebrated at Central United Methodist Church. He then stated that he hoped that the City will continue to underwrite this and do more to encourage the Arts and Humanities in Fairmont. IN RE: LOCUST AVENUE WIDENING PROJECT MICHAEL CHRISTY, 1304 Locust Avenue, addressed Council regarding the Locust Avenue widening project. He said that he lives next to the Erickson Center and across from Fairmont State University; however, he has a problem about the three lane that is being put in on Locust Avenue. He said that he did not know where they were going to find the room to put in the third lane. He said that Locust Avenue Drive is an open street and always will be as long as he lives on Locust Avenue Drive. He then presented Council with pictures of what he is talking about. He explained that Locust Avenue Drive is only about 18 feet wide and 5 ½ feet is sidewalk and that would leave the roadway to be approximately 12 ½ feet. He said that a Food Center grocery store used to be where the Erickson Center is now and cars would have to park at a 45° angle and that would leave Locust Avenue Drive open. Mr. Christy asked how cars are going to get out with three lanes of traffic and he was concerned about losing Locust Avenue Drive. He then said that in talking with the DOH today, he was told that the roadway would either be three 11 foot lanes or three 12 foot lanes which is a total of 36 feet. He closed by saying that he wanted Council to see the pictures that he presented and he intends to follow up and see if we are going to have to do something about that roadway. Mr. Christy then mentioned that the garbage in that area is not picked up on schedule. He asked if something could be done about getting the garbage picked up. IN RE: CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY MUSEUM FUNDRAISER ANGELA CARVER addressed Council regarding the 2015 Fundraiser for the Children’s Discovery Museum. She explained the event is to inspire children to explore, discover and grow. She invited Council to attend the fundraiser which will be held on Saturday, May 2nd at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center. IN RE: RHEA TERRACE CONDITION ANDREA KING, a concerned home owner on Rhea Terrace addressed Council 6 regarding the condition of Rhea Terrace. She said that she owns property on Rhea Terrace and said that the road is barely passable and that five feet of the wall has fallen into the road. She mentioned that 95% of the homes on that street are rentals and because of the road, they have no garbage pickup and the road is not plowed in the winter. She then asked if the City has any plans to repair that road. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: RHEA TERRANCE Mr. Rogers said this area has been on the City of Fairmont’s radar for quite a while. He said that it is not a quick solution and we have been looking at that whole entire area for probably about 18 years off and on. He said from the retaining wall issue, it is a line that that we draw that the walls that are above the roadway and abut the property are there to protect the property and the property of those owners while the walls that are below a road and are there to protect the roadway are the responsibility and maintenance of the city. He said, in fact, the City has done some of that on the lower retaining of Rhea Terrace. Mr. Rogers went on to say that we have actually engaged a local engineering firm to help us with the Rhea Terrace situation from a couple of standpoints. 1) the lower retaining wall where the road is of what options do we have and 2) to really take a look at the entire area from Fay Street back down to determine are there any other options of what we can do. He mentioned that there is an unopened right-of-way at the end that actually goes back up and connects to Fay Street. He asked does it perhaps makes sense to open that right-of-way back up so traffic can circulate rather than be two-way traffic down Rhea Terrace and does it make sense to look at some of the properties that are there if they are vacant and dilapidated to acquire those and remove those and create off street parking. He noted that there was a whole host of things that are there to consider. He added that he will get back in touch with the engineering firm and see where they are in some of the recommendations that they have and bring that to Council and make some determinations of what we need to do. Ms. King’s father then said that the ground on the street side has been deteriorating. He said that in the past eight years that side that goes down to the creek is caved in a good five feet. Mr. Rogers said that we have actually went to the WV Department of Abandoned Mines and asked them to look at it. He said as you are aware at 7 the end of Rhea Terrace and back around the corner from Rhea Terrace, there has been two mine subsidence projects that have been done by DEP. He added that they have investigated on two different occasions and determined that there were no mine voids there or no subsidence that was occurring there. He went on to say that he has noticed that you can see the utility poles that are starting to tilt and that happens to be the very same spot that the road is moving. He said that there does seem to be some subsurface issues there and we will continue to work with our engineering firm to see what recommendations are out there. IN RE: REPUBLIC SERVICES The City Manager said that he had the opportunity to meet the new Operations Manager and Route Supervisor for Republic Services. He mentioned that both of these individuals are natives of Marion County. IN RE: SPRING CLEAN UP Mr. Rogers reported that spring cleanup is scheduled April 27 through May 1 on the regular garbage night. He said this gives residents a change to clean out their basements, attics and storage sheds. IN RE: STREET SWEEPER The Manager mentioned that the street sweeper is broke down right now and is a water pump issue that goes to the brooms. He noted that it should be back on schedule next week. IN RE: OPENING OF CITY PARKS Mr. Rogers said that May 1 is the target date for the City to open all of the parks and get the bathroom areas open and ready for use. He said that we need to know that we are going to have consistent warm weather so water is not going to freeze in the restrooms. IN RE: STREET MAINTENANCE CHARGE Mr. Rogers updated Council with the Street Maintenance Charge Report ending March 31, 2015. IN RE: BOB GRIBBEN’S RETIREMENT 8 The City Manager reported that Bob Gribben has retired as the Executive Director of the Fairmont Community Development Partnership. He recognized Mr. Gribben for all of the work that he has done over the years with the Partnership and thanked him for his service. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING ORDINANCE NO. 1366, MORE PARTICULARLY, PART THIRTEEN – PLANNING AND ZONING CODE INCLUDING CHAPTER ONE – ZONING ADMINISTRATION, CHAPTER THREE – DISTRICT REGULATIONS, AND CHAPTER FIVE – SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS, TO UPDATE AND AMEND VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE CODE AND TO UTILIZE THE NEW CLEARZONING FORMAT Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for April 28, 2015 to update and amend various sections of the Planning and Zoning code and to utilize the new Clearzoning format. Councilmember Warner moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance and the reading of a synopsis in lieu of the entire ordinance. Councilmember Mainella seconded the motion. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for April 28, 2015 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT APPROVING THE FORM OF THAT CERTAIN PARKING LEASE TO COMMENCE MAY 1, 2015, BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT AND THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, REAL ESTATE DIVISION, FOR 158 PARKING SPACES WITHIN THE ADAMS STREET PARKING GARAGE LOCATED AT 405 ADAMS STREET, FAIRMONT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF SAID LEASE ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT; AND RATIFYING ALL PRIOR ACTS TAKEN IN FURTHERANCE OF THE TRANSACTION 9 Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for April 28, 2015 to approve the parking lease between the City of Fairmont and the State of West Virginia for 158 parking spaces within the Adams Street Parking Garage. Councilmember Linger moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance and the reading of a synopsis in lieu of the entire ordinance. Councilmember Moran seconded the motion. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for April 28, 2015 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, 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 and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for April 28, 2015 authorizing the renewal of the Letter of Credit issued by Wesbanco Bank for the Self-Insured Security Requirement. 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 April 28, 2015 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 FUNDING OF DESIGN REVIEW GUIDELINES FOR THE FAIRMONT DOWNTOWN DISTRICT 10 Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a grant award from the WV State Historic Preservation Office for funding for the Design Review Guidelines. Motion: Councilmember Mason 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 Weber. 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: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ENDORSING THE CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY MUSEUM OF WEST VIRGINIA’S 2015 FUNDRAISER, DISCOVERY ON TAP, TO BE HELD AT THE ROBERT H. MOLLOHAN RESEARCH CENTER ON SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2015 Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution endorsing a fundraiser for the Children’s Discovery Museum on May 2, 2015. Motion: Councilmember Linger 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 Mason. 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 SANITARY SEWER BOARD, THREE-YEAR TERM TO END JANUARY 1, 2018 Mayor Straight entertained a motion for an appointment to the Fairmont Sanitary Sewer Board for a term to end January 1, 2018. Motion: 11 Councilmember Burdick moved to appoint W. David Roberts to the Fairmont Sanitary Sewer Board for a term ending January 1, 2018. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Mason. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared W. David Roberts appointed to the Fairmont Sanitary Sewer Board by unanimous vote of Council. IN RE: ONE RE-APPOINTMENT, ICC BOARD OF APPEALS, FIVE-YEAR TERM TO END APRIL 14, 2020 Mayor Straight entertained a motion for a re-appointment to the ICC Board of Appeals for a term to end April 14, 2020. Motion: Councilmember Linger moved to re-appoint Rebecca Key to the ICC Board of Appeals for a term ending April 14, 2020. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Moran. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared Rebecca Key re-appointed to the ICC Board of Appeals by unanimous vote of Council. IN RE: ONE APPOINTMENT, FAIRMONT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP Mayor Straight entertained a motion for an appointment to the Fairmont Community Development Partnership Board. Motion: Councilmember Weber moved to appoint Councilmember Rob Linger to the Fairmont Community Development Partnership Board. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Burdick. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. 12 The Mayor declared Councilmember Rob Linger appointed to the Fairmont Community Development Partnership by unanimous vote of Council. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember Mainella moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Yann. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 8:08 p.m. 13