City Council

August 20, 2015 A Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 5:00 p.m. on the 20th day of August, 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 Seventh District Philip R. (Phil) Mason Eighth District Thomas (Tom) Mainella Ninth District Ronald J. (Ron) Straight, Sr. Councilmembers absent were: Sixth District Daniel K. (Dan) Weber Also present were: Interim City Manager Janet L. Keller Interim City Clerk Paula Friend City Attorney Kevin Sansalone Finance Director Eileen Layman Moderator Rev. D. D. Meighen Moderator Jamie Greene IN RE: ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Straight entertained a motion to adjourn to Executive Session as per WV Code §6-9A-4(b)(2)(A) and City Charter 2.11 (a)(1)A – to consider matters arising from the appointment, employment, retirement, promotion, transfer, demotion, disciplining, resignation, discharge, dismissal or compensation of a City Officer. Motion: Councilmember Mason moved to adjourn to Executive Session as per WV Code §6-9A-4(b)(2)(A) and City Charter 2.11 (a)(1)A. Councilmember 1 Moran seconded the motion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned to Executive Session at 4:05 p.m. by unanimous vote of those Councilmembers present for the purpose of conducting interviews with each City Manager candidate. IN RE: ADJOURNING EXECUTIVE SESSION The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember Warner moved to adjourn the meeting until 7:00 p.m. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Yann. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 6:32 p.m. IN RE: MEETING RECONVENED The Mayor declared the meeting reconvened at 7:00 p.m. for the purpose of the public open forum and turned the meeting over to moderator Rev. D. D. Meighen. Rev. Meighen explained that in June, a search committee was appointed consisting of Finance Director Eileen Layman, Mayor Ron Straight, Councilmember Tom Mainella, Councilmember Marianne Moran, Councilmember Frank Yann, Water Pump & Treatment Supervisor Chip West, Code Enforcement Officer John Miller and citizens Jamie Greene and Rev. D. D. Meighen. Rev. Meighen then introduced the four candidates: Ted Andrzejewski currently serves as the City Manager of Menominee, Michigan and has for the last 1 ½ years. He previously served three terms as Mayor of Eastlake, OH. He has an MBA from John Carroll University. Don Hoyt retired in September. He previously served as the city manager in Anniston, Alabama. He is currently a resident of Downsville, Louisiana. He is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He received his master’s degree from Grambling State University in Louisiana. Robin Gomez is currently the City Auditor of Clearwater, Florida and has been in that position since December 1999. He is a native of Mexico. He graduated from the University of Miami and received his MBA from the 2 University of South Florida. Brandon Stanick currently serves as the Assistant to the Village Administrator in Lake Bluff, Illinois. He is a graduate of West Virginia University and received his master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. He grew up in California, Pennsylvania. A public forum was held and several questions were asked to each of the four candidates. Some of the questions asked were:  Do you have a background in sales?  How do you get to know the people of Fairmont?  What are things that would interest people to be more active in city government?  How do you feel about social media?  How do you get the college students to stay in this area when school is not in session?  How would you deal with stray animal overpopulation?  How supportive are you of public access television?  Is there a plan to make Fairmont great and to keep people’s money here?  How would you work on Police and Fire Pension issues? After the candidates answered citizen questions, Mayor Straight said that City Council will meet on August 25, 2015 and will go into Executive Session to go through the applicant information and discuss the potential hiring of a new City Manager. If a decision is made, a contract will be drawn up at the September 8, 2015 City Council meeting. 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 8:35 p.m. 3