City Council

December 8, 2015 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 8th day of December, 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 Robin I. Gomez City Clerk Janet L. Keller City Attorney Kevin V. Sansalone 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 November 24, 2015 Councilmember Weber moved to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Warner. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. 1  PUBLIC HEARINGS There were no public hearings. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES Councilmember Moran reminded everyone of the Feast of the Seven Fishes to be held this weekend. The cooking school is on Friday at 6pm at the Elks Club on Adams Street. Tickets are $25 and participants get a sample of the eight dishes that are prepared. The festival starts at 11am on Saturday and there will be a lot of vendors there. IN RE: SHARON STEEL SITE Councilmember Yann said he was happy to see the report they received this week about the Sharon Steel site. He understands that we are still waiting for a report from the State of WV but hopefully we will receive it soon. IN RE: HONORING MILITARY Councilmember Yann said that when remembering Pearl Harbor Day yesterday, he came across information on Staff Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, a military member responsible for saving hundreds of lives during the Battle of the Bulge without a single weapon. He was later called Righteous Among the Nations for his extreme bravery. IN RE: WELCOMING NEW CITY MANAGER ROBIN GOMEZ Councilmember Linger welcomed the new City Manager, Robin Gomez, to the City of Fairmont. Councilmember Burdick also welcomed Mr. Gomez. Councilmember Mason welcomed Mr. Gomez. Councilmember Mainella welcomed Mr. Gomez. Councilmember Weber welcomed Mr. Gomez as the new City Manager and also as his neighbor. Councilmember Warner also welcomed Mr. Gomez. 2 Mayor Straight said he has been busy this week with Mr. Gomez going over different things and traveling around town. He then thanked Mr. Gomez for all that he has done already. IN RE: BOARD AND COMMISSION NAMES ON WEBSITE Councilmember Linger requested that the names of members of the City’s boards and commissions be placed on the City of Fairmont website. IN RE: FAIRMONT’S NATURAL BEAUTY Councilmember Burdick said that when he was traveling recently he noticed that with all of the leaves off the trees, you can see a different beauty in the city in things like Fairmont State’s dorms and from Quincy Street, you can even see the chimney stacks at Fairmont Senior High School. IN RE: WELCOME TO COUNTY COMMISSIONER GARCIA Councilmember Mainella welcomed Marion County Commissioner Rick Garcia to the meeting. IN RE: THANKS TO CITY STAFF Mayor Straight thanked City Clerk who was the Interim City Manager and also thanked City Attorney Kevin Sansalone and the rest of the staff for taking on the extra duties in the absence of a City Manager. CITIZEN’S PETITIONS IN RE: WELCOMING MR. GOMEZ Bob Gribben appeared before Council to welcome Mr. Gomez. He says this is a new beginning and looks forward to it. He said our reputation is the “Friendly City” and he hopes it stays that way forever. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT PROVIDING FOR AND AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER AND CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN 3 PARCELS OF REAL ESTATE SITUATE IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, FAIRMONT DISTRICT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, TO-WIT: 0.151 ACRE PIERPONT AVENUE (PARCEL 192.03 MAP 03-34) LT PIERPONT AVENUE (CORRECTED PARCEL 192.02 MAP 03-34) LT 7 & PT LT 9 PIERPONT AVENUE (PARCEL 262 MAP 03-34) LOT 7 JAMISON STREET (PARCEL 193 MAP 03-34) FROM COLUMBA NWOKO AND JACINTHA C. NWOKO TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT; PROVIDING FOR AND AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER AND CONVEYANCE OF SAID PARCELS OF REAL ESTATE FROM THE CITY OF FAIRMONT TO THE FAIRMONT-MARION COUNTY TRANSIT AUTHORITY, A PUBLIC CORPORATION; APPROVING THE FORM OF THE TRANSACTIONAL DOCUMENTS’ AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AND DELIVER THEM ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT; RATIFICATION. Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for January 12, 2016 regarding the transfer of properties on Jamison Street and Pierpont Avenue to the City of Fairmont. Motion: Councilmember Mason 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. Discussion: Councilmember Weber asked for more clarification on the buildings. City Attorney Kevin Sansalone stated that in Council’s packets that went out last Friday, there should have been photographs of the buildings that were demolished as a result of this transaction. There were four properties that were demolished. Councilmember Weber said his question was the timing of the demolition. He said that two years ago, those properties were brought up with BAD Buildings because it was believed that they should have been brought down at that time due to the condition. He then stated that in November one of those properties collapsed into another building so that was when we hurried 4 up and did the demolition. He said we could have done it a long time ago and kept somebody from harm. City Attorney Sansalone stated that the emergency precipitated the discussion with Mr. Nwoko, the property owner, further and the then the transfer of the properties from him to the City. That then brought about the discussion between the City and George Levitsky from the Marion County Transit Authority about the transfer of the properties to the MCTA. Councilmember Weber then asked why we had to wait for an emergency when we knew about this problem years ago. He also asked who gets the title to the property. City Attorney Sansalone said that the City currently has the titles. They will then be transferred to the MCTA as reflected by the ordinance. Then the MCTA will reimburse the City of Fairmont half of the cost of the demolition. He said there are a lot more properties that have similar issues. City Manager Gomez said that Councilmember Weber brought up a good point and that the City will continue to address the inventory of dilapidated structures and to look at those that could pose an immediate danger. He said this it is a priority that we carry this out. Mayor Straight said that we always have to give the person that owns a property due process. It is unfortunate that this was an emergency. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for January 12, 2016 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT PROVIDING FOR AND AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER AND CONVEYANCE OF THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF REAL ESTATE SITUATE IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, FAIRMONT DISTRICT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, TO-WIT: LT 6 JAMISON STREET (PARCEL 194 Map 03-34) FROM HYLTON HOLDINGS, LLC, A UTAH LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT; PROVIDING FOR AND AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER AND CONVEYANCE OF SAID PARCEL OF REAL ESTATE FROM THE CITY OF FAIRMONT TO THE FAIRMONT-MARION COUNTY TRANSIT AUTHORITY, A PUBLIC CORPORATION; APPROVING THE FORM OF THE TRANSACTIONAL DOCUMENTS; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO 5 EXECUTE AND DELIVER THEM ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT; RATIFICATION. Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for January 12, 2016 regarding the transfer of property on Jamison Street to the City of Fairmont. Motion: Councilmember Mainella 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. Discussion: There was no discussion The Mayor declared the public hearing set for January 12, 2016 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING PART THREE – TRAFFIC CODE, CHAPTER SEVEN PARKING, ARTICLE 361 PARKING GENERALLY OF THE FAIRMONT CITY CODE, AND MORE PARTICULARLY TO ADD SECTION 361.17 MANNER OF PARKING IN DESIGNATED PARKING SPACES THEREOF, TO PROSCRIBE PARKING A MOTOR VEHICLE IN MORE THAN ONE DESIGNATED PARKING SPACE; PENALTY. Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for January 12, 2016 regarding an amendment to the City Code relating to parking a vehicle in two parking spaces at the same time. Motion: Councilmember Mainella 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. 6 Discussion: There was no discussion The Mayor declared the public hearing set for January 12, 2016 by voice vote of Council. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: THANK YOU FROM MR. GOMEZ Mr. Gomez said that he is excited and honored that Council put their faith in him to be the new City Manager. He said this is not just a new beginning. He thanked all of the City staff for their work prior to his arrival. He said his family will be arriving on the 20th of December. He said in his role as City Manager, he will do everything he can to uphold the Charter of the City of Fairmont, the laws of the State of WV and of the U.S. Constitution. He also said that he will work tirelessly for the staff and for the citizens of Fairmont. He continued by saying that Fairmont is a fabulous town and he is happy to be here. IN RE: FUTURE GOALS Mr. Gomez said that some of the items they will be following up on and reviewing going forward are to try and schedule a work session with the WV Ethics Commission for Council, having a meeting to get everyone reacquainted with the Charter and what the roles are specifically for the Mayor, Council, City Manager and City Attorney. There are also projects coming forward involving City Hall, Sharon Steel property, BAD Buildings and inventory of the dilapidated structures in the City of Fairmont. IN RE: UPDATING INFORMATION ON WEBSITE Mr. Gomez also addressed Councilmember Linger’s suggestion of more information on the website stating that he would also like to see more open data on the internet in addition to the names of the volunteers on the various Boards and Commissions. He said that this is an opportunity to add more information so the public can better understand what the City of Fairmont does. For example, post information to explain where our budget 7 comes from, how do we spend it and what services do we provide to the residents. IN RE: FAIRMONT Mr. Gomez said that he agreed with Councilmember Burdick in that Fairmont looks a lot different now with the leaves off the trees than it did several months ago when he visited. He said that there are some truly exceptional views. He said that he even received a warm greeting on the street from his neighbor, Councilmember Weber. He stated that from where he lives, he can see the buildings at Fairmont State and hear the team playing football and hear the players on the tennis courts and said that he could not ask for a better community to experience all of this in. He said that he lived in Florida for 25 years but is now proud to call himself a West Virginian and an adopted Mountaineer. IN RE: GOLD STAR FAMILIES MONUMENT City Manager Gomez stated that he and Mayor Straight were able to attend the unveiling of the Gold Star Families Monument December 5th and had the honor of meeting Hershel “Woody” Williams at the dedication of the monument. IN RE: WVU PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION CLASS PRESENTATION City Manager Gomez said that on Saturday, he attended a presentation by a WVU graduate Public Administration class on a project they are doing on Fairmont. The project is to look at revitalizing and redeveloping by looking at the entire city but specifically one neighborhood. They met at Morningstar Baptist Church. He said he got to meet some wonderful residents and there will be more meetings like this that he will share with Council. IN RE: STERLING HEIGHTS ISSUE City Manager Gomez said that he visited City Hall to get acquainted with his office and staff the week before he officially took his position. During that time, he had a chance to visit with a resident from the Sterling Heights area about a code issue. He said that is how he believes a City Manager needs to 8 be involved and get out into the neighborhoods to meet as many residents as possible. He said he will continue to do that, along with his family, because they are excited about his new role. IN RE: THANK YOU FROM MR. GOMEZ Mr. Gomez thanked Council for putting their faith in him and said he will do everything he can to not just make Fairmont “The Friendly City” but to make it the friendliest city and to continue to be a premier city in north central West Virginia. 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 7:35 p.m. 9