City Council

November 9, 2016 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 9th day of November, 2016, 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 Sixth District Daniel K. (Dan) Weber Seventh District Philip R. (Phil) Mason Eighth District Thomas (Tom) Mainella Ninth District Ronald J. (Ron) Straight, Sr. Councilmembers absent were: Fifth District Fran Warner Also present were: City Manager Robin I. Gomez City Clerk Janet L. Keller City Attorney Kevin Sansalone Police Chief Steve Shine IN RE: EXCUSE COUNCILMEMBER WARNER Councilmember Linger made a motion to excuse Councilmember Warner from tonight’s meeting. Councilmember Mainella seconded the motion. The Mayor declared Councilmember Warner excused by voice vote of Council. IN RE: OPENING CEREMONIES Rev. Elise Neal of the First Presbyterian Church gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Councilmember Mainella. 1 IN RE: BULLDOGS YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM RECOGNIZED Mayor Straight recognized the Bulldogs Youth Football Team and Cheerleaders. The Coaches introduced the players and cheerleaders that were in attendance. IN RE: FAIRMONT CATHOLIC ROBOTICS TEAM RECOGNIZED Mr. Gomez introduced the Fairmont Catholic School Robotics Team, “Peace, Love and Robots”. The students presented their project “Vehicle-Animal Collisions”. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Straight noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on October 25, 2016. Councilmember Weber moved to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Yann. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. PUBLIC HEARINGS IN RE: AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S 2016-2017 ANNUAL BUDGET: GENERAL FUND Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on October 31, 2016, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on a proposed ordinance providing for a General Fund budget revision. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed ordinance. Mr. Gomez spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance and went over the highlights of the revision. There being no one to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:18 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS 2 IN RE: CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE ELECTED Councilmember Mason extended congratulations to those that won in the City Council election. He also thanked everyone that ran in the election. Councilmember Mainella congratulated Councilmember Mason on his re- election. Councilmember Weber congratulated those that won in the election, especially the two new Councilmembers elected. Councilmember Moran stated that she was going to miss Councilmember Weber. She thought newly elected-member Dora Grubb will fill in well. She noted that she was glad to see Councilmember Mason and Yann re-elected. Councilmember Yann thanked the people that voted for him and supported him in the election. Councilmember Linger extended congratulations to everyone that won in the election and thanked those who participated. Councilmember Burdick congratulated everyone that won in the election. IN RE: CELEBRATION OF LIGHTS Councilmember Yann reported that the Celebration of Lights will be held at Morris Park. He said that this year they will have 331 displays and are expecting to put through more than 6,000 cars. IN RE: PIERPONT DEDICATION Councilmember Linger thanked everyone who attended the dedication ceremony for the new advanced Technology Center on Monday, October 31st. He noted that it was a great event and very educational for the public. CITIZENS PETITIONS There were no citizen’s petitions for this meeting. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: REPUBLIC WASTE SERVICES 3 Mr. Gomez stated that the residents received a mailing from Republic Waste Services which clarifies the recycling schedule. He noted it has a calendar and a listing of every city street and when the recycling day is scheduled. IN RE: STREET MAINTENANCE FEE Mr. Gomez updated Council regarding the Street Maintenance Fee. He mentioned that every utility account holder and every non-resident that works in Fairmont pays $2.00 per week to pave our streets. He said this past paving season, we paved 10.63 miles at a cost of nearly $1 million which totaled 14,000 tons of asphalt. Since 2011, over 52 miles of streets have been paved and we are looking to add more streets and most likely alleys to next year’s paving list. IN RE: CELEBRATION OF LIGHTS The City Manager encouraged and invited everyone to visit the Celebration of Lights from November 25th to December 24th. He noted that it was not open every night but from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S 2016-2017 ANNUAL BUDGET: GENERAL FUND. Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance providing for a General Fund budget revision. Motion: Councilmember Moran moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. Councilmember Yann seconded the motion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk and the following votes were recorded: Councilmember Mainella Yes Councilmember Weber Abstain Councilmember Yann Yes Councilmember Burdick Yes Councilmember Linger Yes Councilmember Moran Yes Councilmember Mason Yes Mayor Straight Yes The Mayor declared the ordinance adopted by majority vote of those 4 Councilmembers present and the ordinance designated as Ordinance No. 1712 was duly adopted. IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT PROVIDING FOR AND AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF REAL ESTATE SITUATE IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, FAIRMONT DISTRICT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, TO-WIT: LOT 4 NUZUM PLACE, AND BEING PARCEL 240 OF MARION COUNTY TAX MAP 03-26, IDENTIFIED AS 302 NUZUM PLACE, FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, FROM CREED P. HOLDEN AND TAMMY L HOLDEN, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AND DELIVER ANY NECESSARY TRANSACTIONAL DOCUMENTS, AND TO TAKE DELIVERY OF A DEED FOR SAID PROPERTY ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT; RATIFICATION. Mayor Straight entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of an ordinance providing for the purchase of 302 Nuzum Place. Motion: Councilmember Weber moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance and the reading of a synopsis in lieu of the entire ordinance. Councilmember Burdick seconded the motion. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. Discussion: Councilmember Mainella asked if this property was condemned by the DOH for the Bridge Project. Mr. Gomez said it is his understanding that it originally was discussed to be purchased and demolished by the State then the State retracted from that and then made an offer again and subsequently pulled the offer back. He noted that they determined that they did not need it for the project. He cannot explain why we were not given a very good reason why they did not, other than it is just not in the right of way that they needed but it is awfully close and right next to the road. He added that the property owner contacted the City stating that if we would like to have it and demolish it as part of the project since the State was not going to do that. 5 Councilmember Mainella stated that all we have to do is pay is the back taxes. Mr. Gomez said that is correct, just pay the back taxes in the amount of $207.00 plus the cost of the demolition. He noted that it is in need of coming down so the drivers don’t see this dilapidated structure about 20 to 50 feet from the road depending on the route of the new road. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for November 22, 2016 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT REPEALING THE POLICY FOR SOLICITING APPLICANTS FOR POSSIBLE APPOINTMENT TO CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ADOPTED MAY 24, 2016, AS AMENDED BY RESOLUTION ADOPTED JULY 12, 2016. Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution to repeal the policy for soliciting applicants for City boards and commissions. Motion: Councilmember Weber moved for the adoption of the resolution. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Linger. The Clerk read the proposed resolution by synopsis for the first time. Discussion: Councilmember Mason spoke in opposition to the resolution. He said the intent of the resolution was to enhance participation and to get people more involved and to get the community involved. He said why we have not been successful in bringing more people in, he was not sure. He said that he will have to vote against it but the intent was to enhance people being involved. Mayor Straight noted that some of the boards, a prime example is the Airport Authority, they have nine (9) members and according to the current resolution, we have to have 18 people to apply for that board before appointments can be made and we just don’t get the names. He said that it was the same with the other boards and we are lucky to get one person that wants to get involved. He went on to say that he was hoping to have a bigger turn out of people interested, but we don’t and, therefore, we are falling behind on keeping the boards and commissions updated. 6 Councilmember Mainella said that Airport Authority has nine (9) positions to be appointed by the City and we only have seven (7) of those positions filled now because nobody is really interested in serving. He noted that all of the terms expired October 1st and we don’t have enough people to fill the board with just soliciting nine (9) people. He said that if we have to get 18 people, we never will fill the vacancies. He said that the intent was good but it has hamstrung and kept the Airport Authority from submitting applications to re- appoint the seven (7) who are currently there. Councilmember Mason said the comments are well taken and he stated that he will withdraw his opposition. Councilmember Weber said that he was the co-sponsor of this resolution that we need to expand, along with Councilmember Mason, but subsequently since that time he went over a lot of the notes that have been sent to us from the City Manager and past notes and he was somewhat shocked that we are so low in filling those. He said the intent was that we were hoping to expand our territory but the Legislature will have to do that before we can expand our territory. He went on to say that subsequent to that, the boards and commissions are in dire need of participants, not only the Airport Authority, but numerous boards that need people to participate. He noted that is one particular reason that he asked to repeal this particular resolution so we can fill some of these positions. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the resolution adopted by unanimous vote of those Councilmembers present. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION TO THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY BROWNFIELD ASSESSMENT PROGRAM. Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution authorizing the submission of an application to EPA for a Brownfield Assessment Program. Motion: Councilmember Mainella moved for the adoption of the resolution. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Moran. 7 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 those Councilmembers present. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF AN APPLICATION WITH THE WEST VIRGINIA STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE FOR A SURVEY AND PLANNING GRANT TO FUND, IN PART, THE FOUNDATION OF A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) IDENTIFYING HISTORIC RESOURCES IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT; RATIFICATION. Mayor Straight entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution authorizing the filing of an application with the WV State Historic Preservation Office for a grant to fund a GIS program. Motion: Councilmember Weber moved for the adoption of the resolution. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Yann. The Clerk read the proposed resolution by synopsis for the first time. Discussion: Councilmember Weber asked how this will help the City. Mr. Gomez responded by saying that the County’s GIS is used in the Assessor’s Office for identifying parcels for tax purposes. He said that our use of a GIS would be specific to our corporate limits to include historic structures and an array of different services everything from identifying city owned parcels to parks to fire hydrants to utility lines. He said that it would also have a lot more data so we can make more informed decisions and provide more data to the public. He noted that it will also have a public component on the City’s internet site where anybody would be able to pull up an address or parcel number and it would be able to tell them when their trash collection would be or when the street sweeping would occur. Councilmember Linger stated that it is all about technology. He then said that the City would have to have personnel to run it in order to get the 8 function out of it. He noted that you are going to have to have training to make sure that you are up to date and it’s going to be a full-time job for one or maybe even more people to maintain a system like this to get the functionality that you want out of it. He also mentioned that the bandwidth of the building needs to be improved because currently the GIS system that the County uses is quite over tasked as it is and is difficult to use and there is not enough bandwidth in that building. Mr. Gomez said that it would require a GIS Technician or a GIS Programmer and we are currently addressing the issue of the bandwidth because it is a little bit of a struggle from our Wastewater Plant to communicate with City Hall. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the resolution adopted by unanimous vote of those Councilmembers present. 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: Mayor Straight 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 Yann seconded the motion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned to Executive Session at 8:05 p.m. by unanimous vote of those Councilmembers present. IN RE: MEETING RECONVENED The Mayor declared the meeting reconvened at 8:23 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. 9 Motion: Councilmember Mainella moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Linger. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 8:24 p.m. 10