City Council

August 8, 2017 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 8th day of August 8, 2017, at the Public Safety Building located at 500 Quincy Street in Fairmont, West Virginia. Mayor Mainella called the meeting to order. Councilmembers present were: First District Marianne Moran Second District Frank G. Yann Third District Robert (Rob) Linger Fourth District Kenneth (Brad) Merrifield Fifth District Fran Warner Sixth District Dora Kay Grubb 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 Representing City Clerk Paula Friend City Attorney Kevin Sansalone Director of Planning Sandra Scaffidi Police Chief Steve Shine Fire Chief Ed Simmons Marketing & Comm. Hanna Weaver IN RE: OPENING CEREMONIES Rev. D.D. Meighen gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Councilmember Moran. IN RE: FAIRMONT 101 GRADUATES RECOGNIZED Mayor Mainella presented graduation certificates to Emily Swain and Julie Fox, who recently completed the Fairmont 101 program. He thanked the graduates for taking their time to learn more about Fairmont. Ms. Swain said that as members of the community, it was nice to be a part of the class. 1 IN RE: PROCLAMATION PRESENTATION – FAIRMONT ARTS WEEK Mayor Mainella read and presented a proclamation to Jack Hussey and members of his group for the First Annual Arts Week in the City of Fairmont to be held August 11-19, 2017. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Mainella noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on July 25, 2017. Councilmember Moran 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 THERE WERE NO PUBLIC HEARINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: WV MUNICIPAL LEAGUE CONFERENCE Councilmember Straight stated that he enjoyed meeting with other cities discussing some of their issues and he believes Fairmont is doing something right. Councilmember Yann also said that he attended the WV Municipal League conference and enjoyed the conference. He said that the actions that Council takes may have consequences so they have to be very careful in how they operate and what they do and even though sometimes people may not agree with what they are doing, Council is doing it within the legal boundaries that they have been given. IN RE: ARTS WEEK IN FAIRMONT Councilmember Grubb stated that she was excited about all of the events next week during Arts Week and hope that it becomes an annual event. Councilmember Moran thanked everyone involved in the Arts Week for all of 2 the time and effort put into it. IN RE: FUZZY KNIGHT FESTIVAL Councilmember Grubb said that Thursday night is the Fuzzy Knight Festival at Palatine Park. There will be two bands playing prior to the festival. IN RE: MARION COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DINNER Councilmember Warner thanked the City of Fairmont for allowing Council to participate in the Marion County Chamber of Commerce dinner. IN RE: FAIRMONT FARMERS MARKET Councilmember Merrifield encouraged everyone to attend the Farmers Market held on Tuesdays at Veterans Plaza. He said that there are always good things down there and they do a nice job with the market. IN RE: LEADERSHIP MARION KICKOFF Councilmember Linger said that he went to Cedar Lakes in Ripley last weekend to attend the kickoff for this class of Leadership Marion. He stated that this is the group that puts on the Spring Into Action Fair every year. He also encouraged those interested in learning more about our area to be part of Leadership Marion next year. Councilmember Moran stated that she was part of Leadership Marion XII over 25 years ago and it was excellent. She encouraged those that haven’t participated to consider doing it in the future. IN RE: POPSHOP WV Councilmember Linger stated that PopShop WV out of Morgantown will be holding an event at the Rambling Root on August 12th. He said that PopShop WV is a program that takes in groups of kids that have musical aptitude and teaches them about the music industry and what it means to play in a band and what it is to have that comradery. He said that these groups will then go out and play in public and he is happy to have them performing in Fairmont. IN RE: PRICKETT’S FORT ON BARNWOOD BUILDERS Councilmember Yann said that he spoke to Greg Bray, the Executive Director of Prickett’s Fort, regarding the show, Barnwood Builders. The show is 3 featured on DIY Network and came to Prickett’s Fort to film recently. They are located in Lewisburg and go throughout the country tearing down old log buildings and rebuilding and selling the wood. They came to Prickett’s Fort and filmed two segments that will air on the show. IN RE: FAIRMONT 101 Councilmember Moran said that she attended Fairmont 101 before she was ever on City Council and learned a lot. She encouraged those considering running for Council to take the class to learn about the City. CITIZENS PETITIONS IN RE: YOUTH COUNCIL NEIL STALNAKER, 211 Cochran St., spoke to Council regarding a suggestion of a Youth Council, such as one that is in Cape Coral, Florida. The group consists of juniors and seniors from their area schools and they advise Council on what the kids think and what they want on different projects. He said as an example, there has been talk of building a recreation complex in our area. He asked if anyone had gone to the youth to ask what they want. Another example was Coal Run Hollow/Benoni Ave. and the idea of a “Greenway”. He said that according to an internet survey, some are against it because it is a shortcut when driving through that area but maybe the kids want a pathway through there. He suggested maybe there could be something like an obstacle course at Mid-City parking lot with rope climbing and things like that, which would be more accessible if Coal Run was a walkway. He then distributed a copy of Cape Coral’s ordinance to each councilmember for their review. Mayor Mainella thanked Mr. Stalnaker for his suggestions and stated that there would be further discussion regarding Coal Run Hollow next month. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: FLOODING Mr. Gomez stated that the areas from Farmington to Hundred and surrounding communities had a lot of flooding last week due to the heavy rains. He said that the City of Fairmont provided assistance during the 4 storm with rescues as the flood waters came up. He then thanked Chief Ed Simmons and the Fairmont Fire Dept. staff for their assistance with other departments that came from places like Clendenin and Kanawha County to offer assistance with some of those rescues. He said that after the flooding, he and the Mayor went out to the affected areas to offer their continued support. He said we sent workers from our Public Works Dept. and also our Utilities Dept. who helped review the water table to make sure they had enough potable water while they were cleaning up. He said other City employees and staff, as well as thousands of other people, have offered assistance. We will continue to offer our support as well as our thoughts and prayers to those impacted. He said that it reminded him of the hurricanes in Florida where he previously lived. And fortunately, for this event, there was no loss of life. IN RE: ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK City Manager Gomez said that there are a lot of activities in our area coming up including Arts Week starting this Friday. He said that on Saturday the West Side Coalition will have a cookout and backpack giveaway at Windmill Park. Also on Saturday, is Summerfest 2017 with the PopShop WV event being held at the Rambling Root on Fairmont Ave. and First Street. IN RE: WELCOME BACK TO FAIRMONT STATE UNIVERSITY AND PIERPONT COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS City Manager Gomez welcomed back the students, faculty and staff. He said that their semester begins Monday, August 14th. He also said that since he lives close to Fairmont State, it is nice to see the activity picking up and people walking around the campus. He hopes that they enjoy their fall semester and take time to visit downtown areas, shops and events. IN RE: STREET MAINTENANCE FEE UPDATE City Manager Gomez said that the Street Maintenance Fee was enacted in 2011. He said that in the last fiscal year, $1,410,860.14 was collected from the residents and the non-residents that work in Fairmont but do not have a utility account with Fairmont. He said that brought the balance into the current fiscal year to $1,935,908.88. In our paving season that began a few weeks ago, we have already milled and/or paved 15 streets at a cost of $167,660.70. Mr. Gomez said that there will be some additional changes to the paving list but we hope to have the paving done by October or November. He said that we are estimated to spend $1,663,142.00 to pave nearly 15 miles of streets and alleys. He thanked everyone for their patience and understanding. 5 IN RE: BUSINESS AND OCCUPATION TAX City Manager Gomez stated that the City’s largest source of revenue is the B&O Tax, which went through some changes that began last July 1 for fiscal year 2017. He said that we collected $5,110,312.00 for the last fiscal year. He stated that was a slight reduction from the prior year due to the changes that the City enacted regarding the 1% sales tax that caused the change in the B&O tax, eliminating the wholesale and manufacturing categories and reduced the retail portion of that tax from .39 to .35. The collections for the B&O tax were a little low but a portion of the sales tax, approximately 17%, did make up the difference for the eliminated or reduced categories in the B&O tax. He then stated that our collections for the first month of this fiscal year were up and it was one of the better months in the last few years. The City collected $722,809.00 for the month of July in B&O tax. Mr. Gomez then reminded everyone that financial information is available to view on the City’s website if anyone is curious where the money comes from or what we spend it on. If anyone has any questions, he encouraged them to call or email for further explanation. Councilmember Yann asked, per information he received at the WV Municipal League Conference, if the tax that the state is collecting on our 1% was reduced. City Manager Gomez stated that was correct. The administrative fee was originally forecasted to be 5% but was reduced for one quarter to a little over 1.7%. The State of WV estimates that it will be approximately 2% for the year, which the State of WV is now calculating their true cost of administrating the additional 1% collection so it is good news for the City of Fairmont and all 32 cities in West Virginia that levied the additional sales tax. 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 Mainella entertained a motion and a second for the introduction of this ordinance and to set the public hearing for August 22, 2017 regarding the adoption of the City Code replacement pages. Motion: 6 Councilmember Warner moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance and the reading of a synopsis in lieu of the entire ordinance. Councilmember Merrifield 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 August 22, 2017 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ENDORSING THE SUMMERFEST 2017 CELEBRATION SPONSORED BY POPSHOPWV AND THE RAMBLING ROOT, TO BE HELD IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S HISTORIC DISTRICT ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2017. Mayor Mainella entertained a motion for the adoption of the resolution. Motion: Councilmember Straight moved for the adoption of the resolution. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Yann. Discussion: There was no discussion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the resolution adopted by unanimous vote of Council. IN RE: ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Mainella entertained a motion to adjourn to Executive Session as per WV Code §6-9A-4(b)(2)(A) and City Charter Section 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 public officer. Motion: Mayor Mainella moved to adjourn to Executive Session as per WV Code §6- 7 9A-4(b)(2)(A) and City Charter Section 2.11 (a)(1)A. Councilmember Straight seconded the motion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned to Executive Session at 7:31 p.m. by unanimous vote of Council. IN RE: MEETING RECONVENED The Mayor declared the meeting reconvened at 7:45 p.m. IN RE: ONE APPOINTMENT, FAIRMONT PARKS COMMISSION, UNEXPIRED TERM TO END JUNE 30, 2023. Mayor Mainella entertained a motion for one appointment to the Fairmont Parks Commission. Councilmember Yann moved to appoint Tony Merendino to fill the unexpired term to end June 30, 2023. Councilmember Straight seconded the motion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared Tony Merendino appointed by unanimous vote of Council. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember Mason moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Straight. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 7:47. p.m. 8