City Council

August 14, 2018 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 14th day of August, 2018, 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 Warren G. Harger, Jr. 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 City Attorney Kevin Sansalone City Clerk Janet L. Keller Police Chief Steve Shine Fire Chief Edward Simmons City Planner Sandra Scaffidi Marketing/Communications Hanna Turner 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 Mainella noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on July 24, 2018. Councilmember Mason moved to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Yann. 1 The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. PUBLIC HEARINGS No public hearings were scheduled for this meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: CONCERT AT PRICKETTS FORT Councilmember Yann reported that he attended a concert at Pricketts Fort. He also mentioned it is a good place to walk on the trail from Pricketts Fort toward Morgantown. IN RE: DAC’S 60 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Councilmember Merrifield thanked everyone for attending the Disability Action Center’s 60th anniversary celebration on August 4th. He said Fairmont is very blessed to have a facility like this and the DAC is one of the best kept secrets in town. IN RE: NATIONAL NIGHT OUT Councilmember Warner stated that she attended the National Night Out on August 7th and thought it was a great success. She noted that a lot of information was passed out to people that were attending. She then thanked Chief Shine and the officers that attended. Chief Shine went through the crowd and talked to everyone and she thought that was a very good representation for our City. Mayor Mainella reported that he also attended the National Night Out. He noted the Chief did a great job organizing the event and it was very well attended. It was a good testament as to how many people do support the Police Department and appreciate what they all do. IN RE: FUZZY KNIGHT FESTIVAL Councilmember Grubb mentioned that Thursday will be the 6th Annual Fuzzy Knight Festival to be held at Palatine Park. She said it will start at 6:00 p.m. with interesting vehicles and the Tri-State Antique Semi-Trucks will be on display. She noted that they will also be showing the move “The Little Shephard”. 2 IN RE: RT. 2/I-68 AUTHORITY Councilmember Mason stated that the City of Fairmont has passed at least a couple resolutions in support of the Rt. 2/I-68 Authority. The Rt. 2 development along the Ohio River is going along quite well developing the two-lane road into a four-lane road. The I-68 extension from Morgantown to the Ohio Valley is not dead yet and, in fact, they had a representative of the Authority along with WV University representatives go to a meeting at the White House and they are getting some attention on the extension of I-68. The development of interstate 68 connecting the Mon Valley to the Ohio Valley is good for not just our two valleys but provides an opportunity for commerce to come from the east coast over to and through West Virginia into Ohio. He added that they are actually beginning to get some political attention and support for the development of I-68. He said it will be wonderful for us. IN RE: WV MUNICIPAL LEAGUE CONFERENCE The Mayor reported that last week he, Councilmembers Moran, Yann, Straight, and City Clerk Janet Keller attended the WV Municipal League Conference last week in Morgantown. He mentioned that there were a lot of interesting and informative sessions and we got to talk to other constituents from other cities. He noted it was a very worthwhile summer conference and he was glad we got to participate. CITIZENS PETITIONS IN RE: FAIRMONT MUSIC SOCIETY BRENDA GIANNIS, 1095 Charles Avenue, President of the Fairmont Chamber Music Society, addressed Council to thank them and the City Manager for supporting the Fairmont Chamber Music Society and for their contribution of $500.00. She stated that they are in their 37th season and are still plugging away thanks to everyone’s help. She went on to say that they are expanding into the school system and actually taking some of the concerts into the schools. She then gave each Councilmember a brochure with two complimentary tickets to attend any of the upcoming concerts. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: RECOGNIZE FAIRMONT 101 GRADUATES Mayor Mainella and City Manager Gomez recognized the 2018 Fairmont 101 3 graduates and presented them with a Certificate of Appreciation for attending the classes. IN RE: FIRE AND POLICE PENSION RELIEF FUND ANNUAL REPORTS Mr. Gomez presented Council with an annual report of the City of Fairmont Fire and Police Relief Fund. He explained that it was a line item financial report of what the fund’s value was beginning July 1, 2017 and the value of the pension fund as of June 30, 2018. He provided Council with a summary of each report. IN RE: NATIONAL NIGHT OUT The City Manager thanked Chief Shine and the committee that planned the National Night Out. He noted that the event will continue to be an annual event and the City was already looking at ways to enhance and improve it going forward. He said it was great to see the interaction with the police officers. IN RE: DD TV Mr. Gomez announced that DD TV did come back on Channel 561 on the Spectrum Cable. IN RE: NEW POLICE OFFICERS The Manager stated that three new police officers were sworn in last Monday, August 6th: Officers Christopher Guinup, William Myers and Leyna Bansbach. He added that they will attend the Police Academy beginning August 27th. IN RE: NEW FIRE TRUCK The City Manager noted that we welcomed our newest member of the Fairmont Fire Department, Engine 41. He said it is currently at the Watson Station getting ready to be fitted with all of the equipment before being put into service. IN RE: EMPLOYEES LEAVING THE CITY’S EMPLOYMENT 4 Mr. Gomez reported that we have two employees leaving the City of Fairmont for other opportunities: Martha Richards and Lisa Wiley. He thanked them for their years of service to the City. IN RE: DEMOLITION BID PACKAGE The Manager reported that we are finalizing our demo bid in which structures will be demolished. We are receiving the last few asbestos reports on those structures and hopefully the bids will be issued over the next few weeks. IN RE: STREET PAVING Mr. Gomez announced that we are hoping that our street paving will begin next week. He noted that the contractor experienced some delays due to the weather. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: INTRODUCITON, 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 second for the introduction of an ordinance to approve and adopt current replacement pages to the Fairmont City Code. Motion: Councilmember Harger moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Warner. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for August 28, 2018 by voice vote of Council. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ENDORSING THE HOMEBREWERS AGAINST HUNGER EVENT SPONSORED BY THE FAIRMONT HOMEBREWERS CLUB TO BE HELD AT PALATINE PARK ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2018 5 Mayor Mainella entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution endorsing the Homebrewers Against Hunger event. Motion: Councilmember Yann 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 Harger. 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. 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 7:33 p.m. 6