City Council

August 13, 2019 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 13th day of August, 2019, at the Public Safety Building located at 500 Quincy Street in Fairmont, West Virginia. Mayor Merrifield called the meeting to order. Councilmembers present were: First District Joshua D. (Josh) Rice Second District Frank G. Yann Third District Karl (David) Kennedy Fourth District Kenneth (Brad) Merrifield Fifth District Barry H. Bledsoe Sixth District Dora Kay Grubb Seventh District Philip R. (Phil) Mason Eighth District Thomas (Tom) Mainella Ninth District Donna M. Blood Also present were: City Manager Valerie Means City Attorney Kevin Sansalone City Clerk Janet L. Keller Police Chief Steve Shine Fire Chief Ed Simmons Rev. D.D. Meighen gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Councilmember Rice. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Merrifield noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting July 23, 2019. Councilmember Rice moved to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Blood. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. 1  PUBLIC HEARINGS IN RE: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING THE DESIGN, ACQUISITION, C O N S T R U C T I O N A N D E Q U I P P I N G O F A NEW FIRE STATION TO BE CONSTRUCTED ON REAL PROPERTY LOCATED IN THE VICINITY OF 828 VERMONT AVENUE IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT AND TO BE KNOWN AS THE “EAST SIDE F I R E S T A T I O N ” BY THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ON BEHALF OF THE FAIRMONT BUILDING COMMISSION; THE LEASING OF SUCH REAL PROPERTY AND ALL PROJECT IMPROVEMENTS AND APPURTENANCES THERETO BY THE CITY OF FAIRMONT FROM THE FAIRMONT BUILDING COMMISSION; THE SALE AND ISSUANCE BY THE FAIRMONT BUILDING COMMISSION OF ITS NOT TO EXCEED $3,000,000 PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF LEASE REVENUE BONDS, IN ONE OR MORE SERIES; PRESCRIBING THE FORMS AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF AN AGREEMENT AND LEASE AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING OTHER DOCUMENTS AND MATTERS RELATING TO THE TERMS AND SECURITY OF SUCH BONDS; AND PROVIDING FOR OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on July 15, 2019 and July 22, 2019, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on a proposed ordinance providing for the issuance of Lease Revenue Bonds for the new East Side Fire Station. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed ordinance. Ms. Means spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance. She said it is a very exciting time to be looking for a new fire station. ED SIMMONS, Fire Chief, also spoke in support of the ordinance. Chief Simmons said they have been working for two years on this project and a lot of people have been involved. He said that tonight is the night for Council to show their support like they have said they were going to for the last two years. He said that the project is now coming together. We’ve got an awesome start to this project. Omni Associates have done a wonderful job in the conceptual design and we are ready to get the funding to move forward for the bidding and breaking of ground. ADAM ROHALY, with Omni Associates, who designed the building, spoke to Council about the design. He gave an overview of the structure and displayed a rendering of the new fire station along with the floor plans of the 2 two-story structure. He said that one of the goals of the design was to support the first responders’ health and safety. So the design of the fire station has evolved to accommodate that. He said that the design was meant to be a cost-effective structure to meet the budget. Mr. Rohaly said that the neighborhood where the fire station will be located was taken into consideration with the design. He said that not only does this need to be a beacon for the community, a place where the public can go, if they’re in need or need help, and it’s easily recognizable, but it also needs to blend into that neighborhood. Councilmember Mason said that it looks like a beautiful facility. He noted that he and the Mayor toured the existing station and learned that it wasn’t even up to Code. He said he was looking forward to the new station that is going to keep Fairmont safe. Councilmember Yann stated that he thought the design fit in with the neighborhood. Mayor Merrifield noted that this has been going on for a while but Council feels pretty strongly about supporting our first responders and if the Chief and his group are happy with that, that’s the big thing. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:13 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: CLEANING UP AFTER RECENT STORM Councilmember Mason thanked the people who cleaned the streets after the storm that we had last Thursday. He noted that it was appropriate to express appreciation for the people who did that from the City. Councilmember Blood thanked Mon Power and First Energy for working so hard day and night to get the power back on to everyone in this area after the storm. Mayor Merrifield thanked Chief Simmons for filling in for the City Manager while we were attending the WV Municipal League Conference. He said that when that big storm hit, he was the guy that took care of things. IN RE: CONGRATULATIONS EXTENDED TO CITY CLERK JANET KELLER 3 Councilmember Rice extended congratulations to Janet on the award that was presented to her at the Municipal League Conference last week in Huntington. Councilmember Yann also commended Janet on her award. He said that for those that don’t realize, it was a WV Municipal League award called the Lydia Main Breaking Boundaries Award and is given to someone with outstanding abilities, which she has. He said that she is not only an asset to us in Fairmont but to the Municipal League because of her depth of knowledge and her experience. He then said she was the best. Councilmember Mainella said as far as Janet’s award, he didn’t know if it was good or bad, but she and I have been around long enough that we knew Lydia Main. IN RE: NATIONAL NIGHT OUT EVENT Councilmember Rice stated that he attended the National Night Out last week. He noted that it was a wonderful night with all of the first responders out and it was nice to see all of the community and the kids get together with the officers. He then thanked all of the City staff for putting the event together. IN RE: RETIRED FINANCE DIRECTOR EILEEN LAYMAN Councilmember Mainella wanted to take a few minutes to commend retired Finance Director Eileen Layman. He said when he first got on Council back in the late 1990’s, Eileen came to work then and took over the Finance Department. He noted that it wasn’t a great condition as far as a lot of things. She took the bull by the horns, took her CPA abilities and her firmness and it wasn’t long until she shaped it in what it is today. She was a very good steward of the people’s money. He then wished her a very long and happy retirement. IN RE: WV MUNICIPAL LEAGUE CONFERENCE The Mayor reported that several Councilmembers had attended the WV Municipal League Conference last week and learned some stuff and had a nice time and made a lot of connections and hopefully we can implement some of the things that we learned. CITIZENS PETITIONS IN RE: PROPOSED “PIERPONT PARK” 4 DAN WEBER, 1290 Hillcrest Road, addressed Council regarding the proposed “Pierpont Square” to be located in the 100 block of Adams Street in downtown Fairmont. He said “Pierpont Square” would be to honor Francis and Julia Pierpont. Francis Pierpont is called the Father of West Virginia and Julia Pierpont is considered by many historians to be the founder of Declaration Day now known as Memorial Day to honor those who served and died in defense of our freedom. He said two years ago his committee discussed with City Council the idea of developing the green space in the 100 block of Adams Street and also incorporating the gravel parking lot into a City park. The Mayor, City Manager, and City Council, at that time, said they thought it was a great idea and would be helpful in the revitalization of downtown Fairmont. Mr. Weber then said that before the committee can go forward with this project, it will be a great assistance if they could have a written agreement that the City would grant the green space and the parking lot by resolution that this area be used for a city park called “Pierpont Square”. It is impossible to have fundraisers and to write grants for the project without the guarantee that this is a city project and the government of the City of Fairmont is 100% behind it. He said there has to be a formal declaration from the City government that they fully endorse the project by resolution. Patricia Pagan from Main Street Fairmont has said that she would like to have 12 months of programs to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the City of Fairmont founded in 1820. They would like the first month, January 2020, to be a kick-off for the celebration calling it “Pierpont Square Month” with the celebration to include 19th century style dinners, folklore readings, music from the 19th and early 20th century and other events to begin this coming year long celebration of the City of Fairmont. Mr. Weber then named the members of his committee: • Ron Chrislip • Dr. Judy Byers • JoAnn Lough • Dr. Stan Swihart • Rev. Dick Bowyer • Dora Grubb • Alex Haill Alex Haill then took the floor to discuss the details of what “Pierpont Square” would look like as a City park. He said some of the items to be included in the park would be: • Mini Amphitheater with a small stage • Rain garden and flower bed • Dry pond to capture water 5  • Water fountain and dog fountain • Toilet rooms • Placards to the Pierpont’s – tells the history of the Pierpont’s • Nice entrance with seating and a water wall • Small pavilion • Floodlights Mr. Haill said the biggest thing is this will become a teaching tool but also a place to go. Fairmont has always been on the way to somewhere but this gives us an opportunity to be a stop, a destination. He noted this was a concept and is not written in stone and a lot of things could be changed. He then mentioned that later on Huntington Bank could become an art center. Councilmember Mason said the parking lot that was mentioned is tied up now in litigation so we would love to be able to get that cleared up, but it’s not. He then said that a couple years ago in the Capital budget, there was money set aside to do something and that money disappeared from the Capital budget unbeknownst to him and last year it was not in there. He said, Council, in the past, then supported the idea doing something nice for the City and their idea is a nice one. He then said that they will probably see some support for revisiting the Capital budget in order to get support money back in there. Mr. Haill said that it is a win-win. He noted that you cannot afford to build a building on that piece of property right now, it is nothing but garbage. The old building was just left there and covered with dirt. He said that it sits over a mine shaft so there are a lot of potential problems down the road and minimizing the cost, this was the best thing that the committee could come up with. Councilmember Mason noted that it has set empty far too long. He thought they were making progress but nothing has happened and they thought they were making progress a couple years ago and then something happened. He did not know but it’s time to stop saying “wouldn’t it be nice” and saying “isn’t it nice”. The Mayor stated that Council was going to have some strategic planning sessions coming up very soon and this might be a good thing to have discussion around. IN RE: PAVING OF EMERSON STREET ZACHARY AYERS, 816 Emerson Street, addressed Council regarding the condition of Emerson Street. He told Council that the street was milled last 6 year for paving, however, the street was never paved. He was told that it would be paved this year when the paving project was started and that has not happened yet. He has had over $1,000 worth of damage to his vehicles from the street being milled and it is starting to be a burden. Ms. Means said that his street will be paved when the paving project starts. She told him that we don’t have an exact date yet when the paving will start but his street is definitely on the list. IN RE: CITY CENTER BUILDING ON FAIRMONT AVENUE JOHN BASAGIC addressed Council regarding his building located at 200 Fairmont Avenue, the old Post Office Building. He asked who his Councilperson was for that district. The Mayor replied Councilmember Bledsoe. Mr. Basagic said that someone told him three years ago that his building was under the grandfather clause for historical and the City said no. He said that the historical is very restricting and an Auto Parts Company called him up and said that whenever he can get it off the historical list to contact them. He asked for Council’s help if they have special knowledge if he is under the grandfather clause. Councilmember Kennedy asked Mr. Basagic what he wants to do with the building. Mr. Basagic replied that he wants to sell it and that is why he needs to advertise correctly. Councilmember Kennedy asked if he had any objections to working with a realtor here in the City. Mr. Basagic replied yes, he was open minded about it except not at this time. Councilmember Kennedy asked how much he was asking for the property. Mr. Basagic replied $300,000.00 but said it was not a good time to talk about this right now. He said that he is going to have to do some research about this historical thing but the historical is crippling for his property. Mr. Basagic closed by saying that things are going good for Fairmont and that he likes the Connector. He said that some people suffer and some 7 people do better and he has to do some research and find out if historical applies to his building. IN RE: HOMEBREWERS AGAINST HUNGER EVENT JEFF MAXWELL AND STACY HENLINE, addressed Council on behalf of the Fairmont Homebrewers Club. He noted that there is a resolution on tonight’s agenda for the City of Fairmont to endorse the 7th Annual Homebrewers Against Hunger event to be held on Saturday, September 14th at Palatine Park. He said that they have petitioned the City for a one-day open container event. He said that they are getting great support from local businesses donating prizes, raffles at the door, and all proceeds from this event will be given to local charities and local food banks. Ms. Henline said that last year they were able to raise $4,500.00 and everything that comes through the door is donation. She said that they will be issuing wristbands to the ones that will be participating. They will have entertainment provided by local bands who will provide the entertainment for free and they will also have food vendors and raffles. She noted that all ID’s will be checked and wristbands will be given out to those participating and they have also purchased insurance for the event. Councilmember Rice asked if the event will be kid friendly. Ms. Henline said yes, a lot of people bring their kids. They will have the splash park, live music, food trucks and will definitely be family oriented. TERRY BURTON, 1406 Pennsylvania Avenue, addressed Council regarding the house located at 500 Ogden Avenue. He said that he resided in Fairmont 24 years ago and had to return to England urgently when his mother became ill. His former home here was that magnificent, historical home located at 500 Ogden Avenue, known as Ogden House. He said that he has been horrified over the years when his in-laws, who live locally, had given him updates on its terrible demise. Unfortunately, it has been neglected to the point where he has been condemned because it was abandoned, vandalized, trashed, and rotted throughout making it completely uninhabitable. He said that he even offered to buy it back from the owner in 1997 and he knew that he was going to have to spend at least $100,000.00 to do something with it but he has ignored all of the letters. This beautiful stately home with its magnificent fire place mantels, plate-glassed mirrors which are now smashed, grand oak stair case must be preserved. He said even the butler’s pantry below the stairs now have the glass windows and display cabinets smashed. Back in the 1990’s he was restoring it and he found many antique whiskey bottles and the builders back in the 1800’s in 8 West Virginia enjoyed their tipple while they were working. He went on to say that during his time back in England, he got involved in politics and named numerous seats that he held. He said that his job was to preserve London’s green belt, precious conservation areas. He then said that here in America, very few people seem to care about preserving their heritage and it is a constant uphill battle watching the feud, fighting, and bureaucracy to save old buildings and more. He then said that Amy Goodwin, Mayor of Charleston, is introducing two bills to deal with such vacant and derelict properties in the City of Charleston. He then said that he was begging for Council to get actively involved and do something to gain possession through a court order of 500 Ogden Avenue and preserve this valuable piece of history to our City and its residents and it can serve so many purposes. He said at the end of the day, the Council, are responsible for maintaining this City, controlling the rules and regulations and the by-laws, it starts at the top and works down. He said that with his experience he would help in any way that he can, to restore and preserve this historic house, for the citizens of Fairmont. Mayor Merrifield said that there has been some discussion on that home previously and we will have to pick up things. He noted that Council was familiar with that home. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT IN RE: STAFF COMMENDED Ms. Means thanked City staff for the hard work that they did and for the diligent work during the storm that Thursday. She noted that, at first, we thought it was a tornado but turned out to be a micro-burst but regardless, it did a lot of damage. She said that staff did a lot of good work to get things cleaned up. She also thanked the citizens for helping with the cleanup. IN RE: NATIONAL NIGHT OUT The City Manager mentioned that Fairmont had their 2nd successful National Night Out. She thought it was a wonderful time for staff and the community. She thanked staff for working on that event. IN RE: CONGRATULATIONS TO CITY CLERK JANET KELLER Ms. Means extended congratulations to Janet for receiving the Lydia Main Breaking Boundaries Award at the Municipal League Conference. She said that was a nice surprise and wonderful that she won the award. 9 IN RE: POLICE AND FIRE PENSION ANNUAL REPORT The Manager reported that each Councilmember received a copy of the Police and Fire Pension Annual Report. She noted that it was a state requirement to ensure that Council receives those reports annually. IN RE: MURAL PROJECT FOR WALL AT PALATINE PARK JOEL DUGAN, art professor at Fairmont State University, made a presentation to Council called “Finding Place in Marion County: Palatine Park Mural Initiative”. Mr. Dugan proposed a project in which a mural would be painted on the wall at Palatine Park below Merchant Street. He said this vision started with a conversation between two neighbors, he and Butch Tennant. In describing the project, he said the project is proposed to take place over a four to six week span time during the early summer of 2020 and then the reveal would take place Independence Day of 2020. He said that he and Fairmont State University art students in a Public Art and Murals class would work to complete a 40-foot mural honoring a few of the noteworthy icons of Marion County. He proposed Col. George “Spanky” Roberts, Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams, Johnnie Johnson, Mary Lou Retton, and Joe Manchin be represented and showed a proposed rendering to Council. He said the goal of the project is to connect the two ends of Palatine Park with a public art piece that visualizes the iconic people who have helped to establish our sense of place. Mr. Dugan estimated the cost of the project at $10,000 for paint, brushes, rollers, and simple incidentals though he is hoping to reduce that amount with donations. He then said that by creating a partnership between the Marion County Commission and Fairmont State University, we are able to keep our talent home and highlight the dynamic and talented young artists of our community. Councilmember Mason said this is exactly what we have been talking about, bringing the City, the County, and the University together on projects and this is the exact kind of project we need to start with. The Mayor said that we need to get the will of Council behind this and we are going to have the strategic planning work sessions very soon and this is another good one to toss around. Ms. Means said, that she would have to check with the City Attorney, but she thought we could do this with a resolution. We have to bring it before Council so the body can vote on moving forward with that. The Mayor asked Mr. Dugan when he wanted to start working on the project. 10 Mr. Dugan said that he would run a course on Public Art and Murals specific, heading for this project. They would execute this during the spring and the actual painting would not take place until early summer. He said from the County interaction, they were supportive of it and they had some business owners who had come forward with the idea of even donating their service to help prime and flatten the wall but it was that we needed more of a true partnership to come together to utilize it because it is shared space. Councilmember Mason asked Mr. Dugan when he needed an answer. Mr. Dugan replied it would be good if he could propose the class by the end of September. He said that they have wonderful talented students and he wants to give them the freedom to propose their vision. Councilmember Mainella said that he didn’t think this would be a very expensive project. Ms. Means said that depending upon the cost, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be that much of a cash outlay, and if the $10,000 was going to be the estimate for the maximum cost and the County is sharing with us, that is something that we could possibly do through a budget revision for this year. Mr. Dugan said the $10,000 is the cost of raw materials and if we go down the route that the County Commissioners suggested, they even thought they had an entity that would be willing to donate some paint, obviously those contributions would help to reduce that total. He noted that if we are just looking at raw costs, we are in the range of $10,000. Councilmember Bledsoe said he thought the wall was screaming to be painted and he said that he is 100% behind the project. Mr. Dugan said that since he made the presentation to the County, he has been contacted by two other local municipalities to possibly come down but he told them that he would have to get them in line because Fairmont is first. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING THE DESIGN, ACQUISITION, C O N S T R U C T I O N A N D EQUIPPING OF A NEW FIRE STATION TO BE CONSTRUCTED ON REAL PROPERTY LOCATED IN THE VICINITY OF 828 VERMONT AVENUE IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT AND TO BE 11 K N O W N A S T H E “ E A S T S I D E F I R E S T A T I O N ” BY THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ON BEHALF OF THE FAIRMONT BUILDING COMMISSION; THE LEASING OF SUCH REAL PROPERTY AND ALL PROJECT IMPROVEMENTS AND APPURTENANCES THERETO BY THE CITY OF FAIRMONT FROM THE FAIRMONT BUILDING COMMISSION; THE SALE AND ISSUANCE BY THE FAIRMONT BUILDING COMMISSION OF ITS NOT TO EXCEED $3,000,000 PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF LEASE REVENUE BONDS, IN ONE OR MORE SERIES; PRESCRIBING THE FORMS AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF AN AGREEMENT AND LEASE AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS AND AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING OTHER DOCUMENTS AND MATTERS RELATING TO THE TERMS AND SECURITY OF SUCH BONDS; AND PROVIDING FOR OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH Mayor Merrifield entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance providing for the issuance of Lease Revenue Bonds for the new East Side Fire Station. Motion: Councilmember Mainella moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. Councilmember Rice seconded the motion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the ordinance adopted by unanimous vote of Council and the ordinance designated as Ordinance No. 1826 was duly adopted. IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE TO APPROVE AND ADOPT CURRENT REPLACEMENT PAGES TO THE FAIRMONT CITY CODE Mayor Merrifield entertained a motion and second for the introduction of an ordinance to approve replacement pages to the Fairmont City Code. Motion: Councilmember Mainella moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Rice. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for August 27, 2019. 12 IN RE: INTRODUCTION, FIRST READING, SET PUBLIC HEARING, AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT’S 2019-2020 ANNUAL BUDGET: COAL SEVERANCE Mayor Merrifield entertained a motion and second for the introduction of an ordinance providing for a Coal Severance Budget Revision. Motion: Councilmember Mason moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Blood. The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for August 27, 2019. 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 A CERTAIN PARCEL OF REAL ESTATE SITUATE IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, FAIRMONT DISTRICT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, TO-WIT: BLK 3 LT 8 RHEA TERR (PLAT 104-144/145) MAP 27 PARCEL 0023; AND BLK 3 LT 9 RHEA TERRACE MAP 27 PARCEL 0022 FROM ANDREW C. BALLARD TO THE CITY OF FAIRMONT; 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 Merrifield entertained a motion and second for the introduction of an ordinance providing for the conveyance of 8 Rhea Terrace and Lot 9 Rhea Terrace to the City of Fairmont. Motion: Councilmember Mason moved for the introduction of the proposed ordinance. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Yann. 13 The Clerk read the proposed ordinance by synopsis for the first time. The Mayor declared the public hearing set for August 27, 2019. IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ENDORSING THE 7 th ANNUAL HOMEBREWERS AGAINST HUNGER EVENT SPONSORED BY THE FAIRMONT HOMEBREWERS CLUB TO BE HELD AT PALATINE PARK ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2019 Mayor Merrifield entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution endorsing the 7th Annual Homebrewers Against Hunger Event to be held on September 14, 2019 at Palatine Park. Motion: Councilmember Bledsoe 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 Mason. 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 Grubb. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 8:21 p.m. 14