City Council

December 20, 2022 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 20th day of December, 2022, at the Public Safety Building located at 500 Quincy Street in Fairmont, West Virginia. Mayor Mainella called the meeting to order. Councilmembers present were: Second District Anne E. Bolyard Third District Karl (David) Kennedy Fourth District Richard (Rick) Garcia Fifth District Barry H. Bledsoe Sixth District Gia Deasy Seventh District Nicholas (Nicky) Cinalli Eighth District Thomas (Tom) Mainella Ninth District Donna M. Blood Absent: First District Joshua D. (Josh) Rice Also present were: City Manager Valerie A. Means City Clerk Janet L. Keller Director of Marketing Hanna Turner Director of Planning Shae Strait Councilmember-Elect Rebecca Moran IN RE: COUNCILMEMBER RICE EXCUSED Mayor Mainella noted that Councilmember Rice was absent due to illness and asked to be excused. Motion: Councilmember Bolyard moved to excuse Councilmembers Rice from tonight’s meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Kennedy. The Mayor declared Councilmember Rice excused from this meeting by voice vote of Council. IN RE: OPENING CEREMONIES Rev. Kevin Aldana of First Baptist Church gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of 1 Allegiance to the Flag led by Councilmember Blood. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Mainella noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on December 13, 2022. He asked if there were any corrections, deletions, or amendments. Councilmember Blood moved to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Garcia. 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: OUTGOING COUNCILMEMBERS Councilmember Blood stated that it has been a pleasure working with each one of the Councilmembers. She said our hearts are all in the right place even though we do not always agree. She added that we got a lot of great things done working together and she is very proud of that. She noted that she will miss serving and she hopes that when the new Councilmembers are seated that we will continue to progress forward and the City will be in good hands. Councilmember Cinalli thanked the four outgoing Councilmembers. He thanked them for accepting him as the new kid on the block last August. He told the Councilmembers good luck in whatever they do after this and continue to do. Councilmember Deasy wished the outgoing Councilmembers the best of luck and said she looked forward to meeting the new folks. Councilmember Bledsoe said he was sad that he was at his last meeting. He noted that it has been a good experience. He stated that he had a unique way of getting on Council when the election happened. He said that he won, then he lost, then he tied, then he lost and then he won. This Council, that has been together for two years, has been an amazing Council. He said that we have had amazing goals and got a lot accomplished and a lot of it was under Mayor Mainella’s leadership especially when it comes to getting rid of all the bad buildings in Fairmont. This Council has spent more money on demolition of abandoned buildings than any time in our history and he would hope that the next Council will continue that trend until it is not a problem any more. He mentioned how much he appreciated the City Manager and she is, in his opinion, the best City Manager that this City has had since we have had City Managers. Councilmember Bledsoe then thanked all the other departments that do so much for the 2 City and he thought this Council tried to do what we could to take care of them and he appreciates what they do. He then said that he appreciated the City Clerk, Janet Keller. He said that she is amazing and is the best City Clerk in the state. He closed by saying that he appreciated the opportunity to serve and appreciated each Councilmember here and everyone throughout the City. Councilmember Bolyard thanked the four Councilmembers leaving tonight. She thanked them for their friendship, their mentorship, and she wished them the absolute best in what they do next. Councilmember Kennedy said that the biggest thing out of serving on Council was making friends, friends that are probably going to be there for the long haul. He said that the City Manager, Valerie Means, is the real thing. She showed us what we need as professionals in these capacities. He wished everyone the best but said he was glad it was over. Mayor Mainella read a statement from Councilmember-Elect Bruce McDaniel. He said that Bruce wanted to thank the outgoing Councilmembers for their service to the City of Fairmont. He said it was an honor and a privilege to serve as your Interim City Manager when you took office. Again, thank you for your service to Fairmont. Mayor Mainella said that it has been a privilege for 16 years to have served the citizens of Fairmont and he will cherish the memories, the relationships, and the friendships. He said that it was wonderful working with Valerie and Janet and the staff and he wanted to thank everybody who supported him. He closed by saying that it has been the privilege of his life. IN RE: WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA Councilmember Bolyard shared her appreciation to Marcella Yaremchuk and everybody that organized the inaugural Wreaths Across America at the Maple Grove Cemetery last Saturday. IN RE: CITY CLERK JANET KELLER COMMENDED FOR SERVICE Councilmember Bolyard recognized City Clerk Janet Keller as she completed her 44th year of service on December 26th. She said that you will find no one better as a servant driven leader with passion and dedication to this City. CITIZENS PETITIONS There were no citizens petitions for this meeting but Sgt. Hall was asked to speak about his recent trip to Kenya. IN RE: TYLER HALL SPOKE ON RECENT TRIP TO KENYA Sgt. Tyler Hall said he was talking to Janet at the last meeting and she thought it would 3 be nice for him to bring up his vacation recently. He said that he grew up in Kenya, in East Africa, and his family did mission work and the first time he had been home in some time was in early December. He said that he was there because of a building dedication that was being done to honor his father who passed away in 2020 from Covid. He noted that he was 49 years old when he passed away. Sgt. Hall explained that he had been a missionary in Kenya for a lot of years and a local pastor here in this area both in Clarksburg and in Idamay for a lot of years. He said that the building dedication that he went to was a project that his dad was very passionate about as well as his father-in-law who is still a missionary in Kenya of translating the Swahili Bible. Swahili is the language spoken by most people in East Africa and in parts of Central Africa. The Bible that they have is not very well written and it was poorly translated years ago and now to be re-translated and the work started there after his dad passed away. He went on to say that he was asked by local pastors to come and attend the building dedication there and to cut the ribbon for the new translation center where that work is currently being done. He noted that it was great to go back and see friends that he has not seen in a lot of years; it has been 14 years since he moved away and has only been back once. He said that some of the people that he grew up with are now part of that translation so it was a good honor for him to be able to go back. He was happy to be home again for a little bit. Sgt. Hall then thanked the outgoing Councilmembers for their service. The Mayor thanked Sgt. Hall for speaking about his trip. He said that he has known him for a lot of years but did not know that about him. CITY MANAGER ’S REPORT IN RE: CITY CLERK JANET KELLER COMMENDED FOR SERVICE Ms. Means also recognized City Clerk Janet Keller on her 44 years of service to the City of Fairmont. She said that she kind of knew Janet when she worked in Weirton as the Finance Director and City Manager and we all knew that if we had a question, to call Janet in Fairmont. She said that she appreciated her service and she never wants her to retire. She added that the institutional knowledge cannot be replaced. IN RE: UPCOMING WINTER WEATHER The City Manager assured everyone that Public Works is ready for the winter season. They will be prepared to keep our roads cleared so that we can be out and about. IN RE: CITY HALL OFFICES TO BE CLOSED The Manager reported that the City offices will be closed on Friday, December 23rd and Monday, December 26th in recognition of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The offices will also be closed on Monday, January 2nd, for New Year’s Day. 4 IN RE: OUTGOING COUNCILMEMBERS Ms. Means thanked the outgoing Councilmembers and stated that she appreciated everything that we have been able to accomplish together. She said that she always respected their final vote, whether a positive or a negative, but she respected that and she appreciated the work that they have done and their public service. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: ADOPTION, A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA, SUPPORTING THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ’S REVISED CLEANUP PLAN FOR THE BIG JOHN SALVAGE HOULT ROAD SUPERFUND SITE Mayor Mainella entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution supporting the US EPA’s revised cleanup plan for the Big John Salvage Hoult Road Superfund Site. Motion: Councilmember Bledsoe moved for the adoption of the proposed resolution. Councilmember Blood seconded the motion. The Clerk read the proposed resolution by synopsis. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the resolution adopted by unanimous vote of those Councilmembers present. IN RE: OUTGOING COUNCILMEMBERS RECOGNIZED The City Manager presented the outgoing Councilmembers with a plaque in recognition of their years of service for serving as a Councilmember. Ms. Means presented plaques to Tom Mainella, Karl “David” Kennedy, Barry Bledsoe, and Donna Blood. Ms. Means read the following: TOM MAINELLA Mayor Mainella elected on November 4, 2014 to serve for a term beginning January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018. He represented the 8th District. He was elected Deputy Mayor on January 13, 2015 and served as Deputy Mayor from January 13, 2015 to January 10, 2017. He was elected Mayor on January 10, 2017 and served in this position until January 8, 2019. 5 Tom was then re-elected for a second term on City Council at the November 6, 2018 election for a term beginning on January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022. He was then elected to serve again as Mayor on January 12, 2021 through December 31, 2022. Tom previously served on City Council for eight years from January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2006. He also served on the Marion County Rescue Squad and the Fairmont Airport Authority for years while serving on City Council. He also served on the Fairmont Sanitary Sewer Board for a time when he was off Council as a citizen appointment. Tom also served on the Board of Directors for the WV Municipal League for many years working with other city and state officials to make WV a better place to live and work. DONNA BLOOD Councilmember Blood was elected on November 6, 2018 to serve for a term beginning January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022. While serving on Council, she represented the 9th District. She was elected Deputy Mayor on January 12, 2021 and served as Deputy Mayor from January 12, 2021 to December 31, 2022. While serving on City Council, Donna also served on the Marion County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Main Street Fairmont. KARL “DAVID” KENNEDY Councilmember Kennedy was first elected to City Council on November 6, 2018 to fill an unexpired term in the 3rd District. He was elected for a 6-week unexpired term beginning when the canvass was completed from the November 6, 2018 election on November 16, 2018 and ending on December 31, 2018. Also, at the November 6, 2018, he was elected to serve, not only the unexpired term, but also a full term from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022. BARRY BLEDSOE Councilmember Bledsoe ran as a candidate in the November 6, 2018 Election; however, this election was not finalized until February 12, 2019 because of a tie in two different Council districts in that election. After a lengthy process, Barry was finally sworn-in on February 12, 2019 as a Councilmember representing the 5th District. His term ran from February 12, 2019 to December 31, 2022. 6 While serving on City Council during this period, Barry also served as the City Council’s representative on the Planning and Zoning Commission. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember Blood moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Bledsoe. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 7:25 p.m. 7