City Council

April 8, 2025 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 8th day of April, 2025, at the Public Safety Building located at 500 Quincy Street in Fairmont, West Virginia. Mayor Bolyard called the meeting to order. Roll call of members was taken by the City Clerk. Councilmembers present were: First District Joshua D. Rice Second District Anne E. Bolyard Third District Rebecca Moran Fifth District Charles “Chuck” Warner Sixth District Daniel “Dan” Weber Seventh District Julia “Julie” Sole Eighth District Bruce McDaniel Ninth District Kandice “Kandi” Nuzum Absent: Fourth District Anthony T. Horton Also present were: City Manager Travis L. Blosser City Clerk Janet L. Keller City Attorney Kevin V. Sansalone Finance Director Priscilla A. Hamilton Marketing Manager David A. Kirk IN RE: COUNCILMEMBER HORTON EXCUSED Mayor Bolyard made a motion to excuse Councilmember Horton. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McDaniel. The Mayor declared Councilmember Horton excused by voice vote of Council. IN RE: OPENING CEREMONIES Ken Wright gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Councilmember Warner. IN RE: FAIR HOUSING PROCLAMATION PRESENTED 1 Mayor Bolyard presented a proclamation to Christal Crouso with the Fairmont- Morgantown Housing Authority in recognition of April being named Fair Housing Month. Ms. Crouso thanked City Council for their continued efforts to support Fair Housing in the City of Fairmont and the Fair Housing Act. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Bolyard noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on March 25, 2025. She asked if there were any corrections, deletions, or amendments. Councilmember McDaniel moved to approve the March 25, 2025 Regular Meeting minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Sole. The Mayor declared the minutes approved as submitted by voice vote of Council. PUBLIC HEARING S IN RE: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT PROVIDING FOR AND AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF A CERTAIN PARCEL OF REAL ESTATE SITUATE IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, UNION DISTRICT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, TO-WIT: 0.067 AC MERCHANT ST (WM GRAY PUR) (PLAT 1122-80) MAP 7 PARCEL 0008 0000 0000 FROM STANLEY M. SEARS; APPROVING THE FORM OF THE TRANSACTIONAL DOCUMENTS; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AND DELIVER THEM ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT. Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on March 28, 2025, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on an ordinance authorizing the purchase of real estate located on Merchant Street from Stanley M. Sears. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed ordinance. Councilmember Weber spoke against the proposed ordinance. He said that Stanley Sears is a lifelong friend of his and he is not opposed to Mr. Sears receiving money for his property, however, he is opposed to the amount of money that the City has obligated itself to in purchasing the property. He went on to say that it is not even an acre of ground, it is 0.067 of an acre and is a very small amount of property for the amount of money that we are purchasing. He said that Council really needs to think about that amount of money, it is a lot of money, in his opinion and a lot of people in the City feel the same. We are elected to the City Council in part to be a fiduciary of the citizens of Fairmont, the taxpayers, dollars that we receive. As fiduciaries, we are responsible for how we spend 2 the money that we have received and that we need to be a little more frugal with the dollars that we have in the City. He went on to say that he has no idea what is going to happen to our monetary situation in this country but as of tomorrow morning, if you have grandchildren and you want to buy them a toy, you are going to pay 104% more for that toy than you would have today. He said that 104% is a tremendous amount of money to buy for your children. Councilmember Weber said that we need to think about this purchase, even though the County government has included $25,000 of their monies to the purchasing of this property. He added that it is going to cost a great deal more than $125,000 for the destruction of the building, the landscaping of the area, the repairing of the wall, it will probably be closer to $200,000 at the end. He said that he looked at the property and looked at the large billboard that also faces Morgantown Avenue. He asked if the City was buying that billboard or how to we work with that billboard because if the billboard is still there, then we really cannot see the property. He stated that he is opposed to spending City money so that the County can reap the benefits of Palatine Park. Palatine Park has been in his crawl since the transfer of that property to the County. He told Council that we need to look at this a little further than today and he does not think Council was informed on everything when they had the meeting about this in Executive Council several weeks ago. The amount of money is far greater than $125,000 and as of today, looking at where the finances are, not only in the federal government, state government and the city government, but he really worries about the future and he is very concerned about that amount of money. He said that it would certainly be no conflict of interest to him to agree to it but he personally has looked over the figures and has researched the figures and he has studied the figures at length and he does not see how this procurement of this property is going to affect the citizens of Fairmont in a positive way, the County government, yes, but the City government, no. He closed by saying, at this point, he is opposed to this ordinance and perhaps somebody could persuade him to change his mind. Councilmember Moran thanked staff for the work that they put into it and it was above and beyond. She also stated that she was thankful for the information that was provided well ahead of time because she had some really strong feelings about this. She said that having that information way a head of time left her time to reflect on what is best for the future of Fairmont. She went on to say that she has done a complete 180 from her initial gut reaction of it and she thinks that moving forward with this is best for the future of Fairmont. She drives down Merchant Street and sees all of the progress that is there and taking care of this thing that has been a problem for a really long time is going to be in the best interest of the City. Councilmember Warner asked what the Fair Market Price is for this property. He then asked if it has been appraised. Mr. Blosser replied no, we do not have an appraisal on this property, this was part of the settlement discussions we had with that property. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:13 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS 3 IN RE: ARTS AND HUMANITIES AWARDS CEREMONY Councilmember Moran reported that the Arts and Humanities Commission is having their annual awards ceremony on Sunday, April 13th, at 2:00 p.m. at Central Christian Church on Big Tree Drive. It is free and will be a really good event. IN RE: CONDOLENCES TO THE HORTON FAMILY Councilmember Warner extended his condolences to the Horton family. Councilmember McDaniel also expressed his condolences to Councilmember Horton and his family. IN RE: FAIRMONT LITTLE LEAGUE Councilmember Sole reported the following:  In this county, we have started a middle school baseball league for the first time ever. They have middle school baseball being represented at East Fairmont, West Fairmont, and in the North feeder area and this was a really big deal that a lot of people came together and put together these teams for the middle school baseball players who upon leaving little league did not have a league to play in before they enter high school.  Fairmont’s Little League opening day is Saturday, April 12th. She said it will be a great event. There will be food trucks, raffles, fireworks and will be a wonderful celebration to highlight all of the good work that has been done in the renovations to Mary Lou Retton Park. IN RE: NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER Councilmember Nuzum announced that National Day of Prayer will be held on Thursday, May 1st, at Palatine Park. She said that from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. there is will be activities for kids, free food and water and the prayer event begins at 6:00 p.m. IN RE: LEVY MEETING The Mayor reminded everyone that Council will reconvene at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15th to approve the Levy rates for the next fiscal year. CITIZENS PETITIONS IN RE: MARION COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY LARISSA CASON, Executive Director of the Marion County Public Library, presented Council with an update of the Library. She said that this week is National Library Week, which is April 6th to 12th, and is the perfect time to talk about the library. She went over a 4 list of services that the library offers including Wi-Fi hotspots, telescopes, gardening tools, kitchen tools, puzzles, and board games. She said that they offer a lot of children programs, toddler times, a baby time, two story hours, and a summer reading program. The library is a true community hub and they offer coffee, card and conversation which is for ages 55 and up, table games every Wednesday night, numerous book clubs, informational programs, and free notary service. Ms. Cason went on to say that the carpet in the main floor of the library was replaced last week and she said it looks really beautiful. She mentioned that they are looking at doing a ramp to the side entrance so the lower level is completely accessible which it is not currently. She then reminded Council that the City does appoint two people to their Board of Trustees and one seat is coming open July 1st so they are working to get applicants to submit their application for the board. Councilmember Sole thanked Ms. Cason for everything that she does and said that we are very fortunate to have the Marion County Public Library system in our community. Ms. Cason thanked everyone for voting on the Levy. She mentioned that election will be coming up in May of 2026. IN RE: FRANK-N-STEIN CRAFT BEER AND HOT DOG FESTIVAL JAMES KANE, President and CEO of Stone Tower Coffee Roasters and President of Main Street Fairmont Board, addressed Council regarding the Frank-N-Stein Craft Beer and Hot Dog Festival to be held in downtown Fairmont on Saturday, November 1, 2025. He said that it was sponsored by Main Street Fairmont, in conjunction with the Marion County Chamber of Commerce. He said that the partnership between the City and Main Street Fairmont has never been stronger and he cannot say how much they value having an administration and Council that are as committed to seeing our downtown community thrive and are not afraid to have grand visions of what that looks like and also sharing the work in making it a reality. Mr. Kane said that for nearly a decade, he has pitched this idea to anybody that would listen. He said a festival combining the ever-growing craft beer movement with the culinary delight that is the hot dog. He said in 2024, they were able to put together a collaborative team from Main Street Fairmont and the Marion County Chamber of Commerce to pull off the inaugural Frank-N-Stein Festival. He went on to say that they sold 635 tickets which resulted in about 800 people between attendees and volunteers and these people were there for up to four hours. They had 12 breweries represented and seven food and drink vendors in 2024 and in 2025 they are looking to build upon the successes of last year with more breweries and food vendors already hoping to join them. He then thanked Council for their unwavering support. CITY MANAGER ’S REPORT IN RE: CLOSURE OF NOVELIS Mr. Blosser said this is our first Council meeting since the announcement of the closing of the Novelis Corporation. He noted this was a huge loss to our community. He said that along side Deputy Mayor Rice and the other employees, his thoughts and prayers are with all of the employees. 5 IN RE: MON POWER – STREET LIGHTS The City Manager announced he had a meeting and discussion with Mon Power relating to street lights and a program they have to replace some of our existing lights with LED lights. He said that they will be picking a couple areas with Mon Power to do a trial run on what those look like. He mentioned as lights burn out, they will them replace them with the LED lights. IN RE: HISTORY EXPO AT COURT HOUSE The City Manager reported that our team at the City participated in the History Expo at the Court House on March 29th hosted by the Marion County Historic Society. IN RE: RFP FOR SOLID WASTE Mr. Blosser announced that he is currently working on final aspects of the draft of the RFP for Solid Waste services. He noted that he will share that with Council prior to it being issued to get their feedback. IN RE: ROTARY DONATION FOR MORGANTOWN AVENUE MINI PARK The Manager reported that he had an opportunity to speak at the Fairmont Rotary specifically talking with them about the upcoming budget for Morgantown Avenue Mini Park. He announced that Fairmont Rotary’s intention is to invest, alongside the City of Fairmont, a significant amount of dollars into that park project. He added that City dollars are important to get projects moving but we will also work with other outside parties related to bringing in dollars to support these projects. IN RE: PRIME 6 Mr. Blosser announced that Prime 6 has been seen in the area and the Shark Tank episode will be airing this Friday, April 11th, at 8:00 p.m. He explained that episode was primarily filmed here in Fairmont related to that groundbreaking event. In the next couple of months, they are hoping to have a soft launch of their operations. IN RE: BOX FACTORY DEMO DAY Mr. Blosser reported that the box Factory Demo Day is next Monday, April 14th at 11:00 a.m. We are pleased that the Department of Environmental Protection Cabinet Secretary will be on hand who also provided a significant amount of dollars towards that demolition effort. We are excited to host him in the City and move forward on that project. IN RE: FY23-24 AUDIT REPORT PRISCILLA HAMILTON , Finance Director, spoke regarding the Audit Report ending June 30, 2024. She said that FY23-24 Audit was performed by Tetrick and Bartlett, LLC. 6 There were no adjusting entries and no findings in their audit. She said that a copy of the Audit was presented to each Councilmember. She also noted that a copy of the Audit is available on the City’s website for the public’s review. She also mentioned that each Councilmember received a copy of two questionnaires to complete. She asked each Councilmember to complete the forms and give back to her at the end of the meeting. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT PROVIDING FOR AND AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF A CERTAIN PARCEL OF REAL ESTATE SITUATE IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT, UNION DISTRICT, MARION COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, TO-WIT: 0.067 AC MERCHANT ST (WM GRAY PUR) (PLAT 1122-80) MAP 7 PARCEL 0008 0000 0000 FROM STANLEY M. SEARS; APPROVING THE FORM OF THE TRANSACTIONAL DOCUMENTS; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AND DELIVER THEM ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT. The City Clerk read the proposed ordinance by title. Mayor Bolyard entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance authorizing the purchase of real estate located on Merchant Street from Stanley M. Sears. Motion: Councilmember Warner moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. Councilmember Sole seconded the motion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk and the following votes were recorded: Councilmember Rice Yes Councilmember Nuzum Yes Councilmember Sole Yes Councilmember Moran Yes Councilmember McDaniel Yes Councilmember Weber No Councilmember Warner Yes Mayor Bolyard Yes The Mayor declared the ordinance adopted by majority vote of those Councilmembers present and the ordinance designated as Ordinance No. 2072 was duly adopted. IN RE: ADOPTION, RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ENDORSING THE FRANK-N-STEIN CRAFT BEER AND HOT DOG FESTIVAL SPONSORED BY MAIN STREET FAIRMONT, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MARION COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, TO BE HELD IN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT ’S DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2025. 7 The City Clerk read the proposed resolution by synopsis for the first time. Mayor Bolyard entertained a motion for the adoption of a resolution endorsing the Frank-N-Stein Craft Beer and Hot Dog Festival sponsored by Main Street Fairmont, in conjunction with the Marion County Chamber of Commerce, on November 1, 2025. Motion: Councilmember McDaniel moved for the adoption of the proposed resolution. Councilmember Sole seconded the motion. Roll call was taken by the Clerk. The Mayor declared the resolution adopted by unanimous vote of those Councilmembers present. ADJOURNMENT The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember Sole moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McDaniel. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 7:32 p.m. 8