City Council

June 24, 2025 The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fairmont was held at 7:00 p.m. on the 24th day of June, 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 Fourth District Anthony T. Horton Fifth District Charles “Chuck” Warner Sixth District Daniel “Dan” Weber Seventh District Julia “Julie” Sole Eighth District Bruce McDaniel Ninth District Kandice “Kandi” Nuzum Also present were: City Manager Travis L. Blosser City Clerk Janet L. Keller City Attorney Kevin V. Sansalone Marketing Manager David A. Kirk IN RE: OPENING CEREMONIES Rev. Sheldon Nickerson gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Councilmember Sole. IN RE: LEADERSHIP MARION CLASS RECOGNIZED Mayor Bolyard welcomed and recognized the Leadership Marion Class #42 for all of the great work that they have done and the leadership that they are going to provide our community for years to come. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor Rice awarded certificates to each member. IN RE: PROCLAMATION PRESENTED Mayor Bolyard presented a proclamation to Retired Sgt. David Tucker and Retired Major George Davis in honor of June 27th being recognized as National PTSD Awareness Day. Both Sgt. Tucker and Major Davis spoke regarding PTSD and all of the work that they do 1 to help veterans. APPROVAL OF MINUTES IN RE: MINUTES FOR THE JUNE 10 , 2025 MEETING Mayor Bolyard noted that each member of Council had received a copy of the minutes from the Regular Meeting held on June 10, 2025 . She asked if there were any corrections, deletions, or amendments. Councilmember Sole moved to approve the June 10, 2025 Regular Meeting minutes as submitted. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Weber. 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 AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING ARTICLE 177 FAIRMONT-MARION REGIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY AND MORE PARTICULARLY SECTION 177.06 QUALIFICATION; COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS THEREOF, TO ELIMINATE THE QUALIFICATION THAT MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY MUST BE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OR COUNTY WHICH SUCH MEMBERS REPRESENT Pursuant to a notice duly published in the Times-West Virginian on June 13, 2025, a public hearing was convened to obtain citizen input on an ordinance to eliminate the residency requirement for the Fairmont Airport Authority. The Mayor asked if anyone present desired to speak to the proposed ordinance. CHRIS MORAN, President of the Fairmont-Marion Regional Airport Authority, spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance. Mr. Moran said that the Authority is designated as a nine-person board and is made up of eight city-appointed members who reside within the city limits of Fairmont and one county-appointed member of the Marion County residents. It has been many years since they have been able to have a fully-seated nine-person authority due to residency restrictions. The basis of this residency restriction was set forth in State Code many years ago until this past legislative session when Delegate Mike DeVault and Senator Joey Garcia and others, we were able to get a bill passed and ultimately signed into law by Governor Morrisey that amended the residency requirement in State Code. He went on to say that the ordinance before Council brings the City Code into alignment with that newly passed State Code essentially allowing the City of Fairmont to appoint Authority members from anywhere in Marion County, either residing inside or outside the city limits. It is a critical change for the on-going liability of their Authority because there have been countless occasions just in the four years that he has served on the Authority to where they have been unable to make a quorum for a meeting and several of which we have significant pending timely decisions that need to be made, like approving bids for some of the services at the airport or more importantly accepting 2 federal money with the airport improvement project plan from the FAA and more. He explained that they have 44 general aviation hangar tenants at the Airport but just 23% of those hangar tenants reside within the city limits. There are numerous county residents who have the skill and knowledge of aviation and the passion and desire to serve on this authority. They have spent a lot of time over the years in the airport contributing greatly and they would make excellent appointees to serve on the authority. He closed by saying on behalf of the Fairmont-Marion Regional Airport Authority, he wanted to thank City Clerk Keller, City Manager Blosser, and Mr. Sansalone for their work and to Council for their consideration of this ordinance. Councilmember Warner asked if this would be just restricted to the county. Mr. Moran replied yes, it is Marion County. He said that basically it allows now the City Council to appoint eight seats from anybody in Marion County and it also allows the County to appoint their one seat from a city resident or a county resident. Therefore, yes, it is limited to Marion County. There being no one else to speak, the public hearing was called to a close at 7:21 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RE: RECENT FLASH FLOODING FROM JUNE 15, 2025 Councilmember Rice reported that the recent flash flooding from June 15th hit hard on Indiana Avenue. He thanked the City Manager for putting up with all of his phone calls. He said that the residents were appreciative with all of the work that the City has done. He noted that Mr. Blosser did a great job in helping out the residents. Councilmember Moran said thank you to Brett White with the Tygart Valley United Way and to the City Manager. She said that they did an amazing job at getting people out and working together in a large coordinated effort to be able to get the help to people where it was needed. She said that they had so many volunteers to come out and it was amazing. City staff should be commended because we do not have staff that deals with crisis management and disaster relief and on top of their everyday jobs, jump in and get things done. Councilmember Weber thanked Councilmember Moran for her work that she did after the terrible rains of June 15th. He thanked the City, the Police Department, and Fire Department for their organization and dedication to helping those people. Councilmember Weber also thanked Dr. Mike Smith, President of Fairmont State University, for stepping in and helping all of the people who lost their homes and had no place to go. Councilmember Sole also thanked the first responders, Fire, and Police. She said that in District 7, she knew first hand that the City Manager was the first person to call her and the police responded immediately and to think there was a water rescue on Locust 3 Avenue at the Village Apartments is just absolutely almost unbelievable. She echoed the sediments of the rest of the Council about the response, Public Works, staff, and people who are really stretched their job descriptions to say that they now have worked in disaster relief and emergency management. Councilmember McDaniel said that we owe a thank you to Fairmont’s heroes and obviously we are talking about Fairmont’s Police Department, Fire Department, Public Works, and Utilities. He also commended the City Manager and his staff for doing an excellent job in a very difficult situation. He said that he has been in Fairmont since 1982 and this is the worst flooding he has ever seen and the way this was handled was the best. Councilmember Nuzum stated that there are some of us that were unable to get out there with the boots on the ground but she wanted to thank everybody that was able to do that and did. She thanked everyone for their efforts. She mentioned that for those that cannot do the physical work, there are other things that can be done. They are trying to put things together in the churches and there are things that are going to be happening now to where people are going to need furniture and household supplies. She encouraged all of the churches to start putting those things together in making sure that when these people get back into a place where they live, that they have the things that they need. Mayor Bolyard said that those that were affected know that these resources and these community groups are here to support each other with resources, materials, kindness, and we are truly a community that cares. She also thanked the City of Bridgeport Fire Department for sending their heavy rescue, the WV DNR who sent some of their officers to help with the swift water rescue, the many volunteers, the city departments, and the City Manager. She shared her appreciation to Councilmember Moran and Councilmember Sole for all of the work that they have done over the last eight days. IN RE: CLOSING OF NOVELIS Councilmember Rice reported that this is the last week of employment at Novelis. He said that on Friday, June 27th, they will be closing the doors. He noted that it is a tough thing for the employees to leave each other because they have become a family. IN RE: RECENT PASSING OF REV. D.D. MEIGHEN Councilmember Horton asked everyone to keep the family of Rev. Meighen in their prayers for his recent passing. He noted that he will certainly be missed. Councilmember Weber said that D.D. Meighen was a friend of his for a long time and he thinks the community will miss D.D. terribly. He wished his family Godspeed. Mayor Bolyard also sent out her heartfelt condolences for D.D. Meighen. She said that he was a beautiful soul that always had a smile on his face and his greatest gift was spreading kindness and love and being an advocate for all. 4 IN RE: RECENT EDITORIAL IN NEWSPAPER Councilmember Weber announced that he was disturbed and disappointed after reading the editorial in the newspaper called “My Little Johnny Would Never Do That.” He said that he did not know all of the particulars to the issues that the editorial points to but what he does know is that when we are asked something of us, that we must tell the truth and not lie. He said that the truth will set you free and you must tell the truth and do not blame someone else. IN RE: FRIENDSHIP FAIRMONT Mayor Bolyard reported that Friendship Fairmont has had a change in their grant funding so they are no longer permitted with those grant funds to purchase food items and they are seeking support from the community and other partners for certain food items. She said that donations can be dropped off at 100 Locust Avenue. CITIZENS PETITIONS There were no citizens petitions for this meeting. CITY MANAGER ’S REPORT IN RE: FLASH FLOOD ON JUNE 15, 2025 Mr. Blosser said that he wanted to discuss the flash flood that occurred on June 15th. He said that we have estimates of between 3 to 4 inches of rainfall within less than a 40- minute time period and depending on exactly where that falls at, that comes between a 1-to-500 year or a 1-to-1,000-year flood event for our community. The amount of water that inundated this community and hearing stories from folks that have been impacted is truly heartbreaking. City Manager Blosser sent appreciation to the emergency management folks and Governor Morrisey. He reported that Gov. Morrisey has officially submitted a request for a Presidential Major Disaster and Emergency Declaration from President Trump and we are hopeful. FEMA staff will be in town doing initial reviews in our area on Wednesday and then hopefully that designation will be received both for us as well as Ohio County that has been just as impacted if not even more impacted, specifically Triadelphia. The Manager gave a shout out to Brett White with Tygart Valley United Way. He said that he cannot say enough for the strength that we have with United Way organizations here in this area. The City Manager said that the generosity that we received from people outside the state, both financial contributions support as well as shipping supplies here, the amount of truck loads from Walmart and the area Price Cutter, it seemed like every time we ran out of something, miraculously items were delivered. He added that supplies were distributed in three different locations and that is changing. He reported that supplies are being 5 moved to the Christ Episcopal Church on Fairmont Avenue. Mr. Blosser also gave a deep appreciation to all of our city staff, the National Guard, and the county folks working on debris cleanup with our Public Works Department. He said that folks may be seeing the City of Fairmont equipment or dump trucks in Monongah or Worthington but that is because if it had not have happened in Monongah or Worthington, they would have been here to help Fairmont and this is a community-wide effort. He encouraged folks to contact Emergency Management to let them know about their debris cleanup. Mr. Blosser then thanked Republic Services and said that he appreciated that they have answered the phone for him to ensure that we are doing additional pickups. The City Manager said that in closing about the flood, he wanted to thank our Police and Fire personnel, in particular our Fire personnel. He said that when he was finally able to get out of Village Way and to the Public Safety Building, the call volume they received was unbelievable. He said they received within that short time span about 60 phone calls and our department was able to respond to about 33 of those. Some calls were asking for someone to come and pump out their basement and those got addressed later since they were not immediate emergency needs. The calls for the flash flooding events and the swift water team that responded, when those guys got back at the station and then hearing the real stories and when that wall went on that building, we had firefighters in that building actively working to rescue folks. Hearing stories of one of our firefighters being swept out as that building went, every single one of them unharmed and they all went home to their families. He added that they did not even make it back to the station before they were then responding to a fire call. He said that he cannot say enough about that department. He added that our fire department is one of the most expensive departments for us and their equipment is not cheap but they showcased their weight in gold on that Sunday and that is why as citizens we pay for that type of service and we make sure we have those personnel. He thanked them again for their service and said they deserve every thanks that we can give them. IN RE: DOWNTOWN PAVING UPDATE Mr. Blosser reported that regarding the downtown street paving efforts, the bids were released and due by July 22nd. There will be a review process once the bids are received before they let the contract but this is on track with the DOH commitment of late summer or early fall. He also mentioned that Adams Street will receive some storm drainage work to tie into new storm drainage work that the City has done. There will also be some bricks removed from sections of the road that will be saved and be provided to the city, library, or the museum for us to try to do a potential project around those. IN RE: SIDEWALK ISSUES The Manager announced that staff had a pre-bid meeting around the sidewalk related improvements in the downtown and the paving areas so that we are not coming back and ripping up any asphalt that gets laid as part of fixing sidewalk issues. He noted that, 6 hopefully, that will get let soon for bidding. CONSIDERATION OF COUNCIL BUSINESS IN RE: ADOPTION, AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRMONT AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING ARTICLE 177 FAIRMONT- MARION REGIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY AND MORE PARTICULARLY SECTION 177.06 QUALIFICATION; COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS THEREOF, TO ELIMINATE THE QUALIFICATION THAT MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY MUST BE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OR COUNTY WHICH SUCH MEMBERS REPRESENT The City Clerk read the proposed ordinance by title. Mayor Bolyard entertained a motion for the adoption of an ordinance to eliminate the residency requirement for the Fairmont Airport Authority. Motion: Councilmember McDaniel moved for the adoption of the proposed ordinance. Councilmember Warner 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. 2076 was duly adopted. IN RE: ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Bolyard entertained a motion to adjourn to Executive Session as per WV Code §6-9A-4(b)(2)(A) and City Charter 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 City Officer. Motion: Councilmember McDaniel moved to adjourn to Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Warner. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned to Executive Session by voice vote of Council at 7:48 p.m. The Mayor noted that no further action will be taken upon reconvening the meeting. IN RE: MEETING RECONVENED The Mayor declared the meeting reconvened at 8:12 p.m. ADJOURNMENT 7 The Mayor entertained a motion for adjournment. Motion: Councilmember McDaniel moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Horton. The Mayor declared the meeting adjourned by voice vote of Council at 8:12 p.m. 8