PROPOSED MINUTES
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 17, 2005
Elkins City Council met in regular session in the council chamber of city hall at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, November 17, 2005. Present were: City Clerk Philip J. Graziani, Jr.; Councilpersons: R. N. Beckwith, J. S. Bibey, H. R. Elbon, T. Z. Hensil, R. J. Malcolm, C. L. Metheny, and R. A. Woolwine; Deputy City Clerk A. L. Broschart, City Treasurer L. L. Crosston, City Attorney R. T. Busch and Police Lieutenant H. R. White, Jr. Mayor Judith Ann Guye; Council members V. T. Broughton, T. P. Ditty and K. L. Wilmoth; Police Captain J. E. Batdorf, City Attorney J. E. Busch and Fire Chief T. W. Meader were absent. In the mayor’s absence, City Clerk Graziani chaired the meeting.
AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS
There were none.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Laura Heuchan, 1647 Taylor Avenue, spoke on behalf of the Randolph County Humane Society, saying members of the board of directors would welcome an opportunity to make council aware of the Society’s current operations and future plans.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Two corrections of the minutes proposed were made: Under the Public Comment segment, Dennis Hobbs was identified as the owner of 100 N. Randolph Avenue, and Zoran Zdravkovich was identified as the resident of 405 Kerens Avenue. Additionally, a clerical error was corrected.
Cm Beckwith, seconded by Cm Woolwine, MOVED THAT COUNCIL ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 3 AS CORRECTED. The motion carried.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
No action was taken on Proposed Ordinance 022, amending the sewer rate tariff, pending a public hearing tentatively scheduled for December 15, 2005.
NEW BUSINESS
There was none.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
BUILDING
The Committee received 5 building permit applications since the last meeting of council, 2857 to 2861. Acting upon recommendation of the building inspector, the Committee approved all applications.
Cm Malcolm, seconded by Cm Metheny, MOVED THAT COUNCIL GRANT THE 5 PERMIT APPLICATIONS APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE. The motion carried.
Beginning in 2006 the color of building permits displayed at work sites will be changed on a monthly basis.
STREETS
Cm Hensil said that on November 20 street department employee Steve Stanton began a 90-day period of probationary employment as assistant supervisor.
WATER
The Committee recommended that an operator-in-training position be created at the water treatment plant. Supervisor Mike Barkley will prepare a draft for a job description to be adopted.
Cm Hensil, seconded by Cm Woolwine, MOVED COUNCIL APPROVE AN INCREASE IN COMPENSATION OF NINETY-EIGHT (98¢) CENTS PER HOUR FOR WATER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION SUPERVISOR RICK SMITH EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 2005. The motion carried.
MUNICIPAL PROPERTY
Cm Metheny, seconded by Cm Woolwine, MOVED COUNCIL ADOPT THE COLORS OF GRAY OR SILVER GRAY AS THE STANDARD COLOR SCHEME FOR OPERATIONAL WORKFORCE VEHICLES. The motion carried. [Vehicles and equipment of the police, fire and sanitation departments were exempted from adherence to the new color scheme policy.]
PUBLIC SAFETY
Cm Bibey, making reference to committee meeting minutes previously provided to the membership, reported that repairs were being made to a fire department pumper truck. The cost of repair will be borne equally by the city and the volunteer organization.
Remodeling of police department office space nears completion.
A polygraph test will soon be administered to each of three applicants eligible for consideration as an entry-level policeman.
The newest police cruiser is now in operation.
Patrolman Ben Snyder should soon be returning from a period of active military service overseas.
PERSONNEL
Committee members plan to meet with operational supervisors to familiarize themselves with employment practices being observed by the various departments.
PARKS
Cm Beckwith reported that the police department had made at least one arrest of a suspect believed to be involved in recent vandalism at Riverbend Park. Patrolman Talkington was commended by the city attorney for his diligence in pursuing the matter. The attorney said it may now be possible to obtain some form of restitution from the offender.
FINANCE
Cm Elbon reminded the members that the most current monthly cash basis report on revenues and expenditures of the various funds had been included in each of their informational packets. He said the results of year-to-date cash flow were self-evident.
Cm Elbon again expressed his belief that fire fee collections for the fiscal year would be insufficient to cover the expenses of operations at the fire department. In the absence of cost cutting at the fire department, additional revenue for the department would have to be found. He further suggested a study of modifications that could be made to the current fire fee structure.
OTHER BUSINESS
The Planning Commission will hold a pubic hearing on Monday, November 21 to receive public comment on a request to change a one-block area of 11th Street from B-Residential to Commercial. The block in question is bounded by 11th Street, S. Henry and S. Kerens Avenues and 12th Street.
City Treasurer Crosston made available to the membership actuarial valuation reports for the Policemen’s and Firemen’s Pension and Relief Funds for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005. In both instances the actuary certified that based on the information contained in the reports, the City had met its financial objectives for the fiscal year. Furthermore, as shown in Appendix I, page 13, the Funds, on a projected basis, are solvent through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020.
City Attorney Busch read the following statement into the record. “In the interest of providing the Citizens of Elkins with accurate and timely information regarding the issue of funds missing from the Treasurer’s Office in City Hall, I am issuing the following statement:
1. The amount of money which was discovered missing from the Treasurer’s Office was $185.00;
2. The $185.00 was accounted for in the afternoon, and was discovered missing the following morning. Once the money was discovered missing, the City Treasurer reported the missing money to the City Police Captain, the Mayor, the City Clerk, and the City Attorney. The missing funds were discovered immediately, and I would like to commend City Treasurer Linda Crosston and the other members of the Treasurers office for the diligent accounting procedures which led to the discovery of the missing money within 24 hours of the incident.
3. As an investigation is still ongoing, I must limit my comments, pending the outcome of the investigation, although I would like to stress that the discovery of the missing money was due to diligent account procedures, and that this was a single, isolated incident, and not any type of ongoing situation, nor is it an embezzlement-type situation.
4. Pending outcome of the investigation, that is all the information I can provide to the Citizens of Elkins and Elkins City Council at this time.”
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
