PROPOSED MINUTES
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 20, 2005
Elkins City Council met in regular session in the council chamber of city hall at 7:02 p.m. Thursday, October 20, 2005. Present were: City Clerk P. J. Graziani, Jr.; Councilpersons: R. N. Beckwith, J. S. Bibey, V. T. Broughton, T. P. Ditty, H. R. Elbon, T. Z. Hensil, R. J. Malcolm, C. L. Metheny, K. L. Wilmoth and R. A. Woolwine; Deputy City Clerk A. L. Broschart, City Attorney R. T. Busch and Police Captain J. E. Batdorf. Mayor Judith Ann Guye, City Treasurer L. L. Crosston, City Attorney J. E. Busch and Fire Chief T. W. Meader were absent.
AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS
1. Approval of travel to Charleston for the two municipal judges to attend a mandatory 2-day municipal court training session.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mrs. Nollenberger, 143 Buffalo Street, initially spoke in regards to a building permit application obtained by Lin Ya Fan, on behalf of China Garden Restaurant, for the remodeling of property at the intersection of Randolph and Kerens Avenues which is to house a new Chinese restaurant. She supported issuance of that building permit. Additionally, she mentioned what she believed to be a water leak on Park Street; suggested a fall cleanup be implemented, similar to the free Spring Cleanup program offered to residential properties; and expressed her regret that skateboarding is no longer provided for in city parks.
Bill Phares, 105 Ferndale Avenue, complained that the Public Comment portion of the proposed minutes for the meeting of September 15, 2005 were inaccurate. The comments he made during that meeting concerned executive sessions. After the summary of Mr. Phares’ comments the city clerk added a parenthetical notation citing the section of West Virginia Code dealing with Open Governmental Proceedings and executive sessions of governing bodies. Mr. Phares said he did not cite the Code in his comments and asked that the citation be removed. Pursuant to a motion by Cm Beckwith and seconded by Cm Broughton, council members acceded to the request.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Cm Hensil, seconded by Cm Ditty, MOVED THAT COUNCIL ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 AS CORRECTED. The motion carried.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Proposed ordinance 022, amending the Sewer Rate Tariff, was not considered. While the amount of the proposed new rate has been identified for city residents, issues relative to bulk rate sales to public service districts remain unresolved.
Cm Woolwine, seconded by Cm Metheny, MOVED PROPOSED ORDINANCE 037, APPROVING PARTICIPATION IN THE WEST VIRGINIA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE’S ‘WVML MUNICIPAL REVENUE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM’, BE BROUGHT FORTH, READ BY TITLE ONLY AND PASSED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING. The motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Cm Metheny, seconded by Cm Hensil, MOVED THAT COUNCIL AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH ALLEGHENY POWER FOR INSTALLATION OF TWO STREET LIGHTS ON POLE NUMBERS A2-777 AND A2-778, BOTH LOCATED ON RAILROAD AVENUE BEHIND CITY HALL. The motion carried.
Cw Wilmoth, seconded by Cm Broughton, MOVED THAT COUNCIL APPROVE THE EMPLOYEE TRAVEL REFLECTED ON THE AGENDA. The motion carried.
Cm Elbon, seconded by Cm Hensil, MOVED COUNCIL DIRECT THE CITY CLERK TO BEGIN DISBURSEMENT OF THE BUDGETED $10,000 GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION TO THE RANDOLPH COUNTY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ON A QUARTERLY BASIS; however, Cm Broughton, second by Cm Beckwith, MOVED TO TABLE THE MOTION. Subsequent to a voice vote on the motion, the chair ruled the motion to table did not carry; whereupon, Cm Beckwith challenged the ruling of the chair, but the challenge failed. A motion put forth by Cm Metheny to call the question was successful. Since a roll call vote on the original motion was requested, the clerk read the roll:
Beckwith - No Hensil - Yes
Bibey - No Malcolm - Yes
Broughton - No Metheny - No
Ditty - No Wilmoth - No
Elbon - Yes Woolwine - No
The original motion did not carry.
Police officer Rocky C. Hebb will complete his probationary period of employment on November 18, 2005. Captain Batdorf has recommended that officer Hebb be granted permanent employment status. Cm Bibey, seconded by Cm Broughton, MOVED COUNCIL GRANT PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT STATUS TO POLICE OFFICER ROCKY C. HEBB IMMEDIATELY UPON COMPLETION OF THE 1-YEAR PROBATIONARY PERIOD OF EMPLOYMENT. The motion carried. [In response to questioning by Cm Ditty, Captain Batdorf said there had been no discipline problems, the performance of Officer Hebb had been excellent, and that the officer had been commended by the Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney.]
Cm Beckwith, seconded by Cw Wilmoth, MOVED THAT COUNCIL GRANT THE REQUEST OF THE ELKINS CHURCH OF GOD AND FAMILY WORSHIP CENTER TO SPONSOR ITS ANNUAL HALLELUJAH HARVEST CELEBRATION. The motion carried.
Cm Hensil, seconded by Cm Elbon, MOVED THAT COUNCIL GRANT THE REQUEST OF TYGART VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL TO TEMPORARILY CLOSE A PORTION OF 15TH STREET ON OCTOBER 29, 2005. The motion carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
BUILDING
The Committee received 19 building permit applications since the last meeting of council, 2832 to 2850. Acting upon recommendation of the building inspector, the Committee approved all applications; however, Application 2835 will be held until the building inspector receives necessary information.
Cm Malcolm, seconded by Cm Metheny, MOVED THAT COUNCIL GRANT THE 19 PERMIT APPLICATIONS APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE. The motion carried.
Cm Malcolm said the Committee will soon recommend that Elkins adopt the International Building Code.
The color of building permits may be periodically changed, to facilitate enforcement efforts.
FINANCE
Cm Elbon said a recommendation to donate $10,000 to Davis and Elkins College building fund will be considered by the Committee.
MUNICIPAL PROPERTY
The new Railroad Avenue sidewalk, between 4th and 5th Streets, is now completed. The project was completed by city employees at a substantial cost savings compared to quotes received from commercial concrete contractors.
Necessary repairs and improvements will soon be made to the Wilson Street footbridge.
PARKS
Proposals are being received from engineering firms interested in participating in the project to erect a pedestrian bridge to connect Glendale Bottom to Riverbend Park.
Cm Beckwith said he was in receipt of a newspaper article describing the skateboard park in Buckhannon.
PUBLIC SAFETY
The new police cruiser has been received, and it is now in operation.
Remodeling of the police office area is almost complete.
New entry-level officers may not be hired as soon as expected. Enrollment for the January 2006 State Police Training Academy was closed before a list of eligibles for Elkins was available to obtain placement. The next class will be in May 2006.
RULES AND ORDINANCE
Two petitions for annexation into the city by minor boundary adjustment were referred to the city attorney for review and recommendation. The petitions were from David L. Rice and Irwin D. Talbott, Jr., both owners of improved and unimproved land in the Bruce Street area.
The Committee has begun a review of Elkins City Code, as a prelude to its revision. As a part of the review, new software will be identified to digitize the Code.
SANITATION AND LANDFILL
Compensation adjustments for the supervisor of the sanitation department and landfill have been forwarded to the Personnel Committee for its consideration and recommendation.
A welder may be needed to effect repairs to commercial dumpsters.
STREETS
Cm Hensil said the Sylvester Drive Initial Improvement Project had been completed. All project costs were paid, and the city was in the process of collecting amounts assessed to abutting property owners.
Cooper Asphalt, the contracting firm that completed the Sylvester Drive project, also paved a portion of Alexander Avenue. The paving of Alexander Avenue had nothing to do with the Sylvester Drive Initial Improvement Project. Some Alexander Avenue residents personally paid Cooper Asphalt to pave in front of their homes. They did so without prior notification to, or the approval of, City of Elkins. Therefore, City of Elkins will not accept the newly paved portion of Alexander Avenue as an initially improved street. City of Elkins will not be responsible for future maintenance, repair, or replacement of the newly paved portion of Alexander Avenue.
[INSERT PAVING ASSESSMENT INFORMATION HERE]
WATER
Cm Ditty said the 11th Street dam had been inspected and found to be structurally sound and in good condition.
The city may be able to extend service to customers of Laurel Mountain Water Association by December 1, 2005.
OTHER BUSINESS
Cm Ditty proposed the city adopt an organizational chart.
Cm Broughton asked if any money was missing from city hall. City Clerk Graziani responded that he could state categorically that no funds were missing from areas for which he was responsible, but the councilman should contact other supervisors to determine the status of their areas of responsibility.
Cm Ditty said committee agenda should be posted timely, and minutes of the meetings should be filed in the appropriate place.
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
