|
WEIRTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING REGULAR SESSION MINUTES MAY 9, 2005 A regular session of the Common Council of the City of Weirton, Brooke and Hancock Counties, West Virginia was called to order at 7:08 p.m., on Monday, May 9, 2005, in the City Council Chambers, with Mayor William Miller presiding. Councilmembers in Attendance: Councilman Henry DeMasis Councilman Harold Miller Councilman Dale Moore Councilman David Dalrymple Councilman Frank Veltri Councilman George Kondik City Officials in Attendance: Gary DuFour, City Manager John Yeager, City Attorney Valerie Means, Finance Director Lance Scott, Police Chief Bud Cole, Fire Chief Brae Bryant, Director of Public Works Rod Rosnick, Inspections Rick Rekowski, Library Terry Weigel, Director of Parks and Recreation Dolores Ostrander, City Clerk MINUTES Mayor Miller asked prior to the Pledge of Allegiance to take a few moments for prayer and reflection on the loss of Ward 1Councilman, Steve Dorich. Mayor Miller offered prayer during this time of reflection: Heavenly Father, we thank you for this gathering and during this same point in time, thank you for the services rendered to us by Councilman Dorich and his love for the community, City, and especially for his family. And may the Big Guy in the Sky, take care of you while you are there. The minutes from the regular meeting of Council on April 11, 2005 were presented for approval. It was moved by Councilman Kondik and second by Councilman DeMasis and unanimously approved. The minutes from the special meeting of Council on April 18, 2005 were presented to Council for approval. It was moved by Councilman Kondik and second by Councilman Moore and unanimously approved. MAYOR'S AWARD AND PROCLAMATIONS There were none. COMMUNICATIONS Item 1 - The Mayor welcomed Troop 334 from Cove United Presbyterian Church, and their Scout leaders, Eric Roby and Jerry Mayerich. This was in recognition of their services to the community. Item 2 - The Mayor had spoken to Mr. Kusic today and was advised that approximately 200' of the building on Main Street will be demolished. This build is located across from Kentucky Fried Chicken. Another parcel on Freedom Way is under major contract by a redevelopment authority. (This is old Elby's area.) So there will be some movement in the future on this. Item 3 - The Mayor would like to thank the City's Police and Fire Departments for their quick response to community issues and there effective results. We have had a number of fires in the area, which were ably maintained by our fire department. The Police Department had a shooting situation that was handled effectively. He applauds the two units, Police and Fire, for their quick action. Item 4 - The Mayor received a letter from Mrs. Steve Dorich, which he wants to read, but first, a letter he wrote to Richard Crofton at the Weirton Daily Times, in response to an article that was published in the paper. Dear Mr. Crofton: I am taking the liberty of forwarding this letter to you regarding the article that was in the April 30, 2005, Weirton Daily Times. Mrs. Dorich has asked that this letter be read at our Monday, May 9, 2005, Council meeting. We have informed Mrs. Dorich that we will read this letter, but the City of Weirton did not contact the Weirton Daily Times to run an article regarding Steve's replacement. Additionally, I will advise the public before reading this letter out loud, that we have no control over the press. I thought we would share this letter with you so you could see how insensitive it was for your paper to print this article, even before Councilman Dorich had been laid to rest. If you would have any questions or concerns on this, please do not hesitate to give me a call. The Mayor then read Christina Dorich's letter of Monday, May 9, 2005. Dear Mayor, City Manager, and Councilmembers: This letter comes to all of you with sadness still in my heart. I want you all to know that I feel very hurt that plans were set out to fill my husbands position, Councilman of Ward 1, before he was even laid to rest. According to the Weirton Charter, the appropriate time frame to fill a position such as this is no more than six-weeks, from the time of the vacancy. Yet discussions, plans, and procedures were implemented only days after my husband's death. Your actions were very disrespectful to my husband and to the office he held so dear. He had served this community for many many years, more than anyone who is serving now. Remember gentlemen, my husband taught me well. He would always say to me, "Council is the boss and the 20,000 people who make the City of Weirton their home, are the boss too". With that in mind, I say to you, think of the many lives Steve Dorich has touch over the years, and for the love he had for his family, this community, and for his country. Mayor Miller gave the floor to Gary DuFour, City Manager. Mr. DuFour had a couple of comments to make as he had spoken with Mrs. Dorich. "On the article in question, I had received a call from the Weirton Daily Times and they asked me the process, which I gave to them, by virtue of the Charter. I did also mention, at the time, that we would not begin any discussion of this until after the funeral, etc. The point the Mayor makes to the paper is well taken. Again we cannot control when it is being published. Some things in my position become a little awkward, because you don't want the media to think you are avoiding them or won't answer their questions". "I spoke, as I said to Mrs. Dorich, and I apologized to her, to share with her the respect that I had for her husband and the honor I had working with him. We had quite a good conversation, but I won't share the rest of it". "Again, my apologies to her, because I think what occurred is that a simple question became rather blown up, and I do apologize to her. I meant no disrespect, and I have no hesitation in putting it here, openly on the news". The Mayor said that he also apologized to Mrs. Dorich in his conversation with her. Councilman Moore has a comment to make as the letter was addressed to the Mayor, City Manager, and Councilmembers. As a member of Council I would like to issue my sincere apologies to Mrs. Dorich for any pain that has been caused. It was my honor to serve with Councilman Dorich for two years. He was a tireless advocate for his ward and the entire City. I do also believe that he would have wanted his constituents to be represented. He would want an apt replacement found. We didn't start that process early. The process set forth in the Charter technically. We did not search for replacements prior to his being laid to rest, but I do believe that he would want us to try and fill that void, even if someone not of his stature, as quickly as we could. Now we have seven (7) applicants, three of which came in today. So I know that this is agreeable with Council, that we don't have time to review the applications, fully, that we received just today. We won't be making a decision this evening but we will as soon as possible so we will award one, even though not of the stature or bigger than Councilman Dorich, but they will have representation. CITIZEN'S COMMENTS Ralph Barone, 1045 Barone Drive - Before he spoke, Mr. Barone asked if the Ordinance concerning tenants vehicles is pulled? He had a few comments. The first is your only attacking the landlords and not the homeowners. I don't know how the City can make us enforce criminal acts etc. Actually, we don't have the authority nor does the City have the authority under Code 17A-3b. What about car rentals? What about corporations? As I say, this also has to apply to homeowners. These are homeowners from out of town. So I have a feeling that Mr. Dalrymple didn't go in deep enough, but 17A.3b defines that the Assessor has full authority, and of course, we cannot preempt state law. Thank you. Karen Guglielmo, 532 N. 12th Street - Once again it was brought to my attention that the Weirton City Council wants to pass the buck to the landlords. You are proposing that the landlords take the responsibility for the registration of vehicles in the City. Vehicle registration and licensing is a State Law, which should be carried out by law enforcement agents; not private citizens. Residents do not license their vehicles in West Virginia because of the personal property tax; therefore, they are breaking the law. They are stealing from the citizens of this state who are paying their fair share of taxes. Stealing is a crime; a crime that needs to be dealt with through the Police Department. If the Police Department is unable to convict people of this crime, how can an unarmed private citizen? Anyone who is moving into the City needs water. In order to get water they need to go to the City Building, fill out a contract of service form, pay $20, show a copy of their lease, and show a drivers license. New residents, with an out-of-state drivers license, more than likely do not have vehicles licensed in the state; therefore, you already have all the information you need: name, address, and license number without any extra forms to fill out and without the private citizens carry out the laws of state. Thank you. Pastor Jim Rhodes, 123 Preston Avenue - He thanked the Mayor and Police Chief for coming to the National Day of Prayer and beseeching our God for our community and nation. He also joins with those that commend Councilman Dorich for his labor of love with many years of service to the community. He came to address the airing of the Crime Report, which was on Channel 7, WTRF, out of Wheeling. He is certain that some of the Council saw it and many have probably heard about it. He brought the transcript, which was dealing with the crime increase in our community. When they had begun speaking about gambling, a couple years ago, they were deal with and looking at the image problems and those kinds of things. Well the image problem has become a real problem now. It is no longer an imagined thing; it is a real thing that we knew was coming and yet somehow, he doesn't understand, but folks though that it wouldn't. He had heard arguments that they already had gray machines, so what is the problem, we might as well make some money. He heard arguments that they got in the battle to late, so they had no business speaking up at that point. They heard arguments that by the time they began, it was so saturated there couldn't be anymore anyway. And of course they have more than doubled in excess since we have talked about them. They heard about the $60,000 and how that would help our community. It could even buy a couple of cruisers or that type of thing. But now it has become a legitimate problem. He spoke with a young professional man that lives in our community. He has a wife and a couple of children; great young guy with a lot of potential. This man told him that honestly it has come down to this: "Fight or Flight". It looks like we are loosing the fight and now for my family, it is going to be flight. He doesn't want to raise his family in this City with the crime increasing, it saddens his heart, but he is looking to move elsewhere. Pastor Rhodes that in honesty when he talks to his own children, as his daughter came home from college and told him that she doesn't plan on staying in Weirton. She is planning on leaving this town as soon after graduation and beginning a career. She is embarrassed that this town is little Los Vegas; that we now have gambling and that we now have gangs. She said, "Dad, I don't want to live here". Many of his children have had to leave because of the decline in population and jobs. He is saddened that now many of his children and grandchildren are going to be distanced from him, and it hurts his heart. But we do have a few folks that are getting wealthy in town, and this doesn't somehow seemingly affect them, as they prosper. Pastor Rhodes said, "How sad it is that a few people can not be concerned, and be willing to go ahead, at other peoples expense, to be able to enjoy those profits". There are a few that are wealthy that are becoming even more wealthy Here are some of the inserts: Dave Elias - Police are becoming overwhelmed by the number of crimes that they have to investigate. In fact they are spending hundreds of hours working to solve them. Tonight in an exclusive report we take you behind the scenes, in an effort to find out what is causing this big increase. Lieutenant Joe Shriner - No doubt about it. The City's increasing number of Video Parlors has a direct impact on the crime rates, and the City's Police Chief agrees. Lance Scott, Weirton Police Chief - After doing some investigating, we discovered the numbers are up considerably than in 2003, when there were just four (4) serious crimes. Last year (2004) there were nine (9); and this year, already seven (7). The Chief goes on and says, "That the crimes are getting more serious too". Over the weekend a couple was shot at nine (9) times, on Wednesday a gas station was held up, and there are complaints that large groups of gang members are gathering on the streets late at night. Many of you know that we have had to add extra police force on weekends, to patrol the City streets. Pastor Rhodes continued that we now see what they knew was going to happen, and he is heartbroken at what has happened to our community. As he talks to the Sheriff's Department, State Police Department, the policeman, and the Lieutenants here every one of them will be honest and say, "And folks we have just begun". Pastor Rhodes commented, "Whatever has been done has been done". The Planning Commission we pleaded with. We have pleaded with Council, and tonight it is already beginning in a serious way.' He knows the rational that is going to come, "Weirton is no where near as bad as Steubenville", and Steubenville would say, "We are no where as bad as Pittsburgh", and Pittsburgh would say, "Compared to Chicago, it's not bad, and Chicago would say, "Compared to LA, it's not bad", on and on. It is the apples and organs thing. Apples to apples, Weirton is worse now, because of gambling. Now I want to know what the plans are? There are a lot of issues here that the Council is going to be talking about. He wants Council to know that we have a problem and it is going to be here after this Council is gone. Whether you leave office or you pass away, but there is a real issue that for generations now, with this gambling, and the increased alcohol, which we didn't have a problem with before. Now since we have read the police report there is a problem with alcohol. Now we have public urination now, which is a common thing. It is really sad and my question is "What are we going to do now?" "What are we going to do with this $60,000 that LVL'S have brought in to help our community?" How are we going to pay for the Detective's that we now have to put on staff?" "What are we going to do to make our streets more safe?" "What are we going to do if, one night he works late and wants to go to Eat 'n' Park and actually have a late meal, but now he has to worry what will happen to him and his family?" "What if he waned to get a cup of coffee, but remembered that they had been robbed?" Pastor Rhodes is trying to make a point with the Council, that we have a serious problem. He doesn't want to be unkind but points out that they are the leaders. You have led in the LVL'S and all the administrative details behind it. You considered it. You talked about it. You justified it. You made the decisions. Now it is you baby. Now, he want to know how the Council is going to care for it? What are you going to do in our community now? Pastor Rhodes is trying to speak with dignity and respect, but he is very concerned. He has been in Weirton 21 years, this June. He is part of this community. He has raised his nine (9) children here. He loves this town and is not ready to give up on it, but this is alarming to him and it should be to all of them. We can look and say the numbers are just seven (7) serious felonies and crimes that have taken place, but he thinks it is serious. The Chief of Police agrees and the Lieutenants agree that it is serious, and they have an overwhelming problem. So here we go, we knew it was coming. The Bible says, "Do not be deceived,(don't kid yourself) whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap, and if you soweth unto flesh, you shall reap corruption." When you do things that are fleshly; when you do the gambling, we know what comes with gambling and that is alcohol. The State has made that and even tied the two together. We know with gambling there is drinking, there is drugs, and there is prostitution. Say what you want guys. It is in Vegas, it is in Atlantic City, and it is going to be here and it is going to increase. It saddens me and it scares me. You, the Council, are going to have to deal with this and it is sad, for years to come. I don't know what your next step is, but you saw this report. Have you met with the State Police? Have you talked with the Sheriff's Department? Pastor Rhodes spoke with the Sheriff's Department and the 911 calls are up. The abuse cases at home, the domestic violence call are up. When people lose their money, they come home and there are arguments and fights. This is real. Our church has a Master's Table Ministry, where we help people with needs. We have people calling saying that their husband blew the rent money and I have a couple of kids, "Is there anything that you can do to pay our rent, and is there anything you can do to feed us?" They say, "Reverend, I am sorry, but we don't know where else to turn". He has spoken to a landlord in town who said that they had great tenants, but now they have an addiction. Now, he is getting stiffed, and has to throw them out, and he hates to do that. Pastor Rhodes continued that we have a serious problem. We knew it was coming. He now prays that God will grant Council wisdom. He tries not to get angry. The Bible says not to speak evil and he doesn't want to do that, but he does have a very serious concern and he want to know what we are going to do? He would like to see a response to our own Police Departments speech. He would like to what Council is going to say and I would like to read it in the Times. He would like to see what Councils plans are in the future. Pastor Rhodes thanked Council for their consideration and time. Councilman DeMasis asked if he could make a comment to Pastor Rhodes that he wished he (Pastor Rhodes) were born a few years earlier when this came up before the Legislature. They said then that the place to kill that issue would have been down State. When it was coming up before our Legislature, but nobody seemed to want to do anything. It seems kind of strange to try to do something afterwards. He knows it is tough, and he knows it is hard to look back, but it is already gone. Pastor Rhodes replied that with all due respect, he knows that Councilman DeMasis has brought this up before, but at that time he didn't know what he knows now. "Suppose that my physical body wasn't taken care of and cancer was the result but because he found out to late, he is just going to die with prostrate cancer." Councilman Moore commented that he agreed with the Reverend and thinks that a Task Force should be formed with three (3) members of Council, Police Chief, and try to integrate the County Police Departments and start something. Pastor Rhodes asked if someone, out of the community, that had objectivity, because let's be honest guys, even our Legislatures in this region with their ties to gambling (ties to Mountaineer) and all of this; there is bias, guys. This community is bias toward gambling. Councilman Moore responded that either Pastor Rhodes or someone that he would designate, and we should have one or two members of the community on it as well. Councilman Dalrymple commented that he was sure that there were plenty of people that would like to be involved in something like the Task Force. Councilman Moore commented from the size and scope of it, he would want someone such as the Pastor, someone he designated, or possibly they could hammer out the exact size and representation of it. Pastor Rhodes was apologetic and hopes that he is not appearing to be disrespectful. He knows that the Council cares as much about the community as he does. But he would just like to see if there is something that can be done. Mayor Miller thanked Pastor Rhodes for coming and speaking words of wisdom and truth, and in the background they have been trying to approach some of the problems that he has talked about, as in trying to keep gangs contained. They are working diligently on that. Another thing that the Pastor hit upon was a movement that has to be done, and he thinks that the Pastor would interject energy into this movement. We will get three Councilmen, as Mr. Moore suggests, and the Pastor, the Sheriff, and our Police Chief, and we will see what can be done to stifle the crime that does take place. But what worries the Mayor are the gambling addictions, and as you all know, the State advertised that there is a 1-800 number, which doesn't do anything for anyone when you have a problem such as this. People don't want to admit it to themselves, so they are going to have to work on the psychological aspect of the people who have the gambling problem, and he hopes that this can be approached by the nucleus of this group. Councilman Miller commented that he also has respect for the Reverend and everything he does in the community and his church, but one thing that we need to do when we are faced with these kinds of situations, as adults and leaders in the community and parents, is to show the guidance and the direction like these young men here this evening, the Scouts and the Scout Leaders. The Councilman continued that we all have to take action in this community. Not one face in here, did he see down here Saturday, when they were having cleanup, when the young Marines were out here cleaning up along Main Street and through the community. The kids from Weir High and Madonna were down on 12th Street and Kings Creek Road cleaning up this community. The Mayor reminded him that there were also Scouts working, and the Councilman acknowledged that. Councilman Miller continued that he was there and talked to a lot of the people and he doesn't see any adult face here that he saw on Saturday. Now that is a lack of leadership throughout the whole community. We need people to get involved, and the Reverend knows how Councilman Miller gets involved in the community. He is involved not just on Council, but in his church and this community. It comes from home. It is easy to come down here and stand in front of Council and talk to us about what is happening in the community, but it is very difficult to step out there and get involved. It doesn't have to be a big deal, but he is big in getting involved in this community. He loves this community. He'll do anything for this community. His kids are staying here. He is doing everything to keep those kids here. My granddaughters, they are all involved in the community, in some way. Everyone at this meeting needs to do that, just like these Scout Leaders, with their Scouts. He is proud of the young people of this community and he was embarrassed Saturday for the adults of this community that didn't show up and help with the cleanup of this community. No! But they will drive up 12th Street and throw crap out the window and make the community look terrible. John Serafini and Rod Rosnick's group has done an excellent job. He has asked them to get rid of three trucks on Main Street because they looked like cramp, and they had them pulled out of there in days. We are making progress in cleaning up the town and we talk about this LVL thing and we didn't bring it. We are trying to work with it, and it is a mess. There are people losing their houses because they lost their jobs, when Weirton Steel went bankrupt. Put it all into the crime equation; not just the LVL'S. Put the whole effect of what has happened to our community, but we are coming back. Trust me we are coming back. Councilman Miller does challenge the adults of this community to step up to the plate and get involved. Not just sit back and complain. Reverend, you are involved, but we get so many people come here and they are nothing but talk. Step up to the plate is what he has to say. He will give them something to do to help the community; just give him a call. Don Wojak, 3437 Zeta Street - He got some big black garbage bags and paid the kids on his street $10 a piece to clean the street up. Councilman Miller was a tough act to follow. Mayor Miller thanked him for what he did. The Mayor also responded that we as adults and as part of the community should be a part of the solution not a part of the problem. Mr. Wojak commented that last summer, when he took his dog for a walk down the alley, it was disgusting the trash everywhere. Downtown Weirton was disgusting, and he is sure that it hasn't changed since then. This isn't what he wants to talk about. Mr. Wojack commented on the statement that was spoken about earlier, stating the newspaper was saying some things that may not necessarily be totally accurate. The first thing that hits us is, "Council is taking steps to make sure landlords in the City are requiring their tenants comply… "Requiring their tenant to comply…" He doesn't think he is on the City or the State's payroll that he can require them to comply with the West Virginia Code. This might be a way that the Weirton Times stated it, but then it goes on and says that the Ordinance passed that the landlords notifying the tenants. That is reasonable. We can do that. But then it goes on and says that we would be required to file forms with the City saying that they have done this and then providing information about the vehicles in question. Mr. Wojak doesn't think there is any privacy involved. Are we supposed to get VIN numbers and do whatever and bring them down here? As he said to someone earlier, "He thought the party in Germany was gone a long time ago". He doesn't think he wants to see that come back to haunt us here, but if we are going to be members of a party that is going to be big brother and spy on people. That is what it looks like to him. He is against this Ordinance. He believes it is an infringement on rights. He doesn't feel that he should be required to fill out a form and report this tenant to the City. Mayor Miller thanked Mr. Wojak and said that it would be taken under advisement, and they would revisit the situation. Jodie Kraina, 4031 Palisades Drive - Mayor and City Council, first of all she wanted to say, "A lot of citizens are busy doing things, and maybe your not aware of them right now. We are currently working on getting a skate park built for the youth of this City. Mayor Miller asked Jodi whom she was working with on this project? She responded that they were working with the United Way. I spoke with my cousins, and they are going to be the vehicle through which we raise the funds. We are approaching W.C. Williams Foundation and The Starvaggi Foundation. We already have commitments from Bergman Foundation, The Tony Huff Foundation. We are looking for a piece of land from ISG and it is all in the works. It is a huge project. We are working on this because the kids need a place to skateboard. It is legitimate, and it is also going to be a place where they can work, where they can learn productive skills, and things like that. So it will benefit the skateboarding of the community. It is a huge undertaking, but we decided to go ahead and work on this, so any help the City wants to give us on this we would be grateful. Mayor Miller commented that it was strange that she would bring this up, because the City has been working, in the background, to do some of the same thing. You had communication with me a year ago, and if you had gotten back with me, you would have known that we have been working, in the background, trying to devise a way of doing this. He also suggested to Ms. Kraina, to get names of individuals that are interested in becoming part of the skateboard group, because without that reference, you will not be afforded any funds at all based on the information that he has gotten. In other words, you need to have a listing of individuals that want to participate so that you can form a foundation and move forward, because the liability on the skateboarding park would probably be $10,000 a year. If you can tie in with Terry Weigel and the City would be more than glad to assist you. He is really delighted that you have an organization put together and it is going forth, but as you do that, please tie in with Mr. Weigel, and the City will be grateful to you as well as getting a piece of property that there can be skateboarding for the youth of our area. Ms. Kraina continued with a comment on the couple that wanted an LVL within 1000 feet of a church in the City, and now they want to sue the City. The Appeal is based on the grounds that it is denying him the right to free trade and the right to engage in a legitimate lawful commerce. It also says that the Ordinance is unconstitutional to have that 1000-foot variance. So Ms. Kraina just wants to remind City Council that there was a document many years ago that said, "Securing the rights (Meaning the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) governments are instituted among men and deriving their just powers from the consent of the government. When any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of people to alter or to abolish and to institute new government. Laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." It also goes on to say, "That prudence should dictate that this isn't done for some light or trivial reason", then it says, "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism. It is our right; it is our duty to throw out such government and to provide guards for our own future. Ms. Kraina continued that these gentlemen outlined a whole list of grievances that they gave to the British, and we have our Declaration of Independence. She saw this on TV the other night, and she thought that this was it, "This is the clause that they can use". Yes, the legalization of gambling was done at the State level, but the City would have never have allowed it to grow to 192 casinos in Hancock and Brooke Counties. (There was discussion between Mayor Miller and Ms. Kraina on the number of casinos in the City verses Brooke and Hancock Counties.) Ms. Kraina was referring to both Brooke and Hancock Counties having 192 casinos, so there was a misunderstanding as to what was being said. Mayor Miller thought she meant just in the City. Ms Kraina continued that the fact is that they had been saying all along was that crime was going to increase. They have been shouting and saying. "Please don't do this", and long before they shouted the 1999 National Impact Gambling Study Commission, ordered by President Clinton, a Democrat. They did an extensive Senate Research and they said, "Do not allow the opening of an LVL casinos within a City limit, don't put them within a 5-mile radius of homes, because it only takes 1.08 years for people to become pathologically addicted. At this rate with 14,000 adults in the City, that is 1,400 potential criminal acts that will be committed at year five (5). We are looking at year 5 next, and we can already see an increase in crime. That is 420 suicides, at a rate of 30%, which are also 350 children that will be abused. Now I know that you heard this through Reverend Rhodes, but she thinks we can stop this, first of all, by stopping the issuances of any more licenses. Second, Do not allow the sale or transfer of any more of these casinos, when they shut down, they shut down for good and they are out. They are done. They are gone. We start by bringing in other businesses. We can rebuild this City and if we have the people that are willing to put their time and effort into bringing in the business and bringing in the people, and working together as a community to save it. If we don't there is not going to be anything left in this City. Unfortunately, we are having good people leaving. They had a commentary on TV the other night about Las Vegas. It wrote up the whole history of the city, and it talked about the prostitution and the gambling and they said, "Yes, it looks great, but for every 10,000 people coming into the Vegas, 5,000 people are leaving. They are Number one (1) in the Nation for suicide, and Number one (1) for per capita crime. If Weirton's goal is to be like Vegas, they are hot on their trail, and they will fulfill that. Again, there are citizens that are tired, fed up, and leaving. We don't want the City to be abandoned and become a ghost town, but if North Carolina can over turn the gambling law so can we. There is a huge organization, around the State now, that is willing to stand up and fight. We fought table gaming and we won and we are going to continue to fight and we are going to continue to win, until we get this out of the City. Councilman Miller had a comment, and apologizes if he sounds a little loud, but there is a gentleman behind Reverend Rhodes that is a little hard of hearing. He is putting his hand up to his ear. He thinks there is a process in government that we need to follow to protect everyone's rights. He thinks that they try to follow that, as a matter of fact, they tried not to follow that and it didn't work. When this all came about at the first Resolution and they recommended that it not go back to the Planning Commission, about a year and a half ago, for review. We were told that it had to go to the Planning Commission so that it extended the process on the limiting the LVL's. So there are certain things in the process that we have to follow to protect everyone's rights, and we just can't avoid those kinds of issues. Another thing is about the shootings, at Eat 'n' Park, the other evening at 3 o'clock in the morning. He believes that the shooters were not from here. They were heading toward Washington, PA area, as they were caught by the Frankfort police, and asked Chief Scott to clarify his statement. Chief Scott said that they were from the Aliquippa area. Councilman Miller wanted clarification on where these people were from, because when allegations are made, they need to be qualified that they were not Weirton people shooting Weirton people. The other thing is his wanting to know if these people have ever been in an LVL, and he is not supporting gambling, he doesn't play them, but young people can't afford to go into them. He knows that they have heard this a lot, but he continued to ask if any of these people have been in an LVL? They are not allowed to have any trouble in an LVL. This is not like your local bar. You have more trouble in a local bar that doesn't have machines than you will with them. If they have one altercation in an LVL, they lose their license. So they are policed by the State. But it is amazing if you walk in; just walk in someday and look in the machine room and see who is playing the machines. Young children are not allowed in these places. So when you put a story out like this you have to take a look at the whole picture, whether you're a player or you are not a player. Now, another thing is that this Council is very concerned with the future of this community, and we want it to look like… Councilman Miller addressed Jodie and asked her if she had been at the Grove City Outlet Mall? Have any of you been to the Water Works across the Homestead Bridge have you seen what they have done up there? We have the TIF for the Three Springs Drive area. We are working with developers. We want people in Grove City to get up on Saturday morning and come down to Three Springs Drive of Weirton, West Virginia. That is our goal. Now, we have land available and we are talking about the UDO. We are talking about something's hopefully tonight that are going to put that vision in place. We definitely have a vision of what we are doing here. The LVL's have been something that we did not create it; we did not create the floods on September 17th, but we have to live with it and manage around it. He thinks this Council has done an excellent job in trying to do that. For a minute there, he thought that Ms. Krains was going to be upset that there was a 1,000 feet and it was a violation of your rights, and you know how hard we fought to get that 1,000 feet from churches and schools, and he thinks that Zoning or Planning that the request have gone to and they have turned them down every time. So we have the support of the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board on those recommendations. OLD BUSINESS Second Reading Ordinance Modifying Ordinance 1313 (as Amended), Creating the Employment Position of Part-Time Animal Control Officer, and Setting the Salary Therfore. It was moved by Councilman Moore and second by Councilman Miller. There were no question or comments. The motion was carried unanimously. Second Reading Ordinance Modifying Ordinance 1313 (as Amended), Creating the Employment Position of Part-Time Animal Control Officer, and Setting the Salary Therefore. It was moved by Councilman Moore and second by Councilman Dalrymple. There was a question from Councilman DeMasis who asked why the position was being created? Mayor Miller said that it already had been as the City Animal Control Officer is off on medical leave and we are trying an outside contract, which is legitimate Councilman, to take care of the dogs, cats, and rats that we have in the City. If anyone wants to ask the citizens of the City, please feel free, as we got 4 more phone calls today. So we are on a part-time basis right now for animal control. There was some discussion between the Councilmen on having an independent contractor on staff and the limits. The motion has been made and second. The motion was carried unanimously. Second Reading Ordinance Amending Article 331.01 of the City of Weirton (adopting State Law) It was moved by Councilman Moore and second by Councilman Veltri. There were no questions or comments. The motion was carried unanimously. Second Reading Ordinance to extend yellow no parking zone from corner to first driveway on Ridgeway and Elk. It was moved by Councilman Dalrymple and second by Councilman Veltri. The motion was carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Item 1 - Struck Resolution to Authorize Revisions to the 2004-05 Fiscal Year General Fund Budget. It was moved by Councilman Moore and second by Councilman Dalrymple to accept revisions. Mayor called for Roll-Call vote: Councilman Miller Yes Councilman Moore Yes Councilman Dalrymple Yes Councilman Veltri Yes Councilman Kondik Yes Councilman DeMasis Yes The motion was carried. Resolution to Authorize Acceptance of 2005-06 Fiscal Year Community Development Block Grant Budget, Annual Action Plan and Five-Year Consolidated Plan. It was moved by Councilman Veltri and second Councilman DeMasis to accept. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to Authorize City of Weirton to enter into agreement with the Office of Economic Opportunity for the Emergency Shelter Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2005-6. It was moved by Councilman Moore and second by Councilman Veltri to accept. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to Place Liens against Real Properties for Costs Incurred in Demolition of Unsafe Properties Pursuant to Ordinance No. 250. (Connie Haspel) It was moved by Councilman miller and second by Councilman Dalrymple to approve. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to Place Liens against Real Properties for Costs Incurred in Demolition of Unsafe Properties Pursuant to Ordinance No. 250. (Scott Clark) It was moved by Councilman Miller and second by Councilman Moore to approve. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to place liens against Real Properties for Cost Incurred in Demolition of Unsafe Properties pursuant to Ordinance No. 250. (John Pennie) It was moved by Councilman Veltri and second by Councilman Dalrymple to approve. The motion was carried unanimously. Item 8 - Struck Resolution to Enter into Contract for the Purchase of Road De-Icing Salt for Public Works Department. It was moved by Councilman Veltri and second by Councilman DeMasis to approve. Councilman Kondik asked if Mr. Bryant had a price list? Brae commented that they advertised and it was a contingency bid. Last year they advertised later around…they awarded it in October, having only received one bid. This year it was put out earlier to get more bids, thereby, making it more competitive, and we did get three (3) bids. The price did go up from last year. Last year they were in contact with Morton International at $39.61 a ton. This year it is around $43 per ton. In talking to other suppliers the price increase was due to the rise and cost of fuel. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to Enter into Contract for the Purchase of One Dual Hose Single Product (Unleaded) Fuel Dispenser for Public Works Department. It was moved by Councilman DeMasis and second by Councilman Veltri. No questions. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to enter into Contract for the Purchase of One Hand-Held Global Positioning System (GPS) Unit for Public Works Department. It was moved by Councilman DeMasis and second by Councilman Dalrymple to approve. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to Finalize Termination of Parking Contract with AMPCO System Parking, Inc., to Authorize City Manager to Negotiate Conclusion of Contract, if needed; to Make Parking on City Streets Non-Metered and to Advertise Off-Street Parking Lots for Short-Term Leases. It was moved by Councilman DeMasis and second by Councilman Veltri to approve. Councilman Kondik mentioned that Council had talked about this with the Chamber and he wanted to know if anything came from that? Gary DuFour said they had presented a survey of all their members and it was essentially it was supported. He had the new Chamber Exec, Brenda Maul, and in regard to this she was supportive and they are supporting this action. It will require more on our part; there is no hiding from that. He is going to expand this, because Councilman Moore has a lot of uncertainty on this. We have talked to Brae Bryant, because we are going to pick up maintenance, necessities, and to indicate that parking can be had, free on City streets. We are talking about keeping the meter post and meters removed; then cap them and remove them to two demarcation points for parking. Also going to the Redevelopment Authority in the City of Weirton to lease the off-street parking lots to businesses that have already indicated that to the Chamber of Commerce and to members of Council. In the interim when the contract terminates, we will be responsible for maintenance during that interim period, as we are moving these off, particularly the off-street parking. On street parking is little bit of a different situation. That is where we are on this particular issue. Our contract does expire in early 2006, so we are just a little ahead of that contract expiring. Councilman Moore commented that as the City Manager indicated though I am in favor of this, I am concerned that we are putting more burden on our, already overworked, Public Works Department. We went through this with the street sweeper. That becomes priority and now they have the responsibility of maintenance and upkeep of off-street parking, what don't they do now? The concern he has is that they can be stretched only so thin. He doesn't like unfounded mandates from Federal government or State government and he hates to hand Public Works Department another one. Councilman Miller commented that this began about 2-years ago and the mission was to get free parking downtown, because they were deriving no income from this agreement at all. They had never reached the threshold for income to generate. The meters in parking lots, off-street, were always our responsibility to maintain. The goal here is, and we do have an agreement, to take over all but two (2) of the lots, and he thinks that there are a total of 15 - 17 lots. The lease will require the leaser to maintain the lots and take on liability insurance, and allow the City to use those lots whenever a City function is going on, such as the 4h of July Parade. So it actually relieves Public Works form the responsibility that they have now. Ultimately they do have that responsibility now; to plow the streets when it snows, to maintain those lots, and no one has been taking care of the meters. They are all out of calibration and some are unsafe as the heads are loose on the posts. So we will provide the community with 2-hour free parking, as a courtesy to businesses, and we will not be monitoring cars that park on the street, nor will the Police Department. It will be up to individual businesses, if they have an employee who parks in front of the store for 8-hours, that should probably be their last day. The off-street parking will be maintained by the owners of the businesses that are adjacent to those pieces of property on the lease. Councilman Miller was willing to answer any questions on this issue. We have had a two-year struggle, and we had to wait for AMPCO to violated the contract agreement as they did on in a number of cases. It had been moved and seconded. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to Authorize Awarding of Contract for the Parking Lot Expansion and East Street Extension Under EDA Grant #01-01-07895 for the State Office Building. It was moved by Councilman Kondik and second by Councilman DeMasis to approve. Mayor Miller commented that Mr. Bob Riccelli was available if anyone has any questions, and there were none. The motion was carried unanimously. Resolution to Enter Into Contract with Lowe's Department Store to Purchase Vinyl Vertical Blinds for City Building, First Floor. It was moved by Councilman DeMasis and second by Councilman Veltri to approve. The motion was carried unanimously. Item 15 - Struck Ordinance Modifying Ordinance No. 1434, Providing for Special Use Permit Applications to be Approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals Rather Than City Council. It was moved by Councilman DeMasis and second by Councilman Dalrymple to approve this Ordinance. Councilman Moore made a motion to amend the Ordinance, on two specific replacements. Second paragraph says, "And Whereas the policy actually followed is that the permit should be applied for through the City Planning Commission…." City Planning Commission should be removed and replaced with "the Zoning Board of Appeals…" And also under Letter A) Proceed through the 1st sentence to where it is underlined, in the next sentence, "The City Planning Commission", it should be removed and replace with, "The Zoning Board of Appeals". Mayor Miller acknowledged Councilman Moore's request to amend the item and entertained a motion to accept it in the manner presented. Councilman Dalrymple moved to accept the amended Ordinance and second by Councilman Miller. There were no questions or comments. The amended Ordinance was accepted unanimously. There has been a motion to accept and second the Ordinance. The motion was carried unanimously. Appointments to Various Boards and Commissions Weirton Parks and Recreation Board There were two changes which was to reinstate: Doug Finton, which was moved by Councilman Kondik and second by Councilman Moore. It was carried unanimously. Jeff Rokisky, which was moved by Councilman Moore and second by Councilman Kondik. It was carried unanimously. Weirton Housing Authority Peter P. Altomare, which was moved by Councilman Dalrymple and second by Councilman Miller. It was carried unanimously. Weirton Municipal Hospital Building Commission Mayor Miller read each name and unless someone had another name to nominate or any questions they would be voted on as a whole: Roy W. Brown, J.J. Guida, William Gallagher, Max Fijewski, and Betty Morgan. A motion was made by Councilman Dalrymple and second by Councilman Miller to accept this commission. The motion was carried unanimously. Administrative Reports from Various Departments Fire Chief, Bud Cole - Nothing to report Police Chief, Lance Scott - Reported that the departments two new officers leave for the Police Academy on May 16, 2005. Public Works, Brae Bryant - He spoke to the Project Foreman, Russell Collar. He is supervisor for Raymond Construction and he indicated that work would begin at the end of this month. If everything goes well the project will be completed three (3) weeks from the project start date. Mayor Miller clarified the dates with Brae, which is that the work should be completed, on Thompson Hill Road, by the end of June. Councilman DeMasis said that the young Marines worked on the Veteran's Park, at the lower end of town. There are some items that are very heavy and they would like to have a truck pull in there so these items can be removed. Brae said that he would get them a truck over there. Mayor Miller asked if Councilman DeMasis had contacted Brooke County Commissioners? He had been trying to contact him for a long time with no success. The Mayor commented, with some displeasure, that neither Brooke nor Hancock Counties think that the City of Weirton is part of their counties. He would like to see a little more cooperative efforts made between Hancock and Brooke Counties and the City. Mayor Miller thanked the Young Marines for helping to clean up the Park. Councilman Dalrymple asked Brae where we were with the slip on Greenbrier Road, and how much the Engineer's estimate had been on that project? Brae said it was $275,000. (There was much discussion going on different issues, which made it impossible to decipher what was being discussed between Councilman Dalrymple and Brae.) Councilman Dalrymple did ask if it was being paid with FEMA money? Valerie Means, Financial Director, responded that $153,738 was received from FEMA for this project. Brae was asked about Culler Road, but it belongs to DOT and he does know that it going out for contract, but does not know the start date. Mayor Miller he heard it would be in June. He is not sure if that is correct. Brae is confident that it would be taken care of this summer. City Manager, Gary DuFour, urged the newspapers to get those figures correct when writing their columns, as it will make a difference when they ask for an adjustment. (There was more discussion on this issue) Brae asked Councilman Miller if there was an advertising process that had to be followed prior leasing those parking lots out? Is there a time frame for that process? Councilman Miller responded, and asked Mr. Yeager to correct him if wrong in his response. Any property purchased with public funds and used to resell that item, has to be advertised. That is why they chose to lease those lots to the businesses that would benefit form those lots, would certainly maintain those lots. This way it would revert back to the City if they violated the contract in any way or abandon those lot, it would revert back to the City. While the lease is in effect, those businesses would have total responsibility to provide the insurance, maintenance, and upkeep. They are trying to get Public Works out from under taking care of those lots. Inspection, Rod Rosnick - Nothing to add to the report. Library, Rick Rekowski - Nothing to report. Parks and Recreation, Terry Weigel - He said that he spoke with Jodie Kraina before she left, and they will be talking about the skateboarding park. Also in preparing both pools to open up, they had substantial leak repair work done at Starvaggi Pool that has been completed and painted. It will be completed by the end of the week. They have been working 7-days a week so they will have them up and ready. They are hoping to get more public support at the Marland Heights Pool. The membership and attendance has been down the last couple of years, but it has not been the ideal weather the last couple of years. The numbers are low and they are looking more closely at that issue to see if attendance is justified to continue operating after this season. They are asking everyone to support these pools by buying your membership, thereby, supporting them and keep them operating. Mayor Miller commented to the general public, between Recreation and the Park Board, after this year, if it is another bad season, one of the pools will have to be closed. He doesn't want to say this, but…Terry said that it has become common. Steubenville doesn't operate the number of pool that they used to, Wellsburg discontinued operating their pool, Brooke Hills Park is questioning whether to continue operating their pool, and Pittsburgh City pools have closed half of their pools that they operated 2-years ago. They are something that is a benefit to the community and it provides a public service out there. They are not profit centers. Last summer they lost approximately $42,000 operating the two parks. Last week in the article in the paper, Brooke Hills lost $70,000 operating one (1) pool. He knows from previous conversations that Follansbee Pool loses a substantial amount of money. We are going to have to streamline as much as we can, so that is our next step. Mayor Miller asked Terry if the last leak had been repaired? They are facing a lot of problems at Starvaggi's. They did fix some leaks, but it is his opinion that the vessel needs a substantial amount of repair. The pool was built in 1969 and because of the age and that the pools walls are made with concrete blocks that were parched over. It has been cut down to the floor and the wall, several times during the years, and every time new concrete is put in those holes to seal them, it isn't watertight. They are studying the situation with the pool consultant and the Park Board, and the repairs they did, hopefully will get them down to a level of managing the maintenance. Councilman Miller apologized publicly to John Yeager, because at the last meeting Council was talking about First-Time Home Owners. He had said that the maximum wage earning was from 29-31,000. Mr. Yeager corrected him and said it was $30,000, and he argued with him about the amount, but Mr. Yeager was correct. Treasury Report Financial Director, Valerie Means Cash Report for General Fund for April 2005 - Bank Balance of $921,763.24; Checking Interest of $546.86; Deposits of $1,982,074.98; Disbursements of $1,185,708.98; Ending Balance of $1,718,676.10; Investment Balance of $1,917,142.07; Total Cash & Investments of $3,636,518.17 There are 2 bills to approve, which total $6,547.00. It was moved by Councilman DeMasis and second by Councilman Dalrymple to pay the bills. The motion was unanimously approved. It was moved by Councilman Dalrymple and second by Councilman Moore to accept the Department Head Reports, including the Treasurer's Report. The motion was unanimously accepted.
|