WEIRTON CITY COUNCIL
COUNCIL MEETING - REGULAR
MONDAY, JULY 09, 2007 7:00 P. M.
A regular meeting of the Common Council of the City of Weirton, Hancock and Brooke Counties, West Virginia was held on Monday, July 09, 2007 at 7:00 P.M. in Council Chambers of the City of Weirton Municipal Building.
Mayor Harris called the meeting to order.
Councilmembers in Attendance: George Ash Councilmember Ward 4 Fred Marsh Councilmember Ward 3 Harold Miller Councilmember Ward 2 David Dalrymple Councilmember Ward 6 Max Fijewski Councilmember Ward 7 George Kondik Councilmember Ward 5
Councilmembers not in Attendance: Ronnie Jones Councilmember Ward 1
City Officials in Attendance: John Brown Public Works Director Chief Kessler Cole Weirton Fire Department Gary DuFour City Manager Vincent Gurrera City Attorney Thomas J. Maher, Jr. City Clerk Chief Bruce Marshall Weirton Police Department Jim McHenry UDO Administrator Valerie Means Finance Director Rik Rekowski Mary H. Weir Public Library Director Terry Weigel Parks and Recreation Director
Others in Attendance: Citizens Media Giovanni Rossi, Weirton Daily Times
Mayor Harris led the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Councilmember Kondik and second by Councilmember Ash to approve the minutes of the: December 07, 2006 – Special Council MeetingThe motion carried, 6/0.
A motion was made by Councilmember Kondik and second by Councilmember Ash to approve the minutes of the: June 11, 2007 – Regular Council MeetingThe motion carried, 6/0.
A motion was made by Councilmember Ash and second by Councilmember Miller to approve the minutes of the: June 28, 2007 – Special Council MeetingCouncilmember Fijewski commented, “Excuse me Mayor. I was just wondering. How can those of us who were not present vote on that?” Mr. DuFour commented, “It’s a recording.” Councilmember Fijewski commented, “Do we abstain on it or just…” Mr. DuFour commented, “No, you’re just simply voting on the recording.” Councilmember Fijewski commented, “OK.” The motion carried, 6/0.
A motion was made by Councilmember Kondik and second by Councilmember Ash to approve the minutes of the: July 02, 2007 – Special Council MeetingThe motion carried, 6/0.
COMMUNICATIONS
Councilmember Miller commented, “I’d like to thank all of the departments of the City of Weirton for their assistance in the festival that we had on June 30th; Public Works, the Fire Department, the Police, Parks and Recreations, Terry’s Group, Rik at the Library. It really looked nice Rik. They really dolled the library up the day before. We had a real good turn out. I appreciate all the help. From the Renaissance Committee, thank you very much.”
Mayor Harris commented, “I have one thing to say. Vince Gurrera has saved us a lot of money already from the start. He actually had some things in his other law office that took care of the documents for us which saved us about $500.00 a month. Is that correct?”
Mr. Gurrera commented, “Yes.”
Mayor Harris commented, “So, he saved the City about $500.00 a month by doing that. Also, he passed on the insurance benefits which saved us about $6,000.00 a month also. Thank you Vince.”
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Mr. Ralph Barone 1045 Barone Drive, Weirton, WV: Mr. Barone commented, “Good evening. My name is Ralph Barone. I live 1045 Barone Drive, Weirton, West Virginia. I’d just like to take this time to congratulate the Mayor Elect, now the Mayor, and all of you new Councilmen and Appointees. And, I wish you well. The good word, of course, is change, and I hope you all follow through with that. And, I want to wish you a very successful next four years. Thank you.”
Mayor Harris and the Council Members thanked Mr. Barone for his comments. OLD BUSINESS
Ordinance No. 1531 (Second Reading) ADOPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WEIRTON PLANNING COMMISSION REGARDING THE ZONING MAP CLASSIFICATION OF A CERTAIN PARCEL LOCATED AT BOX 263, JOHN STREET.
Motion was made by Councilmember Kondik, second by Councilmember Marsh. The motion passed by majority, 6/0
NEW BUSINESS
Resolution: TO ADOPT ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER.
Motion was made by Councilmember Ash, second by Councilmember Fijewski. The motion passed by majority, 6/0
Resolution: TO AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF THE 2007-2008 WEST VIRGINIA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE DUES.
Motion was made by Councilmember Kondik, second by Councilmember Dalrymple.
Councilmember Kondik commented, “I have and amendment to that Mayor. I would like to have the $200.00 voluntary assessment fee removed from that fee.”
Motion to amend the resolution made by Councilmember Kondik, second by Councilmember Dalrymple. The motion to amend the resolution passed by majority, 6/0.
Motion to accept the resolution, as amended, made by Councilmember Kondik, second by Councilmember Miller. The resolution, as amended, passed by majority, 5/1, with Councilmember Ash voting against.
Mr. Maher commented, “Gentlemen, so we know for the record, this will change the dollar amount from $3,873.98 to $3,673.98, and it will eliminate the last sentence of the resolution stating, ‘This expenditure includes a $200.00 voluntary assessment to cover various legal fees, etc.’ That statement will be stricken from the resolution.”
Resolution: TO AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF CITY OF WEIRTON’S 2008 PER CAPITA CONTRIBUTION TO THE BROOKE-HANCOCK-JEFFERSON METROPOLITAN PLANNING COMMISSION.
Motion was made by Councilmember Ash, second by Councilmember Miller. The motion passed by majority, 6/0
Resolution: TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO MAKE APPLICATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE FIRST IMPRESSIONS PROGRAM.
Motion was made by Councilmember Dalrymple, second by Councilmember Ash.
Councilmember Fijewski commented, “I’d just like to point out to Council, the last day for applying for this is October 15th. The City right now is going through is going through a lot of construction; Pennsylvania Avenue, Penco Road, Three Springs Drive. If you read what these people do, they come in…people from outside of the city come in…and they look at your city and they make comments and recommendations. The last time we had this done was in 1999. Unfortunately, a minimal amount of their recommendations were ever approved. At this time, I’d like for us to give some…I know it’s a minimal amount in terms of $750.00, but 750 is 750. And, I’d like to throw out for Council’s consideration that we wait until some of these projects get completed, and we make application by the deadline of October 15th instead of July 15th. Thank you.”
Councilmember Ash commented, “Was that in the form of a motion? Wasn’t it?”
Councilmember Fijewski commented, “Yes. In form of a motion. Thank you George.”
Motion to amend was made by Councilmember Fijewski, second by Councilmember Miller.
Mayor Harris called for the vote with some of the council members voting. However the vote was not clear and there was some discussion.
Councilmember Kondik commented, “Did you get a second on that Mayor?”
Mr. DuFour commented, “The amendment is now adopted.”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “No it’s not. We didn’t…”
Councilmember Dalrymple commented, “We didn’t finish the motion.”
Mr. Maher commented, “Who made the second on the amendment?”
Valarie Means commented, “Bub (Councilmember Miller).”
Mayor Harris made a request for a second to the motion so a vote could be made on the amendment.
Mayor Harris commented, “We had a second?”
Unknown commented, “Yes.”
Mayor Harris commented, “We need to call for a vote.”
Councilman Ash Yes Councilman Marsh Yes Councilman Miller Yes Councilman Dalrymple No Councilman Fijewski Yes Councilman Kondik No
The motion to amend the resolution passed by majority, 4/2.
Motion to accept the resolution as amended was made by Councilmember Ash, second by Councilmember Miller.
Councilmember Fijewski commented, “I’m not clear exactly on what we are voting on Mayor.”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “We’re not voting on that. We just amended that. You amended that. You amended…you’re voting on…as amended.”
Mr. Maher commented, “You have a motion from Councilmember Ash and a second from Councilman Miller to accept the resolution, as amended. Now, we need a vote.”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “Wait a minute. You just amended that vote.”
Mr. Maher commented, “No. We made an amendment to the resolution.”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “You made an amendment to the motion. So, now you’re going to vote on the motion?”
Mr. Maher commented, “You make…”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “You just voted on the amendment.”
Mr. Maher commented, “You vote on the amendment. And, then you vote on the resolution as amended.”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “With the amendment. OK.”
Mr. DuFour commented, “Yes. That’s…”
Ms. Means commented, “Right.”
Councilman Kondik No Councilman Fijewski Yes Councilman Dalrymple No Councilman Miller Yes Councilman Marsh Yes Councilman Ash Yes
Mr. Maher commented, “The vote is 4/2, in favor.” Resolution: TO REQUIRE CITY OFFICIALS AND CITY EMPLOYEES TO ATTEND ETHICS TRAINING CLASSES.
Motion was made by Councilmember Ash, second by Councilmember Fijewski.
Councilmember Marsh commented, “I don’t see any cost in there.”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “The expense is up to $1,000.00 and that expense is for anybody that’s coming and has to stay overnight, or any state official that needs transportation. And, there’s…if you read at the end Fred…”
Councilmember Marsh commented, “I see that. It says, ‘not to exceed the sum of $1,000.00.’ My question is what does this really cost?”
Mayor Harris commented, “It depends on who comes down and stays. It could be a maximum of $1,000.00 or it could be as little as $1.00.”
Councilmember Dalrymple commented, “Isn’t there already some type of ethics included in the employee handbook that they’re required to follow?”
Mayor Harris commented, “Yes.”
Councilmember Dalrymple commented, “I don’t want to make a big issue out of this, but then why are we asking them to go through ethics again when they are already following…supposed to be following procedures that are in their employee handbook?”
Mayor Harris commented, “Do you want to answer?”
Mr. DuFour commented, “If I could Mayor. I think the idea is…here…the discussions that we’ve had...this is the idea…is to refresh everybody and those who are new, elected, appointed and so on. They would all have exposure to ethics training by the State of West Virginia Ethics Commission. And, indeed our handbook does have ethics pamphlets and ethics information in it. This acts in reinforcement of that. I think that was the only intention of it. I don’t think was to reinvent the wheel. I think it was, again, to reinforce the ethics.”
The motion passed by majority, 6/0
Resolution: TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO PURCHASE A K-9 FOR THE CITY OF WEIRTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Motion was made by Councilmember Ash, second by Councilmember Fijewski.
Councilmember Ash commented, “Just a comment Mayor. I did talk to the Chief of Police today, and he assured me that the canines would be out of the cars and on the streets. So, that’s why I’m going to support this. I think we had somebody mentioned…Mr. Barone mentioned about change. That’s one of things we’re going to change, and I’m sure the Chief’s going to follow it up (Unintelligible).”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “I think, Mayor, you should explain where the dollar amount is coming from.”
Mayor Harris commented, “Thank you. I was getting ready to do that. Mountaineer Racetrack has donated us $6,000.00 for the new dog, which then will go into our General Fund, and then we’ll pull it back out and use it for the dog. Also, as of this morning, the Chief has told me that John Greco will also will be donating $5,000.00 for a dog, which is great, because the Chief’s dog is about to retire. So, we are going to need two. But, this is just for the one dog now. OK.”
The motion passed by majority, 6/0
APPOINTMENTS TO VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
APPOINTMENT OF CITY ENGINEER
Frank Dorsch 136 Circle Drive Weirton, WV 26062
Motion was made by Councilmember Kondik, second by Councilmember Fijewski. Motion was carried by majority, 6/0.
APPOINTMENT TO THE WEIRTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Dean Harris 1302 Overlook Drive Weirton, WV 26062 Appointment 08/01/2007 to 07/31/2012
Motion was made by Councilmember Kondik. The motion died for a lack of a second.
APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY COURT CLERKS
John Serafini 3924 Palisades Drive Weirton, WV 26062
Motion was made by Councilmember Kondik, second by Councilmember Dalrymple. Motion was carried by majority, 6/0.
Holly Glaspell 3524 Brightway Weirton, WV 26062
Motion was made by Councilmember Dalrymple, second by Councilmember Miller. Motion was carried by majority, 6/0.
At this time, City Attorney Vincent Gurrera brought some additional information before Council.
Mr. Gurrera commented, “Can I interject one thing real quick? On the appointment for Weirton Redevelopment, I understood there was no second. I think you have to ask three times to see if there’s a second.”
Councilmember Kondik commented, “That is correct.”
Mayor Harris asked if there was a second.
Mr. Maher commented, “We can go back and I’ll read it again.”
Mayor Harris commented, “OK. Go ahead.”
Mr. Maher commented, “Again, this is an appointment to the Redevelopment Authority. The name is Dean Harris of 1302 Overlook Drive, Weirton, West Virginia. The appointment for the duration of August 1, 2007 to July 31, 2012.”
Mayor Harris commented, “I have a motion for the approval. Can I get a second? Can I get a second? Can I get a second?”
Mr. Maher commented, “It dies for a lack of second.”
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
Parks and Recreation Mr. Weigel commented, “As Bubba said, the Renaissance Festival went fantastic and Millicent Zack and Bubba should really be congratulated. They do a…they’re professionals at it by now. They did a fantastic job and a great effort with it. We’re just glad we could help in any way we can.”
Councilmember Marsh commented, “I have a question for Terry. Terry, what’s the status on the heater at the pool?”
Mr. Weigel commented, “There has…it has been ordered. We’re waiting for this thing to get in. It is…was manufactured overseas. It is supposed to be coming in in mid-July. We have a call in to him…today I contacted…I’m playing phone tag with him to get an update on the exact day.”
Unintelligible crosstalk
Mr. Weigel commented, “We did check it with additional providers of those, and all of them were in the same…were talking the same time period.”
Councilmember Marsh commented, “If you expedite them that may help your bottom line.”
Mr. Weigel commented, “Absolutely.”
Public Works Mr. Brown commented, “Nothing to add Mayor. Thank you.”
Councilmember Marsh commented, “I have a question. John, in your report, where did you do 90 feet of curb on Greenbrier Road?”
Mr. Brown commented, “Probably where we did the fill for the slip.”
Councilmember Marsh commented, “I mean, it said...let me find the report…it just said poured (unintelligible) concrete…ok…ninety feet of curb on Greenbrier Road, and I haven’t seen anything poured up there.”
Mr. Brown commented, “That could be an error. And, I’ll check into it.”
Councilmember Marsh commented, “Yes, poured curbs on Greenbrier Road, 90 feet.”
Mr. Brown commented, “If we did, it would be an asphalt curb, and it would have to with the slip that was done and completed. Let me get back to you on that Councilman.”
Councilmember Marsh commented, “OK.”
Weirton Fire Department Fire Chief Cole commented, “Nothing additional to report Mayor.”
Mayor Harris thanked Chief Cole.
Weirton Police Department Police Chief Bruce Marshall commented, “Nothing to report at this time Mr. Mayor.”
Mayor Harris thanked Chief Marshall.
Councilmember Ash commented, “Mayor, I have a comment for the Chief. I want to thank you for taking time today to explain a few things to me and listen to my complaints. At the same time, I want you to know that…you’re aware of this I’m sure, but the City’s infested with drugs. Ward 4 is really infested with drugs. I’m hoping we can get them out of the Ward and out of the City. So, one of the campaign promises were that we were going to have more people do Drug Task Force. So, whatever we’ve got to do to do this, let’s try to work it out so we can these people out of our city.”
Utilities (Water / Sewer) Mr. Mastrantoni commented, “We are going…we’re formalizing our plans right now to do a city-wide water system flush in an effort to maintain high water quality. We’ll be forwarding information in your packets on the date that the flush is to begin. Other than that, projects are going well. The Penco…or I’m sorry…the Belleview Tank painters have re-arrived at the site and they’re going to be completing the painting aspects of it. The contractor is still on schedule with regard to anticipated substantial completion of the tank, so we can begin filling that facility and using it. At the sanitary plant, we’re in full swing with final aspects of our ATAD Project. With all of the contractors that are now on site, a lot of materials are on site, so things are really buzzing down there. Hopefully, the first of the year we’ll be able to bring that project together. Other than that, I have nothing further to report.”
Mayor Harris thanked Mr. Mastrantoni.
Mary H. Weir Public Library Mr. Rekowski commented, “Nothing more to report other than to say welcome Weirton City Council. Our library is in the middle of our Summer Reading Program and it is ‘Get a Clue at the Library,’ and it’s based on investigation. We are happy that the Police Department is going to be at the library working with the children talking about investigation for our young minds. And, all the Hardy books and Nancy Drew books are being read at the library. And, that’s your update. Visit the library.”
Mayor Harris thanked Mr. Rekowski.
Finance Director
TREASURER’S REPORT
Valarie Means gave the treasurer’s report for June 2007, stating:
Beginning Cash Balance: 775,355.07 Interest: 1,745.78 Deposits: 760,320.78 Investment Drawdown 400,000.00 Disbursements: 1,505,736.40 Ending Cash Balance: 431,685.23 Investment Balance: 1,320,856.67 Withdrawals: 400,000.00 Ending Investment Balance: 920,856.67 Petty Cash Fund: 700.00 Total Cash and Investments Available: 1,353,241.90
Ms. Means commented, “I just want to…just an explanation for the new council members. Normally during the Finance Committee meeting, that’s one of the things that the committee would do is go over the bills that are going to be presented for Council the following Council meeting. I did bring in four invoices…the invoices your packet are always going to be found under the heading, ‘the accounts payable invoices requiring your approval.’ Normally, the Finance Committee goes through these. If there’s any more detailed questions, they would bring that to the rest of Council. I did bring the invoices tonight if you have any further questions. But, in your packet tonight there’s 4 invoices from 4 different venders totaling $12,486.80. The report looks like that one.
Motion to approve the financial reports and pay the bills was made by Councilmember Ask, second by Councilmember Kondik. Motion was carried by majority, 6/0.
Motion to approve all administrative reports was made by Councilmember Ash, second by Councilmember Dalrymple. Motion was carried by majority, 6/0.
Motion to adjourn after the closing prayer was made by Councilmember Fijewski, second by Councilmember Ash. Motion was carried by majority, 6/0.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business before this July 09, 2007 regular session of the Weirton City Council the meeting was adjourned after the closing prayer.
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