August 21st, 2017 Council Minutes
Once approved, a link to the official council minutes will be at the bottom.
COUNCIL MINUTES
August 21, 2017
St. Clairsville City Council met in Council Chambers on Monday, August 21, 2017, with the following present:
Jim Weisgerber, Council President Terry Pugh, Mayor
Mark Bukmir, Council 3rd Ward Jim Zucal, Service Director
Linda Jordan, Council-At-Large Jeff Henry, Police Chief
Beth Oprisch, Council-At-Large Cindi Henry, Finance Director
Jake Olsavsky, Council, 1st Ward Richard Myser, Law Director
Frank Sabatino, Council 2nd Ward Tom Murphy, Planning & Zoning Administrator
Mike Smith, Council-At-Large
John Tomlan, Council 4th Ward
The meeting was called to order by Council President Jim Weisgerber.
MINUTES
Minutes of the August 7, 2017 regular meeting were distributed to Council. A motion to accept the minutes was made by Jake Olsavsky and seconded by Beth Oprisch.
Roll Call Vote
Bukmir Yes Sabatino Yes
Jordan Yes Smith Yes
Oprisch Yes Tomlan Yes
Olsavsky Yes
Roll Call Vote: Seven (7) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
CITIZENS HEARING: There were no Citizens present who wished to address Council.
REPORTS:
Service Director: Jim Zucal
We did open the paving bid. The low bidder was Cast & Baker and we are looking at entering a contract with them and starting the paving next Monday with milling. We will be milling Clark Avenue, Neff Street and then move to North Marietta Street, Jepson Avenue, Debbie Lane and then finish the rest of the list so we feel that is going to be a successful project. Dave Lash is the person we are working with and Terry and I have met with him. We are excited about the project.
We did wrap up the guardrail project in the city. That went very well. Everywhere there is guardrail with galvanized posts it has been done right. The areas we did were Newell Avenue, North Sugar, Woodrow Avenue by the High School, The Elementary School at Norris Hill, there was a gap we felt a vehicle could get through. Bethel the dead end at the Cul-d-Sac, Lakeview at Sunset, two areas that were very steep banks with a possibility of a vehicle going over. At Debbie Lane we fixed a problem that was there. That was very much needed it looks nice.
It was mentioned by the media that the City was not using chlorine. I just want to make Council and the public aware that the chlorine situation at the Wastewater and Water plants I feel are safe. We have taken measures to make sure of that but we are still at this time using chlorine gas. We have new regulators, valves and plumbing so we are confident that it is safe. The Mayor, Scott Brown and I have met with several engineers and contractors and we are looking at options. Some of the options are tablets where they use a dry chlorine a lot like you would see in a swimming pool, it is very cost effective. We are also looking at possibly ultra-violent light. Basically the Ohio EPA requires that after November 1st until May 1st we don’t have to use chlorine because the water temperatures drop. By that time we will have a viable solution for the chlorine situation.
I have talked to Jim Weisgerber, Council President and Richard Myser the Law Director about going into Executive Session later.
John Tomlan: You are saying the bid on the paving covers all on the list that you gave us? Jim Zucal: The contractor bid on the list that we provided to you. We have some options to fulfill that and any other areas that may need repaired. Frank Sabatino: Does that include Young Lane? Jim Zucal: We are going to take care of Young Lane. That is a portion that was contracted for the water line project. We reached a mediation with the contractor and the city is going to take care of that. Jake Olsavsky: Are we going to do anything with Spring Street? Jim Zucal: It is not on the list for this year.
Mayor: Terry Pugh:
You all received information about Code Red. If you have not signed up you need to. One of the biggest concerns with the two gas leaks is that so many people were not notified. It is the individual’s responsibility to sign up with 911. The other thing the city is going to do is to include this notice in our next utility bills.
We had our auction this last week and I feel it was very successful. We sold some bigger items and we got pretty much what we thought we should get out of them. I think it was worthwhile to have the auction with Richland Township. They brought equipment which brought more people to the auction.
To answer Jake’s question about Spring Street, we are going to be moving ahead with the Dura Patcher with the Township. We are going ahead with the purchase of that and that will be a good application for it.
Tom Murphy and I attended the last Park Board meeting. The water line will hopefully be removed the end of September and then they will start on the actual nature trail. The Park Board is in full agreement, there is a small triangle of land that belongs to them that we would like to annex to the city. Then we can annex our own property.
Police Chief, Jeff Henry:
I have asked Councilman Bukmir for a Police Committee meeting this evening.
Finance Director, Cindi Henry:
You all received the new policy books that were distributed to the staff.
The only thing we have coming up that directly involves me is the renewal and replacement of our health care that we will be doing next week.
Planning & Zoning, Tom Murphy:
The Planning Commission met last week and approved the exterior façade of the Senior Living Facility. Mark Bukmir: Did you say they were going to change to siding? Tom Murphy: No, siding had been proposed in the beginning. The Planning Commission had an issue, they were going to remove some of the stone veneer and the Planning Commission said we have an issue with that. We would like to see some of the structure have some of the stone veneer like was originally proposed so they met with the Planning Commission and ultimately came to an agreement.
The Board of Zoning Appeals also met last week and approved a variance to allow the Hartley Oil Company (Starfire) on Route 9 to add three parking spaces. They will probably start the construction in the very near future.
A Board of Zoning Appeals meeting has been set up for Wednesday, September 6th at 6:00 p.m., it is a variance request to construct a pool and deck closer to the property line then what the city code permits. Beth Oprisch: Are the neighbor’s aware of the request. Tom Murphy: They have expressed to us that they do not have a problem with it.
COUNCIL COMMITTEES:
Finance, Mike Smith: No Report
Utilities, Frank Sabatino:
I want to commend Jim and the Mayor for being on top of the situation at the Wastewater Plant. They will not be satisfied until we have a system that is ultra-safe. Jim Zucal: The Mayor and I will be attending a meeting tomorrow evening. It is a follow up meeting with all the safety forces just to follow up and see how it was handled and what could be done differently if anything.
Police, Mark Bukmir: No Report
Street North Side, Jake Olsavsky: Reichlely’s Project is done
Street South Side, Linda Jordan: No Report
Safety, Beth Oprisch: There is a Safety Meeting this Thursday at 9:00.
Building & Grounds, Mark Bukmir: Mr. Zucal sent me a picture of the city garage on Station Street. Jim Zucal: It is almost done. It is coming along nicely. I think we are going to have a nice building there for storage.
Planning Commission, Mike Smith: No Report
Fire District, Frank Sabatino:
Will have our regular meeting on Wednesday, August 23rd at 3:00 at the Main Station
Recreation, Linda Jordan:
The Summer Concert Series has ended and the Board wanted me to thank you for allowing these concerts to take place. I can’t tell you the number of people I have had commend the city and thanked the city for holding those concerts. There was a lot of talent at the concerts this year. You have a survey in your boxes. If you don’t mind take the time to fill them out. If you weren’t there suggest a band you would like to see at the concerts.
Park District, Linda Jordan: No Report.
ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS
Law Director, Richard Myser:
We do not have any proposed legislation tonight to act on. As the Mayor mentioned we will have a contract with the Richland Township Board of Trustees for the purchase of a piece of equipment which I think will be very beneficial for the city a duro patcher. We will have legislation at the next meeting for Council to act on. Beth Oprisch: On the agreement you were talking about with Richland Township, is that going to need to be on an emergency basis, Richard Myser: I don’t know if it needs to be on an emergency. Terry Pugh: We are probably going to go ahead and get the order in, it would be nice to have it but I don’t think we will even use it until October. It is a good agreement it just splits everything down the middle.
We will meet in Executive Session following our regular meeting under Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22 (G) (4) Negotiations.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The Clerk read a letter from the St. Clairsville Sunrise Rotary Club thanking the city for its involvement in the 19th Annual Samuel A. Mumley Memorial Classic.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
A motion to go into Executive Session was made by Jim Weisgerber and seconded by Mike Smith Per Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22 (G) (4) to conduct a review of negotiations for our bargaining session with Public Employees.
Roll Call Vote
Bukmir Yes Sabatino Yes
Jordan Yes Smith Yes
Oprisch Yes Tomlan Yes
Olsavsky Yes
Roll Call Vote: Seven (7) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
A motion to return to regular session was made by John Tomlan and seconded by Beth Oprisch.
Roll Call Vote
Bukmir Yes Sabatino Yes
Jordan Yes Smith Yes
Oprisch Yes Tomlan Yes
Olsavsky Yes
Roll Call Vote: Seven (7) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
A motion was made by John Tomlan and seconded by Linda Jordan to accept the AFSCME contract as presented.
Roll Call Vote
Bukmir Yes Sabatino Yes
Jordan Yes Smith Yes
Oprisch Yes Tomlan Yes
Olsavsky Yes
Roll Call Vote: Seven (7) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
NEXT MEETING: The next Council Meeting will be Tuesday, September 5, 2017 – 7:30 p.m. In Council Chambers
There being no other business to come before Council, a motion to adjourn was made by John Tomlan and seconded by Linda Jordan.