February 20th, 2018 Council Minutes
Once approved, a link to the official council minutes will be at the bottom.
February 20, 2018
St. Clairsville City Council met in Council Chambers on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 with the following present:
Tim Porter, Council President Terry Pugh, Mayor
Perry Basile, Council 1st Ward Jim Zucal; Service Director
Mark Bukmir, Council 3rd Ward Cindi Henry, Finance Director
Linda Jordan, Council-At-Large Richard Myser, Law Director
Beth Oprisch, Council-At-Large Jeff Henry, Police Chief
Frank Sabatino, Council 2nd Ward Tom Murphy, Planning & Zoning Administrator
Jim Velas, Council 4th Ward
MINUTES: Minutes of the February 5, 2018 meeting were distributed to Council. A motion to accept the minutes of the February 5th meeting was made by Linda Jordan and seconded by Jim Velas.
Roll Call Vote:
Basile Yes Sabatino Yes
Bukmir Yes Velas Yes
Jordan Yes
Oprisch Yes
Roll Call Vote: Six (6) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
CITIZENS HEARING:
Bill Grimes, 139 Overbaugh Avenue
How come when you get your house flooded by the City sewer they won’t help you out? Jim Zucal: I would be glad to discuss that with you Mr. Grimes but I have never talked with you about it so I am not even aware of the situation. Bill Grimes: I wasn’t even home. Jim Zucal: If you want to make an appointment I will be glad to have you sit down and talk to me about it. Bill Grimes: My Insurance Company was nice enough to come and tell me they would pay the bill, so I got that taken care of. I couldn’t get an answer, I had the City down there and they said it had to come from your lines. Jim Zucal: I am sure you didn’t talk to me, I would be glad to talk to you about it. The City has policies and procedures on accidents like that and typically they are turned over to our Insurance Company. Bill Grimes: The second thing, I have a three car garage
on Legion Road. It is eating out under the road and nobody has done anything about it. And the two properties down below me have fuel oil coming up out of them. My problem is in 1995 when I built that garage they told me I could put an apartment down there. Now Mr. Murphey is telling me I can’t put it there. Jim Zucal: Tom is the Planning and Zoning Administrator and he does his job well. He follows the laws of the City. Tom Murphy: The Planning & Zoning Code was updated in 2001. I am not familiar with your situation and I would be glad to talk with you about it. We do have to follow the City Code. Bill Grimes: That is how they got the apartments by the car wash because there was already apartments there. Tom Murphy: That was long before 2001.
Jim Zucal: We will be glad to work with you.
SERVICE DIRECTOR, JIM ZUCAL
We have been very productive, we have a contractor working on a storm sewer project on Woodrow Avenue that several of the constituents have petitioned the City for many years. Tom Murphy has been very involved in the process. We are going to fix several age old storm water issues. This is one that Frank Sabatino brought to my attention about a year ago. We are collecting storm water, putting it in the catch basin, getting it out of the City and doing things the right way. That is my belief and that is the way I like to do things. After that good collection of water then we like to pave.
Mr. Myser, the Mayor and Cindi have helped me today to get an Ordinance before Council. I am excited to tell you that we have $200,000 to spend on street paving this year. Our license plate tax money will be a big help. That is up $50,000 from last year. We are looking at the list of streets we have had in the past and compiling a new list so I would please ask Council to provide me with an email or written list of streets and alleys that you want to consider. I am sure we can’t please everyone in the City but we will prioritize and do our best to provide the constituents good paving and nice streets
It has been a tough winter to deal with. Saturday night the guys were out salting and today it is 70 degrees. It has been tough for everyone.
We did have a meeting again today with the Equity construction team. It is not always pleasant for them because we have a punch list and we are requiring that the punch list be completed before they come back to the City Planning Commission. They are in scramble mode, they want to get it done. We are excited that the owner wants to open in March. That will be the first major building construction out there and we think that will create some great energy in the area and a lot of things will happen.
I did attend the Belmont County TID meeting along with the Mayor and Tom. I am happy to be a part of that, I am glad that I can help. We are getting some things done and one of them is the
Annexation of the Commons Mall Crossing at Route 40. Mr. Myser will hopefully expand on that this evening.
We did clean up one more component of the utilities in the City. When I came on board we knew that the Clarifier drive assembly at the Water Plant, which is a huge holding tank for water had a gear drive that was leaking oil. The EPA had written us up on that. At the time we would buy food grade lubricant to put in there which was very expensive. When Scott Brown was here we talked about having the Company that originally installed it come in but they wanted $80,000 to take that assembly out and put a new seal in. We were working with a gentleman with Total Equipment an Industrial Solutions Company. They did come in with a crane and pulled the assembly. They rebuilt the Barings and seals and put everything back together for a little over $20,000. That puts our Water Plant another step up in the operation.
Frank Sabatino: Thanked Jim for his help on a project they have been working on. One thing I wanted Jim to elaborate on, because of the horrible winter, the pot holes are horrendous. I see they have had the Dura-Patcher out today. Is there a time schedule for patching? Jim Zucal: The Mayor and I met today and he is planning on talking about pot holes. Terry Pugh: I was in Columbus the week before last and if you think the pot holes are bad here, go to Columbus. The problem we are having with the dura-patcher and it has been working well up until today. It is that we used all of our dry chips. We got chips from ODOT but they were damp and they were clogging up the machine. Another problem right now is blowing the water out of the holes.
MAYOR, TERRY PUGH:
I was at the Belmont County Mayor’s meeting and Bridgeport, Martins Ferry and Yorksville are going together to buy a dura-Patcher. It is well worth the money.
Megan Cook has resigned from the Recreation Board and I would like to recommend Jennifer Johnson to fill out her term. A motion to appoint Jennifer Johnson to the Recreation Board was made by Linda Jordan and Perry Basile seconded the motion.
Roll Call Vote:
Basile Yes Sabatino Yes
Bukmir Yes Velas Yes
Jordan Yes
Oprisch Yes
Roll Call Vote: Six (6) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
We have signed a contract with Brock Rodgers designer of the Web-Site. We hope to have it up and going in the very near future. It is a very nice web site with a lot of interaction between the departments.
A company called Pro-Foam is building a building and good size storage area in Glencoe and they are paying for all the trucking from Glencoe to St. Clairsville and we are looking at receiving almost 500 tons of top soil. I have talked to other people who are going to volunteer their time and equipment and my desire is by October it is going to be ready to seed. We will have a nice soccer field for the School and the Recreation Department.
Beth Oprisch: Last meeting you said something about an Audit. I just wondered if you had an update. Mayor Pugh: There won’t be an update. I don’t expect to hear anything unless they ask for further information for at least a year.
POLICE CHIEF, JEFF HENRY:
I have a new employee, this is her first day. Her name is Megan Shaw. Her title is Administrative Assistant/Office Manager. We also hired three part time officers. As soon as they get some uniforms and get onboard they can fill in for vacations, sick leave and working special details. We are waiting for the money to free up to hire a full time officer.
FINANCE DIRECTOR, CINDI HENRY:
I have Ordinance No. 2018-05. That is a new fund. According to the Attorney General’s Office if Jeff sends his Officers to OPOTA training the State Attorney General’s Office will reimburse the Police Department for the training. That money has to go into a special fund.
We are going to participate in the Regional Income Tax Agency soupena program again this year. Most likely in September. They will have Auditors come in and help people with their Income Tax. This is the fourth time since I have been here. It seems to be a pretty well received program. It runs pretty smoothly.
PLANNING AND ZONING ADMINISTRATOR, TOM MURPHY:
There is a business that was located in the Lundy Building (Alterations, ETC.) it has been very successful and has expanded. They now have a full store front at 122 W. Main St. They did appear before the Architectural Board of Review to get signage approved. They are open for business. I recommend you stop in and say hello. Jenny Hickenbottom is the owner and she will be able to fill you in on what they do.
You might have noticed there have been numerous gas leaks around town. I am keeping an eye on them. They are usually very good to work with. We have a local contact with Columbia Gas Maintenance Company that resurfaces when they have to dig up a curb or a sidewalk.
I did attend a pipeline meeting this past Friday. There is a new pipeline proposed it is called the Harrison Hub Moundsville Pipeline. It goes from Moundsville to Cadiz. Nothing actually passes within the City Limits or on City property. However, just west of our reservoir on Reservoir Road there are two spots that they will be crossing our water shed. That is not necessarily a huge deal we just want you to know. As far as a timeline, at this meeting they really didn’t give us anything definite. Their hope was that maybe in April they would start cutting trees for the path. Maybe in August of this year they will start. They will start in Cadiz. They will also cross under our electric lines and we have one that is buried.
We were contacted by Verizon Telecom regarding attaching their fiber to our poles. They have a line along Main Street, they also have a line on Woodrow that feeds the Riesbeck’s area (Doctor’s Offices) what they are proposing now would just be a leg from the cell tower site that is just East of the City just behind Ashburn Greene. A new tower will be constructed in Glencoe to get the fiber from one tower to the other. They are proposing using our existing poles. If we do have older poles they will have to replace them.
COUNCIL COMMITTEES:
Finance, Mike Smith: Not Present
Utilities, Frank Sabatino: I have nothing to add to Jim’s Report
Police, Mark Bukmir: We will have a Police meeting after the next Council Meeting
Street North Side, Jim Velas:
Obviously there are pot holes, we have a potential parking issue on Jepson. There is a potential safety issue. I have looked at it and Chief Henry has looked at it. He is looking at ways to cure the problem. With parking on both sides it is impassable for fire trucks and E-Squads to get through.
Street South Side, Beth Oprisch: No Report
Safety, Beth Oprisch: No Report
Building and Grounds, Perry Basile:
I received an update from Jim Zucal and it seem the City has a pretty good agenda already in place which is great. He filled me in on projects that they are working on and it seems pretty good.
Planning Commission, Mike Smith: Not Present
Fire District, Frank Sabatino:
Greg Reline is the new chairman of the Fire Board. Greg: A lot of positive things going on with the Department. It is a top notch Department. Frank: The Fire Board met in Special Session this past Friday and at that meeting we approved the Contract with Union. Next Meeting, Tomorrow at 3:00 at the Main Station.
Recreation, Linda Jordan:
The Safety barriers are up and they are currently being used for Soccer. I advise everybody to go look at them. Community Day is June 30th. We can use Volunteers. Bat Man will be making an appearance. Next Meeting is next Monday the 26th.
Park District, Linda Jordan:
The Park Board will meet tomorrow at 4:30 at Home Savings Bank. It is to discuss a slip at the Park.
ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS:
Law Director, Richard Myser
I would like to keep Council up to date on the Annexation program we have regarding the 1.27 acres that is part of the Commons Mall Crossing. It is actually the apron that goes into the Commons Mall Crossing Road. If you recall at our last meeting we passed a Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an Annexation Agreement with the Richland Township Trustees. Since then the Township Trustees have met and passed a Resolution and the Annexation Agreement. The next step was that the Annexation Agreement needed to be approved by the Belmont County TID who actually owned the property to be annexed. The TID passed a Resolution authorizing the signing of a petition which has been done. The petition for annexation is then filed with the Belmont County Commissioners. That was done last week. They signed the Resolution today. Now the next step is 60 days after the Commissioners approve the annexation the Council has to accept the Annexation into the City. At our next meeting we will present the Resolution for its first reading and two weeks after that the second reading and two weeks after that the third reading.
There was presented and read to Council on its second reading by title only, ORDINANCE NO. 2018-03; AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 925.01 (B) TO ESTABLISH WATER RATES EFFECTIVE AT THE EARLIEST DATE DETERMINED BY LAW AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Linda Jordan moved that the rules requiring ordinances and resolutions to be read on three separate readings be suspended and declaring an emergency: Jim Velas seconded the motion.
Roll Call Vote:
Basile Yes Sabatino Yes
Bukmir Yes Velas Yes
Jordan Yes
Oprisch Yes
Roll Call Vote: Six (6) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
There was presented and read to Council on its third and final reading by title only, Ordinance No. 2018-03; A motion was made by Beth Oprisch and seconded by Perry Basile that Ordinance No. 2018-03 be passed by Council.
Roll Call Vote:
Basile Yes Sabatino Yes
Bukmir Yes Velas Yes
Jordan Yes
Oprisch Yes
Roll Call Vote: Six (6) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
Ordinance No. 2018-03 was declared adopted
There was presented and read to Council on its second reading by title only, ORDINANCE NO. 2018-04; AMENDING CODIFIED SECTION 933.02/.06 TO ESTABLISH SEWER RATES EFFECTIVE AT THE EARLIEST DATE DETERMINED BY LAW AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Jim Velas moved that the rules requiring ordinances and resolutions to be read on three separate readings be suspended and declaring an emergency; Linda Jordan seconded the motion.
Roll Call Vote:
Basile Yes Sabatino Yes
Bukmir Yes Velas Yes
Jordan Yes
Oprisch Yes
Roll Call Vote: Six (6) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
There was presented and read to Council on its third and final reading by title only, ORDINANCE NO. 2018-04. a motion was made by Frank Sabatino and seconded by Mark Bukmir that Ordinance No. 2018-04 be passed by Council.
Roll Call Vote:
Basile Yes Sabatino Yes
Bukmir Yes Velas Yes
Jordan Yes
Oprisch Yes
Roll Call Vote: Six (6) Yes Zero (0) No Motion Approved
Ordinance No. 2018-04 was declared adopted.
There was presented and read to Council on its first Reading by title only, ORDINANCE NO. 2018-05; ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH THE RESTRICTED POLICE TRAINING FUND #2903 FUND AND ESTABLISH THE NECESSARY REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS AND APPROPRIATE FUND RECEIVED.
There was presented and read to Council on its first Reading by title only, ORDINANCE NO. 2018-06; AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICES TO SOLICIT COMPETITIVE BIDS FOR THE RESURFACING OF STREETS IN THE CITY OF ST. CLAIRSVILLE AND AUTHORIZING AN EXPENDITURE NOT TO EXCEED $200,000.00 FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR 2018 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
NEXT MEETING: Monday, March 5, 2018, 7:30 p.m. in Council Chambers
There being no further business to come before Council, a motion to adjourn was made by Frank Sabatino seconded by Beth Oprisch.