June 1, 2022 Council Minutes Special Meeting
Once approved, a link to the official council minutes will be at the bottom.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE CITY COUNCIL
June 1, 2022 Special Meeting
Jim Velas, Council President Kathryn Thalman, Mayor
Don Vincenzo, Council, 1st Ward Jeremy Greenwood, Public Service/Safety Director
Mark Thomas, Council, 3rd Ward Don Smithberger, Super. of General Services
Terra Butler, Council, 4th Ward Annette Williams, Finance Director
Linda Jordan, Council-At-Large Matthew Arbenz, Chief of Police
Beth Oprisch, Council-At-Large Tom Murphy, Planning & Zoning Administrator
JC Thrash, Council 2nd Ward Elizabeth Glick, Law Director
Mike Smith, Council-At-Large
The meeting was called to order by Council President Jim Velas at 7:30 pm. President Velas led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. Members of the public were thanked for their attendance.
ROLL CALL:
Butler HERE Thrash HERE
Jordan ABSENT Thomas HERE
Oprisch ABSENT Vincenzo HERE
Smith HERE
Five (5) Present Two (2) Absent
ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS: Law Director Elizabeth Glick
Council President Velas stated the purpose of the Special Council Meeting was to decide if Council deemed it necessary to continue with the Paving Project on Edinburgh Way and consider it an emergency. President Velas explained that there needs to be a minimum of five Council members present at the meeting to vote to pass emergency legislation. Moreover, the scheduling of a Special Meeting was because there would only be four members present at the next regularly scheduled Council Meeting on June 6th, which does not meet the attendance requirement to vote on emergency legislation. Service Director Jeremy Greenwood outlined the project’s scope for rebuilding the current street on Edinburgh Way and explained how there was a miscommunication with the contractor that the $236,000 cost only pertained to Edinburgh Way and not Klysthe Court. Furthermore, Mr. Greenwood reminded Council that this current issue they are facing would not have occurred if the City had not received the $5 million grant for Water Distribution. President Velas opened the floor to all Council members who would like to ask Service Director Greenwood any questions they had involving the project.
Councilman Vincenzo asked Mr. Greenwood the current price per ton for liquid asphalt. Mr. Greenwood stated that the contractor did not provide the current price for liquid asphalt, but Mr. Greenwood noted that the cost of liquid asphalt has had to rise with the significant price increase in petroleum prices.
Councilwoman Butler stated that she does not believe that waiting to pave the road would benefit the City financially because she currently does not see the high prices easing anytime soon. Moreover, Councilwoman Butler noted that since the City has not spent any money on paving since COVID, they should fix Edinburgh properly, even with inflated costs. Once the City is involved with the Water Distribution Project, they won’t have to come back and fix Edinburgh.
Councilman Smith brought up an issue he noticed with the text in Ordinance No. 2022-25. After deliberation between Council and the Law Director, the problem was addressed and fixed.
Councilman Smith asked Mr. Greenwood’s opinion on paving this year. Mr. Greenwood stated that he does not feel that any paving should be done until there is a better understanding of the full scope of the Water Distribution Project. Councilman Smith proceeded to ask what the repercussions could be if the City Broke the contract with the Paving Company. Law Director Glick stated that the Paving Company could sue, leading to possible litigation.
Councilman Thrash asked Mr. Greenwood, since the specs of the Edinburgh contract changed from simple paving to complete replacement, that the paving contractor could have named any price they wanted since the project was not rebid. Mr. Greenwood stated that the contractor could have named any price they wanted to pave. Still, since the City had already had a contract with the contractor, it was almost necessary to stay with the current contractor and not break the contract. Furthermore, Mr. Greenwood noted that nearly every project the City was doing had inflated prices due to the current inflation plaguing the nation. Although he felt the price was high, it was not exorbitantly high.
Councilman Thomas asked Mr. Greenwood if all Kilsythe Court needed to be replaced like Edinburgh. Mr. Greenwood stated that the cul-de-sac needs to replace along with the upper end, but the middle section needs to be paved.
Councilman Thomas stated that the issue before Council is not just to pave Edinburgh but to replace it entirely. And the question ultimately is, does Council want to do it now or wait until the future and couple it with another project. Moreover, Councilman Thomas stated that he agrees with Councilwoman Butler that Council needs to bite the bullet and replace Edinburgh and make a commitment to the Citizens to keep paving and enhancing the roads in the future.
Council President Velas asked Council to talk among themselves to help them form their opinions on the passage of the legislation. Councilman Thrash stated that because the price is so high to replace one road, he doesn’t feel comfortable supporting the legislation.
Through an informal inquiry, it was understood that there were not enough votes to pass the legislation on an emergency basis. Hence, the Council decided to have the first reading on both pieces of legislation to reflect the Council’s formal opinion.
FIRST READING
Ordinance No. 2022-24 – AN ORDINANCE TO MAKE INTERFUND TRANSFERS AND REALLOCATIONS WITHIN THE FUNDS FOR THE NORMAL EXPENSES AND OTHER EXPENDITURES OF THE CITY OF ST. CLAIRSVILLE, STATE OF OHIO, FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY 1, 2022, THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2022, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Ordinance No. 2022-25 – AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 2021-29 AND AUTHORIZING AN EXPENDITURE NOT TO EXCEED $250,000.00 FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR 2021 TO BE COMPLETED IN CALENDAR YEAR 2022 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
A motion was made by Councilman Thomas that the rules requiring three separate readings be suspended on Ordinance No. 2022-25 and that the Ordinance, be passed on an emergency basis; seconded by Councilwoman Butler.
ROLL CALL:
Butler YES Thrash NO
Jordan ABSENT Thomas YES
Oprisch ABSENT Vincenzo YES
Smith YES
Roll Call Vote: Four (4) YES One (1) NO Zero (0) ABSTAIN Two (2) ABSENT
Motion Lost
ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to come before Council, Councilwoman Butler made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Councilman Thomas. The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 P.M.
The next meeting will be Monday, June 6, 2022, at 7:00 P.M. All Councilmembers will be present at the City Building for the next meeting. Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting in the Council Chambers.