WEIRTON CITY COUNCIL
COUNCIL MEETING - REGULAR
MONDAY, JULY 13, 2009 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 13, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. in Council Chambers of the Weirton City Building.
Mayor Harris called the meeting to order.
Councilmembers in Attendance: George Ash Councilmember Ward 4 Ronnie Jones Councilmember Ward 1 Fred Marsh Councilmember Ward 3 Harold Miller Councilmember Ward 2 David Dalrymple Councilmember Ward 6- Absent Max Fijewski Councilmember Ward 7 George Kondik Councilmember Ward 5
City Officials in Attendance: John Brown Public Works Director Gary DuFour City Manager Vincent Gurrera City Attorney David Lashhorn Fire Chief Nicole Davis City Clerk A.D. Mastrantoni Sanitary/Water Bruce Marshall Police Chief Thomas Maher, Jr. Finance Director Terry Weigel Parks and Recreation Director Rod Rosnick Inspections
Mayor Harris led everyone in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Councilmember Ash and second by Councilmember Jones to approve the minutes of the: June 8, 2009 –Regular Council MeetingThe motion carried by majority, 6/0.
MAYOR’S AWARDS AND PROCLAMATIONS
Mayor Harris awarded Cub Scout Pack 334 an award.
COMMUNICATIONS
Councilman Fijewski stated that council has gotten together to form a task force to review the current committees, boards, or commissions. The last time we checked we had 24. The Mayor has appointed three of us to do that, and we are scheduled to meet this Thursday. I hope to bring to council some recommendations. Councilman Fijewski stated that he would like to express his thanks to Senator Bowman for the beautification project that has been completed coming from Pennsylvania in to Weirton on both of the exits. Councilman Fijewski stated that he would like to personally thank John Greco for adopting the park on Colliers Way. Vince Guerra presented a check in the amount of $500 to the Chief of police.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Ms. Karen Harris Re: Public Hearing Ms. Harris spoke on matters regarding the proposed lease agreement with Change. Inc. regarding the three parking lots adjacent to 3136 West Street and inquired as to what the City was planning on doing to create more housing for the citizens of the City of Weirton.
Mr. Ron Majewski Re: South 17th Street Mr. Majewski stated, “My concerns are landlords not keeping their rental properties clean. We have had a lot of problems with drugs in our neighborhood. Many of the elderly people are scared because of the drug problem. I looked up what I could do about noisy people in the neighborhood and it led me to hearing about landlords being held liable. I came to support that because it is just a shame of what’s going on. We want to sell our house, and I am never going to get the money out I want to get out of house because of the house next door to me. It’s been a problem for four years. I did call the City a while back about the mess and they came up and looked at it and nothing was ever done. I have pictures of how bad it looks. I discussed with the landlord my concerns and problems, and he basically blew me off. I went and investigated on the internet what my rights are.”
Mr. Charles Mendrick RE: Oregon Ave. Mr. Mendrick stated, “I am here as a property owner because we have lived at the property for 38 years. In the last five years we have noticed how bad our street has become. The police are coming and doing their job but it still continues. Things get stolen off of your porch at night. It is the houses at the other end of the street where we have had raids. Our neighborhood is an old neighborhood and it never used to be like this. I want to know what else we can do.”
Mr. Tom Drennan RE: Oregon Ave. Mr. Drennan stated, “I am here today to protest the yellow line on South 24th Street. We had no knowledge of any complaints of parked cars. The cars that were causing the problem belonged to the new home owner. No one of the city informed us that there was a problem with the parked cars. I asked the new home owners to move their vehicles and they did so. Since then no one has parked their cars there. I am here today to ask that the proposed area from where we park our truck to the alley be painted yellow. I have no problem with that. That gives people coming up from Helen Street a clear view. The area I am concerned about is a cement pad where we park our truck. Without that line there we will be unable to park our truck. I am asking that the proposed Ordinance be sent back to the traffic commission for consideration so that I can speak on my behalf to request an alternative solution. Both the mayor and the councilman knew about my request about meeting with the traffic commission and my requests were ignored.”
be the first reading so that the constituents to be able to review it and that you table it at this moment and bring it up and do a second motion later on.”
A motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Fijewski to convene into executive session to discuss audit findings, and CDBG funding. The motion passed by majority, 6/0 A motion was made to reconvene by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Fijewski. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
OLD BUSINESS
Second reading of Ordinance No. 1645, Amendment No. 725 of the Traffic Control Map to establish one-sided street parking on the 3800 block of Marlamont Way; on a trial basis only for a three (3) month duration; on the east side of the street on Tuesday mornings between the hours of 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM. (Councilman Kondik) Motion was made by Councilman Kondik, second by Councilman Ash. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to establish a yellow no parking zone on South 24th Street on the left (East) side going south beginning at the alley in the 500 block and extending 47 feet beyond the alley in the 700 block. (Councilman Dalrymple) Motion was made by Councilman Ash to table the Ordinance, second by Councilman Fijewski. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
NEW BUSINESS
Ordinance to change the 2-Way Stop to a 4-Way stop on Rothrock Avenue intersection with State Street and Rothrock Avenue. (Councilman Kondik) Motion was made by Councilman Kondik, second by Councilman Ash.
Councilman Kondik stated, “I got some phone calls from the residents of Marland Heights and stated that they thought this was going to be on top of the hill of Rothrock. This is not on Marland Heights Road. This is a block to the left on State Street. The only reason this is being done is because all of a sudden there is an influx of people. There is a 2-way stop sign there now, and we are going to make it a 4-way stop sign.”
The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to extend the yellow no parking zone on the 600 block of North 10th Street on the East side of the street an additional 370 feet. (Councilman Jones) Motion was made by Councilman Jones, second by Councilman Ash.
The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to remove yellow no parking zone in front of residence at 112 St. John’s Road 25 feet. (Councilman Jones and the Mayor)
Motion was made by Councilman Jones for an emergency reading, second by Councilman Ash.
The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to rescind Ordinance No. 1542, Amendment No. 668 of the Traffic Control Map which established a handicapped parking space at 4114 Brooke Street. (Traffic Commission)
Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Miller.
The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to permit Council to approve the removal of handicapped parking spaces with one reading of the Ordinance. (Councilman Ash)
Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Jones.
The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to repeal Ordinance No. 1553 which established the Weirton Youth Advisory Committee. (Councilman Fijewski) Motion was made by Councilman Fijewski, second by Councilman Kondik.
Councilman Fijewski stated, “This was taken up by the committee that I referenced earlier. The youth representatives basically did not show up for the meeting. It just seemed that there was not an interest in the committee, and at this time we are trying to make the government work and be efficient. It was based upon that discussion that the committee made the recommendation.”
The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to repeal Ordinance No. 1103 which established the Weirton Beautification Commission. (Councilman Fijewski) Motion was made by Councilman Fijewski, second by Councilman Marsh.
Councilman Fijewski stated, “In line with what I just mentioned about the Weirton Youth Advisory, I went back to look at the last time this body met and/or any actions taken by this Commission and it was years and years ago. It is clearly another example of us having commissions, committees, and boards that don’t meet and very little is accomplished by having them around.”
The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to rescind Ordinance No. 111 and permit the Weirton Library Board to increase its members by one to include and require a member from Council appointed by the Mayor. (Councilman Fijewski)
Motion was made by Councilman Fijewski, second by Councilman Kondik.
Motion was made by Councilman Ash to remove the autonomy of the Library Board. The motion died.
Councilman Miller stated, “Basically I’m against appointing Council members to various boards. The Mayor and Council select these individuals and votes on them. Typically, these people are well qualified, more so than probably any of the Council members. I have no problems with what the library board does and how it allocates its funding. Most of them do a good job on reporting back to Council. I want to thank the committee. They did an excellent job; Councilman Fijewski, Councilman Kondik, and Councilman Marsh. They eliminated the boards that needed to be eliminated. They reduced the size of the boards that needed to be reduced, but I will be voting no because I am not in favor of putting Councilmen on some of these boards.”
Councilman Kondik stated, “In the beginning we had Councilman Fijewski saying this all came from the committee recommending the whole thing. After we did recommend all these different changes a lot of things surfaced. My comment at the committee meeting is this is a great idea, but there is no way we will get all of the Council people all board. There are certain boards that have some interjection of Council. This is a board that I believe will mean something for us.”
Councilman Marsh stated, “The reason we did this is to put a Council member on to increase lines of communication, be it an advisor. If there were walls we were running in to we would someone to step up and say we can bring this before Council.”
Councilman Fijewski stated that this is not intended to be punitive, and I don’t want this to be a reflection in a negative way of anyone of these people who serve on these committees.
Role Call Vote: Councilman Kondik Yes Councilman Fijewski Yes Councilman Miller No Councilman Marsh Yes Councilman Jones No Councilman Ash Yes
The motion passed by majority, 4/2.
Ordinance to rescind Ordinance No. 1317 and permit the Weirton Water Board to increase their members by one and require a member of Council appointed by the Mayor. (Councilman Fijewski) Motion was made by Councilman Marsh, second by Councilman Fijewski.
Motion was made by Councilman Ash to remove the autonomy of the Water Board. The motion died.
Motion was made by Councilman Kondik to table the Ordinance, second by Councilman Fijewski.
The motion passed by majority, 4/3 with the Mayor voting to table to break 3-3 vote.
Ordinance to repeal Ordinance No. 150 which established the Municipal Parking Board. (Councilman Fijewski) Motion was made by Councilman Kondik, second by Councilman Fijewski. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Ordinance to permit the Weirton Redevelopment Authority (WRA) to increase their number of members by one to include and require a member of Council appointed by the Mayor for their term of office. (Councilman Fijewski) Motion was made by Councilman Marsh, second by Councilman Fijewski. Role Call Vote: Councilman Ash Yes Councilman Jones Yes Councilman Marsh Yes Councilman Miller No Councilman Fijewski Yes Councilman Kondik No The motion passed by majority, 4/2.
Ordinance to permit the Weirton Port Authority to reduce their number of members from seven (7) to five (5) members and require that one member be a Council member appointed by the Mayor for the term of their office. (Councilman Fijewski) Motion was made by Councilman Fijewski, second by Councilman Marsh. Role Call Vote: Councilman Kondik Yes Councilman Fijewski Yes Councilman Miller No Councilman Marsh Yes Councilman Jones Yes Councilman Ash Yes The motion passed by majority, 5/1.
Ordinance amending Article 331.01 of the Code of the City of Weirton. Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Kondik. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution to enter into agreement with Change Inc. to lease three lots adjacent to 3136 West Street, Hancock County, West Virginia. (City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Jones. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution adopting proposed plan for the reuse of the former Cove School site and providing initial funding therefore. (Councilman Ash) Motion was made by Councilman Ash. Resolution died for lack of second motion.
Resolution authorizing application and acceptance for West Virginia Legislative Digest Funds. (Downtown Weirton Business and Civic Association. City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Marsh. The motion passed by majority, 6/0
Resolution authorizing application and acceptance for West Virginia Legislative Digest Funds. (Portable Skate Park. City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Marsh. The motion passed by majority, 6/0
Resolution authorizing acceptance of the contract for West Virginia Legislative Digest Funds. (Thomas E. Millsop Community Center. City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Jones. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution authorizing acceptance of the contract for West Virginia Legislative Digest Funds. (Hall of Fame Project. City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Fijewski, second by Councilman Ash. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution authorizing acceptance of the contract for West Virginia Legislative Digest Funds. (Weirton Beautification Project. City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Kondik. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution authorizing payment of 2009-2010 West Virginia Municipal League Dues. (City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Marsh, second by Councilman Kondik. The motion passed by majority, 4/2 with Councilmen Ash and Fijewski voting against.
Resolution adopting a Red Flag Policy and establishing an Identity Theft Protection Program for the City of Weirton. (City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Marsh. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution to place liens against real properties for costs incurred in demolition of unsafe properties pursuant to Ordinance 250. (County Road) Motion was made by Councilman Marsh, second by Councilman Ash. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution to place liens against real properties for costs incurred in demolition of unsafe properties pursuant to Ordinance 250. (Main Street) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Jones. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
+ Resolution to place liens against real properties for costs incurred in demolition of unsafe properties pursuant to Ordinance 250. (Weir Avenue) Motion was made by Councilman Jones, second by Councilman Ash. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution to authorize purchase of replacement K-9 unit for Weirton Police Department. (City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Fijewski. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution to enter into contract for the lease-purchase of two (2) 2010 Crown Victoria Police Cruisers and one (1) Ford Expedition for the Weirton Police Department utilizing state of West Virginia purchasing contract. (City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Fijewski. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
Resolution authorizing 2010 per capita contribution to the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission. (City Manager) Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Miller.
Councilman Kondik stated, “This is based on population.”
The motion passed by majority, 5/1 with Councilman Fijewski voting against.
APPOINTMENTS TO VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
Mary H. Weir Public Library: Karen Gould
Motion to approve appointment was made by Councilman Kondik, second by Councilman Fijewski.
The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
POLICE DEPARTMENT-
Chief Marshall stated that he had nothing further to add.
The City Solicitor requested Chief Marshall to appoint one of his officers to the Sex Offender Registry Board.
PUBLIC WORKS-
Mr. Brown stated that Clark Kelly Paving is back to paving and should be done by the end of the month.
PARKS AND RECREATION –
Mr. Weigel stated that they have finished re-paving and sealing the tennis courts at Marland Heights. They have completed 2 out of 3 tennis courts at Starvaggi Park. The biggest hold up is needing 5 days in a row without any rain to finish the project. He also acknowledged the Weir High School Honor Society for donating their time cleaning up Marland Heights Park. The Rotary Club also volunteered their services towards the up keep of Marland Heights Park.
UTILITIES-
Mr. Mastrantoni stated that he had some informal phone calls concerning odor down in the Lisa Court area. The crews responded pretty rapidly to it. The pump cycles were so slow that some of the flow turned septic and created the odor. We have since been on it, sealed down the man holes, and sealed off all of the taps all the way into the golf course clear out to PA state line. Shorter run cycles have also been coordinated on the pumps so that the flow coming to us won’t be at septic level. Mr. Mastrantoni also stated that Rocky Bragg, one of their premier personal with 16 years on the job, announced the tenure of his resignation.
CODE-
Mr. Rosnick stated that he had nothing additional to add. Councilman Ash stated, “I got this list off of Larry Ritchie and there are approximately 350-400 properties or rental units in Ward IV. We passed an ordinance months ago about registration and inspection of all of these properties. Where do we stand at?”
Mr. Rosnick stated that the as far of inspection, I have no idea. One citation was completed and the warrants will be continued.
FIRE-
Chief Lashhorn stated that this was probably the first time we have been recognized by the people that we do serve, and we appreciate that recognition.
FINANCE DEPARTMENT-
Mr. Maher stated: General Fund cash report for June 2009:
Beginning Cash Balance: $908,535.66 Interest on Checking: $347.49 Deposits: $791,275.72 Draw-downs on Investment: N/A Disbursements: $(1,311,560.51) Cash Balance: $388,598.36
Beginning Investment $782,713.34 Balance: N/A Interest on Investments: $19.85 Withdraws: N/A Ending Investment $782,713.34 Balance: Petty Cash: $800.00
Total Cash and Investments $1,172,131.55 Available:
The Mayor called for a motion to accept administrative reports from all of the departments, and pay any unpaid bills. Motion was made by Councilman Marsh, second by Councilman Ash. The motion carried by majority, 6/0.
ADJOURNMENT
The mayor called for a motion to adjourn. Motion was made by Councilman Ash, second by Councilman Fijewski. The motion passed by majority, 6/0.
With no further business before this July 13, 2009 regular session of the Weirton City Council the meeting was adjourned after the closing prayer.
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