The Common Council of the City of Point Pleasant, a Municipal
Corporation in Mason County, West Virginia, met in Regular Session at
the City Building, 400 Viand Street at 7:00 p.m. on Monday August 8,
2005.
J. Glenn Long led Council in Prayer. The meeting was called
to order by Mayor James H. Wilson who led Council in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
The
Mayor stated that June Price, Kingtown Area resident, was on the agenda
but not present. He stated that Ms. Price had concerns that a property
owner in Kingtown was building on City property. The Mayor informed
Council that the property owner had contacted a surveyor and that the
property would be surveyed as soon as the surveyor could schedule it.
The
Mayor then recognized Alan Pearson of 410 Parrish Avenue. Mr. Pearson
stated that he had some property and right-of-way issues with regards to
Parrish Avenue. Mr. Pearson stated that his neighbor had recently had
landscaping work done and he felt that the neighbor had encroached upon
the street right-of-way thus hindering egress to his property. Mr.
Pearson presented Council with a survey of his property and various maps
and plats. He said that he had spoken to the Mayor and City Inspector
about the issue during construction. Mr. Pearson asked Council that the
26 foot right-of–way of Parrish Avenue be enforced. The Mayor stated
that the property owner who did the landscaping maintains that the
property was hers and not that of the City. She informed the Mayor that
she would get the property surveyed if need be. An in-depth discussion
followed. The Mayor added that Council would discuss the matter further
and try to reach some kind of conclusion.
The
Mayor then introduced Blair Taylor of the West Virginia State Treasurers
Office. Mr. Taylor had been asked by the City Clerk to appear before
Council to give a brief overview of the Police Pension Plan and answer
any questions that Council may have. Mr. Taylor explained that the State
put an insurance surcharge into effect to help municipalities fund the
pension plan. He explained that in order for the municipalities to
qualify for the state distribution, the City must contribute their share
(Normal Cost) or percentage thereof as determined by an Actuarial
Soundness Report. Furthermore, it was noted that the employees
(policemen) had contributed to the plan but the City did not actually
contribute until August of 2004. Mr. Taylor stated that for the City to receive the full State
allocation ($56,319.00), the City would need to contribute $65,853.00
(Normal Cost). He added that the City would receive a percentage of the
distribution if the City could not make the full Normal Cost
contribution. Mr. Taylor entertained many questions from Council and
urged Council to apply for the State Funds should they decide to
contribute funds.
Mayor
Wilson then recognized Kathy Elliott of the Region II Planning and
Development Council. Ms. Elliott stated that with the completion of the
Point Pleasant Riverfront Park, the Final Performance Report and
Drawdown Application needed
to be approved. She spoke briefly of the forms that needed to be
completed and signed. J. Glenn Long made a motion to approve, sign and
submit the Final Performance Report and the Final Drawdown Application
(#15). Ronald R. Kapp added the second and the motion was approved
unanimously.
Next,
Mayor Wilson recognized Greg Herrick and Tom Mignery of Burgess and
Niple Inc. Mr. Herrick explained that they were present to provide
follow-up information on grant applications for the study of
Brownfield’s. Mr. Herrick explained that the old Malleable Iron
property might be a viable project for which to seek funding. Mr.
Herrick introduced Mr. Mignery who specializes in Brownfield
remediation. Mr. Mignery
explained what Brownfield’s were and what could be done to make those
properties an asset to the community again. He stated that
Brownfield’s were typically abandoned industrial or chemical
facilities with either real or perceived contamination issues. He
explained that there was Federal Environmental Protection Agency Grant
money available to do site assessment work to determine what remedial
work would need to be done to the property. He stated that the
assessment grants were designed to identify hazards and the remediation
grants were for the actual site clean-up. He added that once all
remediation work was done under federal guidelines, the property would
then be given a clean certificate from the EPA. He stated that the Site Assessment Grant was a $200,000.00 grant
that required no matching funds from the City. Mr. Mignery answered
questions from Council and asked that Council consider Burgess and Niple
Inc. to assist the City with the grant application process should the
City chose to apply for funding.
The
Mayor asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Council
meeting of July 11, 2005. Ronald R. Kapp moved to approve and Robert C.
Doeffinger added the second. The minutes were approved unanimously. The
Mayor then asked for a motion to approve the Consolidated Income
(Financial) Statement of the General, Water and Sewer and Coal Severance
Funds for the month of July 2005. J. Glenn Long moved to approve the
statement and Ronald R. Kapp added the second and the motion was
unanimously approved. The
Mayor then asked for a motion to approve the Outstanding Obligations for
the month of July 2005. J. Glenn Long made the motion and Ronald R. Kapp
added the second. The motion was unanimously approved.
Next
on the agenda was City Attorney James Casey. Jeremy Vickers was present
to represent the attorney’s office. Mayor Wilson explained that Mr.
Casey had presented an invoice in the amount of $17,310.00 for legal
fees associated with the arbitration of the dispute involving contractor
issues at the Riverfront Park. Mayor Wilson stated that he would set up
a Finance Committee meeting to discuss the invoice and other issues.
Clerk
Burdette explained that the City had contributed $20,000.00 to the
Police Pension Fund thus far since September of last year (2004). Mr.
Burdette explained that the State Funds for Fiscal Year 2002 would
expire at the end of August. He asked Council if the City would want to
contribute any additional funds to the Pension Plan in order to capture
additional State funding. M. Leota Sang made a motion to contribute an
additional $10,000.00 for a total of $30,000.00. William H. Wallace
added the second. Clerk Burdette explained that the City would then be
entitled for a percentage of State matching funds in the approximate
amount of $25,656.69. After a short discussion, the motion was
unanimously approved.
Clerk
Burdette the presented the 2nd and final reading of an
Ordinance to rezone 2807 Jackson Avenue from R-2 to B-3. J. Glenn Long
made a motion to adopt the Ordinance and Ronald R. Kapp added the
second. In discussion, M. Leota Sang stated that she would like for the
City to have a plan for the future of the City. She added that she was
not comfortable with spot-zoning businesses in the City. The motion
passed 4-1 with M. Leota Sang casting the opposing vote.
Next
on the agenda was Mayor Wilson. Mayor Wilson presented a Proclamation
declaring August 16, 2005 as Ed Lowe Recognition Day. Mayor Wilson read
the Proclamation and informed Council of the many hours that Mr. Lowe
had volunteered to help make the City a better place to live and work.
The Mayor referred to Mr. Lowe as a “Super Volunteer”. He added that
the City, in conjunction the Main Street Committee, would host a
ceremony and reception at noon on the 16Th of August at the
Riverfront Park.
The
Mayor stated that the Riverfront Park Committee had met and was working
on getting Phase II of the project started.
The
Mayor stated that he had met with the Battle Days Committee and they
asked that vendors providing educational or entertainment oriented
services not be required to get a business/ vendor license. The
committee felt that the cost of the license was a deterrent to
participation at the event. Ronald R. Kapp made a motion that vendors
providing an educational or entertainment function for one of the City
non-profit groups not be required to get a business/vendor license.
Robert C. Doeffinger added the second and the motion was approved
unanimously.
The
Mayor then presented an agreement to extend the contract with Mason
County Public Service District (MCPSD) for additional six months. The
Mayor explained that the agreement was for the City to provide
contracted technical services for the MCPSD Camp Conley Sewer System for
a fee of $600.00 per month. Robert C. Doeffinger made a motion to
approve the extension and William H. Wallace added the second. The
motion was unanimously approved.
The
Mayor informed Council that the City Enforcement Agency had met and had
completed paperwork and sent notices to address two distressed
properties. One property is located along Viand Street and the other is
situated along 22nd Street.
The
Mayor stated that the WV Department of Natural Resources had contacted
him about the possibility that funds might be available to pave the boat
launch facility. He presented a letter from the Corps of Engineers that
indicated they had no objection to the paving as long as the lease
agreement was adhered to.
The
Mayor informed Council that he had been notified that the City should
receive $35,000.00 Budget Digest Funding in the upcoming year for a new
roof on the Krodel Clubhouse, transportation vehicle for use at
Riverfront Park and other improvement at Krodel Park. William H. Wallace
added that Senator Charles Lanham was able to secure Budget Digest Funds
for the upcoming 2006 Sternwheel Regatta also.
In
Council Concerns, William H. Wallace stated that he had been observing
the traffic flow in the Third Street area since the street returned to
two-way traffic. He stated there were some problems that needed to be
addressed. He added that it may be necessary to install stop signs at
the intersection of Third and Main Streets. The Mayor asked Mr. Wallace
to have a Street Committee meeting to address the issue along with the
Parrish Avenue dispute. The Mayor added that he would have a temporary
stop sign installed to further study the traffic-flow in the area.
M.
Leota Sang stated that Mr. Jim Wood of the WV State Planning Commission
would come to the City and provide a training seminar regarding
municipal planning in exchange for travel expenses. She added that she
was upset at the condition of the cemeteries especially since a cemetery
fee was now being charged.
J.
Glenn Long stated that if the City wanted to address the Malleable Iron
property, a decision should be made as soon as possible. After a lengthy
discussion, Mr. Long made a motion to hire Burgess and Niple Inc. to
assist the City in preparing an EPA Brownfield Assessment Grant for the
Malleable Iron and adjacent properties. Robert C. Doeffinger added the
second and the motion was unanimously approved.
There being no other business, J. Glenn Long moved to adjourn the
meeting and William H. Wallace added the second. The meeting was
adjourned at 9:45 P.M. by unanimous vote.
_______________________________James
H.
Wilson,
Mayor
______________________________Stanton
D.
Burdette,
City
Clerk
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