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 July 11,
2005.
M.
Leota Sang 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 introduced Krodel Campground Director Pat Sallaz. Ms. Sallaz
presented the year-end campground report. She stated that the campground
had visitors from as far away as California and Alaska. She reported
that total receipts for the year were $66,387.50. She added that the
City would be adding three additional pull-thru overnight camping
spaces. Ms. Sallaz presented Council with the new campground brochure
that she and Mr. Sallaz designed. In closing, Ms. Sallaz stated that the
mowing at the campground had improved and looked nice. Carol L. Jones
stated that the City may need to look at adding additional restroom
facilities to the campground. Elaine G. Hunt added that there were
picnic tables in need of repair at the park. Also, she stated that the
lifeguards at the paddle boats should patrol around the lake to watch
the boaters as well as children fishing.
The
Mayor recognized June Price, Kingtown Area resident, who had concerns
that a property owner in Kingtown was building on City property. She
stated that she was a previous owner of the property in question and the
present owner was building an addition to a church on City property. The
Mayor said that he had looked at the property in question and suggested
that the party building the structure have the property surveyed to make
sure they were not building on City property. The Mayor instructed the
City Attorney to send a formal letter to the property owner to resolve
the matter. There were also concerns raised that the party was building
in a floodplain and it may not meet code thus making the County
ineligible for Federal Emergency Management Assistance (FEMA) funding.
Carolyn
Denny, also a Kingtown resident, asked if the area was going to get City
sewer service and more
street lights. She also raised concerns about City employees using City
vehicles for personal use. She also asked about the installation of
speed bumps in the area to control speeders. The Mayor stated he would
check into the issues.
The
Mayor then recognized Ronald R. Kapp who spoke on behalf of the Planning
Commission. Mr. Kapp presented a request from Amy Baena to rezone 2807
Jackson Avenue from R-2 to B-3. Mr. Kapp stated that the Planning
Commission approved the request and recommended Council rezone the
property. Carol L. Jones stated that she was not against business but
the application did not state what kind of business was going in. Mr.
Kapp stated that the owner wanted to rezone the property in order that
she could sell it as a business property. Janet Hartley of Homestead
Realty was present and stated that there was a sales contract on the
property contingent on the property being rezoned. Potential buyer, Joey
Wilcoxen, stated that he was informed by the City Inspector that the
property was zoned for business.
He stated that he was informed later that it was zoned residential. Robert C. Doeffinger stated that he thought the request was an
Ordinance change and needed two readings. After a lengthy discussion,
Ronald R. Kapp made a motion to accept the Planning Commission
recommendation and approve the first reading of an Ordinance to rezone
the property at 2807 Jackson Avenue from R-2 to B-3. William H. Wallace
added the second the first reading was approved 5-1 with Carol L. Jones
casting the opposing vote. Ms. Jones stated that she was not against
business but felt as if the property should be purchased and the new
owner apply for the zoning change.
Ronald
R. Kapp then presented a request from Charles Roush to rezone his
property at 3312 Franklin Avenue from R-2 to B-2 for the purpose of
building storage units. Mr Kapp stated that the Planning Commission
denied the request and recommended Council do the same as there was not
enough space to do what Mr Roush wanted. Ronald R. Kapp made a motion
that Council accept the recommendation of the Planning Commission and
deny the request to rezone. William H. Wallace added the second and the
request to rezone was denied unanimously.
Mayor
Wilson then introduced Scott Perfater of Burgess and Niple Inc. Mr.
Perfater gave Council a brief overview of where the City was with
respect to the North Point Drainage Project. He presented preliminary
funding information that indicated that the sewer rates would need to be
increased in order for the City to qualify for low-interest loans to
fund the project. He added that the figures were tied to the
median-income of the residents living in the City. It was decided that
Mr. Perfater would attend the next meeting of the Sewer Committee.
The
Mayor asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Council
meeting of June 13, 2005. Ronald R. Kapp moved to approve and Robert C.
Doeffinger added the second. The minutes were approved by majority with
M. Leota Sang abstaining. Ronald R. Kapp made a motion to approve the
minutes of the Special Council meeting of June 6, 2005. William H.
Wallace added the second and the motion met with majority approval with
M. Leota Sang abstaining. Ronald R. Kapp then made a motion to approve
the minutes of the Special Council meeting of June 29, 2005. Carol L.
Jones added the second and the motion was unanimously approved. 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 2005. William H. Wallace moved to approve the
statement and Carol L. Jones added the second. In discussion, it was
noted that the statements were in a different form from the ones in the
past. The new statements are generated directly from the accounting
software that the City uses. After discussion, the statements were
approved unanimously. The Mayor then asked for a motion to approve the
Outstanding Obligations for the month of June 2005. Ronald R. Kapp made
the motion and William H. Wallace added the second. The motion was
unanimously approved.
Next
on the agenda was City Attorney James Casey. Mr. Casey stated that
Jeremy Vickers went with the Mayor to Philadelphia to attend a meeting
regarding the old landfill near the WV Ordinance Works (TNT) area. The
Mayor explained that the City leased a parcel of property from the
County between 1974 and 1984 for the purpose of operating a landfill. He
explained that during the EPA Superfund clean-up of the old Ordinance
Works, it was discovered that there were contaminants in the old
landfill. The Mayor stated that it was a preliminary meeting between
major parties that were involved or dumped material in the landfill. He
added that the EPA was looking for an entity to take charge and oversee
clean up of the area.
Next
on the agenda was City Clerk Stanton D. Burdette. Clerk Burdette
presented the second and final reading of an Ordinance approving the new
Codified Ordinances of the City of Point Pleasant. Ronald R. Kapp made a
motion to Adopt the second and final reading and Robert C. Doeffinger
added the second. The motion was unanimously approved.
Clerk
Burdette then presented information on the Police Pension Fund. He
stated that the City had contributed $20,000.00 to the fund since last
September when it was voted on to contribute $2,000.00 per month. Mr.
Burdette stated that although the City was not contributing the amount
designated in the Actuary Report, the City would still be eligible for a
percentage of State Funds. Clerk Burdette reported that the Actuarial
Study showed that the City needed to contribute approximately $85,000.00
per year for the next 28 years to fully fund the pension plan. Mr.
Burdette stated that there would be a representative from the WV State
Treasurers office available for the August Council meeting to explain in
more detail the pension plan funding and to answer any questions Council
may have. In closing, Clerk Burdette stated that it would have to be
decided how much the City would contribute to the plan this year at that
meeting in order for him to meet the deadline to apply for the State
funds.
Next
on the agenda was Mayor Wilson. Mayor Wilson informed Council that the
WV Municipal League Conference would be in August and he needed to know
how many Council members would be attending in order to make hotel
reservations.
Mayor
Wilson then asked for a motion to approve the yearly $300.00 donation to
the Farmers Market for the Chilifest. Ronald R. Kapp moved to approve
the donation and Robert C. Doeffinger added the second. The donation was
unanimously approved.
In
Council Concerns, Elaine G. Hunt stated that the Police Committee had
met with the Police. She stated that the Police Department had addressed
most of the issues that the committee had. She added that the evening of
the meeting, there was a man working on the computer system in the City
Building with no other City Official or employee present.
William
H. Wallace stated that Whitney Scarberry was crowned the 2005 Point
Pleasant Regatta Queen. Mr. Wallace thanked Council, City Officials,
employees and anyone who helped with the Regatta. He added that with the
kind of help he receives from the City, it makes his job as Chairman of
the Regatta Committee a lot easier.
Robert
C. Doeffinger stated that there were still holes in the sidewalk on Main
Street from utility pole replacement that needed to be repaired. The Mayor stated that he had tried to contact Verizon about the
matter. Mr. Doeffinger also asked if any estimates had been gotten for
the paving of Main Street. The Mayor stated that he had applied for
Budget Digest money for the project but had received no information thus
far.
M.
Leota Sang presented copies of a letter she had written in response to a
letter from the Board of the Point of Hope transitional living house
that was presented to Council in June. Also she had copies of letters
she had sent to the City Inspector regarding problems in her Ward that
needed to be corrected. She stated she had no response from the
Inspector regarding the status of the issues. She added that with the
recent “Letters to the Editor” regarding the drug problem and other
issues in the City, she felt that maybe an open meeting with the Police
Department and the public would be helpful. The department would be able
to have direct interaction with Council and the community. Ms. Sang also
expressed concern over the juveniles loitering in the City. Regarding
the controversy over recent rezoning issues, Ms. Sang stated that the
City needed a legal ruling as to how Council could correctly rezone
property. She added that the same problems would arise again and she
wanted to do what was right. Carol L. Jones added that she would like
the WV planning Commission to clarify the issue.
There
being no other business, William H. Wallace moved to adjourn the meeting
and M. Leota Sang added the second. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20
P.M. by unanimous vote.
_______________________________ James
H.
Wilson,
Mayor
______________________________Stanton
D.
Burdette,
City
Clerk
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