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 March 7, 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.
City
resident Butch Greenlee stated for the record that he would be tape
recording the meeting and asked if there were any objections.
Mayor
Wilson recognized Darlene Haer of the Riverfront Park Committee. Ms.
Haer presented an invoice from Woolpert,LLC in the amount of $2,640.00.
The invoice represented design work done on the picnic shelter and
marina. She added that one-half of the money would come from TEA-21 3rd year funds and the remaining half would come from the WV Economic
Development Authority Grant Committee funds. J. Glenn Long made the
motion to approve payment and Robert C. Doeffinger added the second. The
motion was passed unanimously.
Mayor
Wilson then recognized Charlie Powell. Mr. Powell is the General Manager
of the American Electric Power Company Mountaineer Plant in New Haven
West Virginia. Mr. Powell introduced Chris Long who gave a slide
presentation on the $500,000,000.00 Scrubber installation project at the
plant. The presentation was very informative and was followed by
questions from those present.
Mayor
Wilson then excused himself from the next portion of the meeting due to
having personal financial involvement. He turned the meeting over to
City Clerk, Stanton D. Burdette. Mr. Burdette stated that the issue
before Council was a zoning change request for property owned by CWF,LLC. The request was made so that the property may be sold to
Farmers Bank for the purpose of building a new bank there. The Planning
Commission approved the request and recommended to Council that the
property located at 1716 Jefferson Boulevard and the adjacent lots be
rezoned from R-2 to B-2. That petition was denied at the January 11,
2005 Council Meeting and tabled at the February 7th Council
Meeting. Clerk Burdette recognized Ronald R. Kapp of the Planning
Commission. Mr. Kapp stated that the Planning Commission was still
recommending that the property be re-zoned. Robert C. Doeffinger stated
that he felt any action on the issue would be out of line. He stated
that the section of the West Virginia Code (WV 8-24-22) that the
Planning Commission was using as its guide in the process had been
repealed. He stated that he felt the commissions’ interpretation of
the comprehensive plan was in error. Ronald R. Kapp then made a motion
to accept the Planning Commissions’ recommendation and rezone the
property from R-2 to B-2. Kevin R. Nott added the second. An in-depth
discussion followed as to whether the proper code was being followed.
Carol L. Jones and Robert C. Doeffinger presented City attorney James M.
Casey with sections of the new code. J. Glenn Long made a motion to
recess so that Mr. Casey could review the papers. Kevin R. Nott added
the second and the recess was approved unanimously. Clerk Burdette
called the meeting back to order after the recess. He then recognized
the City Attorney. Mr. Casey stated that the former WV 8-24-22 and WV 8-24-23 had been rewritten and recodified as WV
8A-3-10 and WV 8A-3-11. He stated that he felt the correct process was
being followed; Council denied the initial Planning Commission
recommendation and gave reasons why, the Planning Commission reviewed
and resubmitted the request, the Governing Body then has 45 days to act
on the amendment to the comprehensive plan. Mr. Casey stated that his
interpretation was that proper procedure was being followed according to
WV 8A-3-10 and 8A-3-11. Robert C. Doeffinger stated that he was in
disagreement with Mr. Casey’s interpretation. City Resident Buster
Riffle was recognized and he also was in disagreement with the
interpretation. Mr. Casey again stated that the request was properly
before Council. Clerk Burdette then allowed the citizens wishing to be
heard an opportunity to speak. Dallas Kayser spoke on behalf of Farmers
Bank and stated the Bank chose the location for lot size. He stated the
bank had looked for a suitable location for over three years and this
was the only location available. He stated the bank would be a beautiful
facility and a good neighbor to the City. Buster Riffle stated that he
felt WV Code 8A-3-11 dealt with the issue and it should not be up for
another vote as it had been previously rejected by Council. Charlie Cook
stated that he felt the citizens should have a bigger voice in planning
issues. He said that he thought that if the citizens voiced there
opinion in opposition, then the Planning Commission should vote with the
citizens. Mr. Cook stated that he wanted copies of the legal notice and
minutes of the Planning Commission meetings dealing with this issue.
Gary Cotton, one of the property owners, stated that he had been
approached by several people wanting to buy the property. Some of the
individuals wanted to open Video Lottery establishments. He stated that
he felt that a bank would be the perfect fit for the property. Larry
Butler stated that he did not want to see a bank go there as there were
too many other locations that a bank could be put. Butch Greenlee stated
that he wanted residential areas to remain residential. Wilma Withers
stated that she would like to see Farmers Bank locate in Point Pleasant.
She added that the City Council had probably been negligent in not
working harder to find a suitable location for the bank. She stated
concerns about the flow of traffic from the proposed bank. She added
that City Council previously re-zoned another area from R-2 to B-2 with
restrictions. She stated that the City does not check up to see that the
restrictions are being complied with. LuAnn Hussell stated that she was
in favor of new businesses coming to the City. Ms. Hussell stated that
she had been associated with nearby Crow-Hussell Funeral Home since 1963
and that traffic was a problem in this area. She also asked how many
times the issues can be sent back before Council for another vote.
William H. Wallace stated that he did not feel good about voting on the
issue with so much confusion. He added that he would feel better if a
third party would make a ruling on the Code. Robert C. Doeffinger stated he felt that the issue was an
Ordinance change and required two readings. Mr. Casey stated that the
issue had appeared before Council before and therefore it would be the
second reading before Council now. M. Leota Sang stated that she would
like to have the interpretation in writing so as to read and digest the
information. The City Clerk asked Mr. Casey what the recourse would be
if the Council voted on the issue based on his interpretation and it was
found to be incorrect. Mr. Casey replied that it would be subject to
judicial review. William H. Wallace stated that he would like to see a
piece of paper that said this is the law. After a heated debate, Ronald
R. Kapp called for a vote on his motion. He restated his motion “to
accept the Planning Commission recommendation to rezone the property
owned by CWF,LLC from R-2 to B-2 for the purpose of constructing a bank.
Robert C. Doeffinger asked if the motion to pass was without a second
reading and Mr. Kapp replied yes. The motion to rezone the property was
passed 5-4 with Kevin R. Nott, Ronald R. Kapp, William H. Wallace, James
W. Fetty and J. Glenn Long voting favorably. Those voting in opposition
to the change were Carol L. Jones, Elaine G. Hunt, Robert C. Doeffinger
and M. Leota Sang. Those voting in opposition also stated that they were
voting in protest as they did not feel like the issue should have been
before Council. When questioned, Mr. Casey stated for the record that
this was the final vote and there were no other hearings needed. M.
Leota Sang stated that she wanted in writing what took place in the
meeting. Carol L. Jones asked Mr. Casey if the first reading took place
at the February 7, 2005 meeting. Mr. Casey stated that this was the vote
on the recommendation from the Planning Commission that was laid over
from the last Council Meeting. A short recess then followed.
Mayor
Wilson called the meeting back to order. The Mayor asked for a motion to
approve the minutes of the Regular Council meeting of February 7, 2005.
Carol L. Jones stated that she felt the February meeting was illegal as,
in her opinion, there was no quorum present. She added that according to
the Charter, the only time the Mayor can vote is in the event of a tie.
She stated since there were no ties, there was not a quorum present to
vote. Mr. Casey stated that by his interpretation, the Mayor is counted
as a part of Council in constituting a quorum. Carol L. Jones also
expressed concern over bills being paid before Council approval. The Mayor stated that this had already been addressed in a
previous meeting. Wilma Withers asked to be recognized. She asked if it
were just the utility bills being paid before Council approval. Clerk
Burdette replied that the types of bills approved for payment before a
vote were in previous Council Minutes. He added that they included the
water bond payment, sewer bond payment, police cruiser leases, and
electric bills and the recurring bills that come due the first of each
month. Clerk Burdette stated that he had contacted the auditor of the
City and the State Auditor’s office and was told that the Council
could vote to pay these types of bills before they become delinquent. Ronald R. Kapp made a motion to approve and Kevin R. Nott added
the second. The motion to approve passed 5-4 with Doeffinger, Hunt, Sang
and Jones opposing. 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 February 2005. J. Glenn
Long made a motion to approve and Robert C. Doeffinger added the second.
Being no discussion, the motion passed 8-1 with Carol L. Jones opposed.
The Mayor then asked for a motion to approve the Outstanding Obligations
for the month of February 2005. Kevin R. Nott made the motion and J.
Glenn Long added the second. Being no discussion, the motion passed 8-1
with Carol L. Jones opposed.
Finance
Director Ron Siders reported that the Audit had been completed and was
available for Council review. Mr. Siders added that all financial
records were available for anyone wishing to review them. He also stated
for the record that the monthly bills were not being paid any
differently than when he was hired in 2001.
Next
on the agenda was City attorney James Casey. Mr. Casey stated that the
Riverfront Park Arbitration had been rescheduled and would take place in
late April. He stated that he was reviewing the procedure as to how to
change the traffic flow on 3rd street from one-way to two-way
to accommodate the request of the new Bennigan’s Restaurant. The Mayor
added that the lawyer from Dupont had been in contact with him regarding
the water contamination lawsuits. The Mayor informed Mr. Casey that the
lawyers would be contacting him.
Next
on the agenda was City Clerk Stanton D. Burdette. Clerk Burdette
presented a resolution stating that the City adopted the rules set forth
in setting up a Section 125 (cafeteria plan) to pass the employees
optional insurance policies through. Clerk Burdette explained that this
would be a tax advantage for the employees. Robert C. Doeffinger made a
motion to adopt the Resolution with amended language and Kevin R. Nott
added the second. The resolution was adopted unanimously.
The
Clerk stated that all Council members should have received a copy of the
budget. He stated that the proposed Budget for 2005-2006 would need to
be sent to the State soon. Robert C. Doeffinger made motion to have a
budget workshop on Wednesday March 9, 2005 at 6:00 P.M. Ronald R. Kapp
seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously. Ronald R. Kapp then
made a motion to have a Special Council meeting on Monday March 14, 2005
at 7:00 P.M. for the purpose of approving the proposed budget. Robert C.
Doeffinger added the second and the Special meeting was approved
unanimously. Mr. Burdette stated that he and the Mayor and Finance
Director had been working on the proposed budget and each had
recommendations to present to Council. The Mayor added that requests for
funds were coming in daily since the Mason County Commission had
announced reductions in funding. Carol L. Jones made a motion to freeze
spending on large items until the budget could be reviewed. Elaine G.
Hunt added the second. The motion was defeated 5-4 with Kapp, Nott,
Fetty, Wallace and Long voting in opposition.
Next
on the agenda was Mayor Wilson. Mayor Wilson informed Council that he
had received bids on trucks for the water and sewer departments. J.
Glenn Long made a motion to defer any action on vehicle purchases until
the next meeting. Robert C. Doeffinger added the second and the motion
was approved unanimously.
The
Mayor then made a recommendation that all the employees be given a
twenty-five cent an hour pay raise. M. Leota Sang made the motion to
give the pay raise and J. Glenn Long added the second. The pay raise was
approved unanimously.
The
Mayor informed Council that Lowell Wilkes was working with 2 agencies to
secure funding to pay for an architect to do deign work for Krodel Park.
The Mayor stated that would leave the City to cover one-third of the
costs.
The
Mayor then presented Council with a Resolution to encourage American
Electric Power Company to build the new power plant in Mason County.
Robert C. Doeffinger made a motion to adopt the Resolution and J. Glenn
Long added the second. The Resolution was adopted unanimously.
The
Mayor stated that “WV-Make It Shine Day” was set for April 16, 2005
and that the City normally purchases tee-shirts for the participants. He
estimated the costs of the shirts to be $700.00. Robert C. Doeffinger
made a motion to purchase the shirts and Kevin R. Nott added the second.
The purchase was approved unanimously.
The
Mayor announced that Region II Planning and Development Council and the
Great Kanawha Resource Conservation (RC&D) Agency could possibly
lose Federal funding in the upcoming year. They had asked the Mayor to
send a letter to Senators Byrd, Rockefeller and Congresswoman Capito
supporting the programs. J. Glenn Long made a motion to send the letters
and Kevin R. Nott added the second. The motion was passed unanimously.
In
Council concerns, William H. Wallace requested that gravel be spread at
winter camping area at Krodel Park. Robert C. Doeffinger asked if
anything could be done about the Yeager home on Main Street. Mr.
Doeffinger stated that the home was in a serious state of disrepair and
needed to be condemned. The Mayor stated that he would turn the matter
over to the Enforcement Agency. M. Leota Sang asked about the old
bowling alley property. The Mayor stated that a letter had been sent to
the property owner.
There
being no other business, Kevin R. Nott moved to adjourn the meeting and
J. Glenn Long 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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