Martins Ferry City Council Meeting Minutes of October 5, 2022
Posted on: October 6, 2022
The Martins Ferry City Council met in Regular Session on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., at the Donald Myers Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order by Council President Kristine Davis with the Pledge of Allegiance recited by those present, followed by a prayer by the Clerk. Answering Roll Call were Bob Hunker, First Ward Council Member, Bruce Shrodes, Second Ward Council Member; Suzanne Armstrong, Third Ward Council Member; Rick Rodgers, Fourth Ward Council Member; Tom Burn and Jack Regis, Council at Large Members. Jim Schramm, Council at Large Member, told President Davis he was not able to attend this meeting.
Minutes: Minutes of the September 21, 2022 Regular Council Meeting were approved as written.
Correspondence: Correspondence was received from the Walter Drane Company they were shipping 14 sets of the 2022 Replacement Pages for the Martins Ferry Codified Ordinances. The internet will be updated soon. (These codified ordinances have already been placed on Council Members desks). The Ordinance, to adopt these replacement pages, will be acted on at the next Council Meeting after Council Members have had a chance to look through the pages.
Reports of Officers of the City:
Mayor: Mayor Davies gave permission for Jessa Lepic to speak during his report time. Ms. Lepic addressed Council regarding her qualifications and desire to be elected to the position of Belmont County Auditor in November. She then answered a few questions of Council.
The Mayor asked Council to approve the purchase of 2 low mileage SUVs for the EMS to transport patients. Cost would be approximately $50,000 and the American Rescue Money could be used for this purchase. The EMS would also like permission to sell their LifePac 10s which they no longer use.
Currently the city has between 80-100 tons of road salt. The 4-K Owners are permitting the city to store the salt inside one of their buildings (The Old Beans Foundry).
The paving on 6th Street, 8th Street, 9th Street and Crawford Heights is complete. The Mayor reviewed the rest of the scheduled paving projects. The Paving Company said they are able to work until the second week of November if the city would like to schedule additional paving projects. It is believed that the price of asphalt will increase by 10% next year.
The Police Contract has to be re-negotiated. The Mayor asked for a couple of Council Members to sit in on the negotiations. Council Members would not be able to negotiate but they could have input.
Unified Bank has donated $2,500 toward the cost of the Splash Pad (which will go into the Permanent Improvement Fund). The Mayor showed representative of Unified Bank the Splash Pad and said that he hoped to put artificial turf around the Pad. The Mayor mentioned to Mr. Everson, Bank President, that he would like to put artificial turf around the Pad which would cost around $2,750. Mr. Everson said the Bank would cover this cost. The Mayor praised the Bank for their phenomenal support of citywide projects.
Mr. Shrodes asked for an update on the auction for the city vehicles. Mr. Sutak said he is working on getting that organized. Hopefully the auction can be held at the end of this month or sometime in early November.
The Mayor said this week is Curbside Clean-Up for the city. He highly praised the city crews for their efforts in picking up the trash.
Discussion was held regarding the mine subsidence in the North Ridge, Hillendale and State Route 647. Mr. Sutak is searching for answers to this problem and wants to address it before it becomes a major issues.
Service Director: Mr. Sutak, Assistant Auditor Trish Headley, and Auditor Randall have looked over the budget to get some line items adjusted to get appropriations finalized and approved.
Mr. Sutak explained that since the city is able to store the road salt inside, the grit can be brought inside to be mixed with the salt. Because the salt will stay dry, it will retain more strength and work more efficiently to clear the snow and ice from the roads.
Safety Director: No report.
Auditor: No report.
Law Director: No report.
Police Department: No report.
Fire Department: No report.
Code Administrator: No report.
Park District: No report.
Water Department: No report.
Reports of Committees of Council:
Finance and Audit:
Street: No report.
Ordinance: No report.
Sewer/Sidewalk: No report.
Code Administration:
Safety: No report.
Service: No report.
Cemetery: No report.
Public Relations: No report.
Real Estate: No report.
Utility:
Income Tax: No report.
Citizens To Be Heard:
Richard Hord, 915 Virginia Street,
Ordinances and Resolutions:
This Resolution was given a First Reading.
A
AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF MARTINS
FERRY TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT FOR THE ZANE
HIGHWAY 12” WATERLINE CONNECTION TO AETNA
STREET BOOSTER STATION AND DECLARING AN
EMERGENC
Miscellaneous Business:
Mr. Regis made a motion to reflect Council has received reports from the Officers and Management, and to incorporate these reports into the minutes. Motion was seconded by Mr. Rodgers. After an affirmative voice vote, the motion passed.
Mr. Hunker moved to adjourn, which was seconded by Mr. Rodgers. After an affirmative voice vote, the motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 6:56 p.m. with a salute to the flag.
The next regular meeting of the Martins Ferry Council will be held on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. at the Donald Myers Council Chambers.
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Kay H. McFarlan, Clerk of Council Kristine Davis, Council President
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