Regular Council Meeting Thursday, January 2, 2003 Roll Call: John Synodinos present, Dave France present, Dave Smith present, Robert Martin Sr. present, Beth Rupert present. Officials: Mayor Robert E. Cochrun absent, Solicitor Christopher D. Becker present, Clerk Treasurer Mike Payne present, Administrator Gary R. Folden present. Moment of Silence Pledge of Allegiance Solicitor Chris Becker explained that Council could hold a meeting without the Mayor or a president of Council but they needed to appoint a temporary president of Council to begin the meeting. He said after that Council members could then vote on a permanent Council president for 2003. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Robert Martin Sr. to nominate Dave Smith as temporary Council president. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Dave France to approve the minutes from the Regular Council meeting held on December 19, 2002. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. abstained, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 4-0 with 1 abstention. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Dave France to nominate Dave Smith as Council president. Motion by Beth Rupert to nominate Dave France as Council president for 2003 (no second required). Motion by John Synodinos, second by Dave France to close the nominations for Council president for 2003. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. Yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Vote on nomination of Dave Smith for Council president. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert nay. Dave Smith elected Council President by a 4-1 vote. New Business None. Persons Appearing Before Council Chief Laman distributed a handout to Council members that compared the amount Police officers received for working Holidays compared to other Village employee who were called out to work Holidays. He said that the extra $534 of vacation pay given to his officers for Holiday pay in the 1980's only amounted to approximately $66 extra for each Holiday they worked (based on the average officer working 8 of the 12 holidays each year). Chief Laman said that this $66 is much lower in comparison to what other Village employees receive when they are required to work on a holiday. He said that he would like his officers who work a holiday to receive an extra four hours of pay whenever they are required to work a holiday. Chris Becker explained the options that the Village had in paying Police officers. He also said that the current option the Village had chosen was to pay overtime to Police officers only when they worked over 171 hours within a 28-day period. (This method is currently in the process of being changed through an ordinance to pay overtime on each two-week pay after 85.5 hours worked (one-half of 171.) Beth Rupert asked what it would cost if Police officers were paid overtime all year round like any other Village employee? John Synodinos said that this type of discussion should take place at a Committee meeting. Dave France said that changes to employees wages should take place whenever the budget for the year is taking place. Mike Payne and Chief Laman agreed to meet and work up the overtime costs for the Holiday pay requested by Chief Laman as well as what it would cost if overtime was paid to Police officers just like all other employees. Reading of Ordinance and/or Resolutions Ordinance 2002-26: An Ordinance increasing the Police Clothing allowance was read for the 2nd time. Ordinance 2002-27: An Ordinance changing the work period for the Police officers was read for the 2nd time. Reports, Announcements and Communications Dave Smith read the 2002 annual Magistrate Report. Dave Smith read the Magistrate report for the month of December 2002. Dave Smith read the Building inspectors report for the month of December 2002. Committee Reports Motion by Dave France, second by John Synodinos to approve the budget transfers submitted by Clerk Treasurer Mike Payne. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Clerk Treasurer Mike Payne briefly reviewed the year-end financial reports that had been distributed to Council members. Administrator's Report None Old Business John Synodinos asked the Administrator's to follow up with coordinating a meeting between the residents of Sam's Way and the Contractor of homes built in the subdivision of the road to discuss their complaints with the progress of installing a proper roadway. Beth Rupert asked if the Village was able to get Village vehicles down this road? Gary Folden said that this had not been a problem. Chief Laman said that he could issue a nuisance citation against the contractor because of the amount of mud being brought up from the bottom of the new subdivision. Beth Rupert asked who was responsible to make sure future planning commission meeting's records were being kept? John Synodinos said that for some time the meetings have been taped. Robert Martin Sr. asked the Administrator how the Village was progressing on the construction of a new garage? Gary Folden said that the Village had "Switched gears" on the direction of this project and that he would be getting back to obtaining information on the costs of different construction methods. Beth Rupert asked Council Members how they would like to conduct interviews for the vacant Council position? John Synodinos said that previously Council had interviewed applicants behind closed doors. He said that he would like to repeat the same process even though the newspaper had given the Village some "Flak" over this approach. Dave France said he thought that the interviews should be held in an open public meeting. He said that the public had a right to hear the candidate's qualifications and to view Council's decision-making process. Chris Becker said that he had issued an opinion on this matter and would review that opinion and let Gary Folden know what his previous research had uncovered on this area. Robert Martin Sr. said that candidates may not want all of their personal business aired in public. Beth Rupert suggested that the Village have a Special Meeting and schedule staggered times for each candidate to come in to meet with Council. Council then agreed to wait until the next regular Council meeting on January 16th to begin the meeting early enough to meet with each candidate individually in executive session. Gary Folden said that applicants would be notified in writing as to the time they should come in for their interview. Robert Martin Sr. asked what was new with the water situation. Gary Folden said that a document had been prepared to issue to the City of Steubenville, Jefferson County and Ohio Consumers Water officials to complete and return to the Village. He said that he expected that Dennis O'Toole, Chris Becker and himself to have a recommendation of which entity the Village should contractually proceed with sometime in February 2003. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Robert Martin to pay bills as funds become available. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by John Synodinos to adjourn. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Next Regularly scheduled meeting is Thursday, January 16, 2003. The time of the start of the meeting may depend on the number of applicants for the vacant Council position. Mike Payne,Clerk/Treasurer Robert E. Cochrun, Mayor