Regular Council Meeting Thursday, January 3, 2008 Mayor Bob Gale called the meeting to order. Roll Call: Robert Cochrun present, Jason Mattern present, Robert Martin Sr. present, Phyllis Foreman present, Thomas Bottorf present. Officials: Mayor Bob Gale present, Solicitor Christopher D. Becker present, Clerk Treasurer Mike Payne present, Administrator Walt Ziemba present. Moment of Silence Pledge of Allegiance Reading of Minutes Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Robert Martin Sr. to approve the minutes from the December 20, Regular Council Meeting as corrected. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern abstained, Phyllis Foreman abstained. Motion passed 3-0, 2 abstentions. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Robert Cochrun to approve the minutes from the December 26, 2007 Special Council Meeting. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf abstained, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea. Motion passed 4-0, 1 abstention. Motion by Phyllis Foreman, second by Jason Mattern to appoint Robert Merriman to fill the vacant Council seat previously held by Bob Gale. Vote: Robert Cochrun nay, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea. Motion passed 4-1. Mayor Bob Gale swore in new Councilperson Robert Merriman. Mayor Bob Gale thanked all the 7 residents who had applied for the open seat. Mayor Bob Gale announced that he would allow any resident to come forward during the "Persons Appearing Before Council" part of the meeting even if they were not on the agenda. He said that at the end of each meeting only those who wanted to make positive comments would be allowed to speak before Council. Reading of Ordinances and/or Resolutions Ordinance 2007-28: An Ordinance regarding Engine Breaking was read for the second time. Motion by Robert Cochrun, second by Jason Mattern to waive the third reading of Ordinance 2007-28. Clerk Treasurer Mike Payne reminded Council members that the auditors had previously cautioned the Village to limit the waiving of the second and/or third readings of Ordinances to true emergency or time related matters. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Ordinance 2007-28: An Ordinance regarding Engine Breaking was read for the third time. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Robert Cochrun to approve Ordinance 2007-28. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Reports, Announcements and Communications Mayor Bob Gale read the Annual Magistrate report for 2007. Mayor Bob Gale read the December 2007 Magistrate, Code Enforcement, and Police Reports. Mayor Bob Gale asked for nomination for 2008 Council President. Thomas Bottorf nominated Jason Mattern. Robert Martin Sr. nominated himself. Robert Cochrun nominated himself. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Jason Mattern to close the nominations. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Voting for Council President Jason Mattern received 3 Votes (Jason Mattern, Thomas Bottorf, Robert Merriman) Robert Martin Sr. received 2 Votes (Robert Martin Sr., Phyllis Foreman) Robert Cochrun received 1 Vote (Robert Cochrun) Solicitor Chris Becker was asked if three votes were enough to elect a Council President. Chris Becker said that he did not know the answer, so Mayor Bob Gale asked for a five minute recess to allow the Solicitor time to research this question. After the recess, Chris Becker said he still was unsure of the answer to the question whether a Council President could be elected with the current voting. Robert Cochrun said that he would like to change his vote for Council President to Robert Martin Sr. Mayor Bob Gale cast the tie breaking vote for Robert Martin Sr. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Robert Cochrun to approve the revised rules of Council for 2008. Thomas Bottorf questioned the front of the rules of Council that all members had because it had not been updated to read 2008 instead of 2007 Rules of Council. Mayor Bob Gale said that the revisions had been made that had been previously discussed but that Tammy had just forgot to correct the cover page. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Mayor Bob Gale asked Robert Martin Sr. if he was ready to announce his committee assignments or if he would wait until the next meeting. Robert Martin Sr. said that he would announce them at the next Council Meeting. Mayor Bob Gale said that no Committees should meet until the new committees were announced. Mayor Bob Gale said that Boy Scout Troop 401 had written a letter stating that they would like to see a swimming pool constructed in the Village. Mayor Bob Gale announced that the Committees that are normally appointed by the Mayor would be forth coming and that Council also needed to select one of its members to be on the Planning Commission. He also said that the terms of members of the Planning Commission needed to be properly staggered and that members should be selected for 6 year term, with a new member selected in 2008, 2010, 2012 to get back on the required path. Administrator's Report Walt Ziemba said that Council members had information in their packet regarding the New Public Records Law and the requirement for annual training. Mayor Bob Gale said that Jefferson Community College may also be holding training on this topic. Mayor Bob Gale suggested that Council approve paying only for 6 months of the membership fees to Progress Alliance, and that during those 6 months he would begin participating in their meeting to see if the Village was benefiting from the membership. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Robert Cochrun to pay Progress Alliance half the annual dues in the amount of $2500 instead of the annual amount of $5000 and to determine after the 6 months whether the Village should continue to participate with the organization. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Mayor Bob Gale said he would write a letter to send with the $2500 payment explaining the Village's position on the membership. Walt Ziemba told Council that a hearing on the annexations requested to the Village would take place March 27, 2008 at 11:00 AM. Walt Ziemba said that he would like to request a water and sewer committee meeting to discuss several issues. Walt Ziemba told Council that they had in their packets a copy of an inspection report from the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District regarding the Long Term Acute Care Facility and that a follow-up inspection would be done on January 11, 2008. Unfinished Business Walt Ziemba said that a letter on the final telemetry costs had been sent out to Jack Gilmore to review. New Business Jason Mattern asked if Council would be nominating someone for citizen of the year. He also asked about collecting and changing keys from former employees and officials. Mayor Bob Gale said that the key issue was a security and safety issue that would be discussed in an executive session. Council members agreed that nominations for Citizen of the year would be taken at the second meeting in February and that a selection would be made at the first meeting in March. Jason Mattern said that he thought the interviewing process for the open Council Seat went well and that a lot of good ideas were discussed at those interviews. Thomas Bottorf thanked all those who interviewed for the Council position and said that he thought that having Robert Merriman was a good addition to Council since he was a Wintersville Business Owner. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Jason Mattern to contract with Drane to get the Village Ordinances online and to update them at least semi annually. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Robert Martin Sr. to approve the transfers and increases in appropriations as prepared by the Clerk Treasurer for 2007 and 2008. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Payment of Bills None. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Robert Martin Sr. to go into executive session to discuss several pending litigation matters. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Robert Martin Sr. to return to regular session. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Robert Martin Sr. to authorize the Solicitor to obtain legal council to represent the Village in a suit against the Village that had been filed in Pennsylvania at a cost not to exceed $2500. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Robert Cochrun to adjourn. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea, Jason Mattern yea, Phyllis Foreman yea, Robert Merriman yea. Motion passed 6-0. Next Regularly scheduled meeting is January 17, 2008 at 7:00 PM. Disclaimer: These are a draft of the minutes and not deemed official until approved by Council. Mike Payne, Clerk Treasurer Bob Gale, Mayor