Belpre City Council Minutes
The Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Belpre, Ohio was called to order by Council President Mr. Neff at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Neff called the roll with the following members present: Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Martin, Mrs. Miller, Mr. Newberry and Mr. Robinson present. Also present were Mayor Lorentz, City Auditor Miss Pittenger, City Law Director Mr. Webster, and Clerk of Council Mrs. Meredith. Absent from the February 10, 2014 meeting were Safety-Service Director Mr. Ferguson, Treasurer Miss Martin and Council person Ms. Abdella.
At this time, Mr. Neff asked that everyone please stand for the prayer and remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. The invocation was given by Mr. Neff.
A motion was made by Mrs. Marshall to accept the minutes of February 10, 2014 as presented and by-pass the reading. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Reports of City Officials
Mayor Lorentz’s Report:
Over the last two weeks we have been working with Buckeye Hills, and RCAP to continue to acquire funding for a sewer line toward Marietta. This coming Friday I will travel to Columbus with the Port Authority, Buckeye Hills Representatives, as well as Mr. Rauch from RCAP and the Ohio Water Development Authority. We will be applying for approximately 3 million dollars to proceed with this project.
Allohak Council held their annual Pinewood Derby on February 1st at Grand Central Mall. Mayor Newell, Mayor Rapp, Mayor Haught and I took part in the Mayor’s Race. Mayor Haught was the winner again this year.
With all the snow and ice over the past two weeks I want to publicly thank our Street Department employees for their diligent efforts at keeping our streets open and safe. We have received numerous complaints about snow ending up in driveways that had been cleaned out but, when only 3 vehicles at a time running I believe they did a very good job. We were fortunate enough today to receive a load of salt should the weather forecast hold true for late this week.
Our meeting with O.D.O.T. for the upcoming bridge approaches was cancelled. The re-schedule date is February 24th. Hopefully I will have a report at our next meeting.
Our Matt Bremar from the Water Department took part in the Polar Plunge at ParkersburgCityPark. Matt raised money for the Special Olympics and took the plunge on Saturday. We have pictures if anyone would like to view. Matt raised just about $300.00 for Special Olympics.
Mr. Ferguson is away for training most of this month. If you should need anything, please contact my office and I will try to tend to your needs or concerns.
It appears that the Kentucky Fried Chicken location will again be home to a restaurant. No specific at this time other than remodeling has started.
The owners of Napoli’s Restaurant contacted my office to let us know they have petitioned the state for Liquor license. The Waldeck family has always done a good job with cleanliness as adhering to the laws where alcohol is a concern. When this issue passes they intend to build a large banquet room on to the existing restaurant to accommodate large groups and or meetings. This it self will be quite an addition for our city.
Due to the numerous needs within our departments I would like to ask council to start the budget process soon so that equipment can be ordered and delivered in a timely manner. Two departments need mowers; pumps for the sewer department have a long delivery time as well as a vehicle for the police department.
Safety Service Director Mr. Ferguson was absent. No report was given in his absence.
City Auditor Miss Pittenger reported that each member has received a copy of the Utility Adjustment Report for the month of January. Copies have been placed in the back of the room for anyone in the audience wishing to have a copy. At this time Mrs. Marshall made a motion to accept the January Utility Adjustment Report as presented. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
City Law Director Mr. Webster reported that at the last meeting he reported that the Law Director’s Office received 7 Tax Bills. One of these bills is taxable to the city for a parcel of land that we are renting for the batting cages. The other six should be exempt. The Law Director’s Office has filed the proper paper work to the State Auditor’s Office requesting that these parcels of land become exempt. Also tonight I have the City of Belpre Summary for 2013 Criminal Files that are opened by the Law Director’s Office. The criminal files have been broken down by charge – totaling 146 files. In addition, we have listed the files by the different law enforcement agencies. Within the files there are numerous charges which require prosecution. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the report, please feel free to discuss with me.
Treasurer Miss Martin was absent. Miss Pittenger stated that each member of council should have received a Cash Report for the City of Belpre from Period 1 thru Period 1. A signed copy has been given to the Clerk for file. At this time Mrs. Marshall made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Cash Report as presented. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Communications and Petitions:
Mr. Neff announced that he had received notification that the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority Annual Meeting will be held on February 25, 2014 at 7:30 PM at WashingtonStateCommunity College.
Mr. Neff also shared positive comments that he had received regarding the snow removal.
At some point we will need to address the Cities Website.
Report of Standing Committee:
Ms. Abdella, Finance Audit Committee was absent. No report was given in her absence.
Mr. Gilbert had no report for Police and Fire Committee.
Mr. Martin had no report for Streets, Sidewalks & Storm Sewer Committee.
Mr. Robinson had no report for the Utilities Committee.
Mrs. Marshall had no report for the Parks and Recreation Committee.
Mr. Newberry had no report for Planning and Zoning Committee.
Mr. Newberry had no report for the Economic Development Committee.
Mrs. Miller had no report for the Rules Committee.
Persons Appearing Before Council – Agenda items only. None
Unfinished Business:
Mr. Gilbert brought before council for third reading A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SSD TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE BELPRE SENIOR CENTER. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Mr. Gilbert moved this be Resolution 1, 2014-2015 and duly passed. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Mrs. Marshall brought before council for third reading A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SSD TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE BLENNERHASSETT ISLAND HISTORICAL STATE PARK. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Mrs. Marshall moved this be Resolution 2, 2014-2015 and duly passed. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Mr. Newberry brought before council for third reading A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SUPPORT OF NAT’L CHURCH RESIDENCES APPLICATION FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDITS. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Mr. Newberry moved this be Resolution 3, 2014-2015 and duly passed. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Mr. Newberry brought before council for third reading A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SSD TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH THE WASHINGTON SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Mr. Newberry moved this be Resolution 4, 2014-2015 and duly passed. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
New Business:
Mr. Newberry brought before council for first reading AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CODIFIED FLOOD DAMAGE REDUCTION ORDINANCE. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye. This will lie over until the next meeting of council.
Persons Appearing Before Council:
Matthew Smith, Boy Scout Troop 117 from Lubeck stood before council and announced that he was with his troop this evening working on their Communication Merit Badge. The boys were ages 11-15.
Mr. Martin made a motion to excuse Ms. Abdella from this evening’s meeting. Ms. Abdella was absent due to family illness. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Miss Pittenger requested that a Committee Meeting be called for February 24, 2014 at 6:30 PM for the purpose of discussing the appropriations. She also requested that the clerk add to the agenda for February 24, 2014.