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 at7:30 p.m.with Mr. Neff welcoming everyone to this evening’s meeting. The roll was called with the following members present: Ms. Abdella, Mrs. Marshall, Mr. Newberry, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Sinnett, and Mr. Wallace present. Also present were Mayor Lorentz, Safety-Service Director Mr. Ferguson, City Law Director Mr. Webster, Treasurer Mr. McAfee and Clerk of Council Mrs. Meredith. Absent from the meeting was City Auditor Miss Pittenger and Councilman Martin.
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.
At this time, Mr. Neff recognized Fire Chief Bob Frank who will be retiring onMay 31, 2013. Mr. Neff thanked Fire Chief Frank for all his services to the City ofBelpre. Mr. Frank spoke briefly. Mr. Sinnett stated that Mr. Frank had been a member of the Volunteer Fire Department for 40 years.
A motion was made by Mrs. Marshall to accept the minutes ofMarch 25, 2013as 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 presented his report:
On March 26th I attended the Board of Directors meeting for the Port Authority. I was asked to present a city report to the members and was the only one that did so.
On the same date I met with a representative of the PUCO to discuss De-Regulation of electrical utilities. The PUCO then met with our senior group to answer any questions they may have. Nothing has really changed for our region but, the options of aggregation etc. are still there.
The testing for our various departments is complete and results are in. Mr. Ferguson myself and staff will now start interviews before we start the spring and summer work.
Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Newberry and I attended the awards dinner for the Tree CityUSA. Belpre is now a member for 17 straight years.
The city Easter egg hunt was a success. I managed to attend for a short time and was surprised at the huge crowd. All the kids had a good time, and we owe Alex Lowe a big Thank You for her work in planning this event.
On Friday the 5th I attended the Pre-construction meeting for our safe routes to schools grant at the ODOT Office. The start date for sidewalk construction is April 15th. Make sure your constituents are aware of traffic congestion the full length of Rockland Ave. Cross Roads Construction was the successful bidder.
Tomorrow we meet with ODOT, the owners of the nursing home and our soil and water conservation rep to discuss groundbreaking at the building site onHill Street. We will try to determine where or if we can tieHill St.to Rich Miller.
We had another close call with street lights. The pole at Middle andWashington Blvd.broke leaving us with no traffic light at this busy intersection. Repairs are under way but, it will take time to re-wire etc. If in this area please use caution.
Mr. President I would like for you to assign to the Streets and Sidewalks Committee the issue of naming the right-of-way fromWashington BoulevardtoBlennerhassett Ave.The Soccer Club would like to name this access road after the late owners of the land. We also need to address the issue of indigent burials should the issue arise. The city does have some responsibility but I believe can set a rate we all agree to. There is a line item in the budget but no legislation to govern the use of these monies.
April 15th and 16thMain Street at ourBelpreBridge will be closed to replace rails on the overhead tracks. All truck traffic will need to useFarson St. to enter and exit our city if they do not want to use theParkersburgBelpreBridge. Car traffic can bypass the area by usingWalnut Street. NO SEMIS on WALNUT.
Mr. McAfee asked about the timeline on the street light on Farson. Mayor Lorentz stated that he has no timeline at this time.
Safety-Service Director Mr. Ferguson thanked the fire department and those who responded to the incident onMiddle Street. Mr. Ferguson stated that the reasonAEP is so stingy with there poles is because they are getting ready to replace poles onClement Avenue. We are in the process of getting the pool ready for opening; it will be here before we know it. TheADA steps for the pool have been ordered. Concrete is being replaced by the steps up to the slide. The building is being painted inside. We are also trimming some of the trees around the ball field.
City Auditor Miss Pittenger was absent. No report was given in her absence.
City Law Director Mr. Webster had no report other than a comment about the Mayor directing truck traffic onWalnut Street.
Treasurer Mr. McAfee reported that the March Treasurer’s Report has been distributed to each member of council and is awaiting approval by council. Mr. McAfee stated that Fund 28 (FEMA Fund) had been added. Ms. Abdella asked about the negative fund in recreation. Ms. Abdella stated that it may be because of waiting for the transfer of funds. Mr. McAfee wasn’t for sure but said that he would check about it.
Communications and Petitions:
Mr. Neff announced that there would be a Ground Breaking Ceremony on Thursday, April 11th, 2013 at9:00 a.m. for “Collections Preservation” at the Museum.
Report of Standing Committee:
Ms. Abdella, Finance Audit Committee had no report.
Mr. Sinnett, Police and Fire Committee had no report. Mr. Sinnett announced that there will be three more volunteers retiring from the fire department onMay 4, 2013. They are Don Burch, Jason Griffith, and Cliff Parsons.
Mr. Wallace, Streets, Sidewalks and Storm Sewer had no report. Mr. Wallace called a committee meeting for 6:45 p.m.on April 22nd for the purpose of naming the right-of–way from Washington Boulevard to Blennerhassett Avenue. The Soccer Club would like to name this access road after the late owners of the land.
Mr. Robinson had no report for the Utilities Committee.
Mr. Martin, Parks and Recreation Committee, was absent. No report was given.
Mrs. Marshall, Planning and Zoning Committee had no report.
Mrs. Marshall, Economic Development Committee had no report.
Mr. Newberry had no report for the Rules Committee.
Persons Appearing Before Council – Agenda items only. None
Unfinished Business: None
New Business: none
Persons Appearing Before Council:
Sonya Grimm, 440RidgewoodHeightsappeared before council regarding the potholes on what many of us know as Drag strip Road. Mrs. Grimm was wondering if the city was able to help fix these potholes. According to Mayor Lorentz he didn’t think the city would be able to do anything unless we can get help fromWWW. This street belongs to Township 97.
Ms. Abdella made a motion to excuse Mr. Martin from this evening’s meeting. Mr. Martin had called and talked with Mr. Neff. Mr. Neff stated that it was an excusable reason. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Adjourn:
Mr. Robinson made a motion to adjourn at8:05 p.m. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.