Belpre City Council Minutes
Council President Mr. Neff called the Regular Meeting of the Council of the City of Belpre, Ohio, to order at 7:30 p.m. The roll was called with the following members present: Ms. Abdella, Mr. Colvin, Mrs. Drake, Mrs. Marshall, Mrs. Miller, Mr. Law and Mr. Shutts present. Also present was Mayor Lorentz, Safety-Service Director Mr. Cross, City Auditor Miss Pittenger, City Law Director Mr. Webster, City Treasurer Mrs. Kincaid and Clerk of Council Mrs. Meredith.
Mr. Neff asked that everyone please rise for the Prayer and remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Neff gave the invocation.
Mrs. Marshall made a motion to accept the minutes of May 08, 2017 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 reported that on May 10th we held a ribbon cutting at HHI Tire Center on Hocking Road. Later in the afternoon we broke ground on an amazing addition to Farson and Rich Miller as we officially started the First Settlement Building.
On May 11th Chief Williams and I joined the Mayor’s Partnership in a discussion of the drug problems and other issues our officers face each day. About a dozen of our cities or villages were represented.
May 15th my wife and I were invited to a meeting in Pennsboro where we met representatives from the U. S. Attorney Generals Office as well as representatives from the West Virginia’s A.G. Office. This was hosted by the Parkersburg Comprehensive Treatment Center. As W.V. ranks No. 1 and Ohio not far behind in drug abuse and trafficking I thought it was a good idea to attend.
May 16th I attended the Lunch and Learn at Marietta Memorial Belpre Campus. Scott Cantley the CEO gave us a pretty good outline of Memorials standing, possible future growth and examples of where they matched up to other facilities.
May 19th I was asked to assist with the awards assembly at our high school. The Alumni Association passed out 7 scholarships this year. On Sunday my wife and I attended graduation. The gym was packed with family and well-wishers for the class of 2017.
Warm weather is coming and our parks are very busy. Relay for Life, and Bass Tournaments this past weekend filled Civitan to the brim. The tournament was a success and they plan another this fall. Tournament payout this weekend was $37,000. Our pool opens the 27th. Just a note for all to hear: Of late we are experiencing vandalism at Depot Park. If this damage and filth continues I have full intentions of closing the park and positing it. Too many people work to provide these benefits to the city and a few will ruin it for all. If you see anything out of the ordinary I challenge you to report the incident immediately.
Mark your calendars for a ribbon cutting at BB’s Hair Salon June 1st 5:30 PM. This was formerly Thornhill’s.
Safety-Service Director Mr. Cross introduced Jarrod Strouth who is General Manager for our new EMS Procare Service. He drove all the way from Philadelphia to be here this evening. They will begin service here in Belpre Friday morning. Jarrod is a licensed medic.
City Auditor Miss Pittenger had no report for the Auditor’s Office.
City Law Director Mr. Webster had no report for the Law Director’s Office. Mr. Webster stated that he wanted to apologize to Mrs. Drake and Mrs. Miller for not having their ordinances ready for this evenings meeting. He was short staffed last week and they didn’t get typed. I will have them for the next meeting of council.
City Treasurer Mrs. Kincaid had no report for the Treasurer’s Office.
Communications and Petitions:
Mr. Neff announced that he had received an invitation to the Community Memorial at Leavitt’s Funeral Home this coming Monday at 11:00 am. This will be an indoor event.
Mr. Neff also asked council members who had hard copies of the Codified Ordinances. Mr. Law and Mr. Shutts do not have hard copies however Ms. Abdella stated that Mr. Shutts could have her hard copy book. By show of hands we are three short. Mr. Law was willing to review the Codified Ordinance on-line. It was decided not to order any additional books at this time.
I have also received a letter from the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department from our Fire Chief Tony Cronin. The letter is in regards to Current Equipment Issues that I’m assigning to the Police and Fire Committee and also the Finance/Audit Committee.
Report of Standing Committee:
Ms. Abdella had no report for the Finance Audit Committee. Ms. Abdella asked about the Governor’s Proposed 2017-2018 Budget that was assigned to her committee. Ms. Abdella asked for a point of clarification regarding this assignment. According to Miss Pittenger this was on-line and deals with Local Government Taxation. Ms. Abdella asked if she needed to act on this. According to Miss Pittenger and Mr. Webster she did not need to do anything at this time. Ms. Abdella called a Finance/Audit Committee meeting for May 31, 2017 at 6:00 PM for the purpose of discussing Capital Needs for the fire department.
Mrs. Miller, Police and Fire Committee called a meeting for June 12, 2017 at 6:30 PM for the purpose of discussing the drug dog and charging for false alarms on Alarm Systems in home and businesses.
Mr. Colvin, Streets, Sidewalk and Storm Sewer had no report.
Mrs. Marshall, Utilities Committee had no report.
Mr. Law, Parks and Recreation Committee had no report.
Mrs. Drake, Planning and Zoning Committee had no report.
Mrs. Drake, Economic Development Committee reported that on June 22, 2017 at 7PM there will be a Town Hall meeting regarding the plan that OU is working on. This meeting will be held at the Belpre Senior Center. Mrs. Drake also announced that the Historical Society Golf Scramble would be held June 25, 2017 at Oxbow Golf Course. This is their key fundraiser for Utilities for the year.
Mr. Shutts, Rules Committee had no report. Mr. Shutts addressed the street condition going into Barclay Street Trailer Park. Mr. Neff stated that this is private property and it would be up to the property owner to repair.
Mrs. Miller told council that after the previous council meeting she talked with Mr. Allen and has been in touch with the State Senator regarding the issues in the trailer park. There are two inspectors looking at the trailer park. I don’t know if anything will transpire however they are aware of the situation and are looking at it.
Mrs. Drake asked Mr. Webster about Code of Ethics for the City of Belpre. Mr. Webster stated that he has made a call regarding this topic but has not received a call back. He will continue to follow up.
Persons Appearing Before Council – Agenda items only. None
Unfinished Business: –
Mrs. Marshall brought before council for third reading AN ORDINANCE AMENDING BELPRE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES, SECTION 939.01 (d). This ordinance will allow the City of Belpre to go from a weekly billing system to a monthly billing system. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.
Mrs. Marshall moved this be Ordinance 14, 2016-2017 and duly passed. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye except Mrs. Miller who voted nay.
New Business – None
Persons Appearing Before Council:
Karen Locke 726 Tuttle Street asked council to verify the time of the Town Hall meeting. Mrs. Drake informed Mrs. Locke that the time was 7PM. Mrs. Locke also wanted to know if Belpre Pool passes would be available this year. According to Mr. Cross they will be available at the pool a couple days prior to the opening.
Lin Nelson 503 Stone Road, Belpre announced that for the past 7 years the Belpre Alumni Association honors a student. I wanted to let you know that our Mayor received the award this year.
Ms. Abdella recognized that last week was Police Week, This week is EMS Week and Nurses Week was the first week of May. I think we should celebrate them this week.
Mayor Lorentz wanted to know immediately the feelings of council regarding the purchase of a vehicle for the drug dog. We have money pledged for the dog, food and cage however we don’t have a vehicle yet and it will take at least 120 days to get it. According to Mrs. Miller that was going to be discussed at the June 12, 2017 meeting. Ms. Abdella asked if there has been an outline of expectation of the Patrolman. According to the Mayor there is an outline. Mr. Neff asked members of council if they are in favor of ordering the vehicle. All members are in favor. The Belpre Lions Club is working on purchasing bulletproof vest for the dog.
Mrs. Drake announced that Jesse Whittington gave a safety session at Rockland Church. He stated that he wasn’t a public speaker however he did an excellent job.
Ms. Abdella asked Mr. Neff to assign the drug dog to her committee. Mr. Neff assigned it to her committee.
Adjourn:
Ms. Abdella made a motion to adjourn at 8:07 PM. A vote was taken with all members of council present voting aye.