March 29, 2021
Lions Club, West Union, WV 26456
Meeting was called to order by Mayor James D. Friend at 6:03 PM.
Present: Mayor Friend. Council Members: Mark Younkin, Colby Jett, and Myla Thorpe, Recorder: Melody Gray, Robin A. Valentine, City Clerk Office Assistant, Amberly Taylor, City Clerk, and Douglas Cox, Operator
Guest: Sheena Hunt, Region VI PDC, Jason Heflin, CEC, and Ryan Haus, CEC
Prayer: A moment of silence was observed.
Pledge: Led by Mayor Friend
Public Comments: None
New Business:
2021 – 2022 Budget Approval: Amberly said this is the standard budget we do every year. It is an estimated projection of what the State funds and County for our part of the city taxes. Also, what we must spend money on. We are a little tight this year. If the 1% sales tax passes, the budget will have to be revised. Council looked over the budget. Myla Thorpe had some questions. Amberly Taylor answered those questions. The PSD does the Water & Sewer Budget. Police is $5000 above salary. It is lower than last year because we purchased 2 cruisers and repairs on the old cruiser. She did a low estimate on projection of tickets because she would think that after having the police for a while the tickets would slow down. City Clerk amount of budget 20,000 coming out of the General Fund.
The City inspector not on the budget yet. Mark Younkin made a motion to approve the budget. Colby Jett seconded the motion. Unanimous approval.
Doe Run Sewer Issue: Doug went over the map. First option. The first section is rusted shut. The Hydrosulfate gas builds up naturally and ate the concrete over time and the line has rusted shut. It is going to have to be replaced. It is an 8” pipe. They will use a thicker grade of plastic and it would last for at least 30 to 40 years. They have been to lower end and run the camera. It is having trouble handling the flow from the jail. The best thing is to replace the whole line. Can do it in two sections but that will cost more than doing the whole thing together. The estimate for replacing is around $372,000. Mark’s concern is how to pay for it. Sheena Hunt said she talked to IJDC. The Town still has $342,351.67 left. With the outstanding property issue there may be around $242,000 left. The total needed is an estimate on the high side. It is a job that needs bided out. This is a have to case in replacing this line. Needs to have numbers for IJDC asap because we only had 90 days about a month ago. There was more discussion on what needs done. The cost and problems of doing part versus doing whole line. It will be better to do the whole thing. Mark Younkin made a motion to proceed with the project and try to get the IJDC funds. Colby seconded the motion. 2 voted for. Myla Thorpe abstained. Motion carries.
Wabash Project: They had a conference call with the City’s lawyer. He is reaching out to the landowner’s lawyer and will call back with an update. Still have not heard back from our lawyer on this. There was a discussion on the hold up.
Colby Jett made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mark Younkin seconded the motion. Unanimous approval.
Meeting was adjourned at 6:38 PM.