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Chris Drennen Recorder Bob Henry Baber Mayor City of Richwood 6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261 Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580 richwood.gov September 1 st , 2016 Common Council Minutes Call to Prayer: Bob Henry Baber Pledge of Allegiance: All Mayoral Reporting: Citizen Peggy Scott nominated for a Governor’s Award for her volunteer work and will attend a dinner in her honor at the Governor’s office. Great football game last Friday, we didn’t win, but we did win. It was celebratory for us and Webster Springs which was also flooded. The band was wonderful as usual. There was national coverage on ABC news thanks to Rachel Taylor. We’re in the midst of a political season, but the real America was right here in Richwood Friday night. It was a beautiful, emotional and proud moment. Had a lot of people here from FEMA today, they said we’re coming on strong, but they understand our change in administration inhibited our progress. On the public side, FEMA is doing all they can to help us and I am optimistic about our infrastructure. The Incident Command team is money well spent and they are doing a phenomenal job. Everyone is welcome to come down and join the ICS team every morning at 8am here at City Hall. We are still in crisis mode and even I am having a hard time maintaining. The city workers have also all worked very hard.

Transcript of richwoodwv.govrichwoodwv.gov/.../06/CC-Minutes-2016-Sept-01.docx  · Web viewThe band was...

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

September 1st, 2016

Common Council Minutes

Call to Prayer: Bob Henry Baber

Pledge of Allegiance: All

Mayoral Reporting: Citizen Peggy Scott nominated for a Governor’s Award for her volunteer work and will attend a dinner in her honor at the Governor’s office. Great football game last Friday, we didn’t win, but we did win. It was celebratory for us and Webster Springs which was also flooded. The band was wonderful as usual. There was national coverage on ABC news thanks to Rachel Taylor. We’re in the midst of a political season, but the real America was right here in Richwood Friday night. It was a beautiful, emotional and proud moment. Had a lot of people here from FEMA today, they said we’re coming on strong, but they understand our change in administration inhibited our progress. On the public side, FEMA is doing all they can to help us and I am optimistic about our infrastructure. The Incident Command team is money well spent and they are doing a phenomenal job. Everyone is welcome to come down and join the ICS team every morning at 8am here at City Hall. We are still in crisis mode and even I am having a hard time maintaining. The city workers have also all worked very hard.

We will have a community planning and information meeting on September 27th. This will be upstairs at city hall. A lot of people don’t understand all the moving parts. Things are happening left and right, and thing change every day. Want to invite the community, answer questions get as much information as we can and pivot to the Long Range planning for the City. Get them informed and also inform them of the adoption of the 2015 Building Code. This should be a good positive meeting. Grants are contingent on us holding this meeting. As Ann pointed out, we have a city plan that was finished in June, but that needs to be revisited post flood. There is a lot of grant money floating around. There’s a lot of grant money around. It’s in what’s called 404 state coffers money and 406 which is federal coffers. How this works is after a federal disaster, the federal government takes 15% of what was spent on that disaster in a state and writes a check to the state for that amount. This is for anyone to go and get, we don’t have to

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

wait necessarily, there’s going to be a big check coming. From other incidences, the state has 404 money available right now. Need to go after that money in any number of different pots. We are talking with Region IV which is going to help us with procurement of a lot of contractors and are writing RFPs. But I think this 404 and 406 money is a little bit of a new universe to them. Region IV is used to long term planning. They’re the ones doing our water extension. Need to look at how that lines up with our other plans. Need to look at how that lines up with our other infrastructure.

Probably everyone has noticed that the parking lot got paved at Cherry River Plaza. Need to give Doug Facemire thanks for that. It’s beautiful. Rite Aid looks great, floors are down, and pharmacy will open probably a week from Saturday. Probably within a month to six weeks, Rite Aid will be up and running full fledged. Dollar General is also getting their act together. Will have more frozen food. They’re not doing a Superstore.

Chuck Taylor: I was told they’re doing a wall of frozen foods with their additional 4000 square feet. Any improvement there is going to be a plus.

City of Summersville coming back in another week to help us in terms of sewer and fixing roads. Enormous work is being done in the river, lines are being put back together and moved to the side, 8 new manholes. This is only the patch, not the final product. This will put us better than where we were before. Do still have intake issues. One pipe has been compromised and is taking in pure river water. When they fix this line, we should be looking way better. May ultimately have to have outside consultants.

Uniforms have been pretty much done away with. This will save us five thousand a month.

Rachel and Chuck and Glenville are getting us a generator for the fire department. Rachel also made a call to the city of Charleston and it looks like we may be getting a really good used garbage truck, value of which would be 40-60 thousand dollars so were doing good on begging. Shepherdstown has been helping us as will.

[Reads aloud proclamation from City of Hurricane, WV.]

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

May need to hire someone to help us go after monies available, this 404 and 406 money. We have to invest in ourselves even if it means hiring someone to go after money for us. Rachel, so far we have spent about 4000 dollars on, but her value is rapidly approaching 100k in donations. That’s pretty impressive return on investments and I think with grants it can work the same way.

Chuck Taylor: looks like the nursing home wants to work with us, next Friday will show them sites.

Baber: we were commended by FEMA for continuing to work with out school board and support them as long as we know our school will be built in Richwood. Without our schools, Richwood ceases to be an organic holistic community. Seems to be working better with FEMA, maybe because we’re getting out act together. Continuing to ask about temporary housing.

Novak: keep sending them possible sites, the most cost-effective likely being Orchard Heights at 39 lots surveyed and ready to go. Doesn’t look like anyone qualifies at this point though. Sept 7th

is last day to file with FEMA.

Peggy Scott: FEMA said only 3 people in county qualified for housing.

Novak: the problem was that people said they had a ‘place to stay’ or accepted rental assistance.

Baber: there’s some kind of disconnect there that I don’t understand. Part of it may be Appalachian independence conflicting with FEMA terminology, plus this happened in the summer so people weren’t as concerned.

Question?

Public Comments?

Baber: I understand a lot of furniture was given out at the armory. Went to flood victims first. Brown: it was beautiful stuff.

Baber: Continue to put out word that armory needs food.

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

Taylor: I met with the VA social worker today, and any veteran that needs a home, they have to say, “I’m homeless.”

Brown: thanks to Peggy for the [42 tons of] bug stuff.

Tiffany Russell brings up concerns regarding the drain outside of Coleman’s Funeral Home. It floods often and needs a larger drain and causes staff to have to use sandbags and sweep to prevent flooding of building. Help was requested 4 years ago.

Novak: Jon Cox brought in teams to help clear drains. We will ensure this is addressed while we are currently in the lines. This is known as an urban drainage failure, the system is antiquated, it was put in wrong and the drop inlet is too small.

Tiffany Russell: also when you have standing water like that, it eats and erodes pavement. Im sure that’s why Railroad Avenue is terrible.

Novak: we’re looking to get that paved right now, aren’t we?

Chuck Taylor: WV Paving is trying to get that paved.

Baber: we have a bid on that, but I’m just not comfortable it’s as sweet a deal as it sounds.

Taylor: if we can come up with the money to do it, we’ll save about $6500 if we go ahead and have them do it while they’re here. The total bid for the job’s $12,000.

(everyone talking all at once)

Taylor: that’s for 150 tons of asphalt and them doing all the work, but if we’re going to do it, we have to do it while they’re here.

Novak: while they’re working on that would be prime opportunity to do that work if they’re milling it up while it’s already exposed.

Brown: that’s about 80% off from quotes we’ve had in the past

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

Baber: well. It’s a good price, but one thing you know is for sure you gotta lay your infrastructure before you pave it.

Taylor: we have two weeks to decide, that’s the timeframe they’ll be here.

Baber: who has the expertise on this?

Novak: I’ll send that to Mendon while they’re here. They’re quick, efficient and good.

Baber: this is probably a Thrasher request, they’re gonna need engineering on this.

Tiffany Russell: my brother in law is an inspector for Thrasher.

Baber: well, be proactive and make a phone call. We’re gonna come to Finance here in a couple of minutes, but I do know the city passed a municipal fee during my last administration that was split five dollars between the police and 5 dollars between the street and it really was meant to be for paving specifically. It’s my understanding that over time it just kind of got dumped in the general fund. I don’t think that’s true on the police side, you’re getting your five dollars, right?

Cogar, we’ve been cut in half. I was under the impression we get five.

Baber: that money was meant to accrue so we’d have money saved for paving. Railroad is our worst street. We’re probably only gonna do half of it because going to the river isn’t bad and of course Oakford.

Vannoy: I’ve argued for years that money should be in a separate fund.

Baber: it’s still unclear to me as to how we’re gonna land on the FEMA side of this as to sidewalks and streets and city buildings. We have two different inspectors, one goes toward water and sewer and the other side goes the other way toward the city, streets and sidewalks. That side is foggy to me. So we’ll have to see. We should get some help, a lot of this depends on you get from FEMA. We can appeal what FEMA has decided and sometimes that get’s dicey like with our water intake. Okay, out water intake is compromised and the end of it has been busted off. Thrasher came in and said, “you need a new intake at a different angle and with

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

screens”. And FEMA said, “true, but first it has to be inspected to see if it can be repaired, if it’s clogged, etc.” Ideally what I would hope for is rather than a patch, we get to do a permanent fix. There’s 404 and 406 monies and other agencies that circle all that. We need a grant writer, I’m a grant writer I might be able to help with storytelling, but we need some help. Some will take a percentage of what you can get. Some will take 10 or twelve percent, it’s like hiring a lawyer who takes it on contingency.

Vannoy: that makes them more motivated to get it done.

Brown: motion to approve prior minutes with amendment on 3rd page. Amend Southern Estates to Southern States and on the very bottom it says “8-10 feet of the street is lifted off the ground” and it’s actually 8 to 10 feet that had a drop off. The street’s not lifted. There’s no debris on the side. It says the street is lifted off the ground and it isn’t. The streets not lifted, there is no side, like the roadway washed out, the berm is gone or whatever you would say.

Motion carries

Baber: I think we can go straight to standing committee on finance. Finance Committee voted to approve a CDL (Community Disaster Loan) for $ 512,000. This has been a really fast turn around by Abby and the FEMA folks. This will be a long term note based on what we projected our loss to be from B&O Taxes. It’s a 1% interest and the committee has already approved it.

Spencer: and we just have to draw down what we need, we don’t have to take the whole amount. We’re approved to to that amount, but we don’t have to take that amount.

Novak: motion to approve findings of Finance Committee.

Motion carries.

Novak: how long til we get these funds?

Baber: we’ve been told about two weeks.

McKenzie: we haven’t gotten any money yet on what we’ve submitted from FEMA?

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

Baber: we did but it hasn’t been approved yet.

McKenzie: I thought we submitted some payrolls?

Baber: we’ve submitted a number of PW’s. We haven’t submitted the Incident Command teams’ PW’s because we’ve been advised by Bill Hines to give better descriptions of what jobs people have done. That’s what we hired him for. Jeromy, correct me if I’m wrong, but what we did not want to do is submit one that wouldn’t sail straight through and get kicked back because that would extend the process out another two to three weeks.

Jeromy Rose: were only as good as the help that’s given to us. The FEMA employee working on that PW got it kicked back for lack of information.

Baber: that particular person’s mother was dying and passed away in the middle of this. It’s a little frustrating to have to do the work and then write down all the work that’s been done. Two years down the road, we won’t remember this stuff, so it’s good that we’re capturing this now.

Brown: What happened to the PW that Abby showed us on the payroll that was submitted two weeks ago? She presented us with four sheets of payouts that were submitted either that day or that morning, that evening, something. Was that city personel or was that not actually submitted or what was that? It was like $239,000. Was it submitted or was it not?

Baber: it was submitted and then it got kicked back.

Spencer: that’s what Jeromy was just telling us.

Brown: but I thought it was all of city people at that point, not Incident Command People.

Baber: it was both.

Jeromy Rose state that some numbers on that have changed. It was rushed to be completed and as a result, got kicked back. I didn’t see that, but I’m assuming it included everybody and that was the problem. Our FEMA person kind of took off with it before giving us a chance to look it

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

over. He just had a lot of that stuff wrong. In his defense, he didn’t know the details. We need to have as much detail as possible so this makes sense to someone seeing it for the first time.

McKenzie: creates motion to create a new bank account specifically for the purpose of FEMA monies reimbursed to city with Bob Henry Baber, Chris Drennen, Ann Spencer and Abby McClung to be on signature cards

Motion carries

Brown: Motion to approve second reading of 2015 IPMC

Motion carries

Agenda item to appoint CC Lester to Building Commision tabled

McKenzie (to Baber) did you find out if we can use the demolition funds for other purposes?

Baber: General Hoyers office is addressing those issues. There are severl cities facing these same housing debris issues. We have found out that provate landowner issues are sacrosanct and FEMA is hyper sensitive to landowner’s rights.

Vannoy: many of those houses were condemned

Drennen: were they legally condemned?

Brown: can you or Jeremiah make a statement about building

Novak: it falls down to substantial damage or substantial improvement

Brown: so, if youre just working inside, youre fine?

Vannoy: you don’t need a permit to work inside of your home. Only if your changing the footprint of the home.

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

Novak: we have a citizen possibly building and illegal structure. I will go Tuesday with James Vannoy and Ray Perry to investigate. You have to have an H&H study done prior to building a new structure in the floodway

Vannoy: you’ve always had an orridinance

Novak: this is who we are as an administration

Taylor: this needs to be addressed across the board

McKenzie: maybe you need to put this in the paper to inform

Novak: if you know anyone who has a property demoed or removed, please let me know, but it has to be flood damaged

Rose: need to find a way to contact people out of town

Brown: Dan Ritchey told me the state was supposed to employ 12 engineers

Baber: motion that any new business that opens in historic district post flood has B&O taxes waived for one year

Motion carries

Spencer: encourage everyone to attend ICS meetings, I’ve learned a lot about FEMA, work orders. They need someone from the Park Board to respond to them.

Brown: I messaged Chuck, he will be gone until Sept 8th. Bret Nichols would know a lot or Beverly Rose

Novak: thatnk you to Acred Surveying in Summersville. They gave us half price on our maps and are willing to do FLE certificates.

I will be traveling to Warehouser next week to ask them about donating land or trading in kind to get outr sewer press station out of the flood palin.

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Chris Drennen Recorder

Bob Henry Baber Mayor

City of Richwood6 White Avenue Richwood, WV 26261

Phone: (304) 846-2596 – Fax: (304) 846-2580richwood.gov

Taylor: I think we need to revisit the idea of extending B&O waiver to all businesses

Vannoy: motion to approve 2016 building code

Motion carries

Baber: there is a river running down Oakford and has been for years.

Brown: dod snyone check on a company to spray lime o homes, can we get this addressed?

Cogar: need to get with City Attorney and City Council to get right language. I feel like I need to have a clear cut plan of action on dealing with civil action. This has put on the back burner non-criminal and animal offenses.

Vannoy: when he signed a lease, he was not supposed to have a junkyard

Brown: side of road very bad

Baber: work at Weber City bridge needs addressed. See me after Council, Chief Cogar.

Spencer: motion to adjourn

Motion carries.