REGULAR MEETING JULY 5, 2005:

The regular meeting of the Common Council of the City of Morgantown was held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, July 5, 2005, at 7:30 P.M.

PRESENT: Mayor Ron Justice, City Manager Dan Boroff, City Clerk Linda Little, Assistant City Manager Jeff Mikorski, City Attorney Steve Fanok, and Council Members Ron Bane, Jim Manilla, Frank Scafella, Teresa Miller, Bill Byrne, Don Spencer.

The meeting was called to order by the City Clerk.

OATH OF OFFICE FOR CITY COUNCIL:

City Clerk Linda Little swore in the members of the 2005-2007 City Council.

ELECTION OF MAYOR AND DEPUTY MAYOR:

Nomination of Ron Justice for Mayor by Miller, second by Bane. There were no other nominations. Ron Justice was elected as Mayor for 2005-2006 by a vote of 7-0.

Nomination of Jim Manilla for Deputy Mayor by Bane, second by Spencer. There were no other nominations. Jim Manilla was elected as Deputy Mayor for 2005-2006 by a vote of 7-0.

City Clerk Little swore in Mayor Justice and Deputy Mayor Manilla.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes from the regular meeting on June 21, 2005, were approved as printed.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Mayor Justice thanked Council; noted a letter from John Hare that was forwarded to the City Manager; read and presented the Green Morgantown Declaration; thanked all the participants in the weekend activities: BOPARC movie, Steel Drums concert, President Bush's visit, concerts, the parade, Celebration of America committee, the awards ceremony, and the fireworks. Mayor Justice announced the next Solid Waste Task Force meeting.

Councilor Bane commented on the annual BOPARC race with 230 participants and questioned BFI changing their name to Allied Services.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS:

By acclamation, Kara Hurst was appointed to Beautification; Linda Durfee was appointed to the Library Board; Charles McEwuen, Ron Bane and William Byrne were reappointed to the Parking Authority; Rosalie Hegner and Sarah Etherton were reappointed to the Personnel Board; and David Huffman, Robert Feathers, Marca Paparozzi, and Alan Donaldson were reappointed to the Ward & Boundary Commission.

PUBLIC PORTION:

There being no appearances or objections, Mayor Justice declared this public portion closed.

SPECIAL COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Mayor Justice spoke of the Youth Commission and Councilor Bane introduced his daughter as a member of the Youth Commission. Councilor Byrne mentioned the Sabraton Business community meeting on the welcome sign and beautification issues and Councilor Spencer discussed the County Solid Waste Task Force meeting and recycling.

NEW BUSINESS:

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE 371 OF THE TRAFFIC CODE WHICH PROHIBITS INDIVIDUALS FROM SOLICITING FROM ANY PERSON TRAVELLING IN A VEHICLE IN A PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY: The following entitled Ordinance was presented for Council's approval.

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE 317 OF THE CITY OF MORGANTOWN TRAFFIC CODE, BY ADDING A SECTION 371.10 THERETO WHICH PROHIBITS INDIVIDUALS FROM SOLICITING CONTRIBUTIONS OF MONEY OR OTHER PROPERTY FROM ANY PERSON TRAVELLING IN A VEHICLE WITHIN A PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.

Motion by Scafella, second by Miller, to pass the above Ordinance to second reading. Motion carried 7-0.

AN ORDINANCE ANNULLING A 25' RIGHT OF WAY KNOWN AS LEE STREET FROM FALLING RUN ROAD APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED AND THREE FEET TO A DEAD END IN THE THIRD WARD: The following entitled Ordinance was presented for Council's approval.

AN ORDINANCE VACATING, ABANDONING AND ANNULLING A 25' RIGHT OF WAY KNOWN AS LEE STREET EXTENDING FROM FALLING RUN ROAD APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED AND THREE FEET TO A DEAD END IN THE THIRD WARD OF THE CITY OF MORGANTOWN, MONONGALIA COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, NOT USED NOR USEFUL FOR STREET PURPOSES.

After discussion, motion by Scafella, second by Byrne, to pass the above Ordinance to second reading. Motion carried 7-0.

AN ORDINANCE ANNULLING A 25' RIGHT OF WAY KNOWN AS SYCAMORE STREET FROM FALLING RUN ROAD APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED SIXTY EIGHT FEET TO A DEAD END IN THE THIRD WARD: The following entitled Ordinance was presented for Council's approval.

AN ORDINANCE VACATING, ABANDONING AND ANNULLING A 25' RIGHT OF WAY KNOWN AS SYCAMORE STREET EXTENDING FROM FALLING RUN ROAD APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED SIXTY EIGHT FEET TO A DEAD END IN THE THIRD WARD OF THE CITY OF MORGANTOWN, MONONGALIA COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, NOT USED NOR USEFUL FOR STREET PURPOSES.

After explanation by the City Manager, motion by Spencer, second by Byrne, to pass the above Ordinance to second reading. Motion carried 7-0.

AN ORDINANCE CREATING A NEW ARTICLE 526 WITHIN THE GENERAL OFFENSES CODE; REGULATING PARKING WITHIN FRONT AND SIDE YARD AREAS OF PARCELS: The following entitled Ordinance was presented for Council's approval.

AN ORDINANCE CREATING A NEW ARTICLE 526 WITHIN THE GENERAL OFFENSES CODE OF THE CITY OF MORGANTOWN; REGULATING THE PARKING OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND OTHER SPECIFICALLY NAMED PERSONAL PROPERTY WITHIN THE FRONT AND SIDE YARD AREAS OF PARCELS.

After discussion, motion by Byrne, second by Miller, to pass the above Ordinance to second reading. Motion carried 7-0.

RESOLUTION TO ADMINISTER A GRANT OF $5,000 FOR MYLAN PARK MOBILE SEATING: The above entitled Resolution was presented for Council's approval.

Motion by Scafella, second by Byrne, to approve the above entitled Resolution. Motion carried 7-0.

RESOLUTION TO ADMINISTER A GRANT OF $10,000 FOR MAIN STREET MORGANTOWN ADVERTISING, EVENTS AND KIOSKS: The above entitled Resolution was presented for Council's approval.

After discussion, motion by Byrne, second by Miller, to approve the above entitled Resolution. Motion carried 7-0.

RESOLUTION TO ADMINISTER A GRANT OF $5,000 FOR THE WEST VIRGINA BOTANIC GARDEN, INC. GRAVELED PARKING AREAS: The above entitled Resolution was presented for Council's approval.

Motion by Scafella, second by Byrne, to approve the above entitled Resolution. Motion carried 7-0.

CITY MANAGERS REPORT:

NEW BUSINESS:

Item No. 1:

The Friends of Deckers Creek have requested $2,000 to support the annual CarpFest Event. Given the importance of Deckers Creek to the City of Morgantown and the effective work of this organization, I recommend that the request be funded from the Capital Escrow Account.

Motion by Byrne, second by Spencer, to approve $2,000 to support the annual CarpFest to come from the Capital Escrow Account. Motion carried 7-0.

Item No. 2:

Attached you will find the proposed Annexation Pamphlet discussed at previous meetings. Based upon the need for such a tool, I recommend that Council authorize it to be published and distributed to interested groups.

After discussion, motion by Scafella, second by Miller, to adopt the proposed annexation pamphlet. Motion carried 7-0.

Item No. 3:

The second attachment is the proposed economic development plan for the east side of the Airport. Based upon its merits and opportunities available, I recommend that it be adopted by Council.

Motion by Scafella, second by Bane, that the economic development plan be adopted.

Councilor Spencer stated that the development of the airport as an economic center for the City is of significant importance but doesn't fully understand the reasons why the process has happened the way it has. He is not sure what the implications are of action on this tonight and asked if they are approving the location of the armory, the industrial park, the T-hangers, and the other items.

City Manager Boroff answered yes and advised that this plan is subject to amendment if an even more lucrative opportunity should present itself, but the fundamentals are presented for your approval.

Councilor Spencer observed that the airport is going through a $30 million expansion and is hoping to attract additional funds. He is especially concerned about the process by which they are being asked to vote on this plan. The Airport Advisory Committee looked at this today for the first time in a group situation.

For the record, Councilor Scafella responded to Councilor Spencer's concerns on the process and pointed out that it has been nearly 14 years that we have been trying to reach a point where we can say we have a real economic development opportunity at the airport, a huge one. 14 years ago, the airport development was hog-tied by squabbling between various parties over what should have been done, what was promised, what wasn't done, funds, etc. It went to the Circuit Court and the Court finally said to City Council to get the parties together and resolve this thing. The problem in part was that the City tried, back in 1987, to set up an economic development opportunity by hiring an FBO (Fixed Base Operator) who would build a new hanger for pilots and a number of other things. What the City did at that time was give away its main source of revenue for supporting the airport, which was fuel sales, and it turned out that the FBO used the airport as its private landing strip, realizing all the funds from the fuel sales. Here we were, as a City Council in 1992, 93, 94, thinking we would have to subsidize the airport operation just to keep it going. That was resolved and a number of other steps were taken. Ted Brant took over the FBO and, upon his death, the City bought back the FBO: probably one of the best moves we've made. That's all process and that has gone on for nearly 14 years. When we had the opportunity to get a Master Plan drawn up we hired a consultant on that. We went through a long process there, not without a good deal of disagreement and discussion. One of the things said at the time, as the Master Plan pointed out, the plan recommended closing 5-23. However, City Council decided to keep it open until such time as the area was needed for economic development opportunity. We held off until the opportunity was real, substantial, and as today, realizible. We have finally come to that point. There has been $21 million invested in airport improvements over the past eight years, mainly using discretionary money. Fuel sales have become a major contribution; realizing almost $1 million in sales per year. All these things were part of the process that brought us to this consideration tonight. A tremendous opportunity is there to fit together the pieces of the puzzle which will make this thing work. We need corporate hangers for Greer and others. This means the airport is becoming more and more viable. Although there may be some disagreement about particular areas, the process has worked itself out in an orderly and uniform way with all parties involved at every step of the way. The Airport Advisory Committee voted 8-1 to move forward with this plan today. Not without reservation, disagreement or arguments made on both sides. There was good debate, good give and take; this was on the table for almost two years with the Airport Committee and that's what brought us to where we are today.

After discussion, Scafella called for the question and a vote was taken. Motion carried 6-1. (Spencer voted NO).

Item No. 4:

To contend with safety issues at the intersection of Prairie and University Avenues, I recommend that Council prohibit left hand turns from Prairie onto University.

Motion by Miller, second by Bane, to prohibit left hand turns from Prairie to University. After discussion, motion was withdrawn by Miller and Council sent it to the Traffic Commission.

CITY CLERK'S REPORT:

No Report.

CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT:

No Report.

REPORT FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS:

Councilor Bane: Councilor Bane reported that the triathlon was a community success and thanked the sponsors.

Councilor Manilla: Councilor Manilla requested DOH attendance concerning the truck ordinance and commented on the proposed BOPARC event information signage by the Chamber of Commerce.

Councilor Scafella: Councilor Scafella explained an August Wiles Hill Senior Center fund-raiser; commended the Street Department on the Stewart Street sidewalk; noted that George Longenecker has invited Council to visit the Botanic Garden; requested that today's Dominion Post be sent to President Bush; and noted a bush problem on Madigan.

Councilor Miller: Councilor Miller advised that gambling facilities will be covered at a special Planning Commission meeting on the 18th.

Councilor Byrne: No Report.

Councilor Spencer: Councilor Spencer commented on the dangers of bushes and hedges at intersections; requested that the Airport Advisory Committee review the process of the past 6 months and make recommendations; complimented Suncrest NHA for sidewalk planning process, the people involved in the Garden tour, and the Police Department and BOPARC staff for services this weekend; and requested a committee for exploring applicability of the Green Declaration.

Mayor Justice: Mayor Justice thanked City Attorney Fanok for no left turn ordinance information and the Airport Manager for being here and the airport's role for the Presidential visit; asked Councilor Spencer to form and chair the Green Declaration committee; noted sculpture fountains articles and requested that Beautification inventory these; discussed sending the Dominion Post to Healey Bumgardner; and complimented WVU, City and everyone for pulling off the Bush visit. Mayor Justice noted the positive image of Morgantown throughout the country this weekend and the start of another two year period as a team.

ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned by unanimous consent at 9:10

p.m.

_____________________________ __________________________________

City Clerk Mayor

*A FULL TRANSCRIPT OF ALL COUNCIL MEETINGS IS AVAILABLE ON CD AT THE MORGANTOWN CITY LIBRARY.