MINUTES OF MEETING OF
IRONTON CITY COUNCIL
September 9, 2021
6:00 p.m.

A regular meeting of Ironton City Council was held on Thursday, September 9, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers.  Present was Vice Mayor, Craig Harvey, who presided and members:  Cleary, Haney, Hock, Kline, Pierce, Rist – seven.

All persons stood for an invocation from Father Huffman from St. Joe, St. Lawrence and St. Mary’s Churches, and then the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 26, 2021, and the Finance Meeting of August 26, 2021, stood approved as submitted.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

 

Chris Perry, 840 N. 6th Street.  He said there was one specific thing he would like to address.  He asked if the City had a specific grants committee or grants team.  Mr. Harvey said they have a grant writer for the City—Cindy Anderson and the CAO.  Mr. Perry said the only reason he asked is in his recent past he has been a grant writer.  He said he currently works at STAR Community Justice, but he is interviewing for a city-wide grant writer position in Huntington.  He said one specific program that they have is the Love My Block program, which is a nationally-awarded grant; and he would encourage anybody to take a look at that.  He said it is not a lot of money, about $25,000 a year, and it is available every year.  He said they have successfully applied to and managed to be awarded that grant every single year for small community improvement projects—anything from improving public spaces, park projects, turning vacant lots into public gardens, painting graffiti and colorful murals, and even helping senior citizens make repairs to their homes.  He said this project is funded through the AmeriCorps, and it is a guaranteed grant and it really doesn’t take much work to get it.  He said Ironton could get it with 30 minutes’ worth of effort every year.  He said Huntington seems to be the only community in the tri-state area that has taken full advantage of it every year.  He said he knows $25,000 doesn’t go a long way, but it would certainly handle some of the odds and ends things that are going on around town.

Mary Lou Wilburn, 1015 S. 7th Street.  She said she is hoping to sell her home and buy another one in Ironton, but she has a situation.  She said between Chestnut and Mulberry at 7th and 8th Streets, there are a couple of lots on that block where there’s plumbing pieces, lumber, all kinds of junk and two cars that have been abandoned.  She said she knows the name of the person who owns the lot.  She said she fights with possums and racoons in her yard weekly.  She said they also have squatters living in the cars and also a cat problem—they are living in the cars, too.  She said she has talked to Terri in the Mayor’s office.  She said they did come through with an end loader this morning and picked up a lot of stuff that was in the alley.  She said her neighbors ask her to come to Council with this problem.  Mr. Harvey said just recently the Mayor had let them know about a website that is linked through our City website page to report zoning infractions.  He told her she can report it anonymously, but if she reports it under her name and email her contact information, she can actually get updates on the progress of that zoning infraction.   Mr. Haney said he has dealt with this problem also, and he understands completely.  Mr. Harvey said the reason they cleaned the alleys is because they can’t go onto private property, and also the reason Council refers to it as zoning is because they can’t technically do anything about it other than try to get the law enforced.  He said they will report it to zoning, and if she will as well, that would help.

Mr. Cleary said he would direct this question to Terri since the Mayor was not there.  He said a Mr. Scott had called him trying to get a letter.  He said Mr. Scott told him that there was a letter on the November 20th agenda from Bobby Neiman about drug rehab houses coming in, and on the same agenda there was a letter from the CAO regarding the Depot Square Phase 2.  He said the CAO letter was the one that Mr. Scott wants.  Terri said she would get it for him.

COMMUNICATIONS – None

REPORTS – None

ORDINANCES

ORDINANCE NO. 21-53 –            AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO THE ATTACHED CONSULTING SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH IBI GROUP ENGINEERING SERVICES USA, INC. AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY was given 1st reading.

Mr. Cleary said Ordinance No. 21-53 was given a favorable recommendation by the Finance Committee this evening.  Mr. Cleary moved, seconded by Ms. Rist, to suspend the rules and give Ordinance No.

21-53 second and third reading by title only.  Motion passed unanimously and Ordinance No. 21-53 was given second and third reading.  Mr. Cleary moved, seconded by Ms. Rist, to adopt Ordinance No. 21-53.  Mr. Pierce said for the sake of the people who may be watching this on podcast, he thought is should be explained what this ordinance is about.  He said, as he understands it, it is a replacement of a water line and some street improvements.  The money is going to come out of their Capital Infrastructure Fund, and the money is already there to have IBI work on this.  He said as he understands it right now, there is a deadhead part of the water line, and that will be removed, making it a loop of free-flowing water instead of a dead area.   Motion passed unanimously.  ADOPTED

 

ORDINANCE NO. 21-54 –            AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO THE ATTACHED CONSULTING SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH IBI GROUP ENGINEERING SERVICES USA, INC. AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY was given 1st reading.

Mr. Cleary said Ordinance No. 21-54 was also given a favorable recommendation by the Finance Committee this evening.  Mr. Cleary moved, seconded by Mr. Pierce, to suspend the rules and give Ordinance No. 21-54 second and third reading by title only.  Motion passed unanimously and Ordinance No. 21-54 was given second and third reading.  Mr. Cleary moved, seconded by Mr. Pierce, to adopt Ordinance No. 21-54.  Mr. Pierce said again, to explain what this ordinance is about, this is at 1st and Pine Streets to make the infrastructure more commercially updated and commercially friendly to businesses that may be coming in there.  Motion passed unanimously.  ADOPTED

ORDINANCE NO. 21-50 –            REPEALING SECTION 220.03(b) OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF IRONTON, OHIO AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY was given second reading.

Mr. Cleary moved, seconded by Mr. Hock, to suspend the rules and give Ordinance No. 21-50 third reading by title only.  Motion passed unanimously and Ordinance No. 21-50 was given third reading.  Mr. Cleary moved, seconded by Mr. Pierce, to adopt Ordinance No. 21-50.  Motion passed unanimously.  ADOPTED

RESOLUTIONS

RESOLUTION NO. 21-55 –           ADOPTING THE ALTERNATIVE TAX BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF IRONTON, OHIO, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2022 AND SUBMITTING THE SAME TO THE COUNTY AUDITOR OF LAWRENCE COUNTY AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY was read.

Mr. Cleary said Resolution No. 21-55 was given a favorable recommendation by the Finance Committee tonight.  Mr. Cleary moved, seconded by Mr. Pierce, to pass Resolution No. 21-55.   Motion passed unanimously.  ADOPTED

MISCELLANEOUS

Mr. Haney asked if they had any updates about the Animal Control Officer?  Mr. Craig said he does not know the answer to that.  He asked Terri if she had any updates, and she said no.  He said they will follow up with the Mayor on that.

Mr. Kline said Kevin Wood said they were close to getting an update on the zoning maps being edited.  He asked if there is any way they could plan another Zoning Workshop to discuss R1-A?  Mr. Harvey said for Mr. Kline to let him know when he has a date and he will call the meeting.

Mr. Pierce said he attended a zoom meeting with Kevin Wood of IBI concerning the feasibility study, and if memory serves him, they will giving something to Council in early October for Council’s perusal and approval, and then submitting it to the EPA in November, concerning their findings of the sewer plant and the system.

Mr. Harvey said he failed to mention, when Mr. Kline was talking about the zoning workshop, that they had a date for the public hearing on zoning change to R1-A—September 23rd at 5:00 p.m.  He said historically speaking, no one ever comes, but he has to be here.  He said Council doesn’t have to come, but he has to be there.

Mr. Kline asked if there were any updates as far as public hearing for the ordinance to change Family from 5 to 3?  He said it got a favorable recommendation from the Planning Commission.  Mr. Harvey said that is what they have scheduled, and that is what they had the Planning Commission for.  He said the R1-A passed, but they don’t need a public hearing for that.  Brigham Anderson said yes, they do because they are changing the definition.  Mr. Harvey told Mr. Kline that he misspoke.  He said the public hearing is regarding the Family definition, not R1-A.

Mr. Kline asked Mr. Haney if he had talked to Beth Campbell about volley ball?  Mr. Haney said yes, they are going to have a Rec Workshop on September 15th at 6:30 p.m. at the Conley Center.

Mr. Hock moved, seconded by Mr. Cleary, to go into Executive Session to discuss pending litigation, with Council and Solicitor, with no action to follow.  Motion passed unanimously.

Minutes were taken by Marta Leach, Clerk.

In attendance:  John Elam, Finance Director, Brigham Anderson.