Parkersburg City Council to vote on fire fee cut

Resolutions seek more state funds for sidewalk projects

PARKERSBURG -- City Council will consider an ordinance making official the budgeted 5 percent reduction in the fire fee when it meets Tuesday.

The agenda for council's second regular meeting of May also includes resolutions seeking additional funds for long-awaited sidewalk projects, revisions to the city's off-street parking requirements and what may or may not be the final reading of an ordinance regulating motorized bicycles. Prior to that, council will convene as the Urban Renewal Authority to consider two proposed property donations and the taking of four dilapidated properties by eminent domain.

The fiscal year 2019-20 budget approved by council in March projected revenue for the fire fee with a 5 percent reduction planned. The fee was boosted 95 percent at the start of the current fiscal year, in conjunction with a doubling of the police fee, to fund the increased police and retirement pension contributions the city is making in an effort to ultimately curb those costs and prevent them from growing to consume the majority of the general fund in the future.

Council members have said they would look at ways to reduce the fee, and Mayor Tom Joyce said the savings the move has created justified a cut.

If approved by council on two readings, as of July 1, the fire fee would be assessed at a rate of 0.08336 cents per square foot of a building, plus $185.25 for each story beyond the second. The current rates are 0.08775 and $195.25, respectively.

Four resolutions on the agenda deal with state grant funding for repair and installation of sidewalks, curbs and drainage improvements on Rayon Drive and Gihon Road , the prices for which have gone up considerably.

In 2016, the city applied for and received a Transportation Alternative Program grant of $240,000 for the work from Pike Street to 12th Avenue on the northerly side of Rayon, with a required local match of $60,000, to establish a safer walking route for students at Edison Middle and Martin Elementary schools. A second grant of $65,000 was awarded to do similar work in the vicinity of Gihon Elementary School on the southerly portion of Gihon from Hugh Street to David Lee Drive and David Lee Drive from Gihon to Capital Drive, with a local match of $16,000.

But after engineering and design work on the projects was completed, it was determined the actual costs would be $500,000 for Rayon and $481,000 for Gihon, Development Director Rickie Yeager said. State officials advised the city to apply for additional funding for the projects, he said.

"The design and engineering is what really tells us how much it's going to cost," Yeager said.

Both projects will also include right-of-way considerations, drainage issues and retaining walls, he said.

Asked about the $400,000 increase for Gihon, Yeager said the area has a limited right of way and a number of residential driveways that could be affected from a drainage perspective.

"We have to make sure that we address that so that the homeowners aren't negatively impacted," he said. "I don't think anybody knew … how bad the area was that we were going to have to improve."

Council voted in 2016 to extend the Rayon project by two blocks without changing the allocation request. Yeager said the scope of the project now includes the additional length.

In addition to the resolutions to apply for the additional funds, the agenda contains two that would reallocate funding to provide for the increased local matches. Since the Gihon Road project is in an income-eligible census tract, $96,000 in Community Development Block Grant money from unexpended funds is proposed to be used. Of that, $50,000 was originally intended for the Rayon project, which is no longer eligible.

If approved by council, the matching funds for Rayon would come from the user fee fund, in part from money saved with the upcoming paving project coming in under budget, Finance Director Eric Jiles said.

Council will also consider resolutions to apply for a $75,000 Transportation Alternatives Program Grant to design streetscape enhancements for St. Marys and Dudley avenues and $5,000 through the state Litter Control Program, to be matched by the city, to fund police supervision of inmates doing cleanup work.

Also on Tuesday's agenda are:

* The final reading of an ordinance amending city regulations for off-street parking related to stormwater runoff and aesthetic improvements. Two other ordinances on first reading are related to that one, in an effort to keep language in the code consistent, Yeager said.

* The final reading of an ordinance regulating motorized bicycles in the city, which has twice been amended on final reading to add requirements for reflective vests and helmets. Some council members said after the May 14 meeting they had additional amendments that would be brought forward Tuesday, meaning another reading would be required if they pass.

* The final reading of an ordinance increasing the pay of Parks and Recreation employees with a pool operator certification, of which the city has one, by 48 cents an hour.

* The final reading of an ordinance reclassifying six positions according to the wage study the city had performed. The changes will result in increased pay, which has already been budgeted for the new fiscal year that starts July 1.

* The final reading of an ordinance increasing the salary ranges for the city attorney, assistant city attorney and Municipal Court judge.

* The first reading of an ordinance that formalizes the firefighter pay raise for which funding was approved during the budget hearings. All firefighters will receive a 25-cents-an-hour raise, with those who have attained the designation of firefighter first class -- all but six of the current roster -- earning an additional 75 cents an hour. Firefighters with the designation of firefighter first class/EMT currently earn an additional 37 cents an hour. This ordinance would raise that to 50 cents.

* The first reading of an ordinance to prohibit unsightly or unsafe storage of items -- such as household appliances, indoor furniture, household furnishings, auto parts and shopping carts -- in yards, unenclosed porches, open garages or carports. The proposal was recently approved by the West Virginia Municipal Home Rule Board.

* The first reading of an ordinance rezoning property at 2611 21st Ave. from residential to business so a day care can be opened there.