Vienna City Council discusses upcoming projects in new term

Ordinances for public forum comments proposed

VIENNA -- Vienna City Council met Thursday to discuss potential police department raises, as well as upcoming plans for their term involving major projects and ordinances.

Vienna Police Chief Mike Pifer approached council for the consideration of a raise for officers from $18 to $20 an hour.

"I don't want the city of Vienna Police Department to become a training ground," Pifer said. "Our police department does an excellent job in my opinion, I think it's deserving."

The pay raise, which will be considered by council at the next meeting, would reflect a desire to maintain retention of officers and bring Vienna up to date with the pay grade of other cities in West Virginia.

According to documents provided by Pifer, Parkersburg police officers have a starting pay of $20.40 per hour.

Craig Richards, with the engineering firm Burgess and Niple, was present to highlight a five-year plan from the Vienna Utility Board regarding improvements and reconstructions of the stormwater and sewer systems, as well as the clearing of sediment and debris in bodies of water such as Pond Run.

The plan will include initial evaluations of problematic areas for storm drainage issues, where citizens will be able to inform the city of the needs of their streets, according to Richards. The plans and evaluations will provide costs for the remediation to these issues, which will result in a reduction in incidents such as basement flooding and overflowing sewers.

"Over the last six months we have had lots of conversations about some places in town," Mayor Randy Rapp said.

A conversation by Vienna Parks Director Steve Black highlighted the desire to create a Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which could include potential projects ranging from the introduction of new playground equipment that is ADA compliant to the creation of an outdoor youth soccer complex.

Three ordinances to deal with the concept of including public comments in the meeting minutes were also proposed as options, with different ordinances providing rules for order for:

* Setting forth and adopting rules governing the public comment portion of Vienna City Council Meetings;

* Requiring public comments and exhibits made during the public comment section of City Council meetings to be recorded with the minutes;

* Including the verbatim, or an accurate summary, of the public comments with or in the minutes of Vienna City Council Meetings.

"I voted against it before because it wasn't manageable for the recorder," said council member Jim Leach in reference to the previously failed ordinance.

Leach emphasized that there is value in recording public comments of substance and recommended that the city follow rules without infringing upon the rights of citizens.

"I think it is going to be cumbersome and a challenge," council member Roger Bibbee said.

City Attorney Russell Skogstad raised concerns regarding the potential obscene content that could be brought forth.

"I think it is a good faith measure," said City Recorder Melissa Elam as she cited previous tensions between council and citizens. "I am approaching it from a more positive standpoint."

Leach made a motion to remove portions of the ordinance to create more manageable duties for the recorder to be revisited at the next meeting. The amendment passed 6-1, with Bibbee opposed. The newly created amendment on first reading passed 6-1, with Bibbee opposed. This will be an ongoing topic on council.

Council also unanimously approved the re-appointment of John Barr to the Vienna Utility Board and the state bid purchase of a city vehicle for $32,429.

Jenna Pierson may be reached at jpierson@newsandsentinel.com