Charleston City Council Regular Meeting – June 15, 2026
Charleston City Council Regular Meeting – June 15, 2026
The Charleston City Council met in regular session on June 15, 2026, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting included three proclamations, public comments, passage of a bill updating park fee procedures, unanimous approval of nine financial resolutions, introduction of a new animal waste ordinance, and a procedural debate over discharging an ethics resolution. The meeting adjourned at 8:08 PM.
Proclamations
- Migraine and Headache Awareness Month – June 2026 recognized. Representatives from the medical community accepted the proclamation.
- Juneteenth – June 19, 2026 recognized. Community leaders and children were invited forward to celebrate.
- Pride Month – June 2026 recognized. The Mayor emphasized that “y’all means all” and welcomed the LGBTQ community.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Patricia Smith – Thanked the city for hosting the USA Pro Cycling Tour and advocated for making Charleston a bike-friendly city. Suggested installing bike tethering stations, building pedestrian and bike bridges (citing a cost as low as $1.5 million per bridge), and repurposing abandoned retail space for a bike plaza.
- Andy Richardson and Emma Carpenter – According to the official meeting minutes, they spoke about a children’s book; however, the transcript does not capture their remarks.
Claims
- A claim by William K. Berry (property damage) and a claim by Tonda Deyon Hopkins (personal injury) were received and referred to the City Solicitor.
Committee Reports – Finance
Bill No. 8076 (passed 22–0) – Amends the City Code to remove detailed park and recreation facility fees from the code, allowing the Parks and Recreation Director to adjust fees via Council‑approved resolutions. Councilmember Jenkins noted this makes the process “more flexible and responsive.”
Resolution No. 26‑049 Committee Substitute (adopted unanimously) – Approves a 13‑page schedule of fees, rates, and charges for use of city parks and public grounds, as recommended by the Parks Director.
Resolution No. 26‑069 (adopted unanimously) – Authorizes a $79,990 contract with Adamson Industries Corp. for upfitting two new transport vans for the Charleston Police Department.
Resolution No. 26‑070 (adopted unanimously) – Authorizes the purchase of a new R‑60 tracked remote mower (60‑inch deck) from West Virginia Tractor Co. for $74,798, to replace the current mower used on river banks.
Resolution No. 26‑071 (adopted unanimously) – Authorizes $233,521 to purchase a new Altec bucket truck for the Public Grounds Department, replacing Truck No. 369 per a scheduled rotation.
Resolution No. 26‑072 (adopted unanimously) – Authorizes $122,736 for a replacement Cascade filling and compressor system for the Charleston Fire Department, to replace the unit on the East End.
Resolution No. 26‑073 (adopted unanimously) – Authorizes an $869,100 contract with McClanahan Construction Company, LLC for the 2026‑27 ADA ramp installation project. Aaron Morris from Engineering reported the project includes 142 ramps at an average cost of $6,120 each. Councilmember Faegre asked about cost per ramp and concrete volume; Mr. Morris estimated 140 square feet per ramp.
Resolution No. 26‑074 (adopted unanimously) – Authorizes an as‑needs contract with Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. for aggregate stone, with prices similar to last year.
Resolution No. 26‑075 (adopted unanimously) – Authorizes a one‑year contract with Morton Salt, Inc. for road salt at $114.35 per ton, with a minimum purchase of 5,000 tons. Councilmember Jenkins noted the price is slightly higher than last year.
Resolution No. 26‑076 (adopted unanimously) – Approves a settlement of $32,284.28 to Terra Wissler for an incident on September 3, 2024, when a City‑driven vehicle (a police cruiser returning from training) rear‑ended her vehicle. Liability was placed on the City.
New Bills
- Bill No. 8083 – Introduced by Councilmembers Annie, Robinson, Gardner, and Pepper; would amend the municipal code to require animal owners to remove pet excrement from public and private property and establish penalties. Referred to the Ordinance and Rules Committee.
Discharge Motion Debate
- Councilmember Kerns moved to discharge Resolution No. 964‑24 from the Ordinance and Rules Committee. The resolution, introduced in February 2024, would add restrictions on gifts of tickets or free admission to public officials, addressing perceived ethical concerns (e.g., complimentary VIP tickets to events like the Regatta). Kerns argued the resolution had never been heard in committee.
- Councilmember Robinson moved to table the discharge motion. After a roll‑call vote, the motion to table passed 18–4 (Yeas: Annie, Burton, Ceperley, Cook, Faegre, Ferrell, Gardner, Haas, Hoover, Jenkins, Jones, King, Moore, Overstreet, Pepper, Pharr, Robinson, Rubio, and Mayor Goodwin; Nays: Gianola, Kerns, Solomon, Steelhammer; absent: Burka, Salango, Snodgrass, Taylor). The resolution remains in committee.
Reports of Officers
- Municipal Court report for May 2026 and City Treasurer’s report for December 2026 were received and filed.
Member Remarks
- Mayor Goodwin congratulated the George Washington High School baseball team on winning the state championship.
- Councilmember Jones thanked city staff and requested that the State place crosswalks on 7th Avenue near the recreation center.
- Councilmember Cook invited the public to the “Miles for Meals” event during USA Cycling, where Poca Valley Bank will donate $20 per mile (up to $5,000) to fight food insecurity.
- Councilmember Gardner promoted a new hospice thrift store on Patrick Street and encouraged donations.
- Councilmember Pharr expressed pride in the city’s diversity and noted family‑oriented activities on Wertz Avenue during the bike races.
- Councilmember Moore reported that two children he previously assisted now have a safe apartment at Vandalia and are preparing for school.
- Councilmember Annie thanked the council and highlighted that 40% of medical residents at CAMC stay in Charleston, above the national average.
- Councilmember Overstreet thanked the Mayor for quick response to overgrown lots in his ward.
- Councilmember Solomon defended the purpose of the discharged resolution, stating that failing to bring bills to committee leaves no path for debate and that the appearance of corruption should be avoided.
- Councilmember Faegre thanked Deputy Police Chief Webb and the Police Department for their support and responded to the ethics discussion, defending her participation in community events.
Key Outcomes
- Bill No. 8076 passed (22‑0).
- Resolutions 26‑049 through 26‑076 all adopted unanimously.
- Bill No. 8083 introduced and referred to committee.
- Motion to discharge Resolution No. 964‑24 was tabled (18‑4), leaving the resolution in the Ordinance and Rules Committee.
- Meeting adjourned at 8:08 PM; next regular meeting scheduled for July 6, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Welcome to City Council. Members will please rise while Council Member Over Street leads us in prayer this evening. We know today is not promised to us, so we just ask that you just empower us to do our very best to come up with viable solutions for our city. Please prepare the machine for voting. Has every member voted. Has every member voted? Thank you so much. Is every member voted? We have twenty-two members voting that they are here. Thank you so much. The clerk will now please read the journal. Madam President. There's a mention on the floor that we've dispensed with the reading of the journal hearing and seeing no objections. The reading of the journal is now dispensed with. We have one public speaker this evening, Mr. Clerk. Patricia Smith, would you like to come to the microphone, please? Thank you so much. My name is Patricia Smith. Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you tonight. Thank you, especially members of City Council, for bringing the bike races to Charleston, the USA Pro Cycling Tour. That's a feather in your cap. It is a great way to showcase this valley and what Charleston has to offer. And I share your vision and passion for making Charleston a better place. So when the bike races leave us next week, uh just a couple of things I'd like to bring forward and have you think about in terms of making Charleston a bike city. The first is bike tethering. So one of the things I've noticed, I've been away for 30 years, I've come back, and I've lived in two major metropolitan cities as well as a small southern town. One of the things I've noticed is there seems to be a dearth of places where people can actually tether bikes. So as a city, let's think about how to give the casual biker a place to safely secure a bike that they don't have to store it in an office or uh another venue. Secondly, bridges, bike bridges, bike and pedestrian bridges. When we think about Charleston in the next 20 or 30 years, what does it look like? Instead of waiting for the Department of Highways to put some share of our existing bridges, which was the thrust of the master plan, the 2016 master plan. Instead of waiting for the Department of Highways to do this for us, build some bridges, build pedestrian and bike bridges. There is a bridge every three miles in Charleston, and you can do it for low, low end one point five million dollars. Think about an alternate way to get people across the river. And that will help you capitalize on making Charleston the bike city destination that you want it to be. So Charleston has some opportunities. There's existing abandoned retail space. And when you think about how to repurpose these places, think about how you might use them to help foster a bike city. Where could they be? Think about it in terms of, and let me just throw out a couple of examples. Look it up. It's on Google. The other thing is right in our state in Fayetteville is uh Arrowhead Farms mountain bike camp. So these are places that we could model ourselves after, and I would invite Charleston to think big, think about how we can use our abandoned buildings for a bike plaza. Enjoy the races. Patricia, thank you so much. Really appreciate all of our public comments and all of our public speakers. When he is prepared, our clerk will please read claims against the city.
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