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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

St. Albans City Council Meeting – September 3, 2025

City Council Meetings — Wednesday, September 3, 2025

BodySt Albans, West Virginia

SessionCity Council Meetings

DateWednesday, September 3, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 31:17

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:02

Councilman Clushman, could you give us the indication?

0:06

Yes, sir.

0:07

I mean, probably think that we're able to gather here tonight, Lord.

0:11

We thank you for the many blessings that you do with school on Saint Albans Lord.

0:16

Lord, we ask for your safety and your guidance for it.

0:19

I was making right decisions that would be pleasing to you.

0:25

Alright, uh, we've got Troop 146, which by the way, I was a Boy Scouting that troop for a while.

0:34

And uh Evan Kinley, he's working on his Eagle uh uh Scout project, ribbon cutting effort.

0:45

Uh the uh Morgan's Kitchen will be September 10th, and that will complete his Eagle Scout uh uh goal.

0:56

So anyway, Evan, you want to leave us in the pledge, please.

1:03

Right.

1:16

I will call this meeting of sending on the city council the order.

1:23

Uh praise and recognition.

1:25

I I first want to talk about the fireworks that we had on Sunday evening.

1:34

Uh this was our fourth year, I believe, of it, and uh we go in with nitro and we split the calls, and they're fantastic.

1:45

Uh my son was out on his boat.

1:48

Uh he's doing much better than his dad does.

1:52

I promise you that, but uh he's like, Well, you gotta show everybody else up on your fireworks.

2:01

So I want to thank Nitro, their staff, I want to thank St.

2:06

Albans and their staff for everybody that was working it to make this a successful event.

2:13

So good job, St.

2:15

Albans and Nitro.

2:17

And that lets you know what happens when you work together.

2:20

I good things do happen.

2:23

So that's one brief one to one a little longer.

2:28

It's not really, it's a sad thing.

2:30

The first thing I'd like to thank uh publicly again, all the business owners uh who helped participate in the pony event from out here Main Street.

2:39

Uh was an overwhelming success for a first time out.

2:42

We didn't have any hiccups, uh, so I want to thank them publicly without their collaboration is whatn't possible, and as well as LM Communications.

2:50

And secondly, um I just want to bring up briefly, we had a friend, I put it in the the group message and passed away uh uh last Tuesday somewhat unexpectedly, and that was Justice Tim Armstead, uh former House Speaker.

3:07

Um a lot of people don't realize this back in the day as John just talked about in the old 30th district, 32nd.

3:14

Well, he was in the 30th uh that had St.

3:17

Albans in it.

3:18

Um so he actually represented the city of St.

3:20

Albans for a while, and I just asked uh we had our visitation of funerals going on right now, but keep uh his family in your prayers, but this was rather unexpected.

3:31

He had been battling leukemia for the last year.

3:34

Um but uh he was at the Capitol the Wednesday before he passed away and just got done running, and by Thursday evening he was flighted from Charleston to Ruben Memorial with uh infection and he was one of the good guys, uh truly good guys, and so I just asked everybody to keep uh he and his family and his thoughts and prayers.

3:56

Thank you very much.

3:58

Scott, one other thing too.

3:59

Yes, sir.

4:00

Uh last Saturday we had a St.

4:02

Alban's homecoming, like an event at uh Roadside Park.

4:06

And we had uh over 350 people there.

4:09

Uh it went very, very well on Scott Tweety and his group from the uh parks and recreation did a good job of keeping everything going on, but it was very successful and uh heard a lot of good feedback about it.

4:22

Very good.

4:22

Yeah, I heard uh it was very good.

4:24

I was up with my son's watching, so I didn't make it over, but uh you know guys, we don't have direct interstate access.

4:37

So we put on these events to bring people to St.

4:42

Albans when they come to St.

4:43

Albans, they keep coming back, and it has grown our economy uh uh tremendously, and we're gonna keep doing it.

4:53

You know, I I got a thing out there, it's happening outdoors.

4:56

It's happening in St.

4:57

Albans, West Virginia.

5:00

So anyway, uh great job by Parks and Rick.

5:03

Great job by the fireworks crew.

5:07

Now it is time to recognize, and I want to let everybody know.

5:12

Parents know.

5:14

That I was contacted by the nine, 10-year-old All-Star girls to recognize him, and I put message out with probably three to four, maybe five different people said, let me know who is coaching the uh nine, ten, and eleven-year-old all-star boys, so we can recognize him.

5:39

So tonight, state runners up.

5:43

Alright.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████53%

Youth Programs█████████████████20%

Engineering And Infrastructure██████████12%

Parks and Recreation█████████11%

Public Engagement███4%

Summary of Proceedings

St. Albans City Council Meeting – September 3, 2025

The St. Albans City Council met on September 3, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers. The meeting opened with an invocation by Councilman Clushman, a presentation by Boy Scout Troop 146, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Council members praised recent community events, honored youth sports teams, discussed the Sun Valley annexation, and approved multiple financial items and funding requests.

Praise and Recognition

Council recognized the success of the fourth annual fireworks display, held jointly with the City of Nitro, thanking both staffs.
Council commended the inaugural pony event on Main Street, noting overwhelming success with no hiccups, and thanked participating business owners and LM Communications.
Council noted the passing of former House Speaker Justice Tim Armstead, who represented St. Albans in the 30th district, and requested prayers for his family.
Council announced the St. Albans Homecoming event at Roadside Park drew over 350 attendees, praising Parks and Recreation staff for their work.
State runner-up youth baseball all-star teams (9-10 year old girls and 11-year-old boys) were recognized with certificates of appreciation. Coaches and players were individually called forward.
Council also acknowledged the passing of longtime community figure and former councilman Coach John Bowles, offering condolences.

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the minutes from the August 18, 2025 City Council meeting. Approved unanimously.

Old Business: Sun Valley Annexation

Councilman Rucker presented a motion to direct the city attorney to prepare a resolution to begin the annexation of the Sun Valley territory. He stated the request came from Sun Valley residents, not the city, and that the area is already on MUC water and sewer.
A map was distributed showing the proposed boundaries, including the gas station, storage facility, and Delray area (approximately 25 properties on Delray and five on the extension).
Councilman Rucker reported that he canvassed Delray residents; he received two phone call responses (one for, one against). He also noted that a majority of residents in the territory (50.01%) could compel the county to accept the annexation.
Discussion: Councilman Rucker emphasized that the city will likely not financially benefit but will provide services like trash and road maintenance. Councilman Knight mentioned prior opposition from residents at the far end but noted the process can move forward if a majority supports.
Motion carried unanimously to direct the attorney to draft the resolution.

Finance Committee Actions

Councilman Rowe presented the following items, all approved unanimously:

Payland invoices in the amount of $14,250.
Donation of $2,500 to the STAR Club, an afterschool program for at-risk students that provides snacks, homework help, and community gardening. Councilman Rowe stated, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” referencing potential future crime prevention.
Donation of $5,000 to Hezekiah House, a recovery housing facility operated by St. Paul Baptist Church and St. Francis, to be paid from opioid settlement funds. Councilman Rowe noted the facility limits capacity to six to eight residents for focused care.
Award bid of $33,505 to the Stripping Company for resurfacing tennis courts and constructing pickleball courts, funded from line item 441-459. Work is expected to begin this week.
Authorization to seek bids for a boom lift for the Parks Department, expected to save money in the first year.

Reports and Announcements

Councilman Knight reported:
- Dragon Palooza event on Saturday (4–8 p.m.).
- The Esquire Sing-Along attracted over 400 people.
- Jimmy Buffett tribute concert set for September 13 at 6 p.m.
- Haunted trail committee meeting next Monday at 6 p.m. at City Park.
Councilman Rowe provided an update on the Ordinance Committee:
- Two proposed ordinances have been sent to PMZ for review through proper channels.
- Four to five additional ordinances are being finalized with the city attorney.
- The proposed clutter ordinance was postponed to the next meeting because the city attorney (Marshall) was on vacation; council members had questions about enforceability and specific items (e.g., swing sets, trampolines). Councilman Page noted the committee may make the ordinance tougher.
A public thank-you was given to Terry (city staff) for assistance with POTA paperwork.
Announcements:
- Public Works Committee: Wednesday, September 3 at 8 a.m. (city garage).
- Parks Committee: Thursday, September 4 at 6 p.m. (Hansford Center).
- Finance Committee: Monday, September 8 at 4:30 p.m. (MUC conference room).
- Next City Council meeting: Monday, September 15 at 6:30 p.m.
- POTA event on Old Main Street: September 19, closing from 2nd to B Street at 5 p.m., with band Soul Mountain.
- Chili Cook-Off on October 4; council issued a challenge to first responders to compete. Judging is blind.

Public Forum

No residents addressed the council.

Adjournment

A motion to adjourn passed unanimously.

Meeting Transcript

Councilman Clushman, could you give us the indication? Yes, sir. I mean, probably think that we're able to gather here tonight, Lord. We thank you for the many blessings that you do with school on Saint Albans Lord. Lord, we ask for your safety and your guidance for it. I was making right decisions that would be pleasing to you. Alright, uh, we've got Troop 146, which by the way, I was a Boy Scouting that troop for a while. And uh Evan Kinley, he's working on his Eagle uh uh Scout project, ribbon cutting effort. Uh the uh Morgan's Kitchen will be September 10th, and that will complete his Eagle Scout uh uh goal. So anyway, Evan, you want to leave us in the pledge, please. Right. I will call this meeting of sending on the city council the order. Uh praise and recognition. I I first want to talk about the fireworks that we had on Sunday evening. Uh this was our fourth year, I believe, of it, and uh we go in with nitro and we split the calls, and they're fantastic. Uh my son was out on his boat. Uh he's doing much better than his dad does. I promise you that, but uh he's like, Well, you gotta show everybody else up on your fireworks. So I want to thank Nitro, their staff, I want to thank St. Albans and their staff for everybody that was working it to make this a successful event. So good job, St. Albans and Nitro. And that lets you know what happens when you work together. I good things do happen. So that's one brief one to one a little longer. It's not really, it's a sad thing. The first thing I'd like to thank uh publicly again, all the business owners uh who helped participate in the pony event from out here Main Street. Uh was an overwhelming success for a first time out. We didn't have any hiccups, uh, so I want to thank them publicly without their collaboration is whatn't possible, and as well as LM Communications. And secondly, um I just want to bring up briefly, we had a friend, I put it in the the group message and passed away uh uh last Tuesday somewhat unexpectedly, and that was Justice Tim Armstead, uh former House Speaker. Um a lot of people don't realize this back in the day as John just talked about in the old 30th district, 32nd. Well, he was in the 30th uh that had St. Albans in it. Um so he actually represented the city of St. Albans for a while, and I just asked uh we had our visitation of funerals going on right now, but keep uh his family in your prayers, but this was rather unexpected. He had been battling leukemia for the last year. Um but uh he was at the Capitol the Wednesday before he passed away and just got done running, and by Thursday evening he was flighted from Charleston to Ruben Memorial with uh infection and he was one of the good guys, uh truly good guys, and so I just asked everybody to keep uh he and his family and his thoughts and prayers. Thank you very much. Scott, one other thing too. Yes, sir. Uh last Saturday we had a St. Alban's homecoming, like an event at uh Roadside Park. And we had uh over 350 people there. Uh it went very, very well on Scott Tweety and his group from the uh parks and recreation did a good job of keeping everything going on, but it was very successful and uh heard a lot of good feedback about it. Very good. Yeah, I heard uh it was very good. I was up with my son's watching, so I didn't make it over, but uh you know guys, we don't have direct interstate access. So we put on these events to bring people to St. Albans when they come to St. Albans, they keep coming back, and it has grown our economy uh uh tremendously, and we're gonna keep doing it.

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