OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Albans City Council Meeting – September 16, 2025

City Council Meetings — Tuesday, September 16, 2025
BodySt Albans, West Virginia
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateTuesday, September 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 18:18

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Would you like to lead us in the invitation?

0:04

Okay.

0:09

Watch over us, Lord.

0:10

And Lord, first of all, I want to pray for uh Charlie Kirk's uh wife there, Lord, and it's two children, Lord.

0:17

Please comfort them as only you can, Lord.

0:20

I pray for protection for our first responders, Lord.

0:23

For our policeman, every time they pull over a vehicle, Lord, or our fireman board.

0:28

Is he going to a building?

0:30

I pray for our children, Lord.

0:34

Or on the road, Lord.

0:36

Help us make the right decisions, Lord, and City Council Lord, that would be pleasing.

0:40

In your name, we pray.

0:42

Amen.

0:42

Amen.

0:44

Alright, let's see here.

0:51

Yes, sir.

0:52

I'll please certify the United States of America.

1:00

One nation.

1:02

Indivisible.

1:06

I think call this meeting to order to the council.

1:15

Praise and recognition.

1:19

Something like Rob.

1:20

I'm gonna start out a little bit here.

1:23

First off, I want to talk about something that Chief Bass and I attended last Friday up in Parkersburg that DJ Daniels that is battling brain cancer that uh President Trump recognized, and it's not a political thing with me.

1:44

Please recognize that his first national speech.

1:51

And he's 13 years old and he loves the police.

1:56

He has been sworn in as a honorary officer in over 4,000 police departments across the country.

2:05

And we were invited up last Friday to do the same.

2:10

And so now DJ Daniels is a uh official SA patrolman in the SAPD.

2:20

So Chief Chief Bass and I had a great time.

2:23

That guy, I'm telling 13 years old, he tells dad jokes more than I do.

2:29

Oh, he's hilarious.

2:31

There's no doubt.

2:32

So I wanted to mention that.

2:33

And I also want to mention uh the recognition we just recently received from Southern Living Magazine that St.

2:45

Albans has is being recognized as one of the top 20 friendliest places in the South for 2025.

2:56

And that deserves a nice hand.

2:59

A while back they looked at the way the Dementia Friendly Committee has done with dementia patients and all within St.

3:09

Albans with the businesses and the homes and the education that they have provided.

3:15

That that went a long ways, but this is an award that represents the entire community.

3:24

It's not about me, it's not about the city of St.

3:28

Albans government, it's about the citizens and all the organizations, the businesses.

3:37

I mean, kudos.

3:39

That is a great uh recognition for the city of St.

3:43

Alban.

3:44

So I just wanted to mention that.

3:47

Any other praise and recognition?

3:52

With none apparent, approval minutes from city council September 2nd, 2025.

3:58

So moved.

3:59

Very good.

4:00

Uh questions, discussion, or changes.

4:03

All in favor say aye.

4:05

Aye.

4:06

Opposed, nay.

4:07

Motion carries.

4:09

All business resolution move forward with the annexation of Sun Valley.

4:13

City Attorney Michael Del Judas.

4:18

Basically, this is what you guys are wanting to do is bring in Sun Valley.

4:24

We still don't have a list.

4:27

What we need to do is get a certified list of everybody who resides there and everybody who owns property there.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████63%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████16%
Public Safety████████11%
Parks and Recreation███████10%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Albans City Council Meeting – September 16, 2025

The St. Albans City Council meeting on September 16, 2025, opened with a prayer and pledge, followed by praise and recognition, approval of minutes, a resolution to begin the annexation process for Sun Valley, approval of several financial items, and multiple committee and community event reports. No public comments were made.

Praise and Recognition

  • Chief Bass and a council member attended an event in Parkersburg for 13-year-old DJ Daniels, who is battling brain cancer and has been sworn in as an honorary officer in over 4,000 police departments. He was officially made an honorary patrolman for the St. Albans Police Department (SAPD).
  • St. Albans was recognized by Southern Living magazine as one of the top 20 friendliest places in the South for 2025. The council credited the entire community, including the Dementia Friendly Committee, businesses, and residents.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the City Council meeting on September 2, 2025, were approved unanimously.

Discussion Items

  • Annexation of Sun Valley: City Attorney Michael Del Judas presented a resolution to begin the annexation process. The council must first obtain a certified list of all property owners and residents in Sun Valley. Once the list is certified (cannot be changed later), a petition will be circulated for signatures. Property owners (including businesses) are eligible to vote, not renters. The resolution passed unanimously.
  • Finance Committee Report (Councilman Rowe):
    • Approval of payment of current invoices totaling $24,441.33 – passed unanimously.
    • Approval of payment to Johnson's Emergency Vehicle Solutions for $12,513.45 for outfitting a new fire engine, funded from line item 706-459. During discussion, council members clarified that outfitting includes lights, radio, and communication equipment. Passed unanimously.
    • Approval of renovation of Morgan's Kitchen for up to $10,000, to be paid via legislative funding. It was noted that Delegate Hall helped secure the funds. Passed unanimously.
    • Approval of purchase of a used vehicle for up to $5,000 for the building department, paid from the building fund. Passed unanimously.
  • Other Reports:
    • Councilman Knight reported on upcoming events: trail meetings every Monday at 6 p.m. at Shelter 2 in City Park; a successful Jimmy Buffett tribute; Haunted Trail Days on October 10, 11, 17, and 18 from 7 to 9 p.m.; Fall Festival on October 18 (afternoon) at City Park (location may change due to the water power project); Trunk Retreat on October 25 at Maranatha (time TBD); and Trick-or-Treat on October 30 from 6 to 8 p.m.
    • Mayor announced Fall Y’all Festival on October 4 from 12 to 6 p.m., featuring a chili cook-off to support the police department’s canine unit and youth programs.
    • Councilman Rowe announced leaf pickup will begin September 29 and run through December 21, on the same day as trash pickup, with Fridays as makeup days. Residents with large amounts can request special pickup after December 21.
    • Announcements: Train Day is this Saturday (September 20) with train rides and free train whistles for kids, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The second POTA (Party on the Avenue) event is this Friday, September 19, with O Main Street closed at 5 p.m., POTA from 6 to 9 p.m., and music by Chris Sutton and Soul Mountain from 7 to 9 p.m. The library will have a book sale on Friday and Saturday.
    • CDBG report: The organization is being revitalized, and details will be provided soon.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes from September 2, 2025 (unanimous).
  • Approved resolution to begin annexation of Sun Valley (unanimous).
  • Approved payment of $24,441.33 for current invoices (unanimous).
  • Approved payment of $12,513.45 to Johnson's Emergency Vehicle Solutions for fire engine outfitting (unanimous).
  • Approved renovation of Morgan's Kitchen for up to $10,000 (unanimous).
  • Approved purchase of a used vehicle for up to $5,000 for the building department (unanimous).
  • No public comments were made.
  • Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Would you like to lead us in the invitation? Okay. Watch over us, Lord. And Lord, first of all, I want to pray for uh Charlie Kirk's uh wife there, Lord, and it's two children, Lord. Please comfort them as only you can, Lord. I pray for protection for our first responders, Lord. For our policeman, every time they pull over a vehicle, Lord, or our fireman board. Is he going to a building? I pray for our children, Lord. Or on the road, Lord. Help us make the right decisions, Lord, and City Council Lord, that would be pleasing. In your name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Alright, let's see here. Yes, sir. I'll please certify the United States of America. One nation. Indivisible. I think call this meeting to order to the council. Praise and recognition. Something like Rob. I'm gonna start out a little bit here. First off, I want to talk about something that Chief Bass and I attended last Friday up in Parkersburg that DJ Daniels that is battling brain cancer that uh President Trump recognized, and it's not a political thing with me. Please recognize that his first national speech. And he's 13 years old and he loves the police. He has been sworn in as a honorary officer in over 4,000 police departments across the country. And we were invited up last Friday to do the same. And so now DJ Daniels is a uh official SA patrolman in the SAPD. So Chief Chief Bass and I had a great time. That guy, I'm telling 13 years old, he tells dad jokes more than I do. Oh, he's hilarious. There's no doubt. So I wanted to mention that. And I also want to mention uh the recognition we just recently received from Southern Living Magazine that St. Albans has is being recognized as one of the top 20 friendliest places in the South for 2025. And that deserves a nice hand. A while back they looked at the way the Dementia Friendly Committee has done with dementia patients and all within St. Albans with the businesses and the homes and the education that they have provided. That that went a long ways, but this is an award that represents the entire community. It's not about me, it's not about the city of St. Albans government, it's about the citizens and all the organizations, the businesses. I mean, kudos. That is a great uh recognition for the city of St. Alban. So I just wanted to mention that. Any other praise and recognition? With none apparent, approval minutes from city council September 2nd, 2025. So moved. Very good.

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