St. Albans City Council Meeting - January 6, 2026
St. Albans City Council Meeting - January 6, 2026
The St. Albans City Council met on January 6, 2026, at 6:30 PM in the council chambers. The meeting opened with a prayer led by Council Member McClusuman and the Pledge of Allegiance. Council members praised the Parks and Recreation Department for the successful Festival of Lights. The council approved minutes from December 15, 2025, and handled routine financial approvals and appointments.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the December 15, 2025 City Council meeting were approved unanimously.
- Payment of Invoices: A motion to approve payment of current invoices totaling $16,191.49 was approved unanimously.
- Reappointment: Matt Cole was reappointed to the MUC board with a term expiring December 19, 2029; the motion passed unanimously.
Praise and Recognition
- Festival of Lights: Kevin reported final numbers: nearly 10,000 cars (9,961) passed through, donations exceeded $35,000, and attendance figures included 863 on the hayride, 439 walk-throughs, and 4,204 visitors to the Santa House. Despite road construction challenges and two weather-related closures, feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Council commended Kevin and the Parks team.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Roger Massie (421 Waldo Street): Thanked council for new signage at Coal River and city offices, but noted the east-end sign is still missing. The Mayor responded that a more elaborate sign is planned for that entrance. Mr. Massie also raised concerns about potholes at Monroe and Walnut, where repeated asphalt overlays may be masking deeper issues. The council directed Public Works to inspect the location.
Discussion Items
- Ordinance First Reading: Council approved Ordinance 2025-01 for replacement pages to the Code of the City of St. Albans, setting it to second reading. Council members were given the option to receive new pages if they did not update their personal codes.
- Paving List and Road Repairs: The council discussed the upcoming paving list. Members were asked to submit prioritized lists of urgent needs to Public Works by the end of January or early February. It was noted that asphalt plants temporarily closed but reopened for hot patching. The council emphasized reporting specific pothole locations for immediate patch work.
- Appointment to MUC Board: Mike Drumheller was considered to fill the unexpired term of Ron Fourn, expiring January 7, 2027. No vote was taken; confirmation will occur at the next meeting per code.
- Ordinance Committee Agenda: The committee will meet on January 8 at 6 PM to discuss playgrounds in front yards and side yards. Council clarified this item passed P&Z and council and is separate from a previous ordinance that required referral back to P&Z.
Key Outcomes
- December 15, 2025 minutes approved.
- Invoices paid totaling $16,191.49.
- Ordinance for code replacement pages moved to second reading.
- Matt Cole reappointed to MUC board.
- Festival of Lights statistics and donations officially reported.
- Paving list process initiated with submission deadline by end of January.
- Mike Drumheller appointment to be confirmed at next meeting.
- Upcoming meetings announced:
- Public Works Committee: Canceled (next meeting in February)
- Parks Committee: January 8 at 6 PM
- Ordinance Committee: January 8 at 6 PM (SAPD boardroom)
- Finance Committee: January 12 at 4:30 PM
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day: City offices closed January 19
- City Council: January 20 at 6:30 PM
- MUC Board: January 21 at 5:30 PM
- Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Council McClusuman, if you could lead us in the indication, please. We thank you that we're able to gather here, especially during the first of the year, Lord. We thank you for the many blessings that you have bestowed upon us during last year, Lord. I pray for protection for our first responders and our children, Lord. Thank you for everything that you do for us here, and we pray. Amen. All right, uh, Brandon, would you like to lose the pledge, please? Pledge of leadership. Under God. Individual. Call this meeting to order. Hope everybody had a wonderful holiday. Praise and recognition. I mean, I want to give praise and recognition to the parks and rec for the job they did during the festival lights. They did a wonderful job. Under more than normal difficult situations with the road, you know, uh being beat up like it was, but uh things went well, and we're very excited about that. Kevin, you got any final numbers or anything? Well, I sent you final numbers. Our goal typically every year is 10 to 12,000 cars. We had almost 10,000 cars. I think we missed it by 39 this year. Donations were right there where we needed to be, and nothing but positive from everybody. So yeah, we had some challenges. We unfortunately had to close two nights this year. I don't ever remember having to close two nights. Uh weather did cooperate early on with us and stuff, but uh everybody was very pleased when I came through the lights. The guys did a great job. Very good. Any other praise and recognition? All right, uh approval of minutes from City Council, December 15th, 2025. Okay. That was a year ago, wasn't it? All right. Any questions or discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Motion carries. Uh no new business. Suggested ordinance issues. We don't have any ordinances first reading. Oh, what's that? The old we're just waiting on the final rewording from the county. They were off during the holidays, so Mike has not received that yet. Or councilman, uh you got anything to say? No, I know my sleep note that's all right. Yeah, yeah. So everything's gonna probably be in our favor, but you know, uh, we're just waiting until they get it to Mike and Mike will get it to us. So any questions or discussion on that. I just want them to get the uh gym cleared out so we can start renting it out, you know.
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