OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Albans City Council Meeting - January 21, 2026

City Council Meetings — Wednesday, January 21, 2026
BodySt Albans, West Virginia
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateWednesday, January 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 10:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

I pray for the safety of our first responders word.

0:13

Lord, I pray for the upcoming weather that people drive safely throughout the community.

0:18

Pray for our children also for help us have a good meeting here.

0:23

Amen.

0:24

All right.

0:25

Kayla, would you like to leave us in the pledge, please?

0:43

We'll call this meeting the order.

0:46

Um praise and recognition.

0:50

Uh 10 up ministers.

0:53

All right.

0:54

Ten up ministries.

0:55

We had a contest this year on the floats for the Christmas pray.

1:01

And 10 up ministries won.

1:03

Congratulations.

1:05

And there's your check.

1:13

I got checked the registration.

1:14

Any other praise or recognition?

1:16

If you have well, I'm I'm not going to jump ahead, but we get to snow they're talking about snow, and I'm going to go ahead and praise public works for the job they got ahead of them.

1:32

There's no doubt about that.

1:34

So anyway.

1:36

I got that.

1:38

Anyone else?

1:39

Praise recognition.

1:41

All right.

1:42

Approval minutes from City Council January.

1:45

January 5th, 2026.

1:47

Oh, so motion.

1:48

Second.

1:49

Questions or discussion or changes.

1:53

All in favor say aye.

1:56

Opposed nay.

1:58

Motion carries.

2:00

Old business.

2:01

Approval of the resolution authorizing the mayor to sign the lease agreement between the city of St.

2:07

Albans and Canal County Board of Education regarding the property formerly known as McKinley Middle School.

2:16

Would you like to touch on the fact that questions we had had they been addressed?

2:20

Yes, uh, there were some issues regarding the insurance and uh they have taken care of it.

2:28

The only item is says we we had a insurance policy that covered 500,000 for personal property, and they were wanting a million.

2:42

We don't have a million.

2:44

If we looked at it, it kind of cost me to uh to pay for that extra half million dollars coverage, so the board has reworded it, which is a bit concerning, but I'm not sure that they're gonna change it.

2:59

It says we will have enough coverage to cover any personal property damage.

3:05

Now, quite frankly, I'll actually says for any damage, and we have a million dollars for the for the uh liability frame injuries, but I think we're okay, but um they were a little bit difficult to deal with, but I know you guys want to get it done.

3:22

So we agreed to their language.

3:26

Questions or discussion?

3:29

All in favor say aye.

3:33

Motion second any other discussion questions.

3:42

All in favor say aye.

3:44

Opposed, nay, motion carries.

3:48

Great job, council.

3:51

Makes the quality of life of our citizens much much better.

3:55

I've been told my whole life that I'm 66 years old.

3:58

We're gonna have a community center.

4:00

We've never had one, and this will be as close as we've got.

4:04

So thank you all very much.

4:07

Uh four times gym open.

4:10

Well, it's gonna be over.

4:12

We we got a lot of plans for it.

4:14

Uh, if you're not getting book yourself an appointment if you're retired and you don't work, you can play pickleball during the day.

4:22

All right, once we get the portable pickleball board.

4:25

So we're excited about that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████71%
Youth Programs█████████████21%
Public Safety█████8%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Albans City Council Meeting - January 21, 2026

The St. Albans City Council met on January 21, 2026, to approve routine items, authorize a lease agreement for the former McKinley Middle School, process finance committee recommendations, and make announcements. The meeting opened with a prayer, pledge, and praise for the Ten Up Ministries float contest winner and public works preparation for upcoming snow.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the January 5, 2026 meeting were approved by voice vote without opposition.
  • Ordinance Second Reading: An ordinance approving the 2025 replacement pages to the city code was adopted by voice vote.

Old Business

  • Lease Agreement for McKinley Middle School Property: The Council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign a lease with the Kanawha County Board of Education for the property formerly known as McKinley Middle School. The mayor noted that prior insurance concerns were addressed: the city's $500,000 personal property coverage was insufficient (the board sought $1 million), but the board reworded the lease to require "enough coverage to cover any personal property damage" and the city has $1 million liability coverage. The mayor expressed that the board was "a little bit difficult to deal with" but the council supported moving forward. The motion passed unanimously.

Finance Committee Report (Councilman Road)

  • Payment of Current Invoices: Approved $39,067.10 for various invoices.
  • Public Works Truck Engine Repair: Approved $7,877.89 to Western Branch Diesel for engine repairs, paid from line item 566-216. A council member asked about the truck's age, and the mayor noted it was an old truck needing transmission work.
  • Highland Station Bathroom Remodel: Approved a $16,553.25 quote from TNR Services for bathroom repair/remodel at the St. Albans Fire Department Highland Station, contingent on camera scoping of lines. Funded from line item 441-215-08.
  • Police Vehicle Auction: Approved auctioning three surplus police vehicles via Go Deals: a 2017 Ford F-150, a 2011 Cadillac, and a 2006 Ford.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No residents addressed the council.

Discussion Items

  • Dance Party Announcement: Kevin announced a kickoff dance party for grade school children at the Hanson Center on Friday, January 23, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., seeking volunteers.
  • Snow Parking Request: Councilman Russ requested that residents avoid parking on streets or park as far to the side as possible to allow snow plows to operate. The mayor asked for the city's Facebook page and website to post the reminder.

Appointments

  • MUC Board Appointment: The Council confirmed the appointment of Mike Drumheld to the Municipal Utilities Commission (MUC) board to fill the unexpired term of Ron Foreign, set to expire January 7, 2027. Approved by voice vote.

Announcements

  • MS4/MUC board meeting: Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. in the MUC conference room.
  • Finance Committee: Monday, February 26, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. in the MUC conference room.
  • City Council: Monday, February 2, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers.
  • Public Works Committee: Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. at the city garage.
  • Parks Committee: Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at the Hanksford Center.
  • Low Income Energy Assistance Program: The West Virginia Department of Human Services open application period begins February 2, 2026. The mayor requested posting on the city website and Facebook.

Key Outcomes

  • All resolutions and motions passed unanimously by voice vote.
  • The lease agreement for the McKinley Middle School property is authorized, pending final language from the school board.
  • Three surplus police vehicles will be auctioned.
  • The MUC board appointment is effective immediately.

Meeting Transcript

I pray for the safety of our first responders word. Lord, I pray for the upcoming weather that people drive safely throughout the community. Pray for our children also for help us have a good meeting here. Amen. All right. Kayla, would you like to leave us in the pledge, please? We'll call this meeting the order. Um praise and recognition. Uh 10 up ministers. All right. Ten up ministries. We had a contest this year on the floats for the Christmas pray. And 10 up ministries won. Congratulations. And there's your check. I got checked the registration. Any other praise or recognition? If you have well, I'm I'm not going to jump ahead, but we get to snow they're talking about snow, and I'm going to go ahead and praise public works for the job they got ahead of them. There's no doubt about that. So anyway. I got that. Anyone else? Praise recognition. All right. Approval minutes from City Council January. January 5th, 2026. Oh, so motion. Second. Questions or discussion or changes. All in favor say aye. Opposed nay. Motion carries. Old business. Approval of the resolution authorizing the mayor to sign the lease agreement between the city of St. Albans and Canal County Board of Education regarding the property formerly known as McKinley Middle School. Would you like to touch on the fact that questions we had had they been addressed? Yes, uh, there were some issues regarding the insurance and uh they have taken care of it. The only item is says we we had a insurance policy that covered 500,000 for personal property, and they were wanting a million. We don't have a million. If we looked at it, it kind of cost me to uh to pay for that extra half million dollars coverage, so the board has reworded it, which is a bit concerning, but I'm not sure that they're gonna change it. It says we will have enough coverage to cover any personal property damage. Now, quite frankly, I'll actually says for any damage, and we have a million dollars for the for the uh liability frame injuries, but I think we're okay, but um they were a little bit difficult to deal with, but I know you guys want to get it done. So we agreed to their language. Questions or discussion? All in favor say aye. Motion second any other discussion questions. All in favor say aye. Opposed, nay, motion carries. Great job, council. Makes the quality of life of our citizens much much better.

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