St. Albans City Council Meeting – March 2, 2026
St. Albans City Council Meeting – March 2, 2026
The St. Albans City Council met on Monday, March 2, 2026. The meeting began with a proclamation recognizing a local swim champion, followed by a presentation from a state senate candidate. The council unanimously approved routine financial items and referred a new ordinance regulating group residential homes to committee. No public comments were made at the end of the meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the February 17, 2026, City Council meeting were approved unanimously.
- Payment of Current Invoices: A motion to pay invoices totaling $31,221.66 was approved.
- Salt Purchase: A payment of $9,934.43 to Compass Minerals for salt used by the Public Works Department was approved. Councilman John Boyd praised the department for their work during a busy winter.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Candidate for State Senate: Todd Bettner, candidate for the 17th District State Senate (unexpired term), addressed the council. He introduced himself as a lifelong resident of the Kanawha Valley, emphasized the need for partnership over partisanship, and shared his background in public policy. When asked about the Hope Scholarship, he stated he would consider scaling it back to avoid harming public schools, noting recent layoffs in Kanawha County. He also expressed support for investing in schools and communities.
Discussion Items
- Group Residential Home Ordinance: Mayor Scott James introduced a proposed ordinance regarding group residential homes, particularly sober living homes. He explained that the city had been working with the Attorney General's office to create regulations, as these homes previously did not need to register. The ordinance would require registration, a $15 business license, and adherence to fire and building codes (including sprinkler systems for homes with six or more occupants). Council members discussed certification requirements, exemptions for ministries, and potential impacts. The ordinance was referred to the ordinance committee for further review.
Key Outcomes
- Proclamation: Mayor James proclaimed March 2, 2026, as "John David Humphreys Day" in honor of the St. Albans High School senior who won the WVSSAC state championship in the 100-yard breaststroke and holds six school swimming records.
- Ordinance Referral: The proposed group residential home ordinance was referred to the ordinance committee by a unanimous vote.
- Upcoming Events: Council members announced several community events, including the St. Albans Dog Bowl on March 22 (benefiting the K9 unit and youth programs), a St. Patrick's Day pub crawl on March 7, and continued use of the McKinley Community Center for sports and activities.
- Committee Meetings: Public Works Committee (March 4), Parks Committee (March 5), Finance Committee (March 9), and next City Council meeting (March 16) were scheduled.
Meeting Transcript
Councilman Kluesterman, would you like to lead us in the invitation, please? Company Father, we thank you that we're able to gather here tonight, Lord. Lord, first off, I'd like to pray for the men and women and ourselves or who's protecting Lord and uh watch over them. Lord, I pray for our first responders and our children should help us as we conduct the city meetings at board and maybe be honored to pray out here and then we pray. Amen. All right, uh Colonel Bob Carpenter, would you like to lead us in the pledge, please, sir? I pledge for a nation. I will call this meeting at St. Albans City Council for Monday, March 2nd, 2026 to order. All right, we have got uh some praise and recognition. I'm gonna start off. Well, first off, does anybody have any praise and recognition before I get into mine? All right. First individual I'm going to recognize. Uh you know, the hardest job I think he had up Morgantown was keeping uh Christian in line. Uh but uh John David Humphries uh won the state championship, uh I believe it is uh the 100-yard breaststroke am I correct on that, John David? And was second place in the 200. I am okay. Uh and so John David, if you come up here, we want to recognize you. And we got a proclamation for you, brother. All right, now there's a lot of whereas is in these proclamations. So John David Humphreys is a senior at St. Albans High School and part of the class of 2026, and whereas his parents, John and are John and Amy Humphries. And whereas his plans after high school include continuing to participate on the collegiate swim team, majoring in finance and pursuing opportunities in real estate. And whereas John is a member of the St. Alban's High School swim team and has achieved numerous athletic honors throughout his tenure, include being including being named WV SSAC State Champion for the Hundred Yard Breaststroke, W V S SAC, First Team All State, and all tournament team, Mount State Athletic Conference, Male Swimmer of the Year, and First Team All Conference. And whereas John holds six of the eight individual event records for St. Albans High School, and whereas our city is proud of the records and achievements John has earned and the publicity they have brought to our community. And now the therefore I, Scott James, mayor of the great city of St. Albans, do hereby proclaim March 2nd, 2026 to be John David Humphreys Day, and Craig congratulates him for his outstanding accomplishments done this second day of March in the year of our Lord 2026. Come on, Mom, get some pictures. We had a day off school on that. Christian, you want to get in up here? Thank you everyone. Yeah, okay. You get in, and then we can get your family up here. It's not hard to see Christian over me. Come up, Mom, you all go right ahead. Get out of the way. Is that you get her in a picture? Yeah. Colonel, come on up. Get out of this place, y'all. They're all taller than you. Congratulations. Thank you. Best of luck in the future, brother. Thank you. All right, next person I want to recognize, and you can always tell when it's election season. People want to come down and talk and introduce themselves.
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