St. Albans City Council Meeting – March 17, 2026
St. Albans City Council Meeting – March 17, 2026
The St. Albans City Council met on March 17, 2026, for a regular session. The meeting included recognition of a school board candidate, approval of several consent items, a budget amendment to support part-time staffing at the Alban Arts Center, updates on annexation and a Vietnam Moving Wall event, and a lengthy discussion on police and fire department salary challenges. The council also approved payments, a truck lease, and the fiscal year 2027 budget after amendment.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approved: Minutes from the March 2, 2026 City Council meeting were approved by unanimous vote.
- Invoice Payment: A motion to pay current invoices totaling $19,602.51 was approved unanimously.
- Truck Lease Purchase: A resolution for the lease purchase of a truck for the Parks Department was approved unanimously.
- Fiscal Year 2027 Budget: The council approved the fiscal year 2027 general fund budget after an amendment (see Discussion Items). The final budget passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mike Arbogast (School Board Candidate): Mr. Arbogast, a current Kanawha County School Board member and retired educator with 40 years in Kanawha County schools, expressed his support for public education and his desire to serve. He highlighted his experience as a principal, athletic director, and SSAC board member. He noted that schools face challenges from school choice legislation and emphasized his ability to navigate those issues. Mayor James spoke in strong support, calling Arbogast a “common sense guy” with vast experience. Council members also expressed support.
Discussion Items
- Budget Amendment for Arts & Humanities: Councilman Rover proposed an amendment to add $15,000 to the Arts and Humanities salaries and wages line item (page 11, line 1906-1030), offset by subtracting the same amount from the city emergency fund (page 1, line 409-45965). The amendment stated that rental revenues from the Alban Arts Center (approximately $30,000–$40,000 annually) would repay the $15,000, making the amendment budget-neutral. The Finance Committee had been consulted. The amendment was seconded and approved unanimously. The full budget, as amended, was then passed.
- Police and Fire Department Salaries: Chief Bass and other council members discussed critical salary disparities. Chief Bass reported that starting police hourly wage is $12.16, 24.5% lower than the Kanawha Valley average, and that four officers had applied to the county and one sergeant to Hurricane PD. He noted that increasing city service fees by 15% had been hoped to fund salary enhancements but did not. He stated that fire department starting wage ($12.16) is far below Putnam County’s ($21.63), and that 25-year captains earn less than a beginning firefighter in Putnam. Several council members acknowledged the need for future rate increases, with Mayor James stating the city service fee ($360/year) is “the greatest deal in the United States” and will likely need to rise. Councilman Knight suggested consolidating the two fire stations as a cost-saving measure, but Chief Bass noted track crossings complicate a central location. Mayor James and others expressed support for annexation and business growth (e.g., Tractor Supply opening mid-summer) as long-term solutions.
- Annexation Update: Councilman Knight reported that the Sun Valley annexation list from the county assessor has been reviewed and sent to the attorney. Once approved, the city will begin a door‑knocking canvass to collect signatures. Mayor James added he will approach businesses along Jefferson Road for annexation, similar to Hurricane’s strategy. Some council members noted that annexation is often met with resistance from property owners.
- Vietnam Moving Wall Event: Councilman Knight announced that the Moving Wall (half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial) will be in St. Albans June 25–29, 2026, at the former Kmart property (Essential Grove Properties). It will be set up by motorcycle escort from Princeton, and will remain 24/7. Opening ceremony is June 27 (Saturday), closing June 29. Community donations are sought through the VFW. Tickets or donations can be made to the VFW.
- Spring Cleanup & Recycling: Public works announced spring cleanup dates (April 27 or May) and that P‑request forms must be submitted by April 1. The city is seeking ideas to promote recycling. A council member noted the Heads Up app no longer alerts users of updates; Mayor James will contact Butch (the app manager) to resolve this.
- Take-Home Police Cars: Chief Bass distributed a memo recommending retention of take-home cars, citing benefits for rapid emergency response, court appearances, and vehicle care. Council members voiced support, noting that officers cannot use cars for personal errands and that take-home cars increase visible police presence.
Key Outcomes
- Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Approved: The budget, as amended to add $15,000 to Arts and Humanities salaries (offset from the emergency fund), passed unanimously.
- Lease Purchase of Parks Truck Approved: Unanimous.
- Invoice Payment Approved: $19,602.51, unanimous.
- Minutes Approved: Unanimous.
- Sun Valley Annexation Process Ongoing: Attorney review awaited; door‑knocking will follow approval.
- Moving Wall Event Scheduled: June 25–29, 2026 at Kmart property; opening ceremony June 27.
- Dog Bowl Fundraiser: Sunday, March 22 (this Sunday) from 1–7 p.m. at Town & Country; slots still available.
- Pub Crawl: March 28, 2026.
- Upcoming Meetings: MS4/MUC Board (March 17), Finance Committee (March 23), Public Works Committee (April 1), Parks Committee (April 2), City Council (April 6).
- No further public comment or old/new business: Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Slower police down, didn't slow her fire down. Didn't slow public works down. Parts of wreck on and on. So you know, kudos to two our employees, that's for sure. Anybody else got anything? I also don't want to recognize uh Mike Arborgast. Uh Mike, you may step up to the podium. Thank you. Mayor, appreciate uh city council members. I appreciate y'all taking me to come down here and do it myself. My name is Mike Arbacast. I'm a current member of Canaan County School's Board of Education where I was appointed back in September, and after I was on there for four or five months, I really just had, you know, thought I was going to end up serving out uh the term that was vacated by a seat, and then I got on there and I thought, you know what, maybe I can help navigate some of the challenges we have going forward. I do have over 40 years' experience in Kinoff County schools. Um I started out as a teacher when I was 19 years old, put myself through school at night, uh, now became a teacher and a coach, served as an athletic director, uh, vice principal, and then finally principal of South Charleston High School from 2007 to 2019. In fact, I coached two of your board members. I had Mr. Cattle at my first year of coaching when I did not know what I was doing. And I coached Mr. Campbell at the end of my coaching career when I did know what I was doing, so I don't know which one of those two would have been worse, but uh they made it through, I guess. But uh I am from St. Albance, I was born and raised here. Um my parents were both educators, my dad was a principal at Nitro High School, uh, my mom was an elementary teacher, she got one foam in her 30s and passed away, and uh my dad at that time left and went to Dunbar Junior High School, so he's gonna be able to spend more time with my sister and I, you know, the high schools are challenging, and they they take up a lot of time, so um, I have that uh background with me. I do represent our district. Uh of course, like I said, I'm from St. Alban, so I still live in St. Alban, so these schools are part of my district. Um, we got a challenging times in front of us in public schools. I'm sure you've seen it all. Uh you know, that what's going on with school choice, and I don't care what side of the fence you're on with that. You know, we really don't have uh the ability to implement what our thoughts are. I'm still a believer of public schools, personally, or I wouldn't be doing this, but at the same time, we have to play the handle we've been developing, and that's gonna come with some difficult challenges and uh realize that. So I really kind of feel like maybe I can because of my background experience, I might be able to help our center office to uh to navigate through some of the challenges we're gonna be having. So I don't want to take up a bunch of your time, but I will tell you, I left you all a little envelope that's got my press release in it, it's got uh my business card in it. I'll be happy to take any questions you got right now, but if something comes up down the road, feel free to shoot me an email. Mayor James has my number, Coach Campbell, Jared's got my number. Uh guys, reach out to me. Bobby Pray still has my number. Um so reach out to me, and I'll do anything I can to uh try to help each and every one of you. Yes, sir. Yeah, I'm glad that uh school year is going to be based on number of hours versus days. I think it's gonna help with the weather, Tony. You know, that wouldn't be worried about trying to make up days and scramble around. You know, the State Department actually uh disorder they just gave us a labor, so we're not gonna have to make up the days that we ended up missing, but you know, through technology, we're able to do some of those uh non-traditional school days where kids were able to get on the computer at the house. The teachers got on the computer, and I think that helps too. You're not totally missing a total day of school uh with that avenue. So there's some other things out there, hopefully things are going to get better down the road as well. So mayor, you got anything for me? No, I just want to let everybody know. You know, I've coached many, many years. Uh first off, I've known Mike since we were young and grew up together.
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