Outdoor seating approved
The Sistersville City Council met on Monday to address the municipal business outlined on an agenda previsouly set for April 11.
After seating a quorum and approving the minutes from the March 14 meeting, Mayor David Fox opened the floor up to the public.
Charles Winslow, owner of The Wells Inn, made a request to set up cafe style seating on the sidewalk outside his hotel.
“. . .I will have the area fenced off so we don’t have people wandering around or sitting on it,” Winslow explained. “I’d like to suggest that we do a blanket motion to allow the other two restaurants in town do the same thing in the spirit of cooperation.”
The council agreed to Winslow’s request.
Fox added, “I think it’s a great idea!”
City Recorder Diana Mace explained the drawdowns needed for payment of invoices incurred on the water project. The current drawdown in the amount of $97,341 covers a small administration fee and the cost of the backhoe. A motion to approve the measure was made and approved by council.
An additional drawdown was approved for the Willison Family Center. Two drawdowns totalling more than $14,000 will cover the cost of batting cages, a pitching machine, floor mats and updates to provide handicap accessibility, among other things.
Allan Maxwell took the floor to update the assembly on the sediment removal in the basin at the City’s water treatment plant. “We’ve pumped four times and it went really well. We estimate that we have removed 23,713 cubic feet of sediment from the tank,” he said. “We’ve increased the retention time from 1.34 hours to 3.31 hours.”
According to Maxwell, the water quality has increased and it is “much cleaner” than it was prior to the removal project. “It’s hard to believe!”
Council approved more than $20,000 for the project. So far, they have only used $5,800 on the removal project, which is approxinmately 18 percent complete.
Fox commented, “It looks like a whole different plant.”
For months, the Sistersville City Council has been looking into providing a more substanital retirement program for their employees. This was suggested as a result of the high turnover rate. Councilman Curtis Heintzman took the helm on the exploration and reported on his findings.
“What it boils down to is that each employee would pay 4.5 percent of his base pay into the program. The City would be responsible for 12.5 percent for fulltime employees.”
Heintzman added, “I want to make sure that we aren’t biting off more than we can chew.”
Though the decision is up to the council, Heintzman said he “does not want to shove this down someone’s throat.”
No action was taken as the council investigates the matter further.
In police matters, Ptlm. A.J. Thomas has been added to the roster for the upcoming basic training class at the West Virginia State Police Academy. He will begin training on May 2.
The next regular meeting will be held May 9 at 7 p.m.