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St. C. to resume in-person meetings | News, Sports, Jobs

Times Leader Staff Writer ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The city council will once again be meeting face-to-face after nearly a year of teleconference sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, Council President Jim Velas announced the 7:30 May 17 meeting will be in person. “Due to the relaxation of some of the people in the meetings, we will have enough room in our council chambers to accommodate the entire council and the city officials,” Velas said. “They will follow all of the guidelines laid down by the health department … We are in serious hopes that they will relax them even a little bit more, where we will be able to consider bringing the general public back into the meeting.”

St. St. C. vote by email stands, in-person meetings to resume | News, Sports, Jobs

Times Leader Staff Writer ST. CLAIRSVILLE — St. Clairsville City Council members took no action Monday to correct a vote cast by email that appeared to violate the Ohio Open Meetings Act, but the emails were read aloud and each member verbally confirmed their vote was recorded correctly. The vote by email occurred April 5 to fill two seats on the recreation board. Council chose not to rescind the vote and said plans are in the works to revive in-person meetings, which would hopefully prevent such incidents in the future. According to the “2021 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual” published by Attorney General Dave Yosts’s office: “A public body must make all of its meetings open to the public at all times. Secret ballots, whispering of public business, and ’round-robin’ discussions are all prohibited under the openness requirement.”

St. Clairsville recreation appointments lead to confusion | News, Sports, Jobs

Times Leader Staff Writer ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Questions and confusion about the latest nominations to fill two expiring terms on the city recreation board for the J.B. Martin Recreation Center dominated the Monday teleconference meeting of St. Clairsville City Council. After more than a half-hour of debate, council voted in favor of current board members Diane Schubert and Alicia Freeman, daughter of Councilwoman Linda Jordan. Their terms had been set to expire April 17. Each will serve another five-year term. Councilman Perry Basile had nominated Lisa Amos. Council members were unsure if one or both terms were set to expire this month, and some members suggested putting off the vote until a later meeting until this could be determined. When Jordan did not withdraw her nomination of Freeman, Law Director Elizabeth Glick consulted prior council minutes and found Schubert had filled an ongoing term rather than a complete one, and so both of the council’s nominations were open.

St. C. creating new wastewater position | News, Sports, Jobs

Staff Writer ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Water and wastewater issues were again front and center during Monday’s teleconference meeting of City Council. An unexpected malfunction of neglected equipment at the wastewater treatment plant spurred city leaders to begin the search for someone to take a more active role in managing this service, which will mean creating a new position of wastewater superintendent. Safety and Service Director Jeremy Greenwood reported an expensive breakdown during a finance committee meeting prior to the council session. “We had a blower-motor down at the wastewater plant that basically blew up, and it blew up from lack of maintenance,” Greenwood said, adding the cost of a new one would come to about $49,000. “We’ll have someone there full time to make sure these maintenance items are being taken care of.

Utility fees on the table in St. C. | News, Sports, Jobs

Staff Writer T-L File Photo St. Clairsville Councilman Perry Basile, left, speaks with Council President Jim Velas in a past meeting. Last week, numerous utility issues were discussed. ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The city is addressing fees and funding questions surrounding utilities and planned water upgrades. During last week’s council teleconference meeting, Councilwoman Terra Butler, a member of the utility committee, said an ordinance will be put before the council next month pertaining to shutting off water services and applying a monthly fee. “There’s a policy in place now, if we shut water off, if somebody goes to vacation over the winter … it’s a $50 turn-on and a $50 turn-off, and then they’re charged the monthly minimum amount even though they weren’t using any water,” Safety and Service Director Jeremy Greenwood said afterward, adding the city must balance its needs and expenses with fairness to the residents. “We’re kind of looking at that, seeing if there’s a better way than charging people minimums even though they’re not using the resource. There are fees and costs associated with this, even if somebody’s not pulling water. Even having the connections to our system, that costs fees, and our meters. Everything costs money.

St. C. copes with snow, makes water service plans | News, Sports, Jobs

Times Leader Staff Writer St. Clairsville Mayor Kathryn Thalman makes a presentation during a prior meeting. The city is making progress on the issue of water service as well as responding to the recent cold weather. ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A teleconference meeting of St. Clairsville City Council last week featured updates regarding winter weather issues and water service. Before council could get down to regular business, though, drama arose again as Mayor Kathryn Thalman read a letter from resident Carrie Gralinski criticizing Councilman Frank Sabatino for reading a constituent’s letter to Thalman in the last meeting. The earlier letter writer expressed disappointment in Thalman for sharing a social media post from a conservative commentator that referred to “liberals” as “communists.” Gralinski’s response to Sabatino described his reading of the letter as “political theatre.”

Finances, social media, on the table in St. Clairsville | News, Sports, Jobs

Times Leader Staff Writer ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A resident wrote a letter criticizing Mayor Kathryn Thalman for a social media post, and a councilman read that letter during a Monday teleconference meeting. Councilman Frank Sabatino read the letter and also had several questions about the process of closing out the books for 2020 and setting up appropriations for 2021. Thalman had shared a post that quoted conservative commentator Candace Owens referring to “liberals” as “communists.” It was deleted from Thalman’s personal page, but there have been numerous comments about the matter on a Facebook page devoted to the city. Sabatino read the letter by resident Matt Berher, who also addressed a letter to the mayor. He wrote that the post was not a sign Thalman was attempting to end political division in the city.

St. Clairsville Mayor Kathryn Thalman Shares Post Referring to 'Liberals' as 'Communists' on Social Media | News, Sports, Jobs

THALMAN ST. CLAIRSVILLE — During a tumultuous time when Americans are divided along political lines, city residents are expressing concerns about a post Mayor Kathryn Thalman apparently shared on Facebook. The post features a picture of conservative commentator Candace Owens and the following quote: “We need to stop calling them liberals and begin referring to them as exactly what they are: American communists that wish to partake in the destruction of western civilization.” The post on Thalman’s personal Facebook page is dated Dec. 29 and appears without context or further explanation. Thalman did not respond to multiple requests to confirm or deny that she shared the post. She could not be reached at her home or office for comment Thursday.