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St. Clairsville leaders at odds

T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK St. Clairsville Mayor Kathryn Thalman reports Tuesday on the city’s economic future, but some council members question the need for a new director of development position.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — City Council is divided on creating a new director of development position with members at odds over the new mayor’s administration.

Council went into executive session for about a half-hour Tuesday to discuss matters of personnel, with Councilman Frank Sabatino voting against an executive session and the other council members in favor. Councilman Mark Bukmir was absent.

Afterward, council voted on whether to dispense with three readings and pass a resolution creating the position of chief of staff/director of development for the city. According to the ordinance, Mayor Kathryn Thalman has recommended this and the position would have a salary of $48,500 per year during a six-month instructional period, and afterward increased to $53,500 per year.

After the executive session, Sabatino and Councilwoman Linda Jordan voted against dispensing with three readings while Council Members Perry Basile, Beth Oprisch, Mike Smith and Terra Butler voted in favor. Because there was an insufficient majority, council held the first reading. A vote will not take place until the third reading.

“After three weeks, I am very disappointed in the mayor for creating and not advertising,” Sabatino said. “She promised when she ran to cut taxes, and here we are creating a new position which will cost the taxpayers anywhere from $48,500 to $53,500 a year, plus benefits. … The person she has in mind, I question her qualifications — and it would happen to be Ms. Thalman’s best friend, and this person is not a city resident.”

Basile disagreed.

“I’ve been here for two years. We’ve had nothing but dissension in the city. It’s been a nightmare. We’ve been fighting back and forth. We’ve got nothing done,” he said, adding the environment has not been conducive to business and development.

“I’ve watched angry business owners on Main Street with nothing good to say. … We need a new face on this city. We need to put someone in that position … who’s going to go out and bring businesses into this city. … We don’t need a bureaucrat. We need someone (with a business background) who knows how to get stuff done.”

“Questioning the qualifications of a person does not set well with me,” Oprisch said. “Wanting to be a good steward of the taxpayers’ money is absolutely our job. We should question and we should express our opinions, but we also shouldn’t disagree just to disagree.”

Afterward, Thalman said the position was necessary to make St. Clairsville business-friendly. She pointed out new developments in the county, such as the proposed PTT Global Chemical America ethane cracker plant eyed for the Dilles Bottom area.

“They would be a liaison to business … helping me with internal development. Things that need changed in the absolute internal structure of the business plan of our city. There are things that are antiquated, archaic and need fixed,” she said. “As well as outside development. … Complimentary businesses that might come with the PTT cracker plant. Businesses coming to the (St. Clair) commons. Meeting with developers. Meeting with landowners.”

Thalman also commented on the matter of the proposed disciplining of a police officer, T.J. Stewart, for three reported infractions in 2019. Outgoing mayor Terry Pugh deferred the matter to Thalman’s administration and released a letter to the public outlining the case.

“The police matter has been resolved. I followed the recommendations of the two law firms who reviewed the information. The appropriate recommended measures were put in place. We took the recommended action. It is now behind us. We will move forward,” Thalman said.

Afterward, Thalman said Stewart remains on the police force, but did not comment on any change on his status or the nature of any discipline. She criticized Pugh’s decision to make the matter public.

Sabatino asked if a report would be made available to council. Thalman said it would, but the matter will not be made public.

During the meeting, Thalman reported on other economic matters. She has met with Belmont County commissioners to discuss development.

“We’re looking at how we can all work together to get the (St. Clair) Commons moving. We don’t want to see that sit,” she said. “There’s a lot of things coming to the valley. We want to be a part of it.”

She said the city continued to advise for the position of safety and service director and finance director, with resumes accepted until Jan. 27. She said she also hopes to have a permanent chief of police in place by the next council meeting.

Thalman has also met with representatives from Aqua Ohio, the private entity that has negotiated with the prior administration to purchase the water and wastewater service. Thalman is asking the company to change its April deadline for the city to decide on a sale so that she can look into a study of the costs of meeting Ohio Environmental Protection Agency regulations and maintaining local control. Answering a question from Jordan, Thalman said she would be meeting with the EPA soon.

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