St. C. taps Greenwood as safety/service director
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- The city will go forward with a new safety and service director, but the council members remain divided on this and many other points.
The third reading to hire local architect Jeremy Greenwood to the position passed by a 4-3 vote via teleconference Monday, with council members Perry Basile, Terra Butler, Mike Smith and Beth Oprisch in favor and Mark Bukmir, Frank Sabatino and Linda Jordan opposed.
Sabatino, Jordan and Bukmir have shown opposition to Greenwood's candidacy for the position or elements of his contract, with Sabatino voicing concerns that Greenwood -- as a local business owner -- would not have enough time to devote to the job. Jordan raised the issue of his salary and pointed out he has no experience working for a government entity. Butler has said Greenwood indicated during his interviews with council that duties to the city would take precedence.
"Standing by my statement that I made about the salary during our last special meeting, my vote's 'no,'" Jordan said.
According to city staff, Greenwood's contract calls for an annual salary of $78,000 during his instructional period. It will then be increased to $83,000 yearly.
"Welcome to Jeremy. I appreciate his patience during this. Welcome to the city," Oprisch said.
"He's a local resident, and he seems very eager to do what he can to help the city and we need that position filled," Council President Jim Velas said afterward. "I'm glad council chose to fill that position."
The city has been searching for a new safety and service director since February, when the prior director retired. Mayor Kathryn Thalman has been filling administrative positions since the beginning of the year when the police chief, clerk of council, law director and finance director retired or stepped down, with many of those selections being contentious to some extent.
The city is currently conducting a multitude of projects ranging from normal street patching and repairs to waterline leak repairs, as well as preparations to connect with Belmont County's water system to purchase water from the county to meet Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandates.
Greenwood could not be reached for comment after the meeting.
After the vote, Oprisch asked Law Director Elizabeth Glick to define the number of council members needed for a quorum. Glick said a majority of four members was sufficient for a regular meeting.
"A majority of four council members, if all seven are present, is a majority, and that is a quorum, and that is what we'll be dealing with from this point on," Velas said.
"Including a special meeting, a quorum would be four members," Glick said.
Sabatino also inquired if the Ohio Ethics Commission had responded to a letter by 87 residents submitted to council and the mayor demanding that Thalman address a social media post Basile shared that was critical of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Glick said she is short-staffed and in the process of drafting a letter to the Ohio Ethics Commission asking for the proper course of action.
In other matters, Velas noted that until an official change is announced, all council meetings will be done by teleconference and not in person.
Due to Labor Day, the next teleconference meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, rather than the usual first and third Monday of the month.