St. Clairsville Council President Jim Velas moderates a recent teleconference council meeting.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — City leaders tabled the decision of whether to reinstate $50 utility reconnection fees now that shutoffs are occurring again.

Disconnections began last week. The matter of whether to continue reconnect fees will be addressed at the teleconference meeting scheduled for this evening.

Councilwoman Beth Oprisch said the city has waived fees for the past several months and has not disconnected delinquent residents from March through June.

“We decided not to charge that ($50 reconnection) fee for the last month, so we need to decide whether or not we’re going to impose that reconnection fee or not for September,” she said.

Council President Jim Velas said since there had been no disconnections yet, there had been no reconnection fees.

On Sept. 8, council debated the matter, weighing the financial impact to the city against the needs of residents who continue to struggle to make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In answer to a question from Councilman Frank Sabatino, he was informed that Belmont County continues to be ranked “yellow” in the state’s color-coded public health alert system. The risk is currently low.

However, Velas pointed out more recent developments such as the reopenings of Belmont County’s schools, most of which are at full attendance every day. While the schools have many precautions in place to stop the from virus spreading, Velas said the city should not discount a possible spike in new cases in the coming weeks.

“We’re still in yellow, but that obviously could change at any time,” Velas said. “The possibility of those numbers maybe jumping up a little bit now that school is back in session … that could change everything. … The incubation period for contamination is normally two weeks, so we probably have to go a couple weeks before we have any indication of what’s going to happen, and see what information we get from the health department.”

The average number of delinquent bills is 30-35 a month. That figure rose to 150, but the number was expected to dwindle by the Sept. 11 shutoff date.

Sabatino said he is in favor of reinstituting the reconnect fee, but he suggested tabling the matter until the next meeting scheduled for today.

Councilman Mark Bukmir is also in favor of the reconnect fee, but he suggested giving residents warnings and asking them to work with city officials on a payment plan.

“I feel it’s in the best interests of the city to try to be fiscally sound and recoup the money that we can,” he said.

“I don’t see an emergency to start charging reconnect fees just yet,” Councilwoman Terra Butler said, adding many residents are still out of work.

Councilman Perry Butler suggested dealing with individual households on a case-by-case basis.

In other matters, Police Chief Matt Arbenz reported the new K9 officer Odin, a 2-year-old Malinois, and his trainer Officer T.J. Weyand were completing training and expected to be certified and on the road by Sept. 14.

However, Odin chipped one of his teeth during training and needed a root canal.

“We might have to take money from another place to cover that medical cost until the K-9 fund gets refilled,” Arbenz said.

Mayor Kathryn Thalman asked if the city should obtain insurance for Odin. Arbenz said the K-9’s medical needs are normally met by veterinarian Karl Yurko at K.E.Y. Animal Hospital in Wheeling at no cost, but a root canal is a specialized procedure.

In answer to a question from Councilman Mike Smith, Arbenz said Odin is trained in narcotics detection, tracking missing people and apprehension.

Councilwoman Linda Jordan asked if council might begin meeting in person and with the public at a venue such as the J.B. Martin Recreation Center rather than continue via teleconference. Jordan said other councils are meeting in person. Velas said the matter has been discussed with the law director and county health department, and it is doubtful St. Clairsville’s council could meet in person and adhere to state guidelines at this time.

Council will hold a teleconference meeting at 7:30 p.m. today. The public may dial in to listen at 800-338-7154. The access code is 2756. A finance committee meeting will take place at 6:45 p.m. The same dial-in phone number and access code for the Council meeting can be used for the committee meeting.