ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Cumberland Trail Fire District board will have a third member after Richland Township and St. Clairsville City Council agreed to restructure the board.

Council approved the agreement during a teleconference meeting Monday evening after some discussion and clarification. The township already had approved the legislation. Councilwoman Beth Oprisch inquired why it was necessary to pass the matter as an emergency.

Law Director Elizabeth Glick said the fire district board now has only two members, one representing the city and one representing the township. These are St. Clairsville Councilman Frank Sabatino and Richland Township Trustee Kathy Kaluger. The new legislation will allow the board to advertise for and appoint a third member, not biased for either entity.

Glick said with only two members, there is no tie-breaker vote should they be unable to come to an agreement, and should one fall ill or otherwise be unable to participate in a meeting, no quorum could be achieved.

In answer to further questions from Oprisch, Council President Jim Velas said there had been four members for more than 20 years, but the related documentation is missing.

“There was previous legislation … that created two additional positions. Under that legislation the city appointed one, then the township appointed one, and the other two appointees were made by the board itself. My understanding was that nobody can find that legislation at the time. Nobody has any records of it. … They don’t have it at the firehouse. Basically there is nothing on paper that … says there are four members. … We need to eliminate the possibility of running into legal repercussions.”

Velas said this situation also casts some doubt on the validity of the board’s prior decisions.

Board terms are for one year.

The board has had two members since the end of August, when the term of Todd Witchey of Richland Township expired. The term of Perry Jones of St. Clairsville expired in February.

The attorney representing the fire district was also called to answer questions.

A question from Councilman Mike Smith revealed that the board is its own political subdivision and the city and township are not involved in day-to-day operations. Velas said a functional board must be assured in case it would need to address issues of purchasing equipment or legal matters. Firefighters also encounter emergency situations that may require a decision.

Oprisch and Smith suggested tabling the legislation until a later meeting so they could more closely review the language.

“There’s no need to table this,” Sabatino said. “For all the reasons that’s been stated, it needs to be done on an emergency.”

“I think under the current circumstances, this piece of legislation does definitely fall under what I would consider emergency legislation, because we could have serious repercussions if we don’t get something done as soon as possible,” Velas said.

“This isn’t about Frank Sabatino and Kathy Kaluger, this is about the entire fire district of Cumberland Trail. This is all the citizens of this fire district. We have to do what’s best for them,” Sabatino said.

“I concur with what Mr. Sabatino said,” Oprisch said. “I still have some concerns with Section Three (of the legislation) and how the at-large board members will be appointed, but I’m going to trust that it will be in the best interest of the fire board and the residents of (St. Clairsville) and Richland Township.”

Council members Linda Jordan, Oprisch, Sabatino, Smith and Mark Bukmir voted in favor of passing the legislation as an emergency and forgoing the required three readings. Council members Terra Butler and Perry Basile abstained. Council unanimously voted to pass the legislation.

The next fire board meeting will be held Oct. 14 at the main station in St. Clairsville.