T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Departing Councilwomen Beth Oprisch, left, and Linda Jordan, right, and Councilman Mike Smith participate in a meeting Monday where it was decided to table the issue of a GIS coordinator.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — City Council wished two departing councilwomen well and decided to further mull creation of a new Geographic Information System coordinator position.

City leaders met for the last time this year, and council President Jim Velas recognized Councilwomen Beth Oprisch and Linda Jordan during their final meeting. Both have served for eight years. Oprisch chose not to seek reelection while Jordan lost a bid for the mayor’s office in November. Incumbent Mayor Kathryn Thalman got 936 votes, Jordan got 618 and resident Bill Brooks received 278 in the three-way contest.

Councilman Mike Smith said although the departing members and he have disagreed on some issues, he commended their dedication to the city.

“I’m going to miss these two,” he said.

Councilwoman Kristi Lipscomb said both members were welcoming when she began her term in September 2022. She thanked them both for their professionalism.

“Both of them were ready for advice when I would call and ask,” she said. “Willing to help navigate.”

Thalman agreed.

“Thank you for your service,” she told the pair.

Their seats will be filled by Holly West and Lucien Murzyn, both of whom were in attendance and spoke with Velas prior to the meeting.

In other matters, Safety and Service Director Jeremy Greenwood asked that council table the third reading and the vote to create a GIS coordinator position in order to allow him to look into “other options.” In earlier meetings, Greenwood said having a dedicated city employee rather than a part-time contractor would be valuable in mapping the city’s existing and new utilities and waterline locations in accordance with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandates.

As part of the federal government’s plan to eliminate the country’s lead waterlines in 10 years, the Ohio EPA has ordered the city to gather far more extensive information about its utility systems. This includes identifying every service line by name, street number, location, latitude and longitude, as well as if it is in the asset management plan, when the start date was, if it is lead, if it is meter-serviced, and if the city owns it.

Greenwood has said the possible salary of a full-time coordinator could be $75,000 a year, with a benefits package bringing that to $100,000.

He said the other options he will explore include a suggestion by Jordan that the city might make use of the Ohio Geographic Records Index Program. Greenwood said OGRIP primarily works with communities in establishing GIS software, but he is determining if the organization has the resources to help St. Clairsville.

After the meeting, Greenwood did not speculate about when council might consider the final reading and vote on whether to create the position.

Also, Finance Director Annette Whealdon provided the temporary budget for the first three months of 2024, totalling $8,431,745. Whealdon said this is a normal amount and that council must approve a permanent budget by April 1.

Council went into a closed-door session for about 45 minutes to discuss matters of personnel. No action was taken when members returned to open session.