A packed conference room in the City of Grantsville led to an over two hour discussion and somewhat contentious meeting between the Mayor, Council and Community without answers or accountability by the City Government.
Council members present were Emily (Robinson) Collins, Emilee Morgan, Linda Staton, Cheryl Sturm and Recorder Judy Powell. Councilwoman Kimberly Sweat did not attend.
Teresa Overton was the first to speak under Community Concerns at which time she addressed the council regarding their appointment of Emily (Robinson) Collins, requesting the minutes from the December 30th, 2023 unpublished meeting at which time Emily was appointed. The council denied such action as well as denied taking a vote, but the January 5th Regular council meeting told a different story when on that agenda was the swearing in of a new council member. At every attempt to request information regarding this matter Mayor Robert Petrovsky informed Teresa that had had sent the complaint filed against them to RaM Law of Charleston, and the City would not comment until they received RaM Law’s advice, “good, bad or indifferent,” the Mayor said.
The Mayor did say that there was no minutes at the December 30th meeting, because there wasn’t a meeting. The Council just “met” unofficially. Teresa Overton quickly called their response out saying that the Mayor knew there was meeting and put the result (swearing in of an official) on the next Agenda.
Cheryl Sturm again reiterated that it was not an official meeting, no vote was ever taken but rather the council members meeting and expressing their concerns and recommendations about who should fill the vacant council position.
Mayor Petrovsky interjected again that the City would not answer questions because the matter was in the hands of RaM Law office.
Crystal Mersh spoke during this time as well informing the Council that they’re failure to understand and comply with the Sunshine Act regarding Open Meeting Laws was going to come back on each council member personally.
Town Recorder Judy Powell spoke stating that as long as she had been working with City Government they’d had work sessions. And although she was not at this particular meeting she knew there was a discussion but did not know about a vote. At which point Ms. Overton called foul again, expressing great concern saying “We know there was a vote, and even if its a work meeting there has to be minutes and the council has to follow the rules.”
The Mayor again said it was for the Attorney to determine if they had done anything wrong and they would not comment.
Ms. Overton expressed her concern with their secret meeting to choose Councilwoman Emily Robinson Collins, when there were two applicants, for which she (Teresa Overton) was the other. Why did they not want the public to know and why was her 35 years of business experience, Education, grant writing and community involvement not considered. Stating that she had more business experience than the years Emily had been alive.
This comment struck Emily Collins at which point she said that at the age of 29, she had worked very hard at her professional career and community service. “For me it doesn’t always come down to Experience.” To which Teresa responded “What it comes down to is that you were elected illegally,” at which time the Mayor interjected that in 2012 it became the Council’s responsibility to appoint an open position, that it was not an election.” He still denied that there was a vote on the matter.
The council members substantiating his comment by saying they didn’t vote. Teresa Overton then said that she was told personally by Recorder Judy Powell that the council did vote. The Mayor spoke saying it was a nomination and the would again wait for legal counsel’s advice.
Crystal Mersh told the Mayor “Not to conflate the two topics, the one issue being the violation of the Open Meeting Act and the other being the complaint. And if you need an attorney to tell you how to run your meetings, then you should have them at every meeting.”
Crystal Mersh spoke second, addressing the council as a property owner in Grantsville and as the President of the 1982 Foundation. The nine million dollar Community Center is the only project in the state that is privately funded and she considered it her gift to the county and specifically to the Town of Grantsville. Communication with the Town has consistent, but varying to different degrees of cooperation. She informed the council that they (The 1982 Foundation) expected transparency and accountability from their city and county government because of the amount of money that her organization is investing into the area. She said that she was there in support of the community and would continue that support, hoping to also be able to support county and city government officials. She made it clear that there was no grudges or animosity toward the Council but she would determine, one the City’s Attorney made their advice known, if she personally would file a complaint in Calhoun Circuit Court against the City officials.
Mayor Petrovsky moved on to discuss the apartment in the City building which was in need of a tenant. An employee of Stump Funeral Home had shown interest and had the recommendation of owner Neil Stump as being a person of good character. The Mayor requested the council to vote on the matter as to the amount of rent to be determined. The council determined that it would be $550 monthly for the two bedroom apartment.
Madison Harris of the Mid Ohio Valley Regional Council reported to the City Council that the Water and Sewer projects are completely funded but they needed to make sure the projects were still feasible after such a long period since the cost quotes. The funding of 2.5 million from the drinking water fund, 1. 5 million from the Corp. of Engineers and 1 million IJDC.
Crystal Mersh asked Ms. If the federally funded projects were subject to the BABA act. The Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) requires that all iron and steel, construction materials, and manufactured products used in federally-funded infrastructure projects are produced in the United States. “Which is great” Mersh said, “but it causes the cost of projects to go substantially.”
The long awaited Light Post Project was the next topic of discussion by Mayor Petrovsky who explained from his perspective when the project began and “casual conversations” that occurred but he believed it was not addressed in an official manner. Through their conversations they addressed solar or electric. Since day one he said his goal has been to determine what the Town’s investment will be in the project and bring that information before the council. At the December City Council meeting, Crystal Mersh and Ed Casto, an electric expert attended to discuss the Light Project which the Mayor described as a conversation that “did not go well.” Although Ridgeview News attended that meeting and that was not my take away. That being said the Mayor said that ended the discussion for some time until the Light Post was installed in front of The 1982 Foundation which once he seen, was concerned about the longevity of the product. He said he then requested paper work on the lights that had never been provided it. A Light task force committee was created and met and the mayor received and forwarded the light specs to Ed Casto who assured him that the Poly carbonate material was very sustainable, but the two year warranty was concerning. The Mayor disputed a social media comment that he had hijacked the meeting, but rather thinking the meeting went well and Teresa Overton agreed. He again noted his concern about what the City’s cost of sustaining the lights would be.
Crystal Mersh spoken again to the audience saying that at the December meeting and through a conversation with Mr. Casto, he did not have a comparable product to those that she had found. The project has been funded with promissory community support to the tune of $71,000. But Crystal said that the attitude she received from the Town felt less than cooperative. Regarding the warranty she had informed the Mayor that she would negotiate the warranty and it would be one of the last things done as was protocol for business. In her two week long search in Atlanta she discovered that there was only two street lamps that fit the criteria of vintage looking, solar, dark sky friendly that was commercial grade. This information was brought to the “task force committee” for the purpose of moving forward, not for reconsideration of the project all together. The Lamps, once purchased would stay in the owner ship of The 1982 Foundation until such time as the project is finished and then the ownership would be turned over to the Town. Crystal requested a “Go or No Go” decision from the council at last nights meeting believing that five months was long enough to wait for a their response to the $71,000 gift. A comment that had some accusations flying that she was bullying the city into a decision. For 5 months Crystal has tried to get the City to move. She is a busy, productive businesswoman who gets things done by holding peoples feet to the fire. There’s a reason she’s been successful. There is nothing wrong with expecting officials to act in a timely manner. She also expressed her disappointment that the city did not use this opportunity for matching funds and that they were not excited and on board with what was happening with the 1982 Foundation that is going to impact 10 counties around Calhoun, but Grantsville wanted to no part of. She finalized her conversation to the Council by once again requesting a decision. After more discussion Crystal offered and the City accepted another two weeks to provide her with an answer.
Another concern was then addressed regarding whether or not the lampposts were Dark Sky approved. The determination on that was unanimous thinking that the small amount of light put out by the lanterns could not interfere with the Calhoun County Park.
Roger Propst spoke on the placement of the lamps but first made comments toward the state of the economy and the fact that this is a beautification project that would help us compare to the beauty of other cities who invest time and money into their cities. These twelve foot polls are pleasing to everyone who has seen them, and pleasing to people contributing $71,000 of their hard earned dollars to the project. Propst told the City Council that this it’s time they accept the project funding and move forward. The Lanterns will be placed from the South end of town, to the end of the street at where Bodies was located. More in the traffic island and others across the bridge and toward the Community Center.
The Mayors response was he still had to consider the business side of the lamps and the Town would not have the money to do the up keep on the lanterns. My research this morning shows the cost of battery replacement in the lamps are currently $27-$49. The average life of those batteries is 5 years. The cost of replacing every battery on the high end would be $3,479. Does it sound like good business to turn down a $71,000 gift because it might cause the need of $60.00 a month being put aside to create a replacement fund for those batteries.
The Mayor said that his responsibility since becoming Mayor was to build revenue for this town, and yet, his animosity toward the $9 million dollar complex across the river begs to differ. A personal comment directed toward Teresa Overton did not get unnoticed by anyone at the meeting.
Ridgeview News brought up the fact that they returned a $1,000 contribution made by Crystal Mersh because according to all council members they didn’t want anyone controlling them. Evidently they don’t want the citizens having any say either, because that money was given to the citizens not the council.
Another statement by the Mayor that did not go unnoticed was the comment that he had a “very nice house” that he wanted to be an example of what other people should strive for. How about you be an example of a Reputable government official that doesn’t demand it’s citizens live by the letter of the law while you make a mockery of it.
