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WEIRTON - A proposal which would have expanded the membership of the Weirton Area Water Board was halted after members of City Council expressed confusion over how and why the ordinance was developed.
Weirton Council met in special session Thursday, presented with an ordinance which would have amended provisions of Article 161 of the Ordinances of the City of Weirton. That section of code is focused on the membership and terms of members of the water board.
The ordinance, which had been recommended by the water board 5-0 during its meeting earlier this month, would have expanded the board from its current five voting members to seven.
"I just wonder if it's going to have any effect on our bond standing," Ward 1 Councilman Tim Connell said, Thursday, noting the water board is in the midst of the design process for a planned treatment plant expansion project. Dan Guida, attorney for the water board who joined the meeting by telephone, reported he had presented the ordinance to the board's bond counsel.
"They're not enthusiastically behind it, but what I brought to them they're OK with," Guida said.
Utilities Director Butch Mastrantoni said his understanding was the ordinance was proposed to fulfill a directive from council to have two councilmembers as voting members on each board. Currently, Ward 4 Councilman George Ash is a voting member of the board, with Ward 5 Councilwoman Flora Perrone serving as an ex officio member with no voting status.
Mastrantoni explained he had been told Perrone would have one of the new spots, and the second would be for Sam Stoneking, who recently retired as assistant water director.
"That was the package presented to the board," Mastrantoni said.
City Manager Joe DiBartolomeo, however, said such decisions can only be made by the mayor, with consent from council.
"You guys don't make the nomination," DiBartolomeo said. "You don't have any control over that."
Mastrantoni said the board didn't develop the ordinance "in a vacuum," indicating he had spoken to Mayor Harold Miller about the appointments, but added he would rather be focusing on the expansion projects than the makeup of the board.
"Rather than shoot ourselves in the foot, leave it alone," he said, noting any changes could result in delays to the project, which would alter a bond program to fund the expansion.
Miller was not in attendance Thursday.
Ward 2 Councilman Mike Adams also expressed concern about the stability of the expansion projects being affected by any changes to the board, noting his experiences as city attorney for Chester, which is working on its own utility project. He also noted the differing descriptions on how the ordinance was developed.
"It's turning into a chicken and egg thing," Adams said, also describing the proposal as a "political football".
Ward 7 Councilman Terry Weigel said he feels it would be unfair to any new members coming onto the board in the midst of the expansion project.
"We've been talking about this two-and-a-half years," he said. "How are they going to get up to speed?"
For her part, Perrone said she has appreciated the opportunity to serve as an ex officio member of the water board, and to learn about the water department's operations, adding she has no problem with not having voting privileges.
Originally, the ordinance also included a proposal to increase board members' pay from $50 per meeting to $75 per meeting, with a maximum of $150 per month. That portion was removed from the ordinance prior to Thursday's meeting.
(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com, and followed via Twitter @CHowellWDT)