Motor Pool issue alive and not so well
City Council Work Session Coverage
For HNN by Art Harvath

Huntington City Council’s work session at city hall on Friday started and ended with council going into executive session.

For the first order of business, Councilman Cal Kent called for the executive session to discuss “threatened impending litigation.”

The city motor pool (or lack of one) is the subject of an ordinance sponsored by councilman Tom McCallister to convey the City Hall Annex property to the Huntington Municipal Development Authority. The city council doesn’t have the authority to trade the property for the Coca-Cola building, and apparently the building will not have to go to public auction if this ordinance passes. So the motor pool issue is alive and well, after all. Councilman Jim Insco asked the city attorney for a written opinion on whether the city is in compliance with the charter concerning the motor pool issue.

An ordinance requiring new hires to be city residents or move into the city within 90 days of hire will be up for second reading. The city charter already requires that city employees be city residents, but over the years the law was not evenly applied to everyone. In a ruling by Circuit Court Judge Dan O’Hanlon the city must apply the law “evenly across the board to everyone to make it fair.”

Concerning the issue of councilman Tom McCallister’s alleged assault on public works director George McClennen, city attorney Ted Morgan recommended that council turn the issue back over to McClennen for him to decide whether to file a complaint. “Council is being put in the position where they shouldn’t be put, and that’s to make a determination on a criminal matter that you don’t have any authority to make,” said Morgan. Cabell County Prosecutor Chris Chiles declined to pursue the matter.

A resolution to pay the Huntington Civic Arena $250,000 towards the $417,000 deficit will be up for vote.

A resolution to transfer the upkeep of the stormwater works from the department of public works to the Huntington Sanitary Board sparked lively debate. This will mean the transfer of two jobs allocated in the public works department to the Sanitary Board. Danny Plybon, president of Local 598, assured the council that the union will go to court in this matter.

Council ended the open portion of the their meeting by going into executive session to discuss the City Clerk position.