Fairmont City Council to approve $125,000 contract for new city manager
Mar. 23—FAIRMONT — The City of Fairmont will pay incoming City Manager Travis Blosser an annual salary of $125,000, according to documents presented to city councilors for next Tuesday's meeting.
Council will vote on approving Blosser's contract and bringing him onboard officially at the March 26 meeting. Blosser negotiated his salary and contract with Mayor Anne Bolyard and City Attorney Kevin Sansalone.
"The thing I'm most excited to bring to bear as Fairmont's City Manager is just, oozing passion to serve and engage the community and take it to heights that it's never been before," Blosser said in an interview March 1.
Council nominated Blosser to serve as city manager on Feb. 27.
Blosser's contract also contains a residency requirement, mandating he live within the city limits for his entire tenure in office. Blosser is permitted no overtime, instead he may offset any excess of hours over 40 by taking time off as he sees fit.
Council is not permitted to interfere in the city manager's day to day work, and must communicate or discipline city employees through the manager. There is no set term, the agreement is set to run indefinitely until either Blosser or Council decide to end it. Blosser receives 160 hours of vacation leave per year, and receives no more than other city employees receive when it comes to fringe benefits.
Blosser is also prohibited from investing or participating in any business ventures within the city, and from owning or investing in any property outside his place of residence. The City will reimburse mileage and reasonable job affiliated expenses. The City will also provide for membership in a civic club or organization, such as Kiwanis or Rotary International, as well as provide for professional development seminars or conferences. These last two items are dependent on budget constraints. Blosser will also receive a performance review six months from now and thereafter each year on or around his hire date.
A cush parking space also comes with the deal.
Council is set to tackle other matters on Tuesday, including:
The City will ask Council to approve a 3% base pay raise for city employees. The ordinance also seeks pay increases for police as well as increases for law enforcement certification pay. Police Chief Steve Shine sought the increases during a budget workshop on Feb. 7, in order to make compensation offered by the city competitive with surrounding municipalities. The ordinance also clarifies what water and wastewater operators, building inspectors and code enforcers, as well as journeyman electrical license, the police and fire chiefs make without increasing their pay.
Police pay will now range from roughly $51,500 to $69,800 depending on rank. Firefighters will range from roughly $45,000 to $60,000. There are additional pay incentives for officers and firefighters who obtain additional certifications.
On the derelict property front, the City wants council to reestablish the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee which works on methods of handling real estate the city owns.
The decision came after a Fairmont resident requested more information on the original committee. In a chain of emails with City Attorney Kevin Sansalone, the resident pointed out a potential violation of the Open Meetings Act. The West Virginia Ethics Commission also sent the resident two prior opinions related to situations similar to the one with the Ad Hoc Committee. Sansalone replied to the resident's concerns by email.
"Quite frankly, because the ethics opinions you cited below seemingly demonstrate that it may not have been altogether proper," he wrote. "In order to avoid any impropriety or argument, the City is starting over. Thank you for your diligence."
The City made a Facebook post on their page explaining the decision. The post says after conducting a review, the City came to the conclusion that Ad Hoc committees do require public agendas and minutes to be kept, as well as public meetings and advertisements.
"While these rulings aren't crystal clear about what types of committees constitute public notices, we're playing it safe and asking council to reestablish the committee so we can correct the mistake," the post reads.
Council will also consider a property transfer to the city from Arella Cottrill. The property in question is 1709 Clay Ave., and the paperwork attached indicates it's for demolition.
However, this all pales in comparison to the penultimate item on the City's upcoming agenda.
LumberjAxe will request the City's consent to hold an outdoor wrestling event on the Merchant Street parking lot on June 13.
"Apparently, this is dwarf wrestling," Interim Clerk David Kirk said.
Tim Barr, LumberjAxe's owner, said a Luchador group from Extreme Dwarfanators Wrestling will be doing the event in June. The website for Extreme Dwarfanators Wrestling describes real life superheroes performing aerial assaults that seem to defy gravity. Barr described the event as a fun thing to host over the summer.
"If you are lucky enough, you may even have the privilege of watching a classic Lucha Libre match such as a hair vs. hair or mask vs. mask match," a description on the website states. "These are special grudge matches, where the performers put their honor on the line and defend it by any means necessary. The loser is humiliated, the winner has a trophy to show off, and you get to witness it all!"
The meeting to consider every item, including the masked fighters, takes place Tuesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at the Fairmont Public Safety Building.
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
