The Huntington City Council unanimously voted Monday night for the renewal of the Tri-State Transit Authority levy to be on the primary election ballots.
The city council found the transportation system provided by the transit authority is essential and necessary to serve the citizens of Huntington, according to the approved ordinance.
The ordinance was first submitted and approved by the council in December. There was an error in the dates, and it had to be resubmitted at the January 25th meeting for the first reading with the correct dates. The ordinance was approved Monday and will be sent to the secretary of state’s office to be authorized.
“We had the wrong years on the previous ordinance, which of course was passed by council,” said Scott McClure, city attorney of Huntington. “We’ve got the proper years on here now so it should be accurate.”
The TTA levy is a five-year levy that will begin July 1, 2012 and is a renewal of the current levy.
The approximate total amount of funds needed is $1,473,069 and the amount to be generated for the five fiscal years will be $7,365,345, according to the ordinance.
The levy will be presented to the voters of Huntington at the primary election on May 11, 2010.
In other council news: the council approved the three ordinances, items 5, 6 and 7, to change the zoning policy notification footage from 200 feet to 400 feet and to notify tenants as well as property owners. Votes were 10 yes, and one no from Frances Jackson, councilwoman for district three.
Council unanimously voted to approve the ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter a contract for six new 2010 Chevrolet Impala police vehicles for the Huntington Police Department.
“The winning bid was from Hurricane Chevrolet of Hurricane, W.Va. for $103,180,” Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe said. “Funds for the vehicles will be provided from illegal drug proceeds forfeiture money and what is out of the general account.”
“I really appreciate this and I appreciate the chief for bringing this to the council,” said Scott Caserta, councilman for district seven. “I hope we see a lot more purchases like this in the future.”
Councilman James Ritter of district nine discussed the enforcement of the dog laws. Dog waste in the downtown area is becoming an issue.
The fine is $75 for first offense of not cleaning up dog waste, Ritter said. The laws have not been updated for about 18 years and there are no court costs for the fines.
The State of the City Address has been changed to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 at 1:30 p.m. because of the holiday on Monday. It will be on the main floor of City Hall.
Tess Moore can be contacted at moore231@marshall.edu.
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