By Leigh C. Merrifield
The most recent regular meeting of Shinnston City Council was held on March 9th and members first addressed Ordinance 26-001 – Conveyance of City Property Without Auction. Since this ordinance had already had its first and second readings, this Public Hearing was the final opportunity for citizens to express their comments prior to Council voting. Since there were no public remarks offered, Council proceeded to vote, unanimously adopting the ordinance.
Before carrying on with executive reports and a long list of discussion items, Megan Krajewski from Erie asked to introduce herself. She is a candidate for the WV House of Delegates in the May 12th election and briefly explained who she was and why she was running.
Mayor Pat Kovalck stated that he had taken his daughter Claire to Charleston to participate in the House of Delegate’s Page Program and while there, he had the opportunity to speak with Delegate Clay Riley and Senator Ben Queen about the City’s water project and how Shinnston is hoping to maintain its connection with delivering water to the power plant and perhaps providing drinkable water to nearby Lumberport. Both of these are, however, still up in the air.
City Manager Tori Drainer gave an extensive report on what she has addressed during the past several weeks in addition to devoting most of her time to finalizing the budget.
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Both she and Office Manager Lesley Jaggie attended Budget Training; the budget revision has been approved by the Auditor’s Office.
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Kleinfelder Engineering has selected a contractor for repairing the slip on the Rail Trail where a large chunk of the trail collapsed and fell into the river. The DEP will pay for repairs because it was caused by mine drainage.
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The Park Board met and discussed the possibility of giving those who had season pool passes last year a discount this season due to the number of days the pool had to close because of rain and/or lifeguard staffing issues last summer. (Council will discuss this in its next work session).
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A date is being scheduled for post installation for the ‘Little Free Library’ at the park. Designed to benefit children, it is a project of Lincoln’s National English Honor Society. The exact location, to be approved by the Park Board, is yet to be determined but will likely be at the entrance to the pool or near the lower playground.
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Mrs. Drainer also reminded everyone of these upcoming events in Shinnston: St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 14th at 11 a.m.; Easter Egg Hunt at the park on April 4th being hosted by Dr. Andrew Minigh’s Dental Office and Blackwell Realty; games begin at 11 a.m. with the egg hunt starting at noon.
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Mrs. Drainer additionally gave a detailed report of all the work the City’s Water, Sewer and Street Departments have focused on in recent weeks. She also noted that the water loss had been only slightly higher than usual in February due to broken lines caused by freezing/thawing.
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She has also sent five new additional corrective orders to owners of dilapidated and/or vacated properties in Shinnston.
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She is checking into funding available (via applications to Congressman Riley Moore) for a splash pad at the pool and needed road repairs on Vincent Street where the Chrysler garage collapsed some time ago. Councilperson Julia Currey noted that she had been approached by Lincoln High School’s NJROTC about wanting to partner with the City on some local small projects. More discussions and suggestions for those projects will be discussed further. Council then moved on to discuss and review many items of new business:
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Council considered the Fair Housing Resolution plan, and finding no changes, a vote was taken and it was approved.
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Council reviewed the need for sidewalk replacement at the 400 block of Pike Street (from Robinson Court to Rebecca Street). It was noted that Public Works had observed and helped with work when the opposite side of Pike Street was recently done and they felt confident that Public Works could handle this work for half the cost of contracting it out.
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Council discussed the closure of Robinson Court between Born & Bred and the Bread Bowl and limit that alley to pedestrian traffic only. A final decision was postponed at this time.
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Council once again discussed patriotic banners being hung for the 4th of July this year. Mayor Kovalck stated that perhaps having several smaller patriotic banners would be more cost effective because they could be reused in the future, and just purchase one large banner for our country’s 250th celebration this year. The Vice Mayor and City Manager will work together on gathering pricing for this.
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Council agreed unanimously to require a permit for filming in the City. Mayor Kovalck explained that it will be a simple online permit (with no charge) and will give at least a two week notice so the City has advanced contact to know what will be taking place and can see that filming areas are presentable.
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Team signage or signs posting upcoming events will also be required to complete a free online permit in advance and any signage will be required to be removed in a timely manner. This also passed unanimously.
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Council may also consider offering some incentives geared toward advocating residential construction in Shinnston. Mayor Kovalck commented, “There are people who would like to live here but there is a housing shortage in Shinnston. We would like to do everything we can to accommodate and encourage housing construction. Council agreed; however, before moving forward, legal advice will be sought.
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Council had previously discussed Police Department remodel requests and agreed to postpone updating the City Office Building and addressing PD needs first. SPD’s list includes replacement of their building’s roof, having a holding cell for offenders, an interrogation room, and upgrading their current evidence room. Bids will be sought for this work.
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The City Manager provided information on trading in the 2015 Kubota tractor used by Public Works and leasing a 2026 John Deere tractor with all the attachments necessary for mowing, snow removal and digging small areas. With two other vehicles paid off this year, she felt it would be affordable. Council approved the John Deere leasing.
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Mrs. Drainer announced that two members – Adam Southern and Tammy Martin – have resigned from the Shinnston Development Authority, and they will be seeking two new members to fill those vacancies. Volunteer applications are available at the City Building.
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Council did not further discuss Power Plant water rates because Power Plant representatives have failed to respond to an invitation to talk with them.
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The final business item was to consider adoption of the Fiscal Year 2026-27 General Fund Budget; Council unanimously accepted the budget as proposed. With no further immediate business items, the meeting recessed until Tuesday, April 21, 2026.