Members of the Charleston City Council met on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2024 at City Hall in Charleston.Photo byCity of Charleston

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Charleston city council on Tuesday authorized the municipality’s solicitor to approve a settlement against the city stemming from a 2023 traffic incident involving a city-driven vehicle.

The original petition was filed after a July 28, 2023 collision between a city worker and claimant Angela Ryerson. According to the resolution, “a city-driven vehicle collided with the claimant’s vehicle and the city-driven vehicle was found to be at fault.”

A final settlement payment of $55,000 was recommended by the city’s finance committee.

“This is a great result in the settlement given the medical costs of Ms. Ryerson and the city’s fault and liability for the crash,” Ward 12 councilman and finance committee chairman Joseph Jenkins told his fellow members at Tuesday’s meeting.

The council adopted the settlement resolution unanimously by voice vote with no nays heard.

Other city business

Also on Tuesday, council members adopted:

• A resolution authorizing the renewal of a 20-year lease with the Federal Aviation Administration for an FAA tower on a patch of property at the city-owned Spring Hill Cemetery;
• A resolution to enter into a $152,500 contract with Cincinnati-based engineering firm THP Limited, Inc. for repairs at six municipally owned parking garages;
• A resolution to purchase two new street sweepers from West Virginia Tractor Company for $574,807.30;
• A resolution to enter into a three-year contract with technology firm Segra to provide city-wide phone services and equipment for all municipal departments and facilities “at a monthly amount not to exceed $6,500”;
• A resolution to purchase $115,362 worth of emergency lights, light bars and accessories for the city’s police fleet from Rocky Fork Enterprizes, LLC; and
• A resolution to enter an agreement with Rocky Fork Enterprizes, LLC to install the emergency equipment in Charleston Police Department vehicles for $47,600.

The evening’s agenda also included a resolution for the purchase of various unnamed “client supplies for the CARE Office’s Quick Response Team” but that item was removed before the start of the meeting.

Twenty-one of the city’s 26 council members were present at Tuesday’s assembly. Ward 18’s Pam Burka, Ward 19’s Brent Burton, Ward 5’s Jeanine Faegre, Ward 15’s Samuel Minardi and Ward 11’s Shannon Snodgrass were absent but excused.

Charleston City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.

Michael Ramsburg is a Kanawha County communities reporter. He can be contacted at ramsburgreports@gmail.com or by calling 304-370-3067.