Mingo Junction council hires new village administrator
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MINGO JUNCTION -- Headed by new leadership, the Mingo Junction Village Council took on its first regular session of the year, bringing on board a new village administrator Tuesday night.
Council approved hiring Mayor Judy Ruckman's appointee, Darrin Corrigan, who is a former county employee and lifelong village resident. Ruckman said she is "ecstatic" about the hire, adding that Corrigan "comes with a good array of skills."
Now retired, Corrigan has 30 years of experience working for the Jefferson County Water Department, concluding as the general foreman. He is the current fiscal officer for the Steubenville Township Board of Trustees and a former board member for the Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission.
"My plans are trying to better my community, getting more services out there to bring business into our area and ... working with all the residents and future residents to make this a better town for everybody," Corrigan said.
He added that he'd like to investigate grant funding to tear down the village's old, dilapidated buildings, and he hopes to hold office hours in the city building every weekday, with times to be determined.
Also during the meeting, Ruckman listed her ideas for initiatives in the village, including the possible implementation of a process for individuals to be listed on the council's agenda. Ruckman said this would be done to give council notice of an issue and time to address it before the council meeting -- she added that individuals yet unfamiliar with the process wouldn't be forbidden from speaking.
Other initiatives she hopes for include holding individuals accountable for water bill delinquencies, setting up policies and procedures for water penalties, updating the village's codified ordinances, pursuing more grant opportunities and re-implementing mayor's court, for which Ruckman will be attending a training class on Thursday.
Additionally, Ruckman encouraged residents to volunteer as part of the village's zoning board. The board's need for members arose during discussions regarding a re-zoning request by Ewusiak Development for its parcel along South Commercial Street.
Although Ruckman believes the parcel had already underwent the desired re-zoning -- heavy industrial to light industrial and commercial -- in 2017 after a vote by council, village Solicitor Craig Allen said council can redo the process, provided that Ewusiak provides a formal request with specific details about the real property and the desired re-zoning.
In other business:
• Councilman Jack Brettell said two individuals directed to oversee the village from Trebel Energy, the village's gas and electric aggregate provider, have unexpectedly left the company, though a newly assigned representative will be reaching out to Ruckman soon. In spite of the departures, the village is still covered for gas and electric until May 2025, Brettell said.
• Council scheduled a safety committee meeting for Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. in the council chambers of the city building.
• Councilman Mark Baker recommended that village residents dispose of their Christmas trees by leaving them on the curb for regular garbage pickup.
• Councilwoman Jodilynn Fitzgerald said she wants individuals who place Christmas decorations at Oakland Cemetery to have them removed by March 2, or else volunteers from the council's recreation committee will remove them. Individuals should remove the decorations and place them by the road inside the cemetery to be picked up later.
• Brettell said former village Administrator Bob Smith signed a contract with a company that bid roughly $49,000 for concrete work at the pool in Aracoma Park. The three other bids came in at around $57,000, $64,000 and $68,000.
• Ruckman said she is in contact with the Jefferson County Land Bank, which is appealing a decision by the Jefferson County Historical Association to deny the demolition of the Argo building in downtown Mingo Junction due to its historical character.
• Fire and EMS Chief Brandon Montgomery said the department has received "significant calls so far this year" over the nine days of 2024 -- 16 EMS responses, two structure fires and two car accidents, one of which was a rollover.
Also, Montgomery said the department's new ambulance is being evaluated on its warrantee after its engine light turned on following a structure fire.
• Councilwoman Patti Mannarino was appointed by Ruckman to the village's Water and Sewer Board to provide a "fresh perspective," replacing Brettell. Baker was named the board's new chair.
• The rest of council unanimously elected Fitzgerald as president pro tempore.
• Council passed Ordinance 2024-01, appropriating funds for current expenditures for the 2024 fiscal year.
• Kyle Moffat, director of IT, said he installed three new computers in the city building for the secretary's office, village administrator and mayor.
• Fred Pernick, director of the Mingo Junction Senior Center, expressed discontentment with the actions of a gas company's employees, who "tore up" the portion of Commercial Street in front of the senior center while searching for a gas leak, leaving holes in the asphalt. Upon locating the leak much later, he said, employees dug up a sidewalk on the other side of the street.
Pernick also suggested the village needs a solution for trailer's "Jake brakes" that cause disruptive and loud noise, with a possible solution being posted signs that forbid their usage.
• Diane Pernick, secretary of the senior center, invited all individuals from the village to come to the center, which is hoping to implement more games.