Felinton to delay bar moratorium

HUNTINGTON -- Huntington Mayor David Felinton will ask the city council to postpone an ordinance limiting bars and night clubs in the downtown in order for the newly elected mayor to study the issue.

Mayor-elect Kim Wolfe said he plans to study the proposed bar moratorium before he takes office in January. By that time, Felinton said, Wolfe would have had time to study the issue and learn more about the potential impact of the ordinance. Since the moratorium would be almost entirely implemented in Wolfe's first year in office, Felinton said he didn't want to saddle him with such a controversial issue.

"I don't want to put Mayor-elect Wolfe in a situation like that," Felinton said. "I didn't want to bind him for 10 months to a year."

The purpose of the moratorium is to halt the proliferation of new establishments so bar owners, law enforcement officials and city leaders can resolve several issues stemming from alcohol-fueled crimes in the downtown, city officials say.

Bar-related issues came to a head in July when Donte Newsome, a 25-year-old former Marshall football player, was shot multiple times and killed in front of Fluid, a nightclub in the 600 block of 4th Avenue. Police say the incident followed a verbal exchange inside the club.

City Council meets at 7:30 tonight at City Hall, 800 5th Ave. Here's a look at other items on the agenda:

INSURANCE ORDINANCE: The council is scheduled to vote on the third reading of an ordinance intended to prevent the abandonment of fire-damaged properties and hold property owners more accountable.

When a structure is gutted by fire, it's common practice for the property owner to pocket the insurance claim check and leave the city to pay for the cleanup and neighbors to deal with problems that arise from living next to a charred structure, city officials say.

The proposed ordinance requires insurance companies to withhold $2,000 from every $15,000 of benefits payable to a policyholder on every total fire loss within the city. This withheld money would be held in escrow by the city and not released until all debris has been removed.

If the property owner does not obtain a certificate of good standing from the city within 90 days, the city will use some of the money in escrow to pay any delinquent fees on the property. If the owner fails to acquire a certificate within 180 days, the money can be used by the city to tear down the property.

PURCHASE AGREEMENT: The council is scheduled to vote on the second reading of an ordinance authorizing a three-year lease purchase agreement for a 2009 Dodge Durango on behalf of the Huntington Fire Department. The contract was awarded to Stephens Auto Center of Danville, W.Va. for $21,351.

The funds for the purchase are available in the fire department budget.

STORM WATER CODE MODIFICATION: The council is scheduled to vote on the first reading of an ordinance that aims to remove a provision that exempts structures built before 1980 from storm water runoff combined system separation requirements.

In 2007, the Huntington Sanitary Board came up with $357 million plan to deal with the city's long-standing combined sewer overflow problem, with an initial phase of improvements costing an estimated $54.5 million. Huntington was required under a federal mandate to submit a plan to the state Department of Environmental Protection by the end of September.

About 85 percent of Huntington's sewer system consists of lines that carry both storm water and sewage. The combined lines often overflow during heavy rain, which prevents the Huntington Sanitary Board's wastewater treatment plant from treating the water. Instead, millions of gallons of untreated water flow into streams, rivers and basements and flood city streets.