Martins Ferry council suspends 72-hour rule, adopts snow-piling ordinance, OKs oil-and-gas lease solicitation and road PO

Martins Ferry — The Martins Ferry City Council on Feb. 18 moved quickly to advance and approve several items its members said needed prompt action: the council suspended the 72‑hour rule to consider and pass an ordinance regulating the piling of snow and ice, voted to authorize the service director to solicit bids for an oil‑and‑gas lease, and approved a purchase order for road work on Beretta and Dutch Hill.

Council leaders said the measures were time‑sensitive. "We have a couple of ordinances on your desk," Mayor Nady said, noting recent water breaks and winter conditions that prompted expedited action. Council voted to suspend the 72‑hour notification requirement before taking up both ordinances; roll‑call votes recorded unanimous "yes" responses from the members present for each motion.

The snow‑piling ordinance, described in the reading as "an ordinance regarding piling of snow and ice on city streets and private property," was put on the floor as a first reading and advanced after the council suspended the usual waiting period. The council then completed the roll call and passed the measure. The ordinance text and enforcement details were not read into the record beyond the ordinance title and the council's action; the law director and ordinance committee were asked earlier in the meeting to draft related language and to meet to iron out details.

Council also passed an ordinance authorizing the service director to solicit bids for an oil‑and‑gas lease and authorizing the mayor to execute the resulting lease. Council members voted to suspend the 72‑hour rule for that item as well and then approved the ordinance by roll call.

On procurement, the council approved a purchase order for the Beretta/Dutch Hill road work, described in discussion as the city’s portion of a larger project partly funded by grants. The amount discussed in the meeting was recorded as $279,009.25; council voted to approve the purchase order by roll call.

The meeting record shows no recorded dissent on these votes. Council members who participated in the roll calls included Mister Hunker, Mister Ashman, Mister Smay, Mister Harris, Reverend Agnew, Mister Schramm and Mister Eshman (all recorded as voting "yes" in the roll calls presented at the meeting). Specific implementation steps — dates, contractor start times, and permit conditions — were discussed in committee settings to follow.

Next steps: council directed the appropriate staff and committees to proceed with the solicitations and project execution and to follow standard contracting and permitting procedures. No effective dates or deadlines for the ordinances were read into the record at the meeting; the ordinances were advanced under suspended rules so the full text and subsequent readings should appear in the minutes or posted ordinance files for public review.