Jordan Responds To Controversy In St. C.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE - A councilwoman defended her actions at a previous meeting Tuesday, noting that her refusal to vote the way the mayor urged likely spared the city from illegal action.

On Tuesday, Councilwoman Linda Jordan read a statement in response to events during the Dec. 5 meeting, where Mayor Kathryn Thalman portrayed Jordan as needlessly obstructive for voting against waiving three readings to create a recreation department fund to transfer more than $8,000 in donations from the city's first Thanksgiving Turkey Trot to benefit a local family battling cancer. Thalman repeated this on social media, garnering numerous comments.

Jordan said the legislation would have been illegal, since it was necessary to notify the state before creating such a fund.

"I was portrayed during that meeting, in the media, and on social media by the administration and other council members in an untruthful, inaccurate and unfavorable light," she said. "I, as an equal council member, have the right to vote as I so desire. I am not obliged to explain my vote to the administration or council. What I am obliged to do is vote my mind for the benefit of the City of St. Clairsville, and most importantly, my constituents. ... I was absolutely correct in my dissension, due to the fact that the proposed action would have been in violation of ORC 5705.12.

"Furthermore, I would suggest that my dissenting opinion saved the City of St. Clairsville and its fine citizens from an illegal and very embarrassing situation."

Her statement will be added to the minutes of Tuesday's meeting as correspondence. Thalman did not comment afterward.

In other matters, Thalman commended the city electric, street, water and sewer employees for their work on Christmas Day to keep the infrastructure in operation.

"Our biggest concern was freezing pipes, and it was a well-founded concern," Thalman said, noting several water breaks occurred.

Thalman voiced the opinion that the city's decision to retain ownership of the water system rather than sell it to Aqua Ohio as was debated several years ago meant employees were on hand and able to respond quickly.

She also urged residents to locate their water shutoff switches to prepare for future emergencies.

"We had tons of phone calls from people with broken water pipes wondering, 'Where is my water shutoff?' And our city workers could not go to everyone's home," she said, also asking the public not to shut off vents and heaters to their garages to try and keep the bills down, only to have any pipes inside break.