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Minutes
Town Meeting Emmitsburg
Town Office
August 7, 2006
Present:
Mayor James Hoover; Commissioners Joyce Rosensteel;
Glenn Blanchard, William O'Neil; Clifford Sweeney and
Christopher Staiger, President. Also present were
Vickie L. Felix and Dave Haller, Town Manager.
Call to Order
Commissioner Christopher Staiger, President of the
Board of Commissioners, called the August 7, 2006 Town
Meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. There was a moment
of silence to honor the service and sacrifice of
Marine Lance Cpl. James W. Higgins Jr. who was laid to
rest just recently after being killed in the Al Anbar
province of Iraq. He was a 2003 graduate of
Catoctin High School.
Approval of
Minutes The Minutes of the July 3, 2006 Town
Meeting, July17, 2006 Town Meeting and the July 17,
2006 Annexation Workshop were before the Council for
approval. The July 17, 2006 Town Meeting had
several changes which included on page 2 section
titled Silo Hill intersection traffic control.
Midway down paragraph "6 to 8 months depending
upon how soon they" strike the word
"they" and insert SHA. In following
paragraph under discussion right after Commissioner
O'Neil should be "circles are aesthetically
pleasant. However". On page 3 under
continuing APFO review in the middle of the paragraph
insert Additionally, strike out "in the current
charter 16.16.100, the fee schedule would have to be
increased" insert "to raise the fee schedule
for new home construction as embodied in the Town
Charter 16.16.100 will need to be
increased." Also two points that were
missed as part of the explanation of the motion
1. State must bid and hire a contractor 2.
and there were other municipalities in queue. On
page 4 second paragraph states "It is time when
the town had the right." strike "had
the" and insert "granted the right by the
state of Maryland to be a governing body."
Two sentences down it should state "let them take
ownership". Also at the end of that
paragraph take out "The Board had discussion
about fiscal support and some of the ways the town has
helped in the past events in Emmitsburg. " Insert
" The Board informally and unanimously considered
supporting/funding all events honoring the towns
history." Under public comments end of
paragraph after "Shooting into their garden on
her property" add "from town property".
Motion: to approve July 17, 2006 Town
Meeting minutes as amended. Motion by Commissioner
O'Neil second by Commissioner Sweeney. Vote: 5-0 in
favor
Motion: to approve
July 17, 2006 Public Workshop minutes as submitted.
Motion by Commissioner Blanchard and second by
Commissioner Rosensteel.
Vote: 5-0 in favor.
Motion:
to approve the July 3, 2006 Town Minutes as
submitted. Motion by Commissioner Rosensteel and
second by Commissioner Staiger.
Vote: 5-0 in favor.
Commissioner
Comments
Commissioner O'Neil commented on a editorial from
Dispatch relating to - why do we have discussion
sessions when other legislative bodies do not have
discussion sessions. He also commended the
planning board members and residents Mr. Kapriva and
Mr. Little. He read the comments in the
Emmitsburg Comprehensive plan update moves forward.
Congratulation and thanks for all your hard work and
getting it to move forward. He was also glad to
see that the new consultant was able to facilitate
that in a much more expeditious rate.
Commissioner O'Neil also commented on the portion in
regards to portable classrooms. Lastly, he
commented on a personal issue. He announced the
reason he missed some meetings was due to a health
problem. He had a quarter size growth in the
center of his skull which turned out to be a benign
growth. The doctor stated it is close to the
optic nerve so it cannot be operated on. He will
have to have it checked every six months. He
thanked his colleges and town commission for support
and kind words.
Commissioner
Blanchard attended the MML conference in Ocean City in
June 2006. Upon return from Ocean City he
traveled to Orlando where he attended the National
Education Association conference as a delegate from
Frederick County. Conference was interesting and
informative. Upon return from Florida he
traveled to Los Angeles where he attended a conference
on constitutional law and citizenship. The
process was informative and made him appreciate the
structure of government that we have in our country.
Commissioner Staiger
had a chance to attend the last meeting of the
planning commission where the section of the APFO was
presented. He commends all the people on that
Board for their hard work moving this progress
forward.
Mayor's Comments
Mayor Hoover reported
on the teen pool party on July 28th. He stated
it was poorly attended which was a little
disappointing. He also attended the
rededications of the fallen firefighters chapel.
It was very nice. The contractors did a nice job
and the services was good.
Administrative
Business
Commissioner O'Neil - the art contest a rousing
success. He had a chance to talk with Joan
Fischer, Friends of Emmitsburg Library. One of
the thing she mentioned was to be able to keep the art
work on display at the Library until their official
100th anniversary which is in December. He asked
the rest of the Board to grant that wish because the
Board voted on the rules and the rules require that
the artwork be posted in the chamber. One of the
other things that they talked about was allowing the
Library to use the art work for fund raisers.
After the December date the art work would come back
to the Commission Chambers until the next art contest
was held. The other thing he stated was that he
appreciated the e-mails relating to the broadcasting
of the meetings. He recommended that the
broadcasting of the minutes be run again in the early
evening for people who work. He requested that
he would also like to get a copy of each of the
sessions and he will supply the materials. It
would be great for him as a informational tool.
Commissioner Staiger
to Mr. Haller - has the memo been put together for the
project on West Lincoln Ave? Mr. Haller has not
fully defined that yet. He stills has some
meetings with other members of staff and Fox and
Assoc. to fully access everything. As soon as
that is done he will have that for Commissioner
Staiger.
Reports:
Treasurer's Report
- Commissioner Joyce Rosensteel reported on July 2006
activity. See attached report, Exhibit A.
Committee reports
- Commissioner Blanchard reported that the Planning
and Zoning Commission met on July 31, 2006. The
minutes were approved. Two items on the
agenda. Obstruction of side walk table ordinance
which was tabled and the rest of the meeting was spent
looking through the Comprehensive Plan which they
think will be done by December. Representing the
Water Committee, Commissioner Rosensteel reported that
a copy of the minutes were submitted to Mayor Hoover,
but she did not have her copy tonight. Will be
sure to bring a signed copy to next meeting.
Agenda Items
Update
Employee Handbook
Mr. Haller stated this is a house cleaning adjustment
to the Employee's Handbook. Whereby an employee must
complete 90 days of employment and obtain permanent
employee status prior to being granted personal
leave. Presently an employee receives personal
leave after 40 days of employment and without becoming
a permanent employee. This will make the code
and the handbook in agreement.
Mayor Hoover asked
are we asking for 90 calendar days? Mr. Haller
stated yes, that's what the probationary period
is. Mayor Hoover requested that the word
"calendar" be inserted. Commissioner
O'Neil supports the Mayor's request, he thinks that it
needs some specificity, could be challenged
later. He thinks the insertion of the word
"calendar" is wise.
Motion: to
approve the update of employee handbook as submitted
and insert the word calendar after at least 90 days.
Motion by Commissioner O'Neil and second by
Commissioner Rosensteel.
Vote: 5-0 in favor
Ordinance
2006-14 to Purchase 140 S. Seton Ave and Ordinance
2006-15 to Borrow a Portion of Purchase Price
This item relates to two ordinances pursuant to the
formalization of the purchase of 140 South Seton
Avenue and the borrowing of the money to purchase said
property. Both have been prepared by Mr. Clapp
and staff ask for request to approve them.
Commissioner O'Neil
inquired if the property was going to be partially
used for municipal parking? Mayor Hoover stated
that was the desired intent when buying the property.
There is a residential unit attached to it and will
continue to be rented out as a residential.
Would the gravel parking lot in the rear be used for
residential in the future and the front be used for
the municipal parking lot? Mr. Haller stated
they have done a preliminary design on the property
and with allowing two parking spaces directly behind
the residential unit it will still support 38 spaces
for the towns use. Traffic would come in off
South Seton and process its way through the property
and come out on School Lane. Mayor Hoover interjected
that the commercial structure would come down.
Motion:
To approve ordinance 2006-14 to purchase 140 S. Seton
Ave. Motion by Commissioner O'Neil and second by
Commissioner Sweeney.
Vote: 5-0 in favor
Motion: To
approve ordinance 2006-15 to borrow a portion of
purchase sale. Motion by Commissioner Sweeney and
second by Commissioner Rosensteel.
Vote: 5-0 in favor
Ordinance
2006-16 Incorporation Date
This item relates to the proposed official acceptance
of 1825 (the date of incorporation) as the official
date of establishment of the Town of Emmitsburg as an
official legal entity. Commissioner O'Neil stated that
the resolution is fairly self explanatory. These
are all factual statements taken from the State of
Maryland. Basically the bill was introduced
during the December 1824 to January 1825
session. The motion was made to incorporate the
town and was officially passed on Thursday, January
13, 1825. That's when it became law.
Maryland officially gave the town the right to self
government. All this is saying is this is when
Town legally became a recognized entity in the state
of Maryland and this is the date that should be
recognized by government.
Public Comment:
Mike Hillman, Historical Society - The
historical society obviously agrees with this
ordinance. He checked per Mr. O'Neils request
and did go back to the archives and it was as he said
the December - January winter session that brought
about the incorporation of Emmitsburg. And it
was signed out on January 13, 1825. There was
some discussion whether the flags would be
changed. Mayor Hoover commented this was done
once before in 2003 but not by resolution, which was
probably a mistake because it reverted back the
following meeting.
Motion: To
approve ordinance 2006-16 to officially observe the
date of incorporation of the Town of Emmitsburg
Maryland. Motion by Commissioner Blanchard second by
Commissioner Rosensteel . Vote: 5-0 in favor
Code
Section 16.16.100:propose Change to Recreational Fees
This item relates to a discussion of the existing
recreation fees and the consideration of new or
adjusted recreation fees. Mr. Haller submitted
to the board a copy of the existing fee structure to
use as basis to start discussion.
Commissioner O'Neil
explained that when the Board looked at the APFO
recreation section, specifically in section 1-20-61
wherein code section 16.16.100 are referenced in items
C, J, K but more specifically in J - Fees, it was
necessary to review the existing fee schedule.
After much discussion the Board unanimously agreed
instead of having multiple references to go with what
is in the APFO, which will be an ordinance unto
itself. As part of the enactment of the APFO
will obliterate the three paragraphs A,B,C of section
16.16.100 of the code. Commissioner O'Neil will
have to rework the APFO and remove the reference of
the code.
Set Agenda Items
for August 21, 2006 Town Meeting
- Resolution
2006-13R regarding Budget Schedule 5-0 approval
- Changes to
Emmitsburg Code 16-20 Improvements Section -
discussion 5-0
- Changes to
Emmitsburg Code section 2-12 duties of Town Clerk
5-0 approval
- Resolution to
reconfirm position of the Town Clerk 5-0 approval
- Set agenda items
for September 5, 2006 Town Meeting
Approved ordinances,
and/or resolutions were signed.
Public Comments
Larry Little 224 Depaul Street- commented on
the article in the Dispatch on wildlife
preserve. Don't try to do wildlife management.
Adjournment
With no further Business and upon unanimous vote, the
August 7, 2006 Town Meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m.
Date Approved: August
21, 2006 |
