MINUTES
TOWN MEETING
October 21, 2013
Emmitsburg Town Office
Present:
Mayor Donald Briggs; Commissioners Christopher
Staiger, Jennifer Mellor, Glenn Blanchard and
Tim O’Donnell, President.
Staff present were Vickie Felix;
Sue Cipperly, Town Planner and Dave Haller, Town
Manager.
Tardy:
Clifford Sweeney arrived 8:50p.m.
_________________________________________________________________________
Call to Order
Commissioner Tim O’Donnell,
President of the Board of Commissioners, called
the October 21, 2013 Town Meeting to order at
7:30 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Approval of Minutes
The Minutes of the October 7,
2013 Town Meeting were approved as presented.
Motion made by Commissioner
Blanchard, second by Commissioner Mellor.
Vote: 3-1 in favor
Commissioner Staiger opposed.
President O’Donnell welcomed
David Dunn of Frederick County who was present
in the audience. Commissioner Staiger asked Mr.
Dunn about administration of the field behind
the community center. Mr. Haller stated that
Mr. Dunn helped greatly in dealing with the
Board of Education; the contract has been
received and is ready for the Mayor’s
signature.
Commissioner Comments
Commissioner Mellor thanked the
town staff for being so accommodating and
helping her get paperwork together during her
orientation period as new commissioner.
Commissioner Blanchard announced that the annual
MML conference that occurs every year was
changed to the first week of June because of the
primary being in June this year. Food bank is
doing well-- thanks for all who donate but they
do need more toiletries. Other announcements
included Halloween which will be celebrated on
October 31st, trick or treat
is between 5pm and 7pm with parade starting at
7pm and the party to follow at the fire hall at
7:30pm. The fall fun run sponsored by
Mother Seton will occur on November 16th;
the wattle waddle will occur on November
28th; the Christ Community Church
will be having a community party on November 1st
and Sunday, October 27th will be a
trail work day.
Mayor’s Comments
Mayor Briggs cited attendances to
include the Fall MML conference. He attended
the open meetings class and passed on
information to the Board in regard to statutory
authority to close a session, a compliance
checklist and closed meetings. He also
announced that Christ Community Church will be
having a family event in the park on November 1st;
this year at the Thanksgiving Day run there will
be a light breakfast between the walk and run
with the funds going to the Seton Center; and
that the Seton 5k is coming up. He also thanked
Mr. Dunn for his help with the Board of
Education to get the fence replaced.
Administrative Business - none
Consent Agenda - none
Reports:
Town Manager Report
- reported on the public works department
monthly activities to include a water production
and consumption analysis and reported on rain
and water levels. Staff and Frederick County
Paving installed a new asphalt walkway to
connect Lincoln Avenue to Community Park and
Kelco Plumbing installed 150 feet of pipe and
one yard hydrant at the little league field in
Memorial Park. Town Planner Report – Ms.
Cipperly highlighted that staff is still working
on the town square project with state highway.
As part of the MS-4 storm water permit, staff
has placed discs by each storm drain that say
“Don’t Dump”, which hopefully will help keep
some of the pollutants out of the storm sewer.
Staff is still progressing on the retail
project. Detailed report at Exhibit A.
Police Report - Deputy Rohrer presented the
September 2013 Police Report. Detailed report
at Exhibit B.
II. Agenda Items
Parks Use Policy
Mr. Haller stated there was
interest in expanding the use of the parks after
dark. Staff prepared the policy using the same
structure as the Alcohol Use Policy and included
the recommended change and correction made from
the last town meeting. Commissioner O’Donnell
expressed his concern with procedure number 1
that the nonprofit group has been in existence
for at least 18 months. He also asked for
clarification on the insurance coverage
requirement. Brief discussion ensued.
Motion:
to accept policy series 2013 Policy No
P13-04 After Hours Use in the Parks as
written.
Motion made by Commissioner
Blanchard, second by Commissioner O’Donnell.
Vote: 2-2 motion
failed
Commissioners O’Donnell and
Mellor opposed
Motion:
to
bring the policy back at the next meeting for
reconsideration after checking with the town
attorney.
Motion made by Commissioner
Staiger, second by Commissioner Mellor. Motion
retracted.
Motion:
to
approve policy series 2013 Policy No P13-04
After Hours Use in Parks as written.
Motion made by Commissioner
Blanchard, second by Commissioner Mellor.
Vote: 3-1 in
favor
Commissioner O’Donnell opposed
The basis for the reconsideration
of the motion was due to some confusion over the
provisions of the policy, once that was
explained and understood, the Board moved
forward to reconsider the motion.
Sign Ordinance Amendment
Ms. Cipperly stated the temporary
sign changes are primarily to the temporary sign
parts of the sign ordinance. This first came
before the Board in January 2013. As
recommended by the Board, Ms. Cipperly went to
the EBPA to get their input and they concurred
with the policy. The real issue with temporary
signs was that it didn’t meet the needs of
businesses and was hard for staff to keep track
of the time issue. Square footage limitation
and permitting requirements were amended. She
noted that there are changes to 15.16.100,
paragraphs C and G since the last meeting.
Commissioner Staiger noted that for some
businesses 32 square feet could potentially be
the amount of their store frontage.
Motion:
- To approve ordinance series
2013 Ordinance 13-01- Buildings and
Construction.
Motion made by Commissioner
Blanchard, second by Commissioner Mellor.
Vote: 4-0 in favor
Reconsider helmet ordinance –
discussion
Ms. Cipperly stated that this
ordinance affects all ages and has been very
problematic to enforce. Mr. Haller added that
it is unenforceable as written. If the town
would adopt the State code, it would be
enforceable. Staff reported that Attorney Clapp
stated that the person who witnesses the events
should be giving the ticket. In the Maryland
state code anyone under 16 must wear a helmet.
There was some discussion to eliminate the
ordinance entirely or reword the ordinance.
Mayor Briggs would like to see the town have
something enforceable. Commissioner O’Donnell
expressed his concerns and went over some
statistics. Commissioner Blanchard commented
that he is in favor of adopting the state code.
Commissioner Mellor questioned what the town is
doing to promote helmet safety--that the town
needs to become creative. Mr. Haller reported
that the town could find funding to help support
someone to provide an activity on bike helmet
safety. Ms. Cipperly would like some guidance
from the Board. Board recommends to bring this
back as a future agenda item to pull the
ordinance and adopt the state regulations.
At this time Commissioner Sweeney
arrived at the meeting at 8:50p.m.
Town website – discussion
Commissioner O’Donnell brought
this to the board for discussion based on his
past attendance at the MML conference. The one
speaker at the MML conference put forward the
idea of “what does your town look like online”?
The majority of people are now getting their
information on a regular basis on handheld
devices. Does our website translate well to a
handheld device? He would like to see the town
enhance what we now offer on the website.
Commissioners Mellor and Blanchard stated that a
more connected website with links would be
great. Commissioner Mellor would like to see
more town forms available on website i.e., pool
passes and permits. Commissioner Staiger stated
that the current website is adequate and has
improved; to broaden the website would probably
not cost more money, just time for someone
in-house to put information into the current
structure. Mayor Briggs commented that the
calendar is available but it does not get
utilized by many. It was discussed that social
media is the current thing but it is time
consuming and someone needs to know how to do
it. Mr. Hillman was present and addressed the
Board and gave information based on his past
experience. He also noted that the town staff
does an excellent job on the website and the
Board should direct their resources to them.
Staff recommends that Commissioner O’Donnell
give them something in writing and they will see
what they can do.
Set Agenda Items for November 4,
2013 Town Meeting
1.
Quarterly project update on the
WWTP construction
2.
Registration of trail users –
discussion
Consent Agenda:
1.
Recommendation to reappoint Joe
Ritz, Amy Myles and Conrad Weaver to the
Citizens Advisory Committee
III. Public Comments
– Pastor John Talcott – 303 W Lincoln
Avenue - thanked the town staff and the
community for their help for the upcoming “Light
the Park” event on November 1st from
6pm to 9pm.
IV. SIGN APPROVED TEXT
AMENDMENTS AND/OR RESOLUTIONS
V. Adjournment