Wicomico County, MD
Council Minutes
May 6, 2003
The County Council of Wicomico County, Maryland, met in
Executive Session on Tuesday, May 6, 2003, at 10:00 a.m., Council Chambers,
Council members Anthony Sarbanes, Charles R. Dashiell, Jr., Edward T. Taylor, Stevie Prettyman, Gail M. Bartkovich, Marvin R. Long and Larry W. Dodd were in attendance.
President Sarbanes brought the meeting to order and announced that the following presentations would be made:
Mr. Dashiell recognized the
Mr. Sarbanes recognized Daniel McKenzie,
Mr. Long presented a Proclamation to Mr. Reid Sterrett, recognizing the local Underage Drinking Prevention Program’s campaign to educate adults to the fact that providing alcohol to anyone under the age of 21 is illegal. With the Prom events quickly approaching, parents/adults need to be aware of their responsibilities and the subsequent liabilities of providing alcohol to minors for whatever reason.
Mrs. Prettyman read a Proclamation recognizing
Mrs. Bartkovich presented a Proclamation to Ms. Jane Scott,
Wicomico County Health Department, recognizing the week of
Minutes:
On motion of Mr. Dashiell, the Minutes of
On motion of Mr. Long, the Minutes of
ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Theodore E. Shea, II, submitted the following items of business:
Appointments:
Wicomico County Historic District Commission: Planning staff has advised that there are two vacancies on the referenced Commission and would like to submit the names of
Nestor T. Bleech and Patricia J. Taylor for consideration. On a motion by Mr. Dashiell and unanimously approved, Mr. Nestor T. Bleech was appointed to a three-year term on the Commission. On a motion by Mrs. Prettyman and unanimously approved Patricia J. Taylor was appointed for a three-year term.
Based upon the recommendation of current Board members and on a motion by
Mr. Long, Council unanimously approved the appointment of Nancy W. McCaig to the Adult Public Guardianship Review Board as a Citizen Representative.
Renewal of Agreement:
Human Resources: The 2004 Holiday Schedule was presented for Council’s review and on motion of Mrs. Prettyman, who noted the County follows State and Federal schedules, the list was approved as submitted.
Transfer Tax Refund Request: Mr. Shea reported the receipt of a request for a transfer tax refund and asked the Director of Finance to share the particulars of the request. Mrs. Petersen explained that County government had taken extraordinary measures to contact and inform the public of the process in which transfer tax refunds could be requested, including extension of the deadline. The property owner acknowledged receipt of a notice from the Finance Department more than one year ago, however, felt there were extenuating circumstances Council should consider. Mrs. Petersen reiterated that the refunds were governed by legislation and after the deadline, were credited to the General Fund for debt service, thus, no longer available. It is the recommendation of the Administrative Director and the Director of Finance that the request be declined. Mr. Long motioned to accept that recommendation, which was unanimously approved.
Mrs. Petersen reviewed the Statement of Latest Investment
Rates/Balances for all
Mrs. Petersen also called attention to a memorandum regarding payment procedures for former County employees who retain coverage through the County health insurance plan.
DEPT. OF PUBLIC WORKS
John Redden, Deputy Director of Public Works, submitted the following subdivision plat for Council’s review:
Subdivision: for Charles E. Gross & Augusta L. Tennyson
Location:
DPW # 5-03
Applicant: Dennis & Baumgartner
Owner: C.E. Gross & A. L. Tennyson
Applicant proposes to subdivide an 8.1 acre lot from a 20 acre parcel, leaving an 11.9 acre remnant. Two existing dwellings exist on this parcel; one will be located on the proposed lot while the other will remain on the remnant. This is the first lot subdivided from this parcel since zoning went into effect in this area in 1957. The Department recommends approval of this subdivision by the Planning Commission, subject to the following conditions being met: 1) the final plat shall comply with all subdivision and Forest Conservation regulations as administered by the Planning Office; 2) Health Department approval is required; 3) construction improvements plans shall receive final approval from Public Works. A bond shall be posted to allow recordation of the final plat prior to completion of the road improvements. 4) a note referring to the Right to Farm regulations shall be added to the final plat. Following review, Council concurred with all conditions and the recommendation.
Mr. Sharma joined Mr. Redden during the following submission:
Subdivision: Nutters Crossing, Section 4 DPW # 7-03
Location:
Applicant: Parker & Associates
Owner: Thomas H. Ruark
Applicant proposes to subdivide 28 duplex and 53 single
family lots from three existing parcels.
All lots will front and have access on proposed interior streets; access
will be provided through Nutters Crossing and Fairway Manor Subdivisions. The Planning Commission reviewed a sketch
plat on
Council posed questions regarding planned buffers between Sections 3 and 4 of the subdivision and any potential opposition to expansion of the Homeowners Association.
At the request of Council, Mr. Sharma explained that the role of the County Council is to review the subdivision request and to make suggestions, as deemed necessary, for the Planning Commission’s consideration before final approval or disapproval. Council review does not include public input. Council then concurred with the Department’s recommendation and conditions.
Reconstruction of
Mr. Murray and Mr. Rayne, representing Mr. Morris, ultimately agreeing that the property owners would share approximately one-half of the cost up to $150,000 and the County would absorb the remaining cost of repairs and road widening.
There is the question of funding this project, estimated at $300,000. Mr. Sarbanes suggested that Council reduce the speed limit on the entire length of road to 40 miles per hour. Mr. Sharma added that if the County continues to allow such operations, perhaps conditions should be included in the zoning code whereby the business is required to pay a fee that would assist in meeting such future infrastructure maintenance/repairs. Since there are virtually no excess funds in the Roads Division budget to make repairs, Mr. Sharma suggested that monies in the Solid Waste Reserve Account be borrowed, with the account being reimbursed over a five-year period. This would restore the funds to the Enterprise Account before the County must cap another solid waste cell, as required by law. Each cell costs approximately $3.5 million to $4 million every five years. Council posed several questions about rights-of-way, funding the reimbursement, length of road involved in the repair, etc. Council agreed to identify a way to reimburse the Enterprise Account.
Request for
Signage: Mr. Sharma explained that
the Department has identified a hazardous situation at the intersection of
PUBLIC HEARING:
Patricia Petersen, Director of Finance, explained that as is
required by State law a notice to the public was published on
The County Council of Wicomico County proposes to increase real property taxes.
1.
For the tax year beginning
2. If Wicomico maintains the current tax rate of $1.047 per $100 of assessment, real property tax revenues will increase by 2.6% resulting in $973,842 of new real property tax revenues.
3. In order to fully offset the effect of increasing assessments, the real property tax ate should be reduced to $1.021, the constant yield tax rate.
4. The County is considering not reducing its real property tax rate enough to fully offset increasing assessments. The County proposes to adopt a real property tax rate of $1.041 per $100 assessment. This tax rate is 2.0% higher than the constant yield tax rate and will generate $741,658 in additional property tax revenues.
A public hearing on the proposed
real property tax rate increase will be held at
There were no public comments offered, nor were there any Council comments. On motion of Mr. Taylor, Council unanimously approved the adoption of a real property tax rate of $1.041 per $100 assessment.
Edgar A. Baker, Jr., brought a proposed Resolution before Council, to establish certain fees for services provided by the Public Works Department, as follows:
Electrical permit fees: increase to $20 per permit;
Brush/yard waste disposal – commercial: one-half of tipping fee;
Out of county transfer station permit: $90 annually.
In conjunction with this action,
Mr. Baker advised that any increase in mobile home park permitting fees would
require legislative action, thereby, delaying action until next year’s permit
renewal process. Additionally, Mr. Baker
announced that any change in the permit fee for salvage yards would require
public advertising, according to State law.
Since there are very few salvage operations in
Mr. Long asked Mr. Sharma how the Solid Waste Division would distinguish between commercial customers and individuals who bring yard waste for disposal.
Mr. Sharma responded that
commercial businesses would be notified to use the scales when bringing in yard
waste. Mr. Long asked about individuals
who do not have a transfer station permit, to which Mr. Sharma stated that the
Department would try to accommodate such individuals, not requiring them to use
the scales. On motion of Mr. Dashiell,
Council adopted the referenced Resolution, effective
SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Sheriff Nelms and Capt. Van Meter
provided a brief update on the
Staff will need approximately 45
days to assign transitional staff, conduct training and begin work with the
Dept. of Juvenile Justice. Currently,
the project has exceeded its contract cost by only 1%. In addition, the Academy’s Advisory Board has
met and is preparing a set of Bylaws.
Lastly, the Academy should be operational by early summer. Sheriff Nelms referred to a recent closing of
a similar facility and is confident that the
AGENDA ITEM: Mr. Sarbanes advised that Mr. David Wilson would not be at today’s meeting to present an overview for Resource Conservation and Development.
RECREATION, PARKS & TOURISM
Gary Mackes, Director, presented the following items of business:
Automated Ticket Sales: Nearly 50 per cent of all ticket orders are now being placed via the Internet or telephone. This trend will greatly reduce or replace lines at the box office. Overall, the automated ticket sales process has been very successful in providing customers the convenience of purchasing tickets, choosing seating and receiving tickets by mail.
Mr. Mackes corrected information contained in a memorandum, stating that the price concessions would result in a loss of approximately $15,000, not $26,000 in net revenue; however, it is believed that recovered and new business will meet or exceed the estimated lost revenue. Following discussion, Mrs. Prettyman, Mr. Long, Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Bartkovich expressed their support of the concept. On motion of Mr. Dodd, Council unanimously approved the policy change.
Update of Event at
Request from Sharptown Commissioners: Town Commission members and the Sharptown
Recreation Council are seeking permission to rename the
Organized Sports Eligibility Rules: Mr. Mackes stated that the Recreation Commission asked staff to review current eligibility rules for participation in Recreation, Parks & Tourism’s organized sports programs, particularly, soccer programs. There has been a decline in enrollment in recent years, with residents playing in leagues outside the County, while registration fees have increased. John Terrell, Deputy Director, Recreation Commission members and program staff performed the study and Mr. Terrell gave the following report.
Mr. Terrell reported that many neighboring areas do not have eligibility rules or restrict participating of non-residents; rather, non-residents are required to pay a fee to participate. Accordingly, the Recreation Commission proposes to open County organized sports programs to both residents and non-residents, with the latter paying a $15 fee. Mr. Taylor referred to a similar situation in the Galestown/El Dorado area when teams wished to participate in County organized sports. Mrs. Bartkovich also asked for and received a clarification of information accompanying the request.
On motion of Mr. Taylor, Council unanimously approved the revisions as submitted.
Healthy U: Mrs. Prettyman addressed the request from the
Healthy U Program to use the Normandy Arena free of charge in June 2004. The Recreation Commission reviewed and
declined the request. Mr. Mackes
explained that the rate for the Normandy Arena is approximately $2,600. Mrs. Prettyman encouraged staff to find a way
to assist the organization, perhaps in finding a business sponsor or other
monies to fund the rental. Mr. Mackes
agreed with Mrs. Prettyman’s assessment that it would be unfortunate if the
grand finale were not held at the
Vacant Position: Mr. Mackes stated that he had prepared a memorandum to Council to request permission to fill the vacant Assistant Park Superintendent position. Shortly thereafter, Robert Kreiter submitted his resignation as Superintendent of Parks, due to health reasons. Mr. Mackes shared the severity of Mr. Kreiter’s injuries as a result of an auto accident. However, Mr. Mackes asked Mr. Kreiter to stay on a part time basis through the end of June.
Mr. Mackes briefly explained that the recruitment and hiring process for positions that require highly specialized education, skills, certifications and experience, is time consuming and usually requires a national search.
Mr. Kreiter shared with Council the level of responsibilities of an Assistant Park Superintendent, including equipment inspections, inspections of work being performed by outside contractors and field work performed by staff; all of which require adherence to local and national safety standards to guarantee quality of work and to minimize or avoid safety/liability issues. Mr. Kreiter added that these essential tasks are not being done at this time. Mr. Mackes also gave several examples of departmental functions and services that fall within the responsibilities of both positions. Mr. Mackes concluded with a request to have Council waive the hiring freeze so that both position might be advertised and filled.
Mr. Long motioned to rescind the hiring freeze so that the Assistant Park Superintendent position could be filled as quickly as possible, then proceed to search for a new Superintendent. Mr. Taylor expressed his support to authorize an exception, since the exception does not involve a new position, rather, filling two existing vacant positions. Mrs. Bartkovich acknowledged the resulting safety and liability issues, particularly with a busy season ahead and the need to have someone with the necessary certifications, but would authorize filling the Superintendent’s position only. Mrs. Prettyman too, stated this is a difficult situation; however, with the current fiscal constraints on the County, she could not support making an exception. Mrs. Prettyman expressed her willingness to authorize filling the Superintendent’s position. Mr. Dashiell too, expressed his concerns about granting individual exceptions to departments, however, acknowledging the situation, he is in favor of granting authority for these kinds of decisions to the Administrative Director, since he would be in the best position to weigh the merits of each request submitted by department heads. Mrs. Prettyman agreed with this approach in the future, however, stated that Council is being asked to deal with the current situation. Mrs. Prettyman also stated that Council should place a time limit on the hiring freeze. This would give some direction to department heads and could be revisited by Council. Mr. Dodd expressed his regret that Mr. Kreiter would be leaving, stating he was very familiar with the importance of certifications and believes cross training might a valuable tool to the department to help reduce “down time”. Stating that instituting a hiring freeze was in the best interests of the County, he would support filling the position of Superintendent and would prefer that the second position remain open until the budget process has been completed. Mrs. Bartkovich again expressed her concerns about public safety and the hope that Mr. Mackes could find qualified people. Mr. Sarbanes remarked that Mr. Mackes has searched for qualified people, to no avail. Mr. Taylor reiterated the importance of filling key positions as quickly as possible. Mr. Dashiell then motioned to grant immediate authority to the Administrative Director to grant or deny exceptions to hiring freezes. Mrs. Prettyman generally agreed, but in light of the current budget issues, could not support granting the authority immediately. Mr. Long seconded the motion. Mrs. Prettyman requested a roll call vote, which followed: Mrs. Bartkovich, no; Mr. Long yes; Mr. Dodd, no; Mr. Taylor, yes; Mrs. Prettyman, no; Mr. Dashiell, yes; Mr. Sarbanes, yes. The motion was duly carried.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mr. Steve Meehan, representing Randall Funding and Development, wished to make Council aware of the firm’s specialized services of identifying and obtaining alternative funding sources for governments.
COUNCIL COMMENTS: none
Mr. Sarbanes announced a closed
session at
Mr. Sarbanes then adjourned the meeting.
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Anthony Sarbanes, President
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Charles R. Dashiell, Jr., Vice President
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Edward T. Taylor, District 1
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Stevie Prettyman, District 2
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Gail M. Bartkovich, District 3
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Marvin R. Long, District 4
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Larry W. Dodd, District 5
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Theodore E. Shea, II
Administrative Director