Wicomico County, MD
Council Minutes
November 7, 2006
The County Council of
Wicomico County, Maryland, met in Executive Session on Tuesday, November 7,
2006 at 10:00 a.m. in Council Chambers,
President Sarbanes brought
the meeting to order and encouraged the general public to exercise their right to
vote today.
Mr. Sarbanes presented a
Proclamation to Mr. Ed Urban, Chair, Recreation Commission, and
Mr. Taylor presented a Letter
of Congratulations, recognizing the 100th birthday of
Mr. Monroe
Mr. Genesis Parker.
On motion of Mr. Long, second
by Mr. Dashiell, the Minutes of October 17, 2006 were approved by five
unanimous votes.
ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR
Theodore E. Shea, II,
presented the following items of business.
Capital Improvements Program: Mr. Shea submitted the 2008-2012 Capital
Improvements Program/Budget to the County Council. He explained that the budget is presented to
Council today under the current Charter, which states it is to be presented to
Council, with a public hearing to be held on or before December 15; and to take
action on said budget by the January 15.
However, on December 5, 2006,
the new Charter will take effect, which requires that the
Mr. Shea stated, as a matter
of public interest, that the first year of the Capital Budget envisions
$41,929,821 of County funding, with $40,177,625 of spending by other agencies
or government entities.
Request for Support: Mr. Shea advised that the Maryland Department
of Housing and Community Development has announced State allocations for
housing rehabilitation loans, lead hazard reduction grants and loans program
and the indoor plumbing program. Council
is requested to submit a Letter of Intent to participate, thus, receiving
certain allocations. On motion of Mr.
Dodd, second by Mr. Taylor, Council unanimously approved participation.
The local administrator of
said grant funds shall be the City/County department, Planning, Zoning and
Community Development.
Request for Support: Council member Taylor gave a brief history of
the historical Rosenwald Schools, established by philanthropist Julius
Rosenwald. One of the 4,000 schools
still serves and the
Lori Carter, Deputy Director,
Planning, Zoning & Community Development, will assist in the application
process.
Mr. Dodd was very supportive
of the project, stressing the importance of preserving our past;
Messrs. Dashiell and Long
also shared their support. On motion of
Mr. Taylor, second by
Mr. Dashiell, Council
unanimously approved support of the grant application as submitted.
Mr. Dodd then offered
volunteer service with the project.
Manufacturer’s Tax Exemption:
Howard Sand and Gravel, Inc., a local manufacturing
company, is requesting the appropriate tax exemption for this and future
years. The Company has received State
eligibility status, but its request for exemption status for this year missed
the County deadline of October 1. On
motion of Mr. Long, second by Mr. Dodd, Council approved manufacturing tax
exemption on machinery and equipment used in the conduct of business, for
future years only.
Burial Assistance: Mr. Shea has received a request from Bennie
Smith Funeral Home for assistance with burial costs for the late Elizabeth C.
Brown. The request has fulfilled all criteria for consideration. On motion of Mr. Taylor, second by Mr.
Dashiell, Council unanimously approved the request and authorized a transfer of
$400 from the Contingency fund.
Report on Petition: Mr. Shea reported that he has reviewed the
petition supporting stronger measures for controlled growth, as submitted by
Mr. Alan Girard, Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
A cursory review indicates that at least 1,500 County residents had
signed. There were some duplicate names,
as well as some from outside the County.
The petition is available for review by any Council member. Mr. Sarbanes also referred to a letter from
Mr. Girard included in Council briefing materials.
Request for Appointment: Members of the Commission for Women are
requesting Council to consider appointing Mrs. Cheryl Meadows as a member. On motion of Mr. Long, second by
Mr. Dodd, Council unanimously
approved appointment with five votes.
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
Patricia B. Petersen,
Director, submitted the Contingency Report, reflecting a balance of $959,200.
Council is advised that the
City of
Mrs. Petersen requested a
transfer of $11,307 from Contingency to cover costs associated with the recent
payroll audit. On motion of Mr.
Dashiell, second by Mr. Long, Council unanimously approved the request as
submitted.
Council is requested to
approve payment of $275 for nuisance abatement on
On motion of Mr. Dashiell,
second by Mr. Dodd, Council unanimously approved the request.
Based on authority from
Council to automatically pay such invoices less than $250, Mrs. Petersen
reported payment of $125,
It is noted that Council
member Bartkovich joined the meeting at approximately 10:30 a.m.
(From this point on,
unanimous approvals by Council equals six votes).
508 Fire Prevention Grant
Funds: Mrs. Petersen also noted that
certain volunteer fire companies have not yet submitted the required reports to
the State on time; this could result in losing their unclaimed grant funds for
prior years; this includes years 2003 and 2004 for
Mr. Sarbanes suggested that
the County send letters to the Volunteer Firefighters Association, as well the
individual fire companies; this received support from Mr. Dodd. Mrs. Bartkovich also offered to contact the
fire companies in her district. Council concurred with the suggestion action.
On motion of Mr. Dodd, second
by Mr. Taylor, Council unanimously approved the issuance of a Permit to Operate
for Sleep Inn,
Mr. Taylor, Council
unanimously approved the Permit.
An application for a Permit
to Operate for Michael Marks, d/b/a Christina’s Psychic Shop, has been
processed. The Sheriff’s Office is
recommending that the permit be denied, based on incorrect/false information
contained in the application. Major Doris
Schonbrunner, Acting Sheriff, joined Mrs. Petersen in the conversation,
explaining that the Sheriff’s Office had performed a background investigation
for Mr. Michael Marks, who misrepresented his residential address on the
application; Mr. Marks also failed to return phone calls made to him by
Sheriff’s personnel. Mr. Dodd asked for
the
Edgar A. Baker, Jr.,
PLANNING, ZONING &
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
John F. Lenox, Director,
submitted the following items of interest:
Rural Areas Planning and
Implementation: Mr. Lenox advised that
the Planning Commission has discussed at length, current regulations effecting
development in rural areas and the need to take a comprehensive look at their
purpose and effectiveness. The
Commission also acknowledges that update of overall plans and policies are in
order. Mr. Lenox referred to discussion
with Council in September, and Council’s agreement to work with the Commission
to establish a working committee to review and make further recommendations;
however, Planning was asked to provide detail regarding the committee’s charge,
timelines, membership criteria and report back to Council. With this completed, Mr. Lenox believes
establishment of the committee may proceed as follows: the committee would be comprised of seven to
nine members; the Planning Commission has already designated Corinne
Lescallette; Council would also designate a member of the committee. Mr. Lenox would then return to Council with a
recommended membership list.
Following brief discussion
and on motion of Mr. Long, second by Mr. Dodd, Council designated Mrs.
Prettyman, who has expressed interest in serving as a member.
Rural Lands Preservation
Programs: Mr. Lenox summarized the
accomplishments of this year’s program, citing that the combined use of funds
from the County Agricultural Preservation Program, State Rural Legacy Program,
Federal Farm and Ranchlands Program and the County Forest Conservation Fund, a
total of 583 acres have been negotiated for permanent protection.
This involves expenditures of
$1,734,237 anticipated to go to settlement.
Mr. Lenox also reported that with the promise of additional State
funding through the Agricultural Land Preservation Fund, 518 acres in
The designation, combined
with an award of $750,000 through the Rural Legacy Program indicates continued
success.
On a final note, Mr. Lenox
asked for Council’s approval of a draft letter to be sent to all elected and
appointed State leaders, addressing new planning and zoning requirements
adopted through State legislation that extensively affect annexation plans,
municipal growth elements, water resources plans, priority preservation
elements, tributary strategy plans and work force housing plans. The County hosted two meetings with local
municipal government officials and there was mutual agreement that local
agencies do not have the staffing or resources to satisfy the requirements set
forth in the legislation. The letter
asks that sufficient funds be budgeted by the State to ensure that all entities
may be able to satisfy the requirements.
Mr. Lenox further stated that the letter, if approved, would be
accompanied by letters of endorsement from each of our local governments. Council concurred with Mr. Lenox’s request.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
P.
Biosolids and Leachate
Agreement: Mr. Sharma and John Jacobs,
Director of Public Works, City of Salisbury, have worked together to draft an
agreement whereby the City Wastewater Treatment Plant would accept leachate
generated by the County Landfill and the County would accept biosolids
generated by the City’s Wastewater Treatment facility. This would be mutually beneficial to both
governments. The agreement, if approved,
would remain in effect for five years and may be terminated by either party
upon sixty days written notice. On
motion of
Mr. Long, second by Mrs.
Bartkovich, Council unanimously approved execution of the agreement by the
Council President.
Speed Limit Request:
Miscellaneous: Mr. Sharma reported that the
Recycling Station: The County
will have to remove a recycling station on a commercial property near
Sarah Bynum King, Delmar Town
Manager, has been very helpful and has found a new location on
Mr. Dodd and Mr. Long
inquired about the recycling station on
Mrs. Bartkovich’s inquiry,
Mr. Sharma confirmed that all County recycling stations have containers for
cardboard.
At 10:55 a.m. Mr. Sarbanes
called for a five minute recess. All
public hearings are advertised for 11:00 a.m. and cannot commence prior to that
time.
PUBLIC HEARING – Department
of Public Works
Mr. Sarbanes advised those
present that during the October 17, 2006 meeting, it was Council’s decision to
convene the November 7th public hearing regarding The Orchard
project, but would table any decision until the November 21st
Executive Session, when a full Council would be present.
P.
A Public Hearing will be held
on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. in Council Chamber of the
President Sarbanes then
called for a motion to table any decision today. On motion of Mr. Dodd, second
by Mr. Long, Council unanimously approved tabling a decision on the public
hearing today, which will be continued during the November 21, 2006 Executive
Session and at which time public comments would be received, followed by
Council action. Mr. Jerry Friedel
submitted documents relative to the public hearing for the next meeting.
Edgar A. Baker, Jr., wished
to address Council regarding a previous agenda item concerning a
Permit to Operate. Mr. Baker has reviewed the proper statutes
and has determined that Council may choose to deny renewal of the permit on
grounds of false information given to the County and Sheriff’s Office. Mr. Baker stated Mr. Marks does have the
right to appeal and the correct applicant has the right to re-apply for the
permit. Mr. Dodd motioned to deny
renewal of the Permit to Operate; the motion received a second by Mrs.
Bartkovich and Council unanimously carried the motion.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
COUNCIL COMMENTS: Mr. Dodd wished to thank the audience for attending or watching the meeting on television and encouraged the public to vote today.
Mr. Sarbanes agreed and shared an anecdote about how many important decisions have been decided on one vote.
11/7/06
On motion of Mr. Dashiell, second by Mrs. Bartkovich, Council approved conducting a closed session to discuss a personnel item.
The meeting was then adjourned.
____________________________________
Anthony Sarbanes, President
____________________________________
Charles R. Dashiell, Jr., Vice President
____________________________________
Edward T. Taylor, District 1
____________________________________
Gail M. Bartkovich, District 3
____________________________________
Marvin R. Long, District 4
____________________________________
Larry W. Dodd, District 5
______________________________
Theodore E. Shea, II
Administrative Director