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HomeMy WebLinkAbout900717 July l7, l990 Hagerstown, Maryland 2l740 The Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County was called to order at l0:00 a.m. by the President, Ronald L. Bowers, with the following members present: Vice President Linda C. Irvin and Commissioners R. Lee Downey, Richard E. Roulette and John S. Shank. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Invocation was delivered by Commissioner Bowers, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by the full assemblage. INTRODUCTION OF NEW EMPLOYEE Leroy Burtner, Director of the Economic Development Commission, introduced Beverly Brice who was recently hired as Economic Development Coordinator. RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEES - KAREN LUTHER AND ALAN DAVIS The Commissioners commended Karen Luther, Purchasing Agent, who recently received her certification as a Professional Public Buyer, and Alan Davis, Director of Personnel & Insurance, who received the designation of Senior Professional in Human Resources. The Commissioners thanked Ms. Luther and Mr. Davis for the extra time and effort they have given in order to receive these certifications. BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Irvin, to convene as the Board of Health at l0:l5 a.m. and to keep separate minutes of this meeting. Unanimously approved. The Commissioners adjourned as the Board of Health at ll:40 a.m. and reconvened in Regular Session. BID AWARD - WEST TAXIWAY - AIRPORT Motion made by Commissioner Irvin, seconded by Roulette, to accept the recommendation of the Airport Commission and award the bid for construction of the west taxiway to the Charles E. Brake Company who submitted the low base bid of $6l7,754.25, but to proceed to make inquiry with MILA to determine if the grant monies awarded to the Airport may be used for a portion of this project. Unanimously approved. MARKETING PROJECT PRESENTATION - COUNTY COMMUTER Frostburg State University student, Sharon Bladen, presented marketing research on the County Commuter system that she and several other students compiled as a project for their marketing class at the University last semester. Ms. Bladen stated that her research indicates the majority of those riding the County Commuter are the transit dependent - the elderly, disabled and low income. She suggested that they try to expand their ridership by focusing on the commuter population and providing initiatives, such as discount tickets from employers, additional waiting areas, convenient times, etc. She also noted that it is important to have coordination between the Transportation Commission and Planning Department for long-range planning. Keith Godwin, Manager of the County Commuter, stated that several of these suggestions are in practice but he found several recommendations to investigate. The Commissioners thanked Ms. Bladen for her work on the project. RECESS - LUNCHEON & TOUR OF COUNTY COMMUTER BUILDING The Commissioners recessed at l2:30 p.m. in order to attend a luncheon and tour of the new County Commuter addition. AFTERNOON SESSION The Afternoon Session was convened at l:40 p.m. by Commissioner Bowers, with the following members present: Vice President Linda C. Irvin and Commissioners R. Lee Downey, Richard E. Roulette and John S. Shank. DEMOLITION POLICY STATEMENT - CLG APPLICATION Motion made by Commissioner Irvin, seconded by Downey, to adopt the following as an addendum for the Review Procedures - Demolition Permits to clarify the distinction between the policy and the requirements of Article 20 of the Zoning Ordinance, needed for the Certified Local Government application to the State Historic Trust: "It is not the intent of this policy to negate or in any way change the existing authority granted to the Historic District Commission by Article 20 of the Zoning Ordinance regarding review, approval or disapproval of demolition permits in the Historic Preservation (HP) zone. Unanimously approved. MINUTES, CONT'D. EXTENSION OF FUNDING - FOCUS Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Roulette, to provide funding for the Project Director of FOCUS through January 3l, l99l, with the funds to be taken from the Operating Contingency. Unanimously approved. PROPERTY TAX CREDITS - ENTERPRISE ZONES Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Roulette to approve the Enterprise Zone Tax Credits, as certified by the County Treasurer as being eligible, for Fiscal Year l990 (see attached list). Unanimously approved. REAPPOINTMENTS - CHILDREN'S COUNCIL Motion made by Commissioner Irvin, seconded by Roulette, to appoint Sylvia Bell, J. Robert Storer, Carole Shearer and Paul Pittman to the Children's Council for three year terms retroactive to l989, and to reappoint Barbara Donaldson for a three-year term extending to l993. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENT - HEALTH PLANNING AGENCY Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Shank, to appoint Dr. Mark Jameson to the Western Maryland Health Planning Agency to replace Robert Brandt for a three-year term. Unanimously approved. ELECTRIC LIGHTING DISTRICTS - PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE CHANGE The Commissioners discussed an amendment to the law regarding electric lighting districts to allow individual property owners to pay equal payments as opposed to having payments based on their assessment as it is currently written. Barry Teach, Administrator, informed the Commissioners that this amendment would require action from the General Assembly. The Commissioners requested that this item be placed on the list of legislative requests to the Washington County Delegation. At this time Commissioner Downey was excused from the Meeting. ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE Gary Rohrer, Chief, Division of Planning & Codes Administration, met with the Commissioners to further discuss language for Article V - Schools for the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. After amending the draft provided by Mr. Rohrer, the Commissioners asked that a Public Hearing be scheduled for August 2l. RE/APPOINTMENTS - MENTAL HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE Motion made by Commissioner Roulette, seconded by Irvin, to appoint William Wantz and Monsignor Joseph Davies to three-year terms on the Mental Health Advisory Committee, to reappoint Kathleen Boward for a three year term, and to reappoint Suzanne McKann for her first full three year term. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENT - COMMISSION FOR WOMEN Motion made by Commissioner Irvin, seconded by Roulette, to appoint Suzanne Lucas to the Commission for Women for a three-year term. Unanimously approved. Commissioner R. Lee Downey returned to the Meeting at 2:50 p.m. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Roulette, seconded by Shank, to convene in Executive Session at 2:55 p.m. regarding personnel and property matters in accordance with Section l0.508 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Unanimously approved. RECONVENE IN REGULAR SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Irvin, seconded by Shank, to reconvene in Regular Session at 3:50 p.m. Unanimously approved. EMPLOY RECYCLING COORDINATOR Motion made by Commissioner Irvin, seconded by Shank, to employ Harvey Hoch as Recycling Coordinator at Grade 8, Step F. Unanimously approved. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Roulette, to adjourn at 3:50 p.m. Unanimously approved. County Attorney , Clerk July l7, l990 Board of Health Meeting The Commissioners convened sitting as the Board of Health at l0:l5 a.m. with Commissioner Ronald L. Bowers, Linda C. Irvin, R. Lee Downey, Richard E. Roulette and John S. Shank in attendance. Health Department officials present were Dr. John Neill, Health Officer; Richard Kropka, Section Head - Division III, Division of Food Control, Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene; Dr. Mark Jameson, Director of Health Services; Stanley Bond, Director of Environmental Health; Rod MacRae, Sanitarian; David Barnhart, Sanitarian; and Charles Rouzer, Chairman, Advisory Board of Health. City Market - Health Department Regulations Hagerstown Mayor, Steven Sager, appeared to discuss Health Department regulation of food items at City Market. Mayor Sager stated that the City Market has been in existence for over 200 years and over 60 years at its present location and has a long-standing practice of selling homemade soups, salads, pickles, and baked goods. He stated that Health Department regulations prohibit the sale of homemade items, such as homemade soups, baked goods with a cream base, and salads, if these items are not prepared in a Health Department approved or inspected kitchen facility. Mayor Sager requested that the County apply for a temporary waiver from these regulations until this can be resolved. Rick Kropka, Section Head of the State Division of Food Control, explained that homemade foods are considered for food processing practices as well as the ingredients they contain and are considered potentially hazardous if not prepared in an approved facility. He further explained that these regulations are to insure total food processing procedures, such as sanitation, processing, and ingredients. If the City were to establish an authorized kitchen at City Market for preparation or if the food were prepared at a licensed food service facility as provided in COMAR l0.l5.03, Regulations Governing Food Service Facilities, the food items would be acceptable. A letter was entered into the record from David Resh, Jr., Director of the Office of Food Protection and Comsumer Health Services, in support of the Health Department's decision to restrict the sale of certain homemade food items at City Market. Dr. Neill stated that the Commissioners, as the Board of Health, could appeal to Secretary Wizack of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene or the Governor to request a waiver until the regulations could be changed, if the County Attorney would authorize this action. The Commissioners agreed to appeal to Secretary Wilzack regarding a temporary waiver from the regulations until they can request a change through legislation by the Maryland General Assembly. Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak - Western Maryland Hospital Dr. Jameson and Dr. Fisher of the Western Maryland Center, distributed background information on Legionnaires' disease and the recent outbreak at the Western Maryland Center. Dr. Fisher explained that the major interventions performed were continuous heating of the hot water system to l40 F, "super shock" of the system with chlorine, cooling towers and the municipal water supply were cultured and a continous low level chlorination was instituted. There have been no new cases since these interventions were performed. Groundwater Study Update Rod MacRae, Sanitarian, presented a summary of the initial phase of the groundwater study requested by the Commissioners in l989 to assess the quality and quantity of groundwater in the County. He explained that the study provided a review of the existing data, testing of wells drilled since l98l, a comparison of wells sampled in l983 as part of the R. E. Wright Associates report and a comparison of a sample of wells identified in the l975 Johns Hopkins University census. A synopsis of the data revealed that of the l29 wells tested, 9% contained excess levels of nitrates, 3% failed to meet the standard for turbidity levels, 28 tested positive for coliforms and 9% for fecal coliforms. All property owners of the wells that did not meet standards were informed of their results and instructed in remediation techniques. Other reports presented concerned the failure of new wells drilled in the Broadfording Road area and a report on septic system failures in the County. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Irvin, seconded by Roulette, to adjourn as the Board of Health at ll:40 a.m., and reconvene in Regular Session. Unanimously approved. County Attorney , Clerk