Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout910122 January 22, l99l Hagerstown, Maryland 21740 The Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by the President, Richard E. Roulette, with the following members present: Vice President Ronald L. Bowers, and Commissioners Linda C. Irvin-Craig, John S. Shank and Gregory I. Snook. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Invocation was delivered by Richard Willson, Director of Housing & Community Development, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by the full assemblage. BOARD/COMMISSION REPORTS Commissioner Snook reported on the Childrens Council meeting and read excerpts from the Airport Commission minutes. Commissioner Shank reported on the Municipal League meeting. APPOINTMENTS - COMMUNITY ACTION COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Shank, to appoint John Fignar, Mary Kaelin and Gregory Snook to the Board of Directors for Community Action Council and to reappoint Neil Curran to the Board of Directors. Unanimously approved. RE/APPOINTMENTS - PLUMBING BOARD Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Shank, to appoint Steven Spurrier to the Plumbing Board for a one-year term. Unanimously approved. Motion made by Commissioner Irvin-Craig, seconded by Bowers, to reappoint Ralph Pryor and Michael Waugh to the Plumbing Board, representing Master Plumbers, for one-year terms. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENTS - CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Irvin-Craig, to appoint Kim Detwiler and Paulette Sprinkle to the Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors as ex- officio members. Unanimously approved. CLOSING OUT SALE - JAMES FASHIONS Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Irvin-Craig, to approve the application submitted by Patti Demory for a Closing Out Sale for James Fashions, to begin January 24, l99l, and extend to April l5, l99l. Unanimously approved. ST. JAMES SEWER SERVICE AREA STUDY The Commissioners discussed the St. James Sewer Service Area Study and the alternatives it presented. The Commissioners asked Barry Teach, Administrator, to schedule a meeting with appropriate Maryland Environmental Service officials to see if it is possible for the MCI treatment plant, located on Roxbury Road to be expanded, before making a decision. POLICY - TEMPORARY UPGRADE OF EMPLOYEES Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Bowers, to approve the policy for Temporary Upgrade of Employees, which provides for a l0% increase in salary as compensation to an employee that is requested to temporarily assume greater responsibility when another position is vacated due to extended illness or termination for a minimum of 30 consecutive calendar days. Unanimously approved. STATUS REPORT - FOCUS, INC. Joel Hill, Director of Focus, Inc., along with Carol Johnson, Project Manager, appeared before the Commissioners to provide a status report and history for Focus. Ms. Hill told the Commissioners that the final wrap-up for the project should be in June. The Commissioners questioned the delays on the project and expressed dissatisfaction on the amount of time it has taken for the report to be compiled. In answer to the Commissioners' questions regarding funding, Ms. Hill informed them that approximately $l2-l4,000 has been provided by the private section and the County has contributed $46,l60 to date. Ms. Hill stated that the request for $8,400 is to fund the Project Director through June 30 and that this would be the final amount requested of the County. After discussion, the Commissioners agreed to fund the request. Motion made by Commissioner Irvin-Craig, seconded by Shank, to approve the funding request made by Focus, Inc., for up to $8,400 with funds to be taken from the Commissioners Contingency Fund, with the understanding that the Commissioners would provide no more funds in support of this project. Unanimously approved. JANUARY 22, 1991 MINUTES, CONT'D. STUDENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM Ed Stenger, representing the Community Internship Program of the Board of Education, met with the Commissioners to introduce Mike Sullivan, a student at North Hagerstown High School, who will be interning with the Commissioners for the remainder of the school year. Mr. Stenger explained that the program is designed to provide out of classroom experience one-half day each week in an area where they have expressed an interest. Commissioner Roulette welcomed Mike on behalf of the Commissioners. WOMEN'S CLUB - REQUEST FOR TAX EXEMPT STATUS Ralph France, County Attorney, explained that he was contacted by the Hagerstown Women's Club requesting that the County Commissioners grant a credit for the County's portion of property taxes. Mr. France stated that he feels the Women's Club would be eligible for this credit as defined in the Code of Local Public Laws of Washington County, but he has heard that Delegate Callas will be introducing new legislation regarding this. Betty Secor and Patricia David, members of the Women's Club, were in attendance and spoke in favor of their request and provided a brief history of the Club. The Commissioners decided to wait until they have reviewed the legislation to be introduced by Delegate Callas before making a decision. RECYCLING STATUS REPORT Robert Davenport, Director of Landfills, and Harvey Hoch, Recycling Coordinator, met with the Commissioners to review the progress in recycling for l990. Mr. Hoch provided a status report on Phase I and stated that they are on schedule. He noted that future plans include the model yard waste program at HJC, recycling ordinance regulations, instituting a form on data collection, additional public education efforts and helping to stage an Envirothon for area high schools. Mr. Hoch also gave the Commissioners a draft proposal for establishment of a Solid Waste Advisory Committee to review. Phase II would include a material recovery facility. Mr. Davenport informed the Commissioners that they hope to have the results of the four county study on incineration ready for presentation on February 5. The Commissioners thanked Mr. Hoch and Mr. Davenport for their good work. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Margaret Comstock stated that she feels it is very important that citizens be involved in the recycling programs, and the Commissioners should seriously consider appointing a Solid Waste Advisory Committee. James Mosher, who was a member of the Land Use and Growth Committee of Focus, told the Commissioners that this Committee has been meeting, and he hopes the Commissioners are looking forward to what this report will produce. Colleen Toothman, a parent and member of the Smithsburg High School Citizens Advisory Council, asked the Commissioners to look to the future and she presented her concerns regarding adequate space needs for academic classes at Smithsburg High School. REQUEST TO SUBMIT PRE-APPLICATION TO FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION Leigh Sprowls, Airport Manager, appeared before the Commissioners to request their approval to submit a pre-application to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for additional discretionary funds for three projects. Mr. Sprowls explained that the projects include: l) construction of a taxiway parallel to the north/south runway, 2) installation of a precision approach path indicator (PAPI), and 3) grooving of Runway 2-79. The total cost for the projects would be $80l,000 of which $72l,000 will be paid by the FAA, $40,055 by the State and $40,055 by the County. Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Bowers, to approve the submittal of a pre-application to the Federal Aviation Administration for the three projects presented. Unanimously approved. SUMMER EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM The Commissioners decided to continue the summer employment program for students but not to allow their children to apply for the positions. POLICY - REDUCTION IN WORK FORCE Barry Teach, Administrator, stated that during a review of the Personnel Policy, they realized that there are no written guidelines for reduction in workforce. Mr. Teach noted that the policy being presented states that the County Commissioners will determine where reductions will be made based partly on seniority and critical need for the department. The Commissioners requested that the language be amended to include "upon the recommendation of the County Administrator, after consultation with the Director of Personnel and affected department heads/division directors". Mr. Teach said that the changes will be made and the policy brought back next week for final consideration. JANUARY 22, 1991 MINUTES, CONT'D. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Bowers, to convene in Executive Session at l2:30 p.m. in regard to personnel and property matters and to confer with the County Attorney, 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-Craig, seconded by Shank, to reconvene in Regular Session at l:20 p.m. Unanimously approved. AGRICULTURAL LAND PRESERVATION ADVISORY BOARD - NEW EASEMENT ESTABLISHMENT CHECKLIST Eric Seifarth, Associate Planner - Agriculture, and Steven Ernst, member of the Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board, appeared before the Commissioners to present a proposed ranking checklist for agricultural easements. Mr. Seifarth stated that he feels this is a more equitable means of ranking the applicants. He stated that the ranking checklist has three major areas of change. The changes include, under Agricultural status, a land owner receives fewer points if they have developed or excluded acreage, under Criteria #l0, the Advisory Board is attempting to target prime, long-term farming areas by giving additional points and under Development Status, the new method puts a cap of 5 points for each of the criteria in this section. Also discussed was proposed legislation which could effect funding for agricultural land preservation programs. RENOVATION OF OUTBUILDINGS - REGIONAL PARK Barry Teach, Administrator, informed the Commissioners that the proposals received for renovation to the outbuildings located at the Regional Park site came in higher than expected. The Commissioners suggested using Career Studies students to do this work or possibly an organization interested in sponsoring or doing the work. No decision was made at this time. COMMUNICATIONS TOWER - COUNTY OFFICE BUILDING Barry Teach, informed the Commissioners that he received correspondence from Peter Loewenheim, Supervisor of Communications Maintenance, notifying him that the communications tower, located on the corner of the roof on the County Office Building, is improperly guyed and is unstable and unsafe. Mr. Loewenheim is recommending that the tower be relocated to the center of the roof where it can be properly stabilized. The estimated cost for this work is $ll,000. Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Shank, to appropriate up to $ll,000 to relocate the communications tower on the County Office Building and have it properly stabilized, with funding to be taken from the Capital Contingency Fund. Unanimously approved. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Irvin-Craig, to convene in Executive Session at 2:23 p.m. in regard to personnel and property matters and to confer with the County Attorney, in accordance with Section l0.508 of the State Government Article of the State Government Article. Unanimously approved. RECONVENE IN REGULAR SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Shank, to reconvene in Regular Session at 2:5l p.m. Unanimously approved. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Irvin-Craig, seconded by Snook, to adjourn at 2:55 p.m. Unanimously approved. County Attorney , Clerk