Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.14.1986January 14, 1986 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, Ronald L. Bowers, with the following members present: Vice President Richard E. Roulette and Commissioners R. Lee Downey, John R. Salvatore and Martin L. Snook. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Invocation was delivered by Rev. John Koontz, Grace Baptist Church, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by the full Assemblage. FY 1985 MANAGEMENT LETTER Jim Young, Director of Finance, appeared before the Commissioners to inform them of corrective measures being taken as a result of the Fiscal Year 1985 Audit Report Management Letter. He reported that, 1) name changes were made on three (3) cash accounts, 2) General Fixed Asset Accounts will be changed as recommended when software systems are available, 3) tax receivables will be on the computer by February 1st, 4) actual adjustments to self-insurance costs will be made at the end of each fiscal year, 5) a logging -out system will be used when Permit files are out of the office, 6) procedural changes have been made regarding emergency purchases, 7) long-term billing procedures will be set up at the time billing is prepared, 8) procedures have been changed to make up final Transporation Fund grant reports in August of each year. The Commissioners expressed their appreciation for the information. APPOINTMENT TO TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Roulette to appoint Jack Bowers to serve as a member of the Transportation Commission for a term to expire May 1987. Unanimously approved. REAPPOINTMENT OF PLUMBING BOARD MEMBERS Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Salvatore to reappoint Robert Ritchie, Richard Long, Edward Anders, Jr., Walter Teach and Dr. John Neill, ex - officio, to serve as members of the Washington County Plumbing Board for terms to expire January 1987. Unanimously approved. RE/APPOINTMENTS TO DISABLED PERSONS REVIEW BOARD Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Salvatore to appoint Dr. Arthur Campo, and reappoint Sandy Weaver, John Kenny and Ann Marie Poole at the expiration of their current terms in May 1986, to serve as members of the Disabled Persons Review Board for three (3) year terms. Unanimously approved. LINE ITEM TRANSFER - COMPANY 28 Motion made by Commissioner Salvatore, seconded by Downey to approve of the transfer of $2500 in the Civil Defense Company 28 Budget from Building Repair (50- 441-000) to Contracted Maintenance (50-454-000) for hydraulic system repairs to Unit 284. Unanimously approved. TRI -COUNTY COUNCIL LEGISLATION Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Salvatore to grant tentative approval to the proposed Tri -County Council Legislation as revised this date, to be submitted to the Western Maryland Delegation to the General Assembly. Unanimously approved. LANDIS ROAD/DAY ROAD PROJECT Glenn Dull, County Engineer, appeared before the Commissioners to propose an alternate design for the Landis Road/Day Road Project. He said the alternate design would provide for spot improvements at an estimated cost of $210,000, and would provide the safety factor needed, while the original design for improvements to approximately 2500' would cost an estimated $400,000. The Commissioners instructed the County Engineer to bid the project both ways. USE OF REFURBISHED STEAM LOCOMOTIVE Steve Spalding, Hagerstown City Councilman, along with John Long, local entrepreneur, met with the Commissioners to inform them of Mr. Long's plans to restore and refurbish an old steam locomotive for use as a tourist attraction if state and railroad approvals can be obtained for using the locomotive as a common carrier. Mr. Long said he had to establish the approximate number of miles per year the locomotive would travel, and asked if the County had any interest in using it for excursions to Pen Mar Park or for other tourism promotions. MOTION made by Commissioner Roulette, seconded by Snook to request the Tourism Advisory Committee and the County Tourism Director to meet with Mr. Long and discuss proposed use of the locomotive as a County Tourism attraction. Unanimously approved. JANUARY 14, 1986 MINUTES, CONT'D. TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Motion made by Commissioner Salvatore, seconded by Snook to approve of the Fiscal Year 1986 Annual Program Improvement Program to be submitted to the Maryland Department of Transportation for federal and state grants for County Commuter System Capital improvements. Unanimously approved. RETAIN SERVICES OF FINANCIAL ADVISORS Motion made by Commissioner Roulette, seconded by Snook to retain the services of Baker Watts as financial advisors for the forthcoming $5 million bond issue, at a fee not to exceed $7,000 plus $800 for expenses. Unanimously approved. ANNUAL VISIT - CONGRESSWOMAN BYRON U.S. Representative Beverly Byron, 6th Congressional District, made her annual visit with the Commissioners and discussed the following issues with them: 1. The Town of Hancock's tremendous self-help effort in repairing flood damaged public buildings/utilities. 2. The positive outlook for keeping the Army Helicopter Unit in Washington County, and further development of the former Fairchild Plant. 3. The loss of revenue sharing funds by next year. 4. The National Park Service's apparent lack of interest in the Rezoning of a portion of the Grove Farm near Sharpsburg. In a general discussion of the above issues, the Congresswoman said that she is also keeping a close watch on Mack Trucks in the hope of preventing loss of local jobs, that she will find out if a new appeal can be made to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for flood disaster aid for Hancock and several other Maryland areas hard hit by the November flood, that rezoning of the Grove Farm near Sharpsburg was a local matter and appeared not to be in conflict with planned expansion of the Antietam Battlefield property. PUBLIC HEARING - AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION DISTRICT #AD -85-1 The President convened the Meeting in Public Hearing at 11:25 a.m. to permit any resident of Washington County to testify concerning the petition for the establishment of an Agricultual Preservation District from Ethel I. Wolfinger, on the property located on the North Side of Lehmans Mill Road at its intersection with Millers Church Road, and consisting of 149.63 acres. Stephen T. Goodrich, Senior Planner, explained that the application had been reviewed and approved by the Washington County Agricultural Advisory Board, the Planning Commission and the Soil Conservation Service. Mr. Russell Wolfinger spoke in favor of his application. There being no one else present to speak for nor against said application, the President announced that the Record would remain open for ten (10) days for comments to be submitted in writing. He closed the Hearing at 11:35 a.m. and reconvened the Meeting in Regular Session. INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE REPORT Jack Hawbaker, Executive Director of the Planning Department, appeared before the Commissioners to submit a report from the Infrastructure Study Committee, on the comparative costs of facilities to serve development and those required by local governments or agencies. He said the comparisons used in the study were submitted by the Water Pollution Control and Water Departments of the City of Hagerstown and indicated increases in costs of between 5% and 200. He said that the report indicated that a fund of approximately $.5 million should be established, either from local funds or from those that may be available through the State Department of Economic & Community Development, to finance the difference in cost for the oversized structures. Mr. Hawbaker suggested that the Report should now be submitted to the Infrastructure Financing Study Committee to be used in the development of a standard policy mechanism through which oversized infrastructures could be financed. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN - BIENNIAL UPDATE Jack Hawbaker met with the Commissioners for a preliminary review of the updated Solid Waste Management Report. He stated that the population profile and waste generation factors in the report remained consistent with the 1982 report and other than at the Hancock Landfill, the per capita waste generation was 7.1 pounds per day. He pointed out that, at this rate, the present Resh Road Landfill site will last until 1998. Mr. Hawbaker also reviewed and updated the implementation of recommendations from the 1982 Study. The Commissioners agreed to take the Biennial Update to Public Hearing in the near future. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Roulette, seconded by Downey to convene in Executive Session at 12:05 p.m. in regard to personnel, property and legal matters, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 76(A), Section 11(a)(6 & 7) of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Unanimously approved. JANUARY 14, 1986 MINUTES, CONT'D. RECONVENE IN REGULAR SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Salvatore to reconvene in Regular Session at 2:30 p.m. Unanimously approved. ASSIGN OPTION AGREEMENT TO CITY OF HAGERSTOWN Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Salvatore to assign the County's Option Agreement with Aaron E. and Terri L. Light for the acquisition of .6656 Acres, more or less, at a fee of $13,500, for the Eastern Boulevard Project, to the City of Hagerstown. Unanimously approved. ESTABLISH SALARY OF COUNTY TREASURER Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Salvatore to establish an annual salary of $30,000 for the County Treasurer, effective with the next term of office, with annual increments of 2 1/2o beginning January 1988, and to request the local delegation to the General Assembly to provide for an amendment to the Code of Local Public Laws, to delete certain commissions for the County Treasurer. Unanimously approved. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Salvatore, seconded by Downey to adjourn at 2:35 p.m. Unanimously approved. County Attorney Clerk