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HomeMy WebLinkAbout920324 March 24, 1992 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, Gregory I. Snook, and John S. Shank. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Invocation was delivered by Commissioner Roulette, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by the full assemblage. PUBLIC HEARING - AGRICULTURAL LAND PRESERVATION DISTRICTS The Commissioners convened the public hearing to hear comments regarding applications for establishment of Agricultural Land Preservation Districts. Eric Seifarth, Associate Planner-Agriculture, reviewed the following applications with the Commissioners: AD-91-57 - submitted by Eugene R. Bowers for 39.8 acres of land which adjoins a larger l06 acre District. No one was present to speak in favor of or in opposition to the proposed agricultural district. Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Irvin-Craig, to approve application AD-91-57, as submitted by Eugene R. Bowman, for establishment of an Agricultural Land Preservation District. Unanimously approved. AD-91-48 - submitted by Charles, Mary, Allan and Dale Green for establishment of an Agricultural Land Preservation District for 203.2l acres located on Maryland Route 68 at its intersection with Reichard Road. After hearing all testimony in favor of the application, several neighboring landowners expressed concerns regarding the application of hog manure on the land and the possibility of well contamination. Donald Schwartz, Agricultural Extension Agent, answered questions regarding this procedure on farm land and agreed to address their concerns. Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Snook, to approve Application AD-91-48, submitted by Charles, Mary, Allan and Dale Green, for establishment of an Agricultural Land Preservation District conditioned upon the applicant having a Nutrient Management Plan prepared for his property. Unanimously approved. PROGRAM OPEN SPACE ANNUAL PROGRAM Edith Sweigert, Parks Administrator, and David Emmert, Chairman of the Parks Board, appeared before the Commissioners to present the Fiscal Year l993 Program Open Space Annual Program. Ms. Sweigert reviewed all projects and updates for acquisition and development. Commissioner Shank asked if the North County Park Development #l project could be renamed to allow soccer fields to be constructed in other areas since the County cannot find affordable land in the northern area of the County to develop a park. The Commissioners also asked that the Parks Board prioritize the projects because of the cuts anticipated in the State Program Open Space funds. No one was present who wished to comment regarding the submittal for the annual program. Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Bowers, to accept the Fiscal Year l993 Program Open Space Annual Program as presented by the Parks Administrator. Unanimously approved. BOARD/COMMISSION REPORTS Commissioner Irvin-Craig reported on the Women's Fair which was sponsored by the Commission for Women. She also reported that the Historical Advisory Committee submitted research regarding the Jugtown name. Commissioner Bowers reported on the Maryland Association of Counties' position on Senate Bill 387 regarding the proposal for an additional 5 cent gas tax and the bill to have directors of local Departments of Social Services appointed by the State; Commissioner Shank reported on the Parks Board meeting, the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting and the Municipal League meeting; Commissioner Roulette informed the Commissioners that a Certificate of Appreciation from the Miss Washington County Scholarship Pageant was awarded to them at their banquet. REQUEST FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS FUNDS - SANITARY COMMISSION Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Bowers, to approve the request made by the Sanitary Commission to authorize up to $l2,000 of the monies budgeted for Special Fund Projects to be used to perform an In-flow Infiltration Study and Sewer Rate Study for the Town of Williamsport. Unanimously approved. MISSION STATEMENT - CIVIL DEFENSE Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Irvin-Craig, to approve the proposed Mission Statement for Civil Defense Co. 28 as proposed and to approve the recommendation that it be renamed the Washington County Civil Defense Field MARCH 24, 1992 MINUTES, CONT'D. Operations Unit, pending review by the County Attorney that this can be done without loss of State funding. Unanimously approved. LANDFILL USER PERMIT FEES The Commissioners agreed to keep the Landfill User Permit Fees the same amount for Fiscal Year l993. AUTHORIZATION TO EMPLOY SUMMER PARK ATTENDANTS Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Irvin-Craig, to authorize hiring 4 Park Attendants for the park season to fill the existing vacancies. Unanimously approved. I-81 INDUSTRIAL PARK SIGN Barry Teach, Administrator, informed the Commissioners that the sign advertising lots in the I-81 Industrial Park was damaged due to high winds and asked if they wished to replace the sign or have it removed since there is only l lot remaining for sale. The Commissioners agreed to have the sign removed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - MARCH 17, 1992 Motion made by Commissioner Irvin-Craig, seconded by Bowers, to approve the minutes of March l7, l992, as corrected. Unanimously approved. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Donald Allensworth spoke to the Commissioners regarding the citizens' concerns with the Agricultural Land Preservation application heard earlier. He also expressed his opposition to "ICC bashing" for its proposal to incinerate hazardous waste and his objection to a Senate bill written to define hazardous waste which does not include medical waste in the definition. Charles Newcomer, Frank Newcomer and Frank Newcomer, Jr., appeared before the Commissioners to asked that they allow Newcomer Road in Ringgold to remain unchanged and that they consider changing Newcomer Road in Benevola, which has only 3 residences. The Commissioners discussed the matter and agreed that there had been an error. Motion made by Commissioner Irvin-Craig, seconded by Shank, to allow Newcomer Road in Ringgold to remain unchanged and to rename Newcomer Road in Benevola, which has less residents, due to an error made by County staff. Unanimously approved. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Snook, to convene in Executive Session at ll:27 a.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 Shank, seconded by Irvin-Craig, to reconvene in Regular Session at l2:47 p.m. Unanimously approved. EMPLOY ACTING TERMINAL & OPERATIONS MANAGER Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Snook, to contractually employ Carolyn Rider as Acting Terminal & Operations Manager at the Washington County Regional Airport at Grade l0, Step A, without benefits. Unanimously approved. ADOPTION OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN Motion made by Commissioner Irvin-Craig, seconded by Snook, to adopt the Affirmative Action Plan for the Handicapped, Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era and the Affirmative Action Plan for Minorities and Women, as presented by the County Attorney. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENT - EMPLOYEES' COUNCIL Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Shank, to appoint Shirley Burkett and Debbie Yost to the Employees' Council for 2 year terms extending to April l994. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENT - CHILDREN'S COUNCIL Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Irvin-Craig, to appoint George Jarkey to the Children's Council for a 3 year term, if a vacancy on the Council exists. Unanimously approved. AUTHORIZATION FOR RESEARCH FEE - TREASURER'S OFFICE Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Snook, to authorize the County Treasurer to charge a fee of $20 for requests to research tax records which are more than 4 years old. Unanimously approved. MARCH 24, 1992 MINUTES, CONT'D. CHANGE POLICY - BENEFIT ACCUMULATION FOR WORK RELATED INJURIES Barry Teach, Administrator, discussed a recommendation made by the Employees' Council to change County policy to allow benefits for vacation and sick leave to be accumulated for up to 1 year if an employee is off work due to a work-related injury. The Commissioners discussed the recommendation and agreed to allow benefit accumulation for a 6 month period. Motion made by Commissioner Irvin-Craig, seconded by Snook, to change County policy and allow the accumulation of benefits for sick and vacation leave for up to 6 months if an employee is off due to a work related injury. Unanimously approved. RECESS - LUNCH The Meeting was recessed at l2:50 p.m. for lunch. AFTERNOON SESSION The Afternoon Session was convened at l:39 p.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. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Snook, seconded by Shank, to convene in Executive Session at l:40 p.m. to perform personnel evaluations 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 Shank, seconded by Snook, to reconvene in Regular Session at 2:20 p.m. Unanimously approved. BUDGET PRESENTATIONS & REVIEW - FISCAL YEAR 1993 Recreation - Ronald Kidd, Director of the Hagerstown-Washington County Recreation Commission, and Ronald Phillips, President of the Commission, presented the Fiscal Year l992-93 budget in the amount of $338,089. Fire & Rescue Communications - Ronald Karn, Chief, Fire & Rescue Communications, presented the Fire & Rescue Communications budget in the amount of $379,l64, Civil Defense budget in the amount of $4l,850, and the 9ll budget of $l84,52l. Peter Loewenheim, Supervisor of Communications Maintenance, presented their budget request of $l08,870. Capital Improvements Projects Budget - James Young, Director of Finance, presented the CIP budget requested for FY l993-l998. Transportation - Keith Godwin, Manager of the County Commuter, presented the Transportation Commission budget in the amount of $l,247,763. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Shank, to adjourn at 4:00 p.m. Unanimously approved. County Attorney , Clerk