Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout991102 November 2, 1999 Hagerstown, Maryland The regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County, Maryland, was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by President Gregory I. Snook with the following members present: Vice President Paul L. Swartz, and Commissioners Bertrand L. Iseminger, John L. Schnebly, and William J. Wivell. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Invocation was delivered by Commissioner Snook, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by the full assemblage. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - OCTOBER 26, 1999 Motion made by Commissioner Schnebly, seconded by Iseminger, to approve the minutes of October 26, 1999, as amended. Unanimously approved. COMMISSIONERS REPORTS AND COMMENTS Commissioner Schnebly reported on the Airport Commission meeting. He informed the Commissioners that the joint City/County task force on water and sewer issues met with the AFSCME representative regarding the possible consolidation of the lab operations. Commissioner Schnebly stated that he attended the luncheon at the Highway Department and the appreciation breakfast for the faculty at South Hagerstown High School. At this time, Commissioner Snook read and presented a proclamation to Commissioner John Schnebly in celebration of his 50th birthday. Commissioner Swartz informed the Commissioners that he toured the Pinesburg softball complex with Gary Lumm. He distributed a list of suggested improvements to the complex that Mr. Lumm submitted to him. Commissioner Swartz stated that he will provide the list to the Recreation & Parks Board for discussion. He stated that he met with a movie producer last week regarding the making of a television movie about the life of Linn Hendershot who is Chairman of the Disabilities Advisory Committee. He also said that  the Commissioners participated in the Alsatia Mummers Day parade. Commissioner Wivell reported that he attended a meeting on HotSpots, the Water and Sewer Advisory Commission meeting, and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting. He asked if the Commissioners wish to include a request for enabling legislation to fund the Economic Development Commission through hotel/motel tax funds. The Commissioners discussed the matter and agreed that they would like to obtain more information before proceeding with the request. Commissioner Iseminger reported on the MACo Land Use Subcommittee meeting and the Planning Commission meeting. He stated that he attended the luncheon at the Highway Department and the Halloween party held by the County employees and thanked both groups for their hospitality. Commissioner Snook reminded the Commissioners of the joint rezoning hearing scheduled for November 8. He reported on the MACo Board meeting he attended last week. He also suggested topics for discussion at the Homebuilders Association dinner. The Commissioners had no comments regarding an application for certification to expand a Certified Adult Residential Environment group home, submitted by the Department of Social Services. PROPOSED REVISIONS TO GAMING RULES & REGULATIONS The Commissioners reviewed two proposed amendments to the Gaming Rules and Regulations to make them consistent with the Gaming Guidelines, which were  discussed at last weeks meeting. The discussion was continued from last  weeks meeting. The first amendment would eliminate the use of the term  nonprofit and substitute the word charitable for consistency with the enabling statute. The second amendment discussed eliminates the provision that an organization is eligible if it is included on the list of organizations to which the County Commissioners may contribute funds. He explained that an organization would be required to obtain a 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS in order to receive funds from the Gaming Commission. Commissioners voiced concerns about removing the 1-108 list as a ground of eligibility for distributions from the Gaming Commission for organizations which do not hold a 501(c)(3) designation. Motion made by Commissioner Iseminger, seconded by Schnebly to eliminate the  word nonprofit and substitute the word charitable in the Rules and Regulations of the Gaming Commission. Unanimously approved. Motion made by Commissioner Schnebly, seconded by Wivell, to deny the NOVEMBER 2, 1999 PAGE TWO recommendation to amend the Rules and Regulations and to continue to allow organizations included on the 1-108 list to which the County Commissioners may contribute funds to be eligible for gaming funds. Unanimously approved. REVIEW OF HIRING POLICY NO. PR-24 Alan Davis, Director of Human Resources, met with the Commissioners to review Policy No. PR-24 on hiring procedures. He stated that when the policy was adopted in January 1999, the Commissioners requested that it be reviewed within 10-12 months of its implementation. Mr. Davis stated that under Section III, Guidelines and Responsibilities for Employment, the Commissioners are to review recommendations for full-time supervisory  positions. He stated that the term supervisory is ambiguous, and the policy should be clarified regarding what positions are to be reviewed by the Board. Mr. Davis recommended maintaining the policy with that clarification. The Commissioners discussed the approval process and at what grade level they want to review employment recommendations. Motion made by Commissioner Swartz, seconded by Wivell, to approve amending Policy No. PR-24, Section III, Guidelines and Responsibilities for  Employment, and by eliminating the term supervisory position and requiring that all recommendations for employment of Grade 14 and above be reviewed by the County Commissioners, with the provision that the policy be reviewed in six months. Unanimously approved. AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION - 60/40 MATCHING PROGRAM Eric Seifarth, Farmland Preservation Administrator, met with the  Commissioners regarding the Countys 40% funding commitment to the 60/40 matching program with the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program. Mr. Seifarth informed the Commissioners that the Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board, working with the Agricultural Study Committee, has recommended that the County Commissioners supplement the agricultural transfer tax with up to $500,000 per year in order to maximize the $1 million available from the State. He stated that, based on the first  quarters results, the County may have only $125,000 in the agricultural transfer tax fund by the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Seifarth informed the Commissioners that the Advisory Board also voted to recommend the implementation of a 2% local agricultural transfer tax. He distributed information on the proceeds received from the current State agricultural transfer tax over the past several years. Commissioner Iseminger voiced his support for the supplementing the transfer tax monies for FY 2000 to allow the County to maximize the State funds for easement purchases. The Commissioners discussed the recommendations made. Commissioner Schnebly stated that this is a worthy request but that he is reluctant to commit future funding from the general fund at this time. Steve Ernest, President of the Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board, stated that they hope to adopt a long-term plan for farming and provide the building blocks for the future viability of the agricultural industry in the County. The Commissioners asked Mr. Ernst to convey to the Committee the points discussed today regarding the agricultural transfer tax and ask that they give it further review and make a final recommendation to the Commissioners. Motion made by Commissioner Iseminger, seconded by Swartz, to commit to provide additional funding from the general fund in an amount up to $470,000 to allow the County to take advantage of full 60/40 Matching Program for easement purchase from the State for the Agricultural Land Preservation Program. The motion was denied with Commissioners Iseminger and Swartz  voting AYE and Commissioners Schnebly, Wivell, and Snook voting NO. Motion made by Commissioner Schnebly, seconded by Wivell, to match the Agricultural Transfer Tax funds with up to $125,000 from the General Fund for the Agricultural Land Preservation Program 60/40 Matching Program and to consent to explore other funding sources to supplement the agricultural transfer tax. Unanimously approved. PUBLIC HEARING - RURAL LEGACY EASEMENTS The Commissioners convened a public hearing to review applications for easement purchases for the Rural Legacy Program. Eric Seifarth, Farmland Preservation Administrator, stated that the State has awarded $1.8 million to Washington County under the Rural Legacy Program for the purchase of easements on properties near the Antietam National Battlefield in an effort to preserve land with significant agricultural, environmental, and historic features. He reviewed each of the first four applications as follows: 1) Application RL-99-001 submitted by William, Mary and Scott Poffenberger; 2) NOVEMBER 2, 1999 PAGE THREE Application RL-99-002, submitted by David Foltz; 3) Application RL-99-003 which was submitted by Terry Karn; and 4) Application RL-99-004 submitted by Carl and Melanie Heron. Mr. Seifarth stated that the Planning Commission found all of the applications to be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The meeting was then opened for public comment. There was no one present who wished to comment at this time. Motion made by Commissioner Iseminger, seconded by Schnebly, to approve: 1) Application RL-99-001 submitted by William, Mary and Scott Poffenberger; 2) Application RL-99-002, submitted by David Foltz; 3) Application RL-99-003 which was submitted by Terry Karn; and 4) Application RL-99-004 submitted by Carl and Melanie Heron for submission to the State for easement purchase under the Rural Legacy Program. Unanimously approved. PUBLIC HEARING - AMENDMENT TO SEWER SERVICE POLICY The Commissioners convened in public hearing at 10:20 a.m. in order to hear public comment regarding a proposed amendment to the Sewer Service Policy for Washington County, Maryland. Greg Murray, Director of the Water & Sewer Department, reviewed the amendment requested by the Water & Sewer Department Reductions of Established to amend Article I, Section 1-7, Subsection M, Flow Allocations , to amend the policy as follows: Exception: If the allocation for any property has been reduced to zero and said property has been suspended from billing, all minimum user fees from date of disconnection of service must be paid in full or allocation increase fees paid, whichever is less. This applies to any property whose allocation was reduced to zero (disconnected from service) and suspended from billing after January 1, 1996. All applicable disconnect/reconnect fees shall also apply. If allocation was reduced from paid allotment but remains greater than zero, no increase in allocation fees would apply below the original paid allotment other than a fee differential which may be charged to reflect allocation fee changes. The meeting was then opened for public comment. There was no one present who wished to comment at this time. Motion made Commissioner Wivell, seconded by Swartz, to approve the amendment as recommended by the Water and Sewer Department to add an  Reductions of Exception clause to Article I, Section 1-7, Subsection M, Established Flow Allocations to the Sewer Service Policy, as submitted by the County Attorney. Unanimously approved.  CITIZENS PARTICIPATION Donald Allensworth listed questions that he feels need to be answered before the Commissioners consider the recommendation to privatize the Economic . Development Commission Bob Maginnis, opinions editor at the Herald-Mail, asked the Commissioners if members of the local delegation to the General Assembly promised the Commissioners anything to drop the sales tax proposal. The Commissioners each answered that the delegation had not promised them anything to eliminate the proposal from the list of requests but offered any assistance they could give to help secure State cooperation to help reduce the water and sewer debt. Bill Osborne distributed copies of local newspaper articles and a petition regarding recreational vehicles dumping raw sewage on Kemps Mill Road. He stated that this is detrimental to the residents of Everly Road, Kemps Mill and Rock Hill Road. He asked that the County consider placing directional signs along Kemps Mill Road to the Snug Harbor campground to keep campers off of dead-end roads and to increase the fine for dumping raw sewage. Commissioner Snook agreed to have the Highway Department review the signage and to have the Advisory Commission to the Board of Health review the fines. TASK FORCE ON HOMELESSNESS - REQUEST FOR USE OF COUNTY COMMUTER BUS Glenda Helman, representing the Task Force on Homelessness, reviewed the activities scheduled for next week to help make the public aware of services provided to the homeless in the County. Ms. Helman asked the Commissioners if they would provide the use of a County Commuter bus on November 10 for three hours to allow them to tour social service agencies and shelters to educate the public on the process that homeless individuals must follow to attain assistance. She stated that the cost to use the bus would be $120. The Commissioners asked Ms. Helman to provide them with information on the number of people who participated in the activities. NOVEMBER 2, 1999 PAGE FOUR Motion made by Commissioner Schnebly, seconded by Swartz, to approve the request to allow the Task Force on Homelessness to utilize a County Commuter bus and to provide the $120 funding for this from the contingency fund. Unanimously approved. PARK HALL ROAD BRIDGE - BID AWARD & BUDGET TRANSFER Motion made by Commissioner Iseminger, seconded by Schnebly, to award the contract for construction of the Park Hall Road bridge to Henson & Son, Inc., which submitted the low responsive, responsible bid of $175,947, and to approve the budget transfer of $80,000 from the Scour Analysis Program budget to provide the additional funding for the project. Unanimously approved. MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY UPDATE Phillip Dukes, Executive Director of the Mental Health Authority, met with the Commissioners to outline the responsibilities of the Authority and to present the fiscal year 1999 annual report to them. Dr. Dukes explained that the Mental Health Authority is the conduit for mental health funds for Washington County and is responsible for planning, developing, monitoring and coordinating a system of services for the County. He distributed information on the programs they provide and a copy of the newsletter. Dr. Dukes stated that some of the programs that the Mental Health Authority funds are adult mentoring, case management and treatment for those in the criminal justice system who have mental illness, community outreach to homeless individuals with mental illness, emergency psychiatric services, adult foster care, and senior mental health program. Rodney Shoop, County Administrator, stated that the Authority is an example of how the system should work and complimented Dr. Dukes on reorganizing the Authority. REAPPOINTMENTS - MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY Motion made by Commissioner Iseminger, seconded by Swartz, to reappoint Rodney Walser and Barbara Bacon to the Mental Health Authority for three- year terms. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENT - MENTAL HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE Motion made by Commissioner Iseminger, seconded by Schnebly, to appoint Judy Brown to the Mental Health Advisory Committee to fill the unexpired term of Barbara Koelle, which extends to June 30, 2002. Unanimously approved. WASHINGTON COUNTY AUDIT REPORT Mike Manspeaker, representing Smith Elliott Kearns & Company, appeared before the Commissioners to present the County's Fiscal Year 1999 audit  report. Mr. Manspeaker reported that the County has a clean unqualified financial report again this year. Mr. Manspeaker provided a detailed review of the audit report, including the General Fund, Highway Fund and Capital Improvements Projects. He indicated that the County is in good financial condition, and reported that the Fund Balance total is $12 million with cash reserves of $7,998,000. Mr. Manspeaker emphasized that the General Fund ended with a surplus of $997,514 and stated that this is primarily due to an increase in revenues from property and income taxes. He then responded to questions from the Commissioners. Mr. Manspeaker stated that his firm made no recommendations as far as accounting procedures and that the federal grants audit is still in progress. He informed the Commissioners that the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has made changes in reporting procedures for County government that must be implemented by FY 2001-2002. Mr. Manspeaker noted that this will be the most significant change in the history of governmental accounting. He indicated that some things will need to be addressed well in advance of the implementation date. Mr. Manspeaker informed the Commissioners that the County must operate on a full accrual basis, which will also include infrastructure. Debra Bastian, Director of Budget & Finance, informed the Commissioners that it will be difficult to estimate the cost of infrastructure which was constructed by a developer and then turned over to the County. RECESS - LUNCHEON MEETING WITH HAGERSTOWN COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES The Commissioners recessed at 12:00 p.m. in order to attend a luncheon with the Board of Trustees of Hagerstown Community College and tour the new Learning Resource Center and amphitheater. NOVEMBER 2, 1999 PAGE FIVE AFTERNOON SESSION The afternoon session was called to order at 2:08 p.m. by President Gregory I. Snook, with the following members present: Vice President Paul L. Swartz and Commissioners Bertrand L. Iseminger and William J. Wivell. STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM - UPDATE Terry McGee, Chief Engineer, and Gary Rohrer, Director of Public Works, met with the Commissioners to provide an update on the stormwater management program. Mr. Rohrer informed the Commissioners that they will be recommending the implementation of a fee structure for plan review in the near future. He reviewed the current situation with operations and maintenance. Mr. Rohrer stated that the two major components of the program are plan review and construction and maintenance. He informed the Commissioners that there are currently 413 stormwater management devices in the County of which 24 are owned and maintained by the County. Estimated annual costs for the maintenance of those owned by the County is $65,000, which may increase to $154,000 within the next two years. He stated that  there are an additional 33 ponds now in the pipeline, which will be maintained by the County. Mr. McGee stated that by State law, Washington County is required to have a State-approved stormwater management (SWM) program. He informed the Commissioners that the State is now working to revise the law and the counties have been assured that the new regulations will be in effect by March 2000. He stated that the County will have one year after that to implement the new regulations. Mr. McGee noted that the major changes in the regulations will be the way in which water quality is addressed and the type of storm for which the SWM facility is designed. Mr. McGee indicated that there are also federal regulations for existing ponds and outlined the costs involved to construct and maintain the ponds. Mr. Rohrer and Mr. McGee stated that they have begun to evaluate other possible funding sources for these efforts. They reviewed the costs of staff time associated with establishing fees in regard to costs to construct and maintain ponds as well as the annual costs for operation and maintenance. Mr. McGee noted that the costs will increase under the new regulations. He stated that they feel they can recover the cost of staff time through review fees. Other scenarios they reviewed for possible  funding were homeowners associations, special assessments, establishment of a utility, or possibly grandfathering existing ponds and then charging fees for future development of SWM devices. After discussion, the staff agreed to return with recommendations and options and a summary of what other counties have done to address this problem.  COMPTROLLERS LOCAL GOVERNMENT OUTREACH PROGRAM Dean Kenderdine, Chief of Staff, and Kristin Saunders, Special Assistant to the Governor on Intergovernmental Relations, met with the Commissioners to  provide information on the Comptrollers local government outreach plan.  Ms. Saunders distributed an organizational chart for the Comptrollers office. She stated that the local branch office at One Public Square will be expanding their duties to include consumer complaints, providing  assistance forms for the Attorney Generals office, and providing assistance to senior citizens. Mr. Kenderdine reminded the Commissioners that the Comptroller also sits on the Board of Public Works, which reviews funding for school construction projects. Commissioner Snook stated that he recently attended a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Association of Counties, and found that most of the smaller counties are unable to fully maximize the State monies for school construction. He stated that they are hopeful that some of the monies from the State surplus can be used toward school funding. He also relayed concerns he has heard from owners of convenience stores regarding enforcement of tobacco laws and the need for more education on the law for store operators. Commissioner Snook stated that other projects the County supports are the widening of Interstate 81, extension of the runway at the Hagerstown Regional Airport, State options for library construction funding, water and sewer funding options, and construction of a branch campus of the University System of Maryland in Washington County. CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Swartz, seconded by Wivell, to convene in closed session at 3:10 p.m. to discuss personnel issues and to consider proposals for businesses or industrial organizations to locate, expand, or remain in the State, in accordance with Section 10-508 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Unanimously approved. NOVEMBER 2, 1999 PAGE SIX RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Swartz, seconded by Iseminger, to reconvene in open session at 3:53 p.m. Unanimously approved. In closed session, the Commissioners discussed three (3) personnel issues and considered one (1) proposal for a business or industrial organization to locate, expand, or remain in the State. Present during closed session were Commissioners Gregory I. Snook, Paul L. Swartz, Bertrand L. Iseminger, and William J. Wivell. Also present at various times were Rodney Shoop, County Administrator; Joni Bittner, County Clerk; Richard Douglas, County Attorney; and John Martirano, Assistant County Attorney. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Iseminger, seconded by Wivell, to adjourn at 3:53 p.m. Unanimously approved. County Administrator County Attorney , Clerk