HomeMy WebLinkAbout171107BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND
Hagerstown, Maryland
November 7, 2017
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner Barr offered the Invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the
Flag by the full assemblage.
CALL TO ORDER
President Terry L. Baker called the regular meeting of the Board of County
Commissioners of Washington County, Maryland, to order at 10:14 a.m. at 100 West
Washington Street, Room 1113, with the following members present: Vice President
Jeffrey A. Cline and Commissioners John F. Barr, Wayne K. Keefer and LeRoy E. Myers,
Jr.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES — OCTOBER 31, 2017
Commissioner Barr, seconded by Keefer, moved to approve the minutes of October 31,
2017. The motion passed unanimously.
COMMISSIONERS' REPORTS AND COMMENTS
Commissioner Cline announced that the Williamsport American Legion would be
dedicating its World War II monument this Saturday, November 11. He thanked all
veterans for their service.
Commissioner Barr reported attending last week's Maryland Association of Counties'
(MACo) fall conference. He noted that he would be serving another year as its Immediate
Past President. Mr. Barr attended the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's masquerade ball
that raised a record amount of funds for the organization.
Commissioner Baker congratulated Paul Hose for being re-elected mayor of the Town of
Clear Spring. He thanked Public Works Director Jim Sterling and Business Development
Director Kassie Lewis for their assistance with last week's well -attended Global Enterprise
Conference at the Cascade Town Centre.
REPORTS FROM COUNTY STAFF
County Administrator
County Administrator Rob Slocum announced County Government's hours of service as
being 7:30 a.m. — 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. He noted that the State of Maryland
submitted the Interstate 81 grant application for widening the interstate. Mr. Slocum
thanked Jim Kercheval, Executive Director of the Greater Hagerstown Committee, and
Matt Mullenix, Executive Director of the Hagerstown/Eastern Panhandle Metropolitan
Planning Organization, for supporting the application.
November 7, 2017
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Mr. Slocum recognized Commissioner Barr for being a finalist for the Maryland
Association of Counties' Marilyn J. Praisner Public Service Award. Mr. Barr was
nominated by his fellow Commissioners and office staff. The award recognizes current or
former county elected officials who have demonstrated outstanding service to the county,
his or her constituents and MACo. The winner will be honored at this year's Winter MACo
Conference on December 6-8.
County Clerk — Appointments to Boards and Commissions
Commissioner Barr, seconded by Cline, moved to appoint Daniel Sterling as the Master
Electrician designee to serve a two-year term through October 31, 2019 on the Electrical
Board of Examiners and Supervisors. The motion passed unanimously.
CITIZENS' PARTICIPATION
Brooke Harper, 18336 Buckeye Circle, Hagerstown, discussed the fracked gas pipeline
proposed to be installed under the Potomac River by TransCanada and the dangers of
fracking. She requested that the County Commissioners send a letter in opposition to
Governor Hogan.
Tillie McCoy, 13503 Greencastle Pike, Hagerstown, objected to the TransCanada pipeline
and its potential danger to the Potomac River.
Cathy Poropatic, 589 Dunn Irvin Drive, Hagerstown, read the County's mission statement
that includes protecting the environment. She expressed opposition to the proposed
pipeline and requested that the Commissioners do the same.
Brent Walls, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, 15307 Dellinger Road, Williamsport, discussed
the March 15, 2018 deadline for the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to
approve or deny CWA 401 certification for the Federal pipeline project. He urged the
Commissioners to attend and express their opposition to the project during the
informational hearing being held by MDE on December 19 at Hancock Middle/High
School.
Thomas Ruhf, 4215 Main Street, Rohrersville, also objected to the proposed pipeline. He
noted that Governor Hogan is against fracking.
Shirley Lamdan, 11903 Robinwood Drive, Hagerstown, commented against the pipeline
stating that Washington County will be most affected by its negative effects.
Mayor Ralph Salvagno, Council member Leo Murray and former American Legion
Commander Larry Gerber, Town of Hancock, described the town's memorial project for
veterans headed by Council member Murray. The Town has pledged $25,000 toward the
project that will be called Widmeyer's Veterans Parkway and is requesting a donation from
the County.
November 7, 2017
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JOINT MEETING WITH WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Board of Education (BOE) President Melissa Williams, Vice President Stan Stouffer, and
members Jacqueline Fischer, Michael Guessford, Linda Murray and Wayne Ridenour were
present for a joint meeting with the County Commissioners.
PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE
PROGRAM FOR THE WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Melissa Williams and Stan Stouffer indicated that the Washington County Board of
Education (BOE) conducted a public work session on October 17, 2017 to discuss its core
values, legislative priorities and initiatives for the 2018 Maryland Legislative Session.
Three initiatives were developed to discuss with the County Commissioners:
1) Repeal of Public Local Law — Advisory School Design Review Committee;
2) An annual increase in the Maintenance of Effort based upon the Consumer Price
Index; and
3) Automated Speed Enforcement — Dedication of Funds for School Resource
Officers.
Melissa Williams stated that the BOE would be meeting with the Washington County
Delegation on December 5 and Delegation members would like to know how the County
Commissioners stand on the proposals.
Ms. Williams stated that the elimination of the Advisory School Design Review
Committee would save approximately $25,000 for every project due to the time expended
by architects, construction managers, school system staff and County staff. Commissioner
Myers stated that as a contractor, he believes there is a need for professionals and a
consumer representative to review and make recommendations on proposed school designs
that may save money in the long run.
In Fiscal Year 2017, the County Commissioners contributed $94,844,030 towards the
Maintenance of Effort (MOE). Under the legislation proposed, if the consumer price index
(CPI) had increased by 1% during that fiscal year, the Commissioners would have
allocated an additional $948,440.30. Commissioner Myers questioned whether the MOE
would have a cap since the CPI can swing in both directions. Ms. Williams answered that
it depends on how the legislation is written. Commissioner Keefer commented that the
County's revenue is based on taxes collected and not the CPI.
The Board of Education is currently spending $700,000 for school resource officers.
Automated speed enforcement devices may only be located in school zones. It would be
beneficial to dedicate revenue from the speed enforcement devices to defray the cost of
school resource officers. Commissioner Myers suggested that the BOE contact Sheriff
Mullendore to discuss this request.
November 7, 2017
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PROCLAMATION TO DR. GUY ALTIERI
The County Commissioners presented a proclamation to Dr. Guy Altieri, President of
Hagerstown Community College (HCC), in honor of his sixteen years of service. Dr.
Altieri served as the third president of the college in its seventy -one-year history and plans
to retire at the end of this year. Under his leadership, the college has grown its physical
campus, begun new and innovative programs and now has 6,000 credit and 7,000 non-
credit enrolled students. Dr. Altieri discussed the establishment of the college in 1946 and
his tenure. Austin Abrams, Chair of the HCC Board of Trustees, spoke highly of Dr.
Altieri and his vision for the college. Dr. Altieri thanked the Commissioners for the
recognition and their partnership and support.
PRESENTATION TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND BOARD OF
EDUCATION BY B&D CONSULTING, INC.
Amy Johnson and Curtis Davis of B & D Consulting, Inc. discussed their company which
provides technology engineering, cyber security, cloud computing, mobility and unified
communications and was nurtured at HCC's Technical Innovation Center. B & D now has
114 employees and customers including the Department of Defense. Vendors include
Microsoft, Amazon and Cisco. Ms. Johnson and Mr. Curtis discussed the available jobs in
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and stated that 71% are in
computing. The average salary for a computing occupation in Maryland now is over
$100,000. Ms. Johnson and Mr. Davis stated that their company sponsors internships with
local students. B & D would like to work collaboratively with Hagerstown Community
College, Washington County Public Schools and local companies to create technical talent
and internships.
CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION
Commissioner Myers, seconded by Barr, moved to convene in closed session at 12:01 p.m.
to discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion,
compensation, removal, resignation or performance evaluation of appointees, employees or
officials over whom this public body has jurisdiction; or any other personnel matter that
affects one or more specific individuals; to consider a matter that concerns a proposal for a
business or industrial organization to locate, expand or remain in the State; and to consult
with counsel to obtain legal advice on a legal matter, in accordance with Section 3-
305(b)(1), (4) and (7) of the General Provisions Article of the Annotated Code of
Maryland. The motion passed unanimously.
In closed session, the Commissioners discussed the possible establishment of certain
businesses within the County and the proposed expansion of a business within the County.
They received legal advice on matters and provided staff with direction concerning
employee assignments and directives, as well as direction concerning the possible location
or expansion of businesses in the County. They further provided direction concerning the
marketing of certain real estate owned by the County.
November 7, 2017
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Present during closed session were Commissioners Terry L. Baker, Jeffrey A. Cline, John
F. Barr, Wayne K. Keefer and LeRoy E. Myers, Jr. Also present were Robert J. Slocum,
County Administrator; Vicki C. Lumm, County Clerk; John M. Martirano, County
Attorney; and at various times Jim Sterling, Director, Public Works; Stephanie Stone,
Director, Health and Human Services; Susan Small, Real Property Administrator, and
Scott Hobbs, Director, Engineering; and Jodi Bell, ReMax Realtors.
RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION
Commissioner Barr, seconded by Myers, moved to reconvene in open session at 2:03 p.m.
The motion passed unanimously.
REVISED AND UPDATED POICIES
Stephanie Stone, Director, Health and Human Services, and Kendall McPeak, Assistant
County Attorney, presented updated County policies that have been revised, reorganized
and consolidated. Some of the updates pertain to County, State and federal regulations that
have changed over time. Others involve issues pertaining to the implementation of the
County's Oracle Cloud software. Ms. Stone advised that several policies have been
updated in light of the Commissioners' discussion during last week's meeting. They
include:
PR -13: Anti -Harassment and Complaint Procedure (complaints will initially go to County
Attorney)
PR -21: Violence in the Workplace (complaints will initially go to County Attorney)
PR -26: Whistleblower Policy (complaints will initially go to County Attorney)
PR -34: Leave Policy (Personal Days must be taken in 8 hour increments)
PR -36: Tobacco Free Campus (Ag Center and Transit Center are exempt)
PR -37: Anti -Discrimination and Complaint Procedure (complaints will initially go to
County Attorney)
PR -39: Cell Phone Use During Board Meetings (may be used for photos and business and
emergency -related electronic communications)
Stephanie Stone reviewed the added policies with the Commissioners. Upon approval,
updated employee handbooks will be created for all employees and the policies will be
posted online for reference. Commissioner Keefer requested additional time to review all
policies and the Commissioners agreed.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT RECLASSIFICATION,
REORGANIZATION AND REALIGNMENT
Ms. Stone and Ron Whitt, Director, Information Technology, recommended five IT
employee or position reclassification requests. The department has had a vacancy of
Technical Support Analyst II (Grade 13). As the County migrates to several new business
applications and processes into vendor provided cloud platforms, the need for an IT
Training and Documentation Specialist (Grade 11) whose duties would focus on training in
November 7, 2017
Page 6
the new programs and user telephone and help desk ticket support assistance has been
identified. The Technical Support Analyst II duties were previously realigned and will
remain with those staff members. Reclassifications include:
1) Angie Poffenberger, Database Administrator (Grade 15, Step 11) to Deputy
Director IS (Grade 17, Step 8)
2) David Elliott, IT Services Specialist I (Gradel 1, Step 4) to Technical Support
Analyst I (Grade 12, Step 4)
3) Jennifer Landman, Systems Analyst (Grade 14, Step 7) to Software Support
Analyst (Grade 15, Step 6)
4) Karen Dickie, IT Service Specialist III (Grade 13, Step 10) to Senior IT Services
Specialist (Grade 14, Step 9)
5) Joshua O'Neal, Deputy Director IS (Grade 17, Step 5), to Deputy Director IS —
Infrastructure/Operations (Grade 17, Step 6)
The fiscal impact of the proposal is $16,150, which is $90 over the current annual budget
but would be absorbed in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget, therefore providing a savings of
$4,036.
Commissioner Barr, seconded by Keefer, moved to approve the reclassification of various
positions as presented, the advertisement of the proposed trainer position and the
elimination a budgeted position. The motion passed with Commissioners Barr, Keefer,
Myers and Baker voting "AYE" and Commissioner Cline "NO".
ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Myers, seconded by Keefer, moved to adjourn at 2:31 p.m. The motion
passed unanimously.
Robert J. Slocum, County Administrator
John M. Martirano, County Attorney
Vicki C. Lumm, County Clerk