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HomeMy WebLinkAbout050322 March 22, 2005 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 William J. Wivell and Commissioners James F. Kercheval, John C. Munson, and Doris J. Nipps. 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. COUNTY COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Snook announced that Becky Maginnis has been hired to replace Annajean McKnight as Risk Management Administrator in the Human Resources Department. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) BUDGET WORKSHOP The Commissioners continued their review of the projects submitted for the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for Fiscal Years 2006-2011. Debra Bastian, Finance Director, Mike Thompson, Planning Director, and Gary Rohrer, Public Works Director, attended the workshop. The Commissioners reviewed CIP projects for solid waste, water and sewer, transportation, and airport. They agreed to continue the CIP budget review in the afternoon session. RECESS - RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY FOR U.S. SENATOR BARBARA MIKULSKI’S WESTERN MARYLAND OFFICE The Commissioners recessed at 10:15 a.m. in order to meet with Senator Barbara Mikulski and attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for her new office at the University System of Maryland’s Hagerstown Center. Senator Mikulski met with the County Commissioners to discuss items of local concern. She thanked the Commissioners for arranging their schedule to meet with her and introduced members of her staff who were in attendance. Commissioner Snook welcomed the Senator to Washington County. Local Projects – Smithsburg & Boonsboro Branch Libraries Gary Rohrer, Director of Public Works, provided an update on the Smithsburg and Boonsboro library projects. Mr. Rohrer thanked the Senator for her assistance in helping Smithsburg obtain a federal grant of $298,230 from HUD. He stated that the project is in the final design stage and reviewed the floor plan. Mr. Rohrer indicated that the anticipated completion date is February 2006. The estimated cost of the project is $1.3 million. He informed the group that meetings with the Boonsboro Library building committee have just begun, and they anticipate design completion by December 2005 with construction to start in the spring of 2006. To date, no federal grant funding has been received for the Boonsboro library project. Homeland Security Issues, Grant Funding Opportunities and the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Joe Kroboth, III, Director of Emergency Services, informed Senator Mikulski of various federal grant programs that assisted our fire and emergency service agencies to increase their capabilities. Mr. Kroboth stated that the County continues to receive grant funding to support Homeland Security efforts. He explained that Washington County is in the process of replacing its public safety communications system. Mr. Kroboth indicated that this is a technically challenging project and one of the most expensive ever undertaken by County government. The Commissioners asked if the federal government could assist in funding the project. Update on Airport Runway Extension Project Commissioner Snook thanked Senator Mikulski for her assistance in obtaining a $47 million grant for this project. Carolyn Motz, Airport Manager, and Mahesh Kukata, Project manager for URS, Inc., outlined the status of the runway improvement project. The Senator praised the MARCH 22, 2005 PAGE TWO project as a major economic development tool and suggested that the County send another letter to Secretary Mineta at the Department of Transportation supporting the request for the reinstatement of the Essential Air Service (EAS) designation. She stated that she would contact Senators from the Tri-State area to seek their support due to the regional importance of the EAS designation. Discussion of I-81 Improvement Project Commissioner Kercheval discussed concerns about finding the revenue to widen Interstate 81 without the use of tolls, based on the revenue projections from a long-range transportation study commissioned by the states of Maryland and West Virginia. Senator Mikulski informed the Commissioners of the process for distributing Federal Highway funds and stated that this project would need to be on the State’s priority list. The State currently has the ICC project has a higher priority. RECESS – LUNCHEON WITH WASHINGTON COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU AND MARYLAND OFFICE OF TOURISM The Commissioners recessed at 12:00 noon to attend a luncheon with the Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and officials from the Maryland Office of Tourism. AFTERNOON SESSION The afternoon session was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by President Gregory I. Snook, with the following members present: Vice President William J. Wivell and Commissioners James F. Kercheval, John C. Munson, and Doris J. Nipps. SOLID WASTE RATE SETTING AND BUDGET Robert Davenport, Director of the Solid Waste Department, and Debra Bastian, Director of Finance, met with the Commissioners to discuss proposed rate increases for the next fiscal year. Mr. Davenport stated that the proposed rates for fees are as follows: 1) Disposal of municipal solid waste - $43/ton; 2) Disposal of construction waste - $48/ton; 3) Residential permits -$135/year and senior citizens - $100/year. Mr. Davenport stated that the increases in sticker permits would produce an estimated $680,000 in new revenue. The Board discussed the current sticker system and possible methods of revising it including evaluating a charge-per-bag program which may benefit low-volume susers on fixed incomes. They asked that the Solid Waste Advisory Committee review the alternatives available. Motion made by Commissioner Munson, seconded by Nipps, to hold a public hearing on the proposed rate increases at the Solid Waste Department for disposal of municipal solid waste - $43/ton; disposal of construction waste - $48/ton; 3) residential permits -$135/year, and residential permits for senior citizens - $100/year. Unanimously approved. CONTINUATION OF CIP BUDGET WORKSHOP The Commissioners continued with the CIP workshop. They discussed Commissioner Munson’s recommendation that the FY 2006 CIP road construction/reclamation projects be approved at this time to allow the projects to be bid and completed in a timelier manner. Gary Rohrer, Director of Public Works, reviewed the projects listed in the FY 2006 budget. He stated that the projects total $2.8 million for FY ’06 and the remaining funds from FY 2005 would also be included. Debra Bastian, Director of Public Works, informed the Commissioners that these projects are included in the $13 million general obligation bond request. She recommended that the bonding amount be set at $14 million in order to deal with unexpected contingencies. After discussion, it was the consensus of the Commissioners to approve the road improvement projects as proposed by the staff in the FY 2006 CIP budget to allow them to bid the projects, with the understanding that bond fund borrowing would not exceed $14 million for all CIP projects. Commissioner Wivell expressed his opposition because of the need to increase borrowing. Rodney Turnbough, Director of Facilities Management for the Board of Education, informed the Commissioners that they recently found they would have to seek competitive bids for the addition of a fifth round to the MARCH 22, 2005 PAGE THREE Salem Avenue Elementary School. He explained that they received a legal opinion that a change order for this work is not sufficient. Mr. Turnbough stated that the project would not be complete by the start of school in the fall. He also informed them that architectural and engineering designs are being developed for the Pangborn and Westfield Elementary School projects. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Wivell, seconded by Kercheval, to adjourn at 3:15 p.m. Unanimously approved. , County Administrator , County Attorney ___________________________, County Clerk