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HomeMy WebLinkAbout970114January 14, 1997 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 the President, Gregory I Snook, with the following members present: Vice President John S. Shank, and Commissioners Ronald L. Bowers, R. Lee Downey and James R. Wade. 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. DECEMBER 1996 YOUTH OF THE MONTH AWARD - LEVI HIGGINS Commissioner Snook presented a Certificate of Merit to Levi Higgins in recognition of being selected as the Youth of the Month for December 1996 by the Washington County Children's Council. Commissioner Snook listed Levi -5 activities and accomplishments and commended him for being a superior role model for all our youth. Levi thanked the Commissioners for the award and introduced his parents. COMMISSIONERS= REPORTS AND COMMENTS Commissioner Wade reported on the Planning Commission meeting. He informed the Commissioners that the rezoning request for the Artz farm was withdrawn. The Commissioners also discussed the upcoming Western Maryland Commissioners Meeting. Commissioner Downey reported on the Community Housing Resources Board meeting and the Advisory Commission to the Board of Health meeting. Commissioner Snook stated that Ed DelGiorno has resigned from the LRA Executive Council. The Commissioners discussed Mayor Sager=s letter regarding the Convention & Visitors Bureau and how the proposed changes would affect County employees in that department. Commissioner Shank informed the Commissioners of a complaint he received from a resident of Park View Knolls. COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS UPDATE Ronald Whitt, Director of Computer Information Systems (CIS), introduced the employees in his department. Mr. Whitt provided a brief history of the department. He stated that in 1989 a mission statement was developed for a three-year plan to integrate and improve computer technology for the Washington County government. Mr. Whitt noted that all of these goals have been completed. He discussed the programs for training County employees and refurbishing older computers. Current CIS projects include fiber-optic cabling to provide Internet access to the County government, upgrading the software in Water & Sewer Department to allow them to access the TAG financial program, and determining a method to provide remote control or modem access to employees from their home computers. Commissioner Snook congratulated Mr. Whitt and his employees for their accomplishments. CONTRACT RENEWAL - LEACHATE HAULING FROM COUNTY LANDFILL Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Bowers, to renew the contract with the Gerald Taylor Co., Inc. for leachate hauling from the County landfill at the following rates per gallon: A) $.01410 and b) $.02250 as specified in the original contract. Unanimously approved. RIGHT-OF-WAY ACCEPTANCE - NEWGATE INDUSTRIAL PARK SEWERAGE Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Shank, to accept deeds of easement from The Potomac Edison Company, MRSL Hagerstown, and the Hagerstown - Washington County Industrial Foundation, for right-of-way dedicated to the County for the construction of a sewer line at the Newgate Industrial Park. Unanimously approved. JANUARY 14, 1997 PAGE TWO RIGHT-OF-WAY - ERNSTVILLE ROAD BRIDGE PROJECT Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Bowers, to approve the following dedicated deeds of right-of-way needed for the Ernstville Road Bridge project: Ray A. Reed - 1,939 square feet in fee simple and 1,925 square feet in revertible construction easement; Filbert & Crystal Mellott - 391 square feet in fee simple and 549 square feet in revertible construction easement; Donald and Betty Mellott - 1,700 square feet in fee simple; and Roger D. Tedrick - 2,657 square feet of Parcel 1, 401 square feet of Parcel 2, and 1,586 square feet in revertible construction easement. Unanimously approved. SUBDIVISION STREET ACCEPTANCE - MAUGANS MEADOWS Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Shank, to accept the following streets located in the Maugans Meadows Subdivision: Jennifer Lane, Chad=s Terrace South, and Chad=s Terrace North, and a two-year maintenance bond. Unanimously approved. STREET ACCEPTANCE - ROXBURY HILLS Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Wade, to accept 12,070 linear feet of Betty=s Avenue, located in the Roxbury Hills Subdivision, and a one- year maintenance bond of $12,700. Unanimously approved. ST. JAMES NORTH SUBDIVISION - PERFORMANCE BOND Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Bowers, to accept a $54,000 for performance bond for St. George Circle and a $37,000 performance bond for Stephanie Lane, for a one-year period, in the St. James North Subdivision. Unanimously approved. MEDICAL CAMPUS ROAD AND YALE DRIVE EXTENSION Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Wade, to accept the deeds to dedicate the extensions of Medical Campus Road and Yale Drive into the County roads system. Unanimously approved. GAMING COMMISSION HIGHLIGHTS Kathy Sterling, Gaming Coordinator, met with the Commissioners to provide a report on the gaming proceeds received and the distributions made to charitable organizations and the Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association by the Gaming Commission from tip jar proceeds. Also present were Gaming Commission members, Fred Rohrer, Bill Porter, Clarence Scheer and Paul Muldowney. Ms. Sterling reported on the mission of the Gaming Commission and its accomplishments. She stated that in Fiscal Year 1996, $586,632 was given to various charities and volunteer fire and rescue companies. Ms. Sterling made the following projections for funds to be distributed: Fiscal Year 1997 - $1.3 million, Fiscal Year 1998 - $1.75 million, and Fiscal Year 1999 - $2.15 million. Four representatives of charitable organizations which received funding informed the Commissioners of how the funds they received from the Gaming Commission were utilized. Maggie Brill representing Girls Inc., Donald Shoemaker representing the First Hose Company of Boonsboro, Shelby Higgins representing the Community Free Clinic, and James Mobley representing Food Resources Inc. made presentations to the Commissioners. Ms. Sterling stated that the next distribution will be made in February. Commissioner Wade asked Ms. Sterling to provide a quarterly update on the funds and the office expenditures. Commissioner Snook thanked the Commission members and staff for their work on this program. CITIZENS PARTICIPATION John Mullendore stated that the County is fortunate to have Ronald Whitt, Director of Computer Information Systems, on its staff. JANUARY 14, 1997 PAGE THREE Donald Allensworth voiced concerns about development costs and recommendations made by the Planning Commission. FAMILY PRESERVATION & SUPPORT SERVICES PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Bowers, to approve the submission of an application for a Family Preservation and Support Services Planning Grant in the amount of $52,652 for a six-month period. Unanimously approved. COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR=S COMMENTS Rodney Shoop, County Administrator, reminded the Commissioners of the workshop meeting on January 16 regarding the governance of Fort Ritchie. He also reminded them of the organizational meeting of the Water & Sewer Advisory Commission at 7:00 p.m. on January 16 and the Western Maryland Commissioners meeting on January 17. Mr. Shoop informed the Commissioners that the appeal before the Board of Public Works for the renovation of South Hagerstown High School has been scheduled for January 22 at 2:20 p.m. APPOINTMENT - WASHINGTON COUNTY PUBLIC GOLF CORPORATION Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Downey, to appoint ACokeyO Robertson to the Washington County Public Golf Corporation for a three-year term and to appoint Ronald Pike to fill the unexpired term of Bert Yingling extending to November 30, 1997. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENTS - WATER & SEWER ADVISORY COMMISSION Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Bowers, to appoint Ed Renn, and Glenn Fishack for three-year terms, Gordon Crabb for a two-year term, and Christopher Diehl for a one-year term, to the Water & Sewer Advisory Commission. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENT - EMERGENCY SERVICES COUNCIL Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Wade, to appoint the following individuals to the Emergency Services Council: Jimmy Black, James Baker, Cecil Bittinger, Ray Linebaugh, Dr. Laurence Johns, Harold Boyer, Charles Shindle, Brigitte Heller, Thomas Cochrane, Jay Grimes, James Kimble, and Dr. Kathryn Reihard. Unanimously approved. BUDGET TRANSFER - WATER & SEWER DEPARTMENT Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Bowers, to approve the request to transfer $23,000 from the Elk Ridge Well System to Administration as requested by the Water & Sewer Department to repair the HVAC system in the laboratory. Unanimously approved. SUB -RECIPIENT AGREEMENT - STAPLES, INC. Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Bowers, to approve the Jobs Agreement and Subrecipient Agreement (MD96-ED72) with Staples, Inc. and Tri- County Council for Western Maryland for a $1.6 million grant from the Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program. Unanimously approved. PARTIAL RELEASE OF DEED OF TRUST - ST. JAMES CORPORATION Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Downey, to approve the Partial Release of the Deed of Trust with the St. James Corporation for the release of two lots known and described as Lots 163 and 166 on the final plat, Phase 2, Block C, of St. James Village North. Unanimously approved. RECESS - TOUR OF 911 CENTER AND LUNCH The Commissioners recessed at 11:25 a.m. to tour the 911 Center and for lunch. JANUARY 14, 1997 PAGE FOUR AFTERNOON SESSION The Afternoon Session was called to order at 1:04 p.m. by the President Gregory I. Snook, with the following members present: Vice President John S. Shank, and Commissioners Ronald L. Bowers, R. Lee Downey, and James R. Wade. CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Bowers, to convene in Closed Session at 1:05 p.m. with regard to personnel matters, to consult with the County Attorney on legal issues, and Union negotiations, in accordance with Section 10-508 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Unanimously approved. Commissioner Snook was excused from the meeting from 1:40 p.m. to 3:33 p.m. and Commissioner Shank assumed the chair. Commissioner Bowers was excused from the meeting at 2:50 p.m. RECONVENE IN REGULAR SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Shank, to reconvene in Regular Session at 3:48 p m. Unanimously approved. In Closed Session the Commissioners discussed five (5) personnel matters, seven (7) legal matters, and negotiations with the Union. EMPLOY - OPERATOR TRAINEE - WATER & SEWER DEPARTMENT Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Wade, to employ Gregg Neff as Operator Trainee, Grade 3, Step A, at the Water & Sewer Department to fill an existing vacancy. Unanimously approved. SHOP SUPERVISOR - ROADS DEPARTMENT Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Downey, to promote Jack Reynard to the position of Shop Supervisor at the Roads Department, Grade 10, Step A, to fill an existing vacancy. Unanimously approved. APPOINTMENT OF ACTING DIRECTOR - LANDFILL Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Downey, to appoint Steven Zies as Acting Director of Solid Waste Management in the absence of Robert Davenport. Unanimously approved. AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS - RECREATION & PARKS DEPARTMENT Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Shank, to amend the bylaws of the Recreation & Parks Department, by eliminating the reference to the Division of Citizens Services Director and preventing an employee of the County from being appointed the Recreation and Parks Board, and making the bylaws provision as to terms of members consistent with other appointed boards. Unanimously approved. TERMINATION AGREEMENT - JOSEPH HESS Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Shank, to approve the termination agreement with Joseph Hess, as outlined by the County Attorney. Unanimously approved. MODIFICATION TO SANITARY SEWER AGREEMENT - NEWGATE INDUSTRIAL PARK Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Shank, to approve the modifications to the existing MILA and MICRF loan agreement with the Department of Business and Economic Development and the agreement with CHIEF for payment of the EDA mortgages, for construction of the sanitary sewer extension to Newgate Industrial Park. Unanimously approved. JANUARY 14, 1996 PAGE FIVE ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Wade, to adjourn at 3:51 p.m. Unanimously approved. County Administrator County Attorney , Clerk