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HomeMy WebLinkAbout970401 April 1, 1997 Hagerstown, Maryland The Regular Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County, Maryland, was called to order at 8:00 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. PROCLAMATION - FAIR HOUSING AWARENESS MONTH Commissioner Snook presented members of the Community Housing Resource Board (CHRB) with a proclamation naming the month of April 1997 as Fair Housing Awareness Month in Washington County and commending this observance to all citizens. Pat McMillian, Director of CHRB, thanked the Commissioners for the proclamation and highlighted the activities planned to promote Fair Housing Awareness Month. COMMISSIONERS REPORTS AND COMMENTS Commissioner Downey reported on the Tri-County Council meeting and the Water & Sewer Advisory Commission meeting. Commissioner Shank reported on the meeting with representatives from the Public Golf Corporation. Commissioner Snook  circulated a copy of Paul Muldowneys letter of resignation from the Gaming Commission and asked the Commissioners for recommendations to fill the position. Commissioner Snook asked if the Commissioners want to request that the Maryland Department of the Environment hold a public information meeting on a sewage sludge application permit. The Commissioners had no comments on the application but asked that the Department of the Environment provide this information to adjoining property owners. Commissioner Snook also asked the County Administrator to check into cable television franchising regulations.  COUNTY ADMINISTRATORS COMMENTS Rodney Shoop, County Administrator, informed the Commissioners that he checked into the request made by the Town of Funkstown to receive a larger percentage of the permit fees collected for inspections in the Town. He stated that the  Countys costs for personnel to perform the inspections exceed the 75% of the fees the County receives. The Commissioners asked Mr. Shoop to provide this information to Mayor Kline and the Town Council. APPOINTMENT - ADVISORY COMMISSION TO THE BOARD OF HEALTH Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Wade, to appoint Sara Jane Hoyle to the Advisory Commission to the Board of Health to fill the unexpired term of Dr. Eldon Hawbaker extending to November 1, 1998. Unanimously approved. REAPPOINTMENT - SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Wade, to reappoint Frank Downey to the Solid Waste Advisory Committee for a three-year term. Unanimously approved. REAPPOINTMENT - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS Motion made by Commissioner Shank, seconded by Downey, to reappoint Donna Smith to the Board of Zoning Appeals for a three-year term. Unanimously approved. FORT RITCHIE LRA REDEVELOPMENT PLAN APPROVAL Robert Sweeney, Executive Director of the Fort Ritchie LRA, met with the Commissioners to request their approval of the Fort Ritchie LRA Redevelopment Plan. Mr. Sweeney presented background information on the Redevelopment Plan APRIL 1, 1997 PAGE TWO and outlined the goals and the process used to formulate the Plan. He stated that the preferred plan is a combination training and technology center which would be run by a quasi-public development corporation, known as the PenMar Development Corporation. This plan was presented to the Commissioners on February 25, 1997. Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Wade, to approve the Fort Ritchie LRA Redevelopment Plan as submitted and to forward the Plan to the Army and the Department of Housing & Urban Development for their review. BUDGET WORKSHOP - FISCAL YEAR 1997-98 The Commissioners, along with Rodney Shoop, County Administrator; Debra Bastian, Director of Finance; and Kim Edlund, Assistant Director of Finance, held a budget workshop session to review the Fiscal Year 1997-98 budget requests and make reductions to balance the budget. Commissioner Wade was excused from the meeting at 10:35 a.m. CITIZENS PARTICIPATION Donald Allensworth gave an update on zoning cases which were appealed.  Charles Shindle expressed his disappointment with the Commissioners decision to rescind the collective bargaining resolution and asked that they reconsider their action. Bobby Fouche stated that he feels the Commissioners should reconsider the action they took to repeal the collective bargaining resolution. BUDGET WORKSHOP - CONTINUED The Commissioners continued with their review of the FY 1998 budget requests. RECESS - LUNCHEON AT THE WASHINGTON COUNTY FREE LIBRARY The Commissioners recessed at 12:00 noon to attend a luncheon at the Washington County Free Library. AFTERNOON SESSION The Afternoon Session was called to order at 1:40 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 Shank, to convene in Closed Session at 1:40 p.m. to consult with the County Attorney to obtain legal advice, to consider personnel issues, and to consider issues relating to collective bargaining, in accordance with Section 10-508 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Unanimously approved RECONVENE IN REGULAR SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Wade, seconded by Shank, to reconvene in Regular Session at 2:45 p.m. Unanimously approved. In Closed Session the Commissioners discussed three (3) legal matters, six (6) personnel matters, and collective bargaining issues. PERSONNEL AND EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Wade, to promote Orville  O.H. Helser to the Parks Maintenance Mechanic position at $12.06 per hour, to fill an existing vacancy. Unanimously approved. APRIL 1, 1997 PAGE THREE Motion made by Commissioner Bowers, seconded by Wade, to approve the following personnel actions: Ballfield Attendant - to employ Leonard Davis as Ballfield Attendant at $4.75 per hour; Summer Pool Personnel - to employ the following as summer pool personnel at the Martin L. Snook Memorial Park Swimming Pool - Robert Myers, Stacey Henson, Jeremy Sumpter, Jarret Blum, Adam Loewenheim, Cortney Lipsitz, Roman Ganoe, Beth Hose, Robert Myers, Justin Saloom, Kristen Aleshire, Shilo Rae Fletcher, Ioan Savu, and Greg Andra; Part-time Bus Driver - to add Norma Holet to the list of Part-time Bus Drivers at the County  Commuter; and Temporary Upgrade - States Attorneys Office - to approve the  request to upgrade Sharon Showe in the States Attorneys Office, retroactive  to February 24, 1997, to Grade 4, Step A, under the Countys temporary upgrade policy. Unanimously approved. Commissioner Bowers was excused from the Meeting at 2:50 p.m. BUDGET WORKSHOP The Commissioners met again to address the FY 1998 budget and to review options presented by the Finance Department staff to generate additional revenue. AGREEMENTS - SOFTBALL FIELD MAINTENANCE Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Wade, to approve the agreements for softball field maintenance with the Hub City Softball League and Pinesburg Softball League, as presented by the County Attorney. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Downey, seconded by Wade, to adjourn at 3:52 p.m. Unanimously approved. County Administrator County Attorney , Clerk