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HomeMy WebLinkAbout050614 June 13, 2005 Hagerstown, MD 21740 JOINT PUBLIC HEARING – REZONING CASES WS-05-002, RZ-05-003, RZ- 05-005, RZ-05-006 AND RZ-05-007 A joint public hearing of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County and the Washington County Planning Commission was convened in Court Room #l at 7:00 p.m. to hear testimony and receive evidence in Water and Sewerage Plan Amendment WS-05-002 and rezoning map amendments RZ-05-003, RZ-05-005, RZ-05-006, and RZ-05-007. Presiding at the hearing were County Commissioners President Gregory I. Snook and Planning Commission Chair Donald Ardinger. Also present at the hearing were County Commissioners William J. Wivell, James F. Kercheval, John C. Munson, and Doris J. Nipps, and Planning Commission Vice Chair Benjamin Clopper and members Linda Parrish, Terry Reiber, Bernie Moser, and George Anikis. The public hearing was adjourned at 10:45 p.m. __________________________, County Administrator , County Attorney , Clerk June 14, 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, 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. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JUNE 7, 2005 Motion made by Commissioner Nipps, seconded by Kercheval, to approve the minutes of June 7, 2005, as amended. Unanimously approved. BUILDING EXCISE TAX ORDINANCE Richard Douglas, County Attorney, appeared before the Commissioners to discuss the remaining issues to be resolved prior to adoption of the Building Excise Tax Ordinance. Mr. Douglas stated that revisions have been made to the draft Ordinance as a result of comments from the Commissioners that were made at previous meetings. The unresolved issues include: 1) Regulations for nonresidential construction including guidance as to building types, uses, waivers and exemptions to include in the Ordinance. 2) The amount of the tax to be charged for new construction for subdivisions building over 25 units annually. 3) The precise area in the City of Hagerstown in which to exempt nonresidential construction from the tax in order to encourage revitalization. He also reviewed the revisions that were made to last week’s draft. The Commissioners agreed to reference the APFO and eliminate paragraph (a) from Section 3B in the Ordinance. They also agreed to reference the matrix recommended by the Economic Development Commission for nonresidential development. The Commissioners agreed to an enhanced tax of $26,000 for single- family dwellings and $31,000 for multifamily dwellings to apply to subdivisions building 25 lots and above. The additional tax th would be applied beginning at the 26 unit. Mr. Douglas stated that after the Commissioners rejected the City of Hagerstown’s Revitalization Area as a basis for exemption from the tax, their staff proposed several options for consideration. After discussion, the Commissioners agreed to exempt the City’s C-3 zoning district and the Conversion overlay district for residential and non-residential property. They also agreed that enterprise zones would be exempt for non- residential developments. Structures owned by religious JUNE 14, 2005 PAGE TWO corporations, as defined under IRS regulations, and used for religious, educational or community purposes, would also be exempt. It was the consensus that the City of Hagerstown would collect all of the tax until its own AFPO is adopted and would remit it to the County. The County would then forward their percentage back to them if they are actively working on the adoption of an APFO agreement. Motion made by Commissioner Nipps, seconded by Kercheval to advertise the Excise Tax Ordinance for public hearing on June 21, 2005 as revised today. Unanimously approved. RESOLUTION – ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKFORCE HOUSING TASK FORCE Motion made by Commissioner Nipps, seconded by Wivell, to adopt the resolution creating the Workforce Housing Task Force, as required by House Bill 1272, to “analyze and study the impact of the Washington County property tax on the availability of workforce housing” as well as the impact of the building excise tax on workforce housing and means of encouraging the development of workforce housing, as revised. Unanimously approved. (A copy of the adopted resolution is attached.) The Commissioners discussed the proposed membership of the Task Force as discussed at last week’s meeting. They agreed to appoint the following individuals: Richard Willson (Washington County Housing Authority); Joan McLernon (Pen-Mar Regional Association of Realtors); Barbara Spielman (Hagerstown Home Store); Martin Brubaker & Larry Bayer (City of Hagerstown); Taylor Oliver (Home Builders Association); Chuck Wagaman (Maryland Municipal League); Sherry Brown Cooper (Habitat for Humanity); George Anikis (Planning Commission); Ted Shankle (Hagerstown Housing Authority); Mark Harrell (Hagerstown Trust Company); Alan Levin (Chamber of Commerce); James Lobley (Economic Development Commission); David Jordan (Community Action Council); and Richard Phoebus, Bill Pennington, and Debi Turpin (County Commissioner appointments). CITY OF HAGERSTOWN ANNEXATION REQUEST (A05-03) CRUMRINE PROPERTY Michael Thompson, Director of Planning and Community Development, met with the Commissioners regarding the annexation request made to the City of Hagerstown for the Crumrine property. Mr. Thompson stated that the Planning Department staff finds that the proposed annexation request is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. He explained that the proposed annexation is approximately 18.465 acres located east of the intersection of Eastern Boulevard and Jefferson Boulevard. The applicant is proposing Agricultural Transition (AT) zoning for the parcel. The City of Hagerstown Planning Commission is recommending R1 (Residential). Mr. Thompson stated that the AT zoning and R1 zoning classifications are not inconsistent with the RU (Residential Urban) zoning that currently exists. The meeting was then opened for discussion and questions from the Commissioners. Gilbert Crumrine, property owner, spoke in favor of the AT zoning. Motion made by Commissioner Wivell, seconded by Kercheval, to find that the requested zoning of Agricultural Transition (AT) proposed for City of Hagerstown annexation Case No. A05-03 (Crumrine property) is consistent with the current Comprehensive Plan. Unanimously approved. CITIZENS’ PARTICIPATION Daniel Moeller asked the County to include rural zoning lot exemptions on its Internet web site. Tom Berry stated that he believes the County is using the “wrong specification and wrong direction” with the rural area zoning that will take additional time to fix later. May Fruehauf proposed that restrooms be constructed for County Commuter bus drivers and suggested various sites where they could be located. RECESS – LUNCH AND TOUR OF LANDFILL SITES The Commissioners recessed at 10:42 a.m. in order to tour the Resh Road Landfill site, the Rubble Landfill site, and the 40 West Landfill, and to have lunch with the Solid Waste Department employees. JUNE 14, 2005 PAGE THREE AFTERNOON SESSION The afternoon session was called to order at 1:58 p.m. by President Gregory I. Snook, with the following members present: Vice President William J. Wivell and Commissioners James F. Kercheval, and Doris J. Nipps. PUBLIC HEARING – REVISIONS TO ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE, ARTICLE V, SCHOOLS Richard Douglas, County Attorney, and Michael Thompson, Director of Planning & Community Development, reviewed the amendments to the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO), Article V, Schools, which are being proposed. Mr. Douglas stated that numerous changes are being proposed to Article V as well as proposed minor revisions to Section 2.3.12.1 and Section 4.1.1. The changes in Article V deal with determination of adequacy, exemptions for minor subdivisions and public and private schools, and the requirement for enrollment data on a quarterly basis. Mr. Thompson reviewed each change and read the revisions. After hearing all questions from the Commissioners, the meeting was then opened for public comment. Leslie LeBlanc, a member of the Facilities and Enrollment Committee for the Board of Education, expressed support for the revisions being proposed to the APFO. Jason Divelbiss suggested that the mitigation criteria outlined in the Excise Tax Ordinance be included in the APFO. Kathy Maher, City Planner, stated that the City of Hagerstown is contemplating adopting an APFO and asked that language be clarified regarding the transition policy and number of units per year. The hearing was closed at 2:38 p.m. COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS AND COMMENTS Commissioner Nipps reported on the Commission for Women meeting. Commissioner Wivell stated that he attended the Water Quality Advisory Commission meeting at Cascade and a number of citizens were there to comment on the PenMar Water Project. In answer to Commissioner Wivell’s questions, County Attorney Richard Douglas informed him that the Washington County Code of Local Public Laws mandates hook-up if there is access to public water. Commissioner Wivell also reported on the Economic Development Commission meeting. Commissioner Kercheval reported on meetings of the Economic Development Commission and Public Golf Corporation. He stated that he attended a citizens meeting regarding traffic and other issues in the vicinity of Keep Tryst Road. Commissioner Kercheval asked if it would be possible to have information and handouts from the applicants for rezoning cases prior to the hearing. Rodney Shoop, County Administrator, stated that the staff would review the established procedures and guidelines. Commissioner Snook informed the Commissioners that the County has received a grant from the Governor’s Office for Crime Control and Prevention for $30,950. Circuit Court Judge Frederick Wright has also secured a State grant of $250,000 to address installation of an elevator at the Court House. The Commissioners asked that letters of appreciation be sent to Judge Wright and Chief Judge Bell. Commissioner Snook asked the Commissioners to review the information and request from the Leadership Development Program so that a decision can be made whether to financially support the program. He stated that he has set up a regular schedule to meet with Mayor Trump to discuss joint City/County issues. RE/APPOINTMENTS – COMMISSION FOR WOMEN Motion made by Commissioner Nipps, seconded by Wivell, to reappoint Natalie Rook to the Commission for Women for a three- year term and Brenda Haynes for a one-year term and to appoint Ladetra Robinson, Bonnie Errico, and Marie Guedenet for three- year terms. Unanimously approved. JUNE 14, 2005 PAGE FOUR BID AWARD – GOSSARD MILL ROAD BRIDGE ABUTMENT STABILIZATION Motion made by Commissioner Nipps, seconded by Wivell, to award the contract for the Gossard Mill Road Bridge abutment stabilization to Callas Contractors, which submitted the lowest responsive, responsible bid of $178,055. Unanimously approved. BID AWARD – PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE PROGRAM Motion made by Commissioner Wivell, seconded by Nipps, to award the contract to C. William Hetzer, Inc., which submitted the lowest responsible, responsive bid for the alternate base bid of $3,325,235.92, and to approve the staff’s recommendation that additional work can be included for the price of the $636,832 budget surplus for this project after priorities are approved. Unanimously approved. SENATOR AMOSS FIRE, RESCUE AND AMBULANCE FUNDING DISTRIBUTION Joe Kroboth, Director of Emergency Services, met with the Commissioners regarding the Senator William H. Amoss Fire, Rescue and Ambulance Fund revenues allocated to Washington County by the State for fire and rescue companies. Mr. Kroboth stated that a total of $227,862.10 was awarded to Washington County for disbursement to the companies. The Washington County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association is recommending that funds be distributed equally among all companies. Using this formula, the City of Hagerstown would receive $50,635.96 for six companies and each County fire and EMS company would receive $8,439.34. The Commissioners discussed the options and agreed to allocate the funding in equal shares to all companies. Motion made by Commissioner Wivell, seconded by Kercheval, to distribute the fiscal year 2005 Senator William H. Amoss Fire, Rescue & Ambulance State grant funds in equal shares to all fire and rescue companies in Washington County. Unanimously approved. COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW FUND GRANT – MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Motion made by Commissioner Nipps, seconded by Kercheval, to authorize the Department of Emergency Services to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maryland Department of the Environment to accept a Community Right-to-Know Fund Grant of $6,210. Unanimously approved. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANT – MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Motion made by Commissioner Nipps, seconded by Kercheval, to authorize the Department of Emergency Services to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency to accept an Emergency Management Performance Grant of $32,712. Unanimously approved. CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Nipps, seconded by Kercheval, to convene in closed session at 3:44 p.m. to discuss a personnel matter that affects one or more specific individuals and consult with counsel to obtain legal advice, in accordance with Section 10-508 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Unanimously approved. RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Wivell, seconded by Nipps, to reconvene in open session at 4:17 p.m. Unanimously approved. In closed session, the Commissioners discussed three (3) personnel matters and consulted with counsel to obtain legal advice on one (1) matter. Present during closed session were Commissioners Gregory I. Snook, William J. Wivell, James F. Kercheval, and Doris J. Nipps. Also present at various times were Rodney M. Shoop, County Administrator; John Martirano, County Attorney; Richard Douglas, County Attorney; Joni Bittner, County Clerk; Gary Rohrer, Director of Public Works; and James Sterling, Director of Buildings, Grounds and Parks. REAPPOINTMENTS – AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION CENTER Motion made by Commissioner Wivell, seconded by Nipps, to reappoint Gerald Poffenberger and Joanna Staub to the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Education Center for three-year terms. Unanimously approved. JUNE 14, 2005 PAGE FIVE APPOINTMENTS – PENMAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Motion made by Commissioner Kercheval, seconded by Nipps, to appoint Mark Dilandro and Michael Mason to the PenMar Development Corporation for four-year terms. Unanimously approved. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Kercheval, seconded by Wivell, to adjourn at 4:18 p.m. Unanimously approved. , County Administrator , County Attorney ___________________________, County Clerk