MINUTES
TOWN MEETING
January 22, 2014
Emmitsburg Town Office
Present:
Mayor Donald Briggs; Commissioners Clifford
Sweeney, Christopher Staiger, Jennifer Mellor,
Glenn Blanchard and Tim O’Donnell, President.
Staff present were Vickie Felix; Sue Cipperly, Town Planner and
Dave Haller, Town Manager.
_________________________________________________________________________
I.
Call to Order
Commissioner Tim O’Donnell, President of the Board of
Commissioners, called the January 22, 2014 Town
Meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Pledge of
Allegiance was recited.
Approval
of Minutes
The Minutes of the January 6, 2014 Town Meeting
were approved as corrected. Commissioner
Staiger made a motion to add under
administrative business that Commissioner
Staiger inquired if staff has revised any job
descriptions recently and Mr. Haller responded,
“No.” Motion was second by Commissioner
Mellor. Vote 5-0 in favor.
Commissioner Comments
Commissioner(s) thanked town staff for an
excellent job done in the recent snow removal
and also for filling the potholes. Commissioner
Blanchard commented that this time of year is a
great time to use the parks for cross country
skiing or seeing wildlife tracks in the snow.
Mayor’s Comments
Mayor Briggs also commented on the terrific job
that the town staff did in plowing the snow.
Administrative Business
·
Parking Spaces reserved on the square - Commissioner O’Donnell
requested modifications be made to the parking
bags to have printed on the bags, “Town of
Emmitsburg; Reserved Parking” and the Town phone
number. Board members were in consent
except Commissioner Staiger who abstained.
·
Job descriptions – With the Town Clerk retiring, there was a
lengthy discussion on a concern Commissioner
Staiger had in regard to changes to the plan of
operation in the town office and how it will be
structured. He stated that the Board should
have a part in the process prior to actions
taken to change it. Commissioner Staiger
requested that the town code be reviewed and
have the positions of Town Accountant, Town
Planner, Town Manager and Director of Public
Works in the town code; make sure job
description is in accordance with what staff
states is appropriate now and do the same
changes that the town did back in 2008.
Unanimous consent by the Board.
·
Mayor Briggs reported meetings – Along with staff had a conference
call with the designer for the square; an
important meeting is scheduled with SHA close to
the final meeting of the town’s request. Also
scheduled is a meeting with DNR addressing Flat
Run concerning possible grants for flooding.
Also, he will be meeting with the Sherriff.
·
Ethics Committee appointment for next meetings consent agenda. –
Joe Ritz
Consent Agenda - none
Reports:
Town Manager Report
- reported on the public works department
monthly activities to include a water production
and consumption analysis. The town has surplus
of precipitation of 5.4 inches over the last six
months. He pointed out an error in the report:
it should state the Town received about 6
inches precipitation this month; the average is
3.3 inches, therefore the plant exceeded its
design capacity on 12 days in the month of
December; they did not spill but did exceed it.
With the modifications done to store high flows,
and then later treat, has been very helpful. Town
Planner’s report – Ms. Cipperly stated that
tonight’s agenda item will cover the items in
her report. Detailed report at Exhibit A.
Police Report
- Deputy Rohrer reported on December 2013 police
activity. He presented the Town and Mayor each
with a plaque for their sponsorship for the
Emmitsburg Community Heritage Bike Ride in
2013. Detailed report at Exhibit B.
II. Agenda Items
2014 Planning Department Update – discussion
Town Planner, Ms. Cipperly presented a
PowerPoint presentation to go over the 2014
planning projects update to include grant
programs (MD Energy Administration; Community
Legacy; MD Heritage Area Authority), ordinances;
comprehensive plan 2015 update; potential
development (Dollar General, Commercial East of
US 15), zoning and code enforcement (Homes for
Emmitsburg and general activity). She
requested that the town permit fee be waived for
community legacy projects and that the sum will
be shifted into the town’s in-kind match. The
Board approved. Commissioner O’Donnell
expressed concern for the need for sidewalks on
both sides of Route 140 on the interstate
bridge.
At this time Mayor Briggs gave the Board a copy of the breakdown of
the POS grant money for them to look at as he
read over it. The Board questioned the
waterline for field maintenance: is there any
way to get a spur for community gardens area?
Mr. Haller stated that the waterline that was
put in was Memorial Park not Community Park.
Commissioner Staiger verified that these
projects were listed in the town budget.
Set Agenda Items for February 3, 2014 Town
Meeting
1.
Floodplain ordinance, section 15.28 - discussion
2.
Forestation ordinance, section 16.48 -
discussion
3.
Proposed revision to Town Code, Elections,
section 2.28 – discussion
4.
Trails and town land- discussion and direction
5.
Signage and trails – discussion and direction
III. Public Comments - none
IV. SIGN APPROVED TEXT AMENDMENTS AND/OR
RESOLUTIONS - none