Mayor & Council

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING SMYRNA TOWN COUNCIL March 1, 2021 REGULAR MEETING The meeting was called to order by Mayor Robert C. Johnson at 7:00 p.m. Council members present were Michael A. Rasmussen, Tabitha J. Gott, Valerie M. Forbes, William D. Pressley Sr., Margaret B. Mann, and Gerald L. Brown. Also present were Town Manager Andrew S. Haines, Chief Torrie James, Attorney D. Barrett Edwards, and Recording Secretary Valerie L. Heritage. Chief James led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Johnson asked for a moment of silence. ADDITIONS/DELETIONS TO PUBLISHED AGENDA Councilwoman Forbes made the motion to approve the agenda as presented. Motion was seconded by Councilman Rasmussen and carried unanimously. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING Councilwoman Mann made the motion to approve the regular minutes of February 16, 2021 as presented. Motion was seconded by Councilman Brown and carried unanimously. REPORTS A. Presiding Officer – Mayor Johnson said he and Mr. Haines had the opportunity to talk with Craig Anderson of the Delaware State News for an article in the newspaper about what is going on in the town; he had the opportunity to meet with Commissioner Joanne Masten and Commissioner Allen Angel of Kent County Levy Court and they discussed the possibility of building an amphitheater here; he also had the opportunity to speak with a couple who are interested in leasing the Lemon Leaf, and he spoke with Mr. Haines and the property owner about that. B. Town Attorney – Mr. Edwards said we have been working on a couple of ordinances for the town, you will see those on the agenda tonight; there were Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment meetings this past week, and we have some things coming up on the horizon. C. Police Chief – Chief James said Council has his report for this month and hopefully everyone had a chance to look at it. As you can see, we are at the tail end of the process with our new hires. Mayor and Council Page 2 of 4 March 1, 2021 D. Town Manager – Mr. Haines said today we went back to normal business hours; we started the promotions of the yard waste notice last week; we are working on a full disconnect policy process so we can be fair to our consumers, but also maintain the fiscal obligation to the town itself from a utility operation standpoint; Mayor Johnson mentioned the article over the weekend with in the Delaware State News about how good the article came across and he can only say that it is only because it is a team approach, if he wasn’t involved and have good team members here he wouldn’t have all that knowledge to be able to provide all the answers to the reporter, and he thanked the entire team; Mayor Johnson forwarded a House resolution to Council and we are going to watch that and he will work with Mr. Edwards, Mr. DeBenedictis and Mr. Rothwell on comments to be submitted regarding the proposed resolution, and then wait to see if a task force is actually created and if they do, can we be active participants in it; we continue to be in a joint municipal process with the Town of Milford, they have spent a lot of the administrative effort to go out for a bid to replace their major software solution primarily for payroll and taxes and utility billing and accounting, and they are using the same one we are and they are having the very same issues, it is a great example of joint municipal operations and we’re going to be able to have a staff report back after that as we get together and see – many of you have raised concerns and we have operational challenges, some of that has been our own processes but a lot of it has been the software, so we already planned this year to do assessments, Milford may help us accelerate that by nine months and get a lot of the administrative legwork. E. Commissions – Councilwoman Mann said she wanted to say how nice South Main Street looks. There is a little area on North Main Street as you enter Smyrna where there is a little fishing bridge that needs attention, needs to be cleaned up. Councilwoman Gott said the Parks & Recreation Committee met February 16th virtually. Councilman Pressley said the Personnel Committee will meet March 8th; the Charter Review Committee will meet on March 10th; and the Public Safety Committee will meet March 10th. Councilman Brown said the Utility Committee will meet virtually on March 9th. Councilman Rasmussen said the Main Street Board will meet virtually March 10th. Councilwoman Forbes said there will be another Farmers to Families event on March 15th or 16th. F. District/Council comments – This was done under the previous item. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS Visitors present virtually were Bill Evans, Walt Ruth, George DeBenedictis, Fred Corneau, Sonia Spruill, Danielle Pope, and Laura Sebastiano. Mayor and Council Page 3 of 4 March 1, 2021 A resident of Bon Ayre questioned the manufactured home placement permit fee. It was decided to give the Bon Ayre residents six weeks to make the payment. OLD BUSINESS A. Appointment and swearing-in of Election Board – No action was taken. NEW BUSINESS A. 2021 addition to tax bills resolution, and to include penalties from March, April, and May 2021 – Councilwoman Forbes made the motion to approve the 2021 addition to tax bills resolution, and to include penalties from March, April, and May 2021. Motion was seconded by Councilman Rasmussen and carried unanimously. B. Approve posting of assessment list – Councilwoman Forbes made the motion to approve the posting of the assessment list. Motion was seconded by Councilman Rasmussen and carried unanimously. C. Discussion of possible Arbor Day event – This was informational only. D. Celebrating Women in Public Office Day Proclamation – Mr. Haines read the proclamation into the record. E. First reading, Ord. No. 002-21, an ordinance amending the Town Code of the Town of Smyrna to clarify the regulations pertaining to the installation of electric meters – Councilwoman Forbes made the motion to approve the first reading of Ord. No. 002-21, an ordinance amending the Town Code of the Town of Smyrna to clarify the regulations pertaining to the installation of electric meters. Motion was seconded by Councilman Brown and carried unanimously. F. First reading, Ord. No. 003-21, an ordinance amending the Town Code of the Town of Smyrna to require yard waste to be deposited in rigid containers; to increase penalties and clarify collection procedures for solid waste collection violations; and to change violations of voluntary assessment procedures to be civil violations – Councilwoman Forbes made the motion to approve the first reading of Ord. No. 003-21, an ordinance amending the Town Code of the Town of Smyrna to require yard waste to be deposited in rigid containers; to increase penalties and clarify collection procedures for solid waste collection violations; and to change violations of voluntary assessment procedures to be civil violations. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Gott and carried unanimously. G. Appointment of Sonia Spruill to the Utility Committee – Councilwoman Mann made the motion to approve the appointment of Sonia Spruill to the Utility Committee. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Forbes and carried unanimously. Mayor and Council Page 4 of 4 March 1, 2021 H. Possibility of meeting in person for Council and Committee meetings going forward – The consensus of Council was to permit Council and committees to meet in person in the Council Chamber or the Police Department conference room (once it is installed) to allow the use of the Zoom room, and still allow the public to attend the meetings via Zoom. OTHER COUNCIL BUSINESS Mayor Johnson thanked everyone for their due diligence in keeping the town moving. ADJOURNMENT Councilwoman Forbes made the motion to adjourn. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Mann. Meeting was adjourned at 8:04 p.m. by unanimous vote. vlh