Mayor & Council

MINUTES Town of Smyrna Council Meeting Bi-Monthly Meeting Monday, August 19, 2024, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Hybrid MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WILL BE PERMITTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING by teleconference by calling 309-205-3325 and entering Meeting ID number: 856 3336 3384 Passcode: 119890 or by visiting Join Zoom Meeting at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85633363384? pwd=pNFFTBk7auZMBgMdIk9B6tvlkbJf5J.1 1. 7:00 PM - Call to order Meeting was called to order by Mayor Johnson at 7:00 PM 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Roll Call Roll call taken by Danielle Pope. All were present. 4. Additions/deletions to the published agenda Vice Mayor Rasmussen proposed to move the Tischler Bise presentation up. Mayor Johnson said he would like it at number 6. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Gott. All approved of the amended agenda. 5. Consent agenda a. Council minutes of 08/05/2024 Vice Mayor Rasmussen motioned to approve the 8/5 minutes. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Gott. All approved. 6. Non-agenda items a. Mayor and Council Members Mayor Johnson gave his time to the Tischler Bise presentation. Jeremy Rothwell, Planning Director, started. Since 2003, Smyrna has had Fire Protection and Ambulance Service impact fees, [was the year the State allowed municipalities to do this]. The impact fees are based on .375% of the cost of construction. It is a one time collected fee that is then sent to Ambulance 64 or Citizen Hose. The number was created arbitrarily and does not capture the true cost of new development or the capital needs of the fire and ambulance companies. Council voted in June 2023 to go into contract with Tischler Bise, who completed an analysis of the town's capital needs, long term grown conditions, and capital needs for the fire and ambulance companies. Tischler Bise is a nationwide firm and are leading experts in terms of analysis and how calculation for the true cost of developments for various services. Carson Bise of Tischler Bise continued the presentation. There are 3 prongs of a legal test that have to be met regarding impact fees. First is need. The town is growing and if the current levels of services continues, expansions on facilities and equipment will also need to grow. Second is benefit. This is shown in two ways. A - geographically, the districts are large enough and so they [fire and ambulance] are providing a level of service uniformly throughout their boundaries. B - time of expenditure. This is about sending the money in a timely fashion once it is received. Third is proportionality. This is an issue with the current fee structure. The current fee structure is basically a tax based on value. However a fee is designed to cover the cost. For instance, site plan fees are geared to cover the direct and indirect costs to perform that service. The town is not meeting the legal test because of proportionality. Our fee structure is based on value and there's a cap. Impact fees cannot be discriminated against land use due to equal protection issues. An example is 100% fee for residential units but 25% fee for non-residential units. Tischler Bise is working on bringing the Town's current fee structure back in line with best practices, both legally and methodically. In their draft, they suggest the following: Residential $3,168.63 for single family units, [$2,400.68 for fire and $768 for EMS] $2,143 for multifamily units Non-residential [per thousand sq. ft] $3,225 for office and other services space $3,173 for commercial $2,682 for institutional $1,779 for industrial What these fees would pay for was discussed - structures, construction, additional bays to existing stations, vehicles and fire and EMS apparatuses. For example, projecting in the next five years to have an increase of 5,941 new people and 2,450 new jobs within the service area. That growth will demand about 5,100 sq ft of additional space. Fire services can choose to add 5,000 sq ft addition or open a second station at upwards of 25,000 sq ft. Impact fees would only pay for 5,000 sq ft because you cannot charge new developments for services that are not currently being provided. It is the same for land acquisition. $75,000 additional land growth means about $2 million in additional apparatuses. On the EMS side, it would be $2.6 million in facilities, $90,000 in land, and $330,000 in transportation vehicles. The difference between the two impact fees is based mostly on the cost of equipment and these would be added to the cost of the new homes as those homes are being built. An example given was that a $15,000 impact fee, 3% interest rate, added about $35. A $3,200 impact fee would probably add $15-$20 to a mortgage with a 20% down payment. These fee amounts are the maximum that can be charged, but they do not have to be charged. These are numbers based off Tischler Bise's analysis. There was no further discussion so Mayor Johnson moved on to Council member updates. Councilman Johnson - thanked the Town crew for the speedy check last Friday on the blown transformer. Brought up the Fire and Ice Cream function at Marmy's that is rescheduled for Tuesday, August 27, at 6:00 PM. Councilman Pressley - Charter will meet on Sept. 13, at 5:00 PM. [after the meeting, this was moved Sept. 12]. Councilwoman Gott - Parks and Rec will meet Aug. 22, at 6:00 PM. This coming Sunday is the gathering for the community to pray for the schould. It is at one location this year. Dec. 1 is Christmas in Clayton. Dec. 4 is the Veterans' event at the Opera House, 6:00 PM. Dec. 8 is Carolling on the Square, [lots of festivities happening throughout the day]. She reminded everyone to reach out so the events calendar can be updated. Councilwoman Upshur - Bethel AME Church is having a school supply giveaway this Friday, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. This Saturday, 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM the Smyrna-Clayton Ministerium is sponsoring a back to school bash at George C. Wright Jr. Municipal Park. Supplies are donated by Sigma  Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. Kee's Cupcakes will be hosting one later on in the month in Clayton; last Sunday of the month. Last Wednesday she met with members of Council, Dover, and some other communities to discuss collaborating on a readiness training program, [a program initiated by the Dept of Defense]. Last Friday she was part of a community meeting in Sunnyside Village, concerning the traffic around the park. It was a nice meeting but within 24 hours she received a call about a fight that had broken out. There were a lot of children out and they were all out there because there was nothing to do. She spoke with Lenape Builders about the solicitation issues going on in Sunnyside Village and they agreed to put up signs. They are also going to paint the mailboxes and work on better maintaining the foliage in the front entrances. Councilman Rasmussen - doesn't have anything as he has been on vacation for the last 2 weeks. Councilman Pope - Personnel will be meeting on Tuesday, August 27, at 5:00 PM. Mayor Johnson - he was on vacation and during that time he met a gentleman working on a documentary on Edna Smith. She was really the first black lady to not give up her seat on a bus; about 21 years before Rosa Parks. The gentleman asked the Mayor to be a part of the documentary and so the gentleman will be coming to Smyrna. Her name is Edna Smith, she was 17 years old, was fined $250, and died at the age of 21 from typhoid. b. Police Chief There's a Public Safety Committee meeting on August 29, 6:00 PM. c. Town Manager Most of the time has been focusing on the budget. Last Tuesday Councilman Pope, a few others, and him met with a vendor and they're hoping they will provide additional services like internet. Councilman Pope added that a survey will be coming out and encouraged everyone to complete it. Vice Mayor Rasmussen asked for the timeline on Commerce St work. Looking to have to finished around Labor Day. 7. Old business, including discussion and possible action on the following items: a. Adoption of Ordinance 009-24 to amend Appendix A – Zoning to regulate the location of marijuana establishments in the Town of Smyrna Vice Mayor Rasmussen motioned to adopted. Councilman Pressley seconded. Jeremy Rothwell recapped what was discussed during the last meeting and the recommendation from the Planning Commission. There was a discussion on the tour of Sun Med in Warwick MD. It is the largest cultivation and manufacturing facility on the East Coast, at a little over 300,000 sq ft. It's a hydroponic facility and temperature controlled and on the manufacturing side, they dry and cure the marijuana and extract the oil. Various uses include, brownies, soda, or more traditional. This facility is high water, high electric. Senator K. Hoffner did a presentation to a small group of citizen earlier in the morning. The State will have 60 cultivation licenses, 30 manufacturing licenses, and 30 retail licenses. Applications open soon and close at the end of September. The recommendation is to pass the ordinance as is, no conditional use because that will cause problems. We work with engineers to make sure upcoming facilities are able to be served, utility- wise, in the area. If we are not able to serve an applicant, we can let them know and they have to go elsewhere. There was discussion about how clean the facility in Warwick was. There was a smell, but that's like any plant. They had 200 employees, their own chef, and do everything based on USDA specifications. This has to be decided on facts. The State has approved facilities and the Town is being given the opportunity to control where those could go. A lot of neighboring states are already allowing these facilities. There are a lot of regulations and application fees are upwards of $100,000. Motion was passed 5-1. Councilman Johnson voted no. Since there was no tie, the Mayor did not vote.  b. Adoption of Ordinance 010-24 to amend the Town Code to place a temporary moratorium on the approval of marijuana establishments in the Town of Smyrna This ordinance adoption became nulled when Ord. 009-24 passed. 8. New business, including discussion and possible action on the following items: a. Presentation of Fire and EMS Impact Fee Report by Tischler Bise Done during Mayor and Council updates [#6]. b. Adoption of Ordinance 011-24 to amend Chapter 32, (Impact Fees), of the Town Code to adjust the amount charged for Fire Protection Impact Fees and Ambulance Service Impact Fees Vice Mayor Rasmussen motioned to adopt. Councilwoman Gott seconded. There was a discussion, presented by Jeremy Rothwell. He had 3 tables. The first table included proposed impact fees under the new formulary. The second table included examples of some reason permits and what they paid under the old, [current], system and what they would have paid under the new standard. The current cap is $3,750 regardless of the permit amount, [say for 100 apartments]. The third table included analysis of what other jurisdictions currently charge. Most use .25% of construction, which is what the Town adopted 20 years ago. The cost of the impact fee will be built into the construction price. The recommendation is to charge 80% of the max amount. For industrial development the recommendation is 20% reduction and a 50% fee waiver, [part of the next item]. There is a yearly escalator that increases each year on January 1. Vice Mayor Rasmussen updated his motion, to amend the number to 80% of the maximum allowed limits. Councilwoman Gott seconded the motion. All approved the motion. c. Adoption of Ordinance 012-24 to amend Chapter 18, (Building and Building Regulations), of the Town Code to permit Economic Development incentives for Fire Protection and Ambulance Services Vice Mayor Rasmussen motioned to adopt the ordinance. Councilman Pope seconded the motion. Jeremy Rothwell led the discussion. In 2019 and 2021 a series of development incentives for the downtown development district, the Duck Creek Business campus, and the Smyrna Business Park. An example was if a business was going to have a $5 million construction, they would get a 50% waiver in impact fees and municipal fees, [like a building permit]. This ordinance would follow a similar suit, offering business up to a 50% waiver on fire and ambulance impact fees. There was discussion on how this wouldn't work and how Middletown does not give breaks. However Middletown can offer different permits because they have a Transportation Improvement District. There was a roll call vote for approval or denial. Vice Mayor Rasmussen and Councilman Pressley said yes. Councilwomen Gott and Upshur and Councilmen Pope and Johnson said no. The ordinance was voted down 4-2. The Mayor did not vote because there was not tie. d. Discussion and possible action on items discussed during the Workshop Session i. FY24 operating budget There was a brief summary of what was discussed during the workshop session. Vice Mayor Rasmussen made a motion to approve the amended budget. Councilwoman Gott seconded the motion. All approved. 9. Presentation and public comments (3 minutes) Public comments began at 8:22 p.m. Vicky Blair - asked if Councilman Johnson can vote on the ordinances since he's in the fire department. She brought up past ordinances and their readings and the Charter that discusses them, [Section 2-39, Paragraph F]; mostly about third readings having to be completed within 3 months of second readings. Town solicitor Barrett responded that she was reading from the Town Code and that further down, Section 2-44, there is a clause stating that the division is to provide orderly procedure for the internal convenience and benefit of the Town Council. Failing to strictly comply does not invalidate any adopted ordinance. Mayor and Council have the ability to only have one reading and adopt an ordinance then. Larry Strozeski - he talked about the marijuana facility that he also toured and the meeting with Senator Hoffner. He said that she said no one is going to make money off marijuana facilities for at least 3 years. The biggest facility on the east coast uses 1 million gallons of water a year and four megawatts of power. One megawatt of power powers 200 homes. He wants them to reconsider. Mondell Davis - spoke about the youth of the community. They are not getting the activities they need, there's nothing in town for them to do, and he wanted to know what the Town was going to do. There was back and forth discussion about the youth and what there is and that their parents need to also take accountability. But there are the parks, there's the Boys and Girls Club, the Swim Club, school and travel sports, karate, as well as Xbos. Someone mentioned that their parents had them working and helping out at home. One issue that was brought up is that the youth have the parks, but they don't respect the equipment and tear things up, and they could do that with a building or facility. If they fight at the parks, what would keep them from fighting in a building. Someone mentioned a mentoring program. Someone else mention that parents and youth have to be willing participants. Rodman Veney - brought up allowing public comments to be 5 minutes instead of 3 and asked if they have considered the change. Mayor Johnson said he was keeping the time at 3, but he lets people speak longer as needed. Andrea Beck - asking for a special meeting regarding the 100% tax increase. Would like to arrange a meeting around October to get the interested residents together too. Mayor Johnson said he would get back to her. Pia Robinson - piggybacked off the lack of activities for the youth. She mentioned that people travel to Middletown, go to the bowling alley, play laser tag, and that we need that here. Someone mentioned that Xbos provides that stuff. Mayor Johnson spoke up and said that businesses decided where they are going to. Jeremy Rothwell spoke up and said that on the retail operating side of things, businesses determine where they are going based on purchasing power, population, and median household income. Calling businesses to come won't make a difference. Mayor Johnson mentioned that there are also specifics to where buildings can be placed and it's up to them, [businesses]. Irene Strozeski - wanted to make sure that a marijuana facility wasn't going to be placed behind the Ashland Community. Mayor Johnson said there's probably not enough space. She asked about impact fees and the senior citizens. They do not have children in schools and they should get a discount just like commercial properties. Also brought up about the youth, and that they will have gatherings at the marijuana facilities. Rose Blash - brought up the youth concern, especially in Sunnyside Village and the park there. There are 50-70 kids, possibly drugs being passed through, and a shooting the other night; and to bring in marijuana is going to make things worse. Robert Warrington - spoke on youth activities when he was a kid. Where he grew up, they had a Recreation Commission and events to do at the park like arts/crafts, baseball, soccer, for 4-5 hours a day, so he was wondering if we have a Recreation Commission? Mayor Johnson mentioned Little League, Little Lass, Pop-Warner, but they do cost money. Mr. Warrington said we have to have something to offer the youth. Get a building and have a dj or have something at 4:00 p.m.; the kids just want to party. Councilwoman Gott mentioned parks and rec and said to come out, because people with ideas do not come out. Rob Cote - from DEMEC and talked about what DEMEC is; that they are a joint action agency and work with their 9 members on aggregated services. DEMEC has been active in a lot of issues, but especially high costs due to the closure of the Indiana River Coal Power Plant; which has caused a shortage on the Delmarva Peninsula. The industry is working on transitioning to cleaner burning and agencies need to work together. He invited Mayor, Council, and involved staff to a DEMEC dinner at Bally on September 18, 5:00 PM. DEMEC will be hosting a panel of industry leaders who will discuss  current energy markets in the state, region, and across the country. A citizen asked if anyone can go to the dinner. He said no, but it is something he can advise to the DEMEC Board of Directors. Someone asked if they were a lobby group. He said no, and gave the example of DEMEC being like Sam's Club for energy. Tina -talked about the youth of the community. She felt that it is the parents responsibility to handle their kids and to teach their kids about respect. She's activity with some of the kids in her community and they always want things, so she makes sure they earn what they want instead of just being handed it. People need to be open to helping and teaching the youth, but she also brought up about maybe having Council have community gatherings in their districts or a mini-golf course with the Town's history, or even a water park like Killens Pond. Brad Gosch - from the American Legion. He talked about 3 things. 1 - Ambulance 64 celebrating 100 years. On September 14, there will be a parade through Smyrna at 10 a.m. and a block party at the Middle School starting at 12 p.m. 2 - impact fees. Their unequipped ambulances are $320,000 a vehicle. They run 2, 24/7, and Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they run a power unit noon to midnight. Their service area is 56 square miles which has about 32,000 people. With the development growth, they are looking at property in northern Smyrna to open a substation. That substation will be about 11,000 square feet, about $950,000 to construct, and then adding the property, in total the fee will be close to $11 million. 3 - a reach out to the community. People can join as young as 16. They get training in medical items, discipline, respect, and help guide anyway they can. Someone mentioned about a rec center and that it wouldn't just be for physical enjoyment, but that computers and training could be provided. There was no one else to speak so Council motioned to go into Executive session at 9:11 p.m. 10. Executive session to discuss the potential acquisition of The Lindens historic property and the sale of real property. 29 Del. C. Sec. 10004(b)(2) Vice Mayor Rasmussen motioned to go into executive session. Councilman Pressley second. All were in favor. Executive session began at 9:11 p.m. 11. Executive session to discuss personnel matters in which the names, competency, and abilities of individual employees will be discussed. 29 Del. C. Sec. 10004(b)(9) 12. Possible action on matters discussed in Executive Session regarding the potential acquisition of real property and the sale of real property 13. Possible action on matters discussed in Executive Session regarding personnel matters 14. Adjournment Councilwoman Upshur voted to come out of executive session and adjourn. Vice Mayor Rasmussen seconded. All were in favor. Executive session ended at 9:44 p.m. Posted on 08/12/2024 at 4:30 PM NOTE: This agenda as listed may not be considered in sequence. This agenda is subject to change to include additional items, including Executive Sessions, and/or deletion of items, including Executive Sessions that arise at time of meeting.