Town Council Meetings

Town of Sykesville Dear 7547 Main Street, Sykesville, MD 21784 Town House p: 410.795.8959 f: 410.795.3818 Stacy Link, Mayor townofsykesville.org Joseph Cosentini, Town Manager Craig Weaver, Town Treasurer Kerry G. Kavaloski, Town Clerk OFFICIAL MINUTES OF AUGUST 14, 2023 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NO. 23-13 The Council meeting of the Town of Sykesville was held on Monday, August 14, 2023. Mayor Link called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. in the Town House Council Chambers. Mayor Link led the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence. PRESENT: Mayor Stacy Link, Council President Anna Carter, and Council Members Alan Grasley, Elizabeth Guroff, Mark Dyer, Leo Keenan, and Jeremiah Schofield. STAFF: Joseph Cosentini, Town Manager Police Lieutenant Shawn Kilgore Kerry Kavaloski, Town Clerk Craig Weaver, Town Treasurer PUBLIC COMMENTS: Tom Hay and Wally Thompson both gave public comments regarding the steps at the S&P Railway Pullman Car. They also mentioned the bricks along the sidewalk in front of both the Pullman Car and the caboose. CONSENT AGENDA: I. Minutes from July 10, 2023 MOTION: Council Member Grasley motioned to approve the item on the Consent Agenda. Council President Carter seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS: II. Public Hearing on the determination of Adequate Public Facilities for the Enclave at Parkside Development Joe Cosentini, Town Manager explained that this item has been before the Planning Commission, and they recommend a finding of adequate public facilities for the 47 townhomes on the plan. If there is any other building, it would require an additional adequate public facilities process. MOTION: Council President Carter motioned to open the public hearing on the determination of Adequate Public Facilities for the Enclave at Parkside Development at 7:10 P.M. Council Member Schofield seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. There were no public comments. MOTION: Council Member Grasley motioned to close the public hearing on the determination of Adequate Public Facilities for the Enclave at Parkside Development at 7:11 P.M. Council Member Schofield seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Council Member Dyer noted that he has high regard for Sykesville Middle School but not for the physical building. He is alarmed at the idea of an addition being planned for the building. Council Member Schofield noted that robust discussions were had at the Planning Commission meeting regarding this topic. He recommends people watch the recordings of the meeting. The 47 townhomes are within the current zoning. Council President Carter asked if the new townhomes would match the existing townhomes in the Warfield development. They townhomes may not match exactly, but they will complement the existing development. Mayor Link noted that there are three schools served by this area, Piney Ridge Elementary School, Century High School, and Sykesville Middle School. Piney Ridge Elementary School and Sykesville Middle School are both above capacity (107% and 106% respectively) with numbers expected to rise; Century High School is at 80% of the capacity and is also expected to rise. She expressed concern over the adequateness of the schools. Mr. Cosentini explained that the school system did acknowledge the inadequacy, but they are planning on adding to the Sykesville Middle School building and are addressing the capacity inadequacies. Council Member Guroff also expressed concern for the school system inadequacies and the Kirwan report. She also expressed concern over the increase of traffic through the Warfield development and the residents being misled about future residential development within Town. Mr. Cosentini explained that the developers are working within the existing zoning, and the Town approved the Parkside development with connector roads to this parcel. He also noted that the Town can communicate with the School Board regarding the inadequacy of the schools and the Town’s concern about conditions.  Council Member Grasley noted that the County recently established impact fees for new construction to allow for additional funding to be raised for the school system. Council Member Keenan echoed the previous concerns for the adequacy of the school system. MOTION: Council Member Keenan motioned to approve the Planning Commission’s findings that the public facilities for the proposed subdivision Enclave at Parkside are adequate. Council member Schofield seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-2 with Council President Carter and Council Members Dyer, Grasley, Keenan, and Schofield voting for the motion, and Mayor Link and Council Member Guroff opposing the motion. III. Consider/Discuss/Act on a Town Energy Contract – CQI Associates Energy Co-op Presentation Joe Tabling, CQI Associates, presented this item. He explained that the Town has used CQI for multiple years. Buying energy through CQI allows the Town to get a better rate per kilowatt hour than through BGE. The co- op agreement is for all energy used except for the streetlights within Town. Mr. Tabling presented two options, one similar to the existing energy co-op agreement, and one that uses all green energy sources. Both would secure the energy pricing for a 24-month term. There is no minimum or maximum usage. There was discussion regarding the use of green energy versus the standard. The green energy sources would amount to about $250 in additional cost over a one-year period. MOTION: Council Member Schofield motioned to approve the energy contract utilizing green energy sources for a 24-month term at $0.09676 per kilowatt hour. Council Member Guroff seconded the motion. Council Member Schofield expressed a desire to have a future discussion on a solar array for the Town. The motion carried 6-1 with Mayor Link, Council President Carter, and Council Members Dyer, Guroff, Keenan, and Schofield voting for the motion, and Council Member Grasley opposing the motion. ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS: • The next meeting is Monday, September 11, 2023. • We have volunteer opportunities available on the Historic District Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Police Auxiliary. Email town@sykesville.net for more information about volunteering with the Town. • Staff Updates o Treasurer’s Reports from June 2023 and July 2023  Craig Weaver, Town Treasurer, presented the Treasurer’s Reports for June and July 2023. He announced that the annual audit will begin soon, the revenues are above expenses by about $263,000, and that he expects one more revenue payment from both state income tax and Highway User Revenues. The state income tax was budgeted lower than what was received because it is based on the average of the last five years of income tax revenues. The salary line-item discrepancies for the different departments are due to having a full staff in the administration and merit raises. The Police Department has one vacant position, and Public Works had an additional person added to run the splash pad. For general liability insurance, there is no rebate from LGIT for no claims throughout the year. The increase was due to across the board insurance increases. There was also a discussion about EZ-Pass violations and getting a transponder for the Town. o Public Safety Report Lieutenant Kilgore presented the Public Safety Report for the period of July 4 through August 7. There was a total of 1,013 reports, including 27 assist other agencies, 18 community policing events, 60 foot patrols, 26 incident reports, 500 patrol checks, and 50 traffic enforcement initiatives. Lt. Kilgore noted that there is not a crime surge in the Town, but there is certainly the potential for non-residents to come into Town and commit crime. Lt. Kilgore announced that National Night Out was very successful. The Sippin’ on Summer event had only one minor incident of a person slipping and getting a concussion. o Auxiliary Police Report Auxiliary Police Lieutenant Jeff Queen presented the quarterly report for the Auxiliary Police. There are nine auxiliary officers and two crossing guards currently on the unit. They staffed and attended eight events during the quarter and have gone through Naloxone training. They will be going through OC spray training soon. • Council/Committee Reports o Council Member Dyer announced that the technology training course he pioneered was attended by two seniors who were receptive to the information.  o Council Member Schofield thanked staff for the quick change to virtual for the most recent Planning Commission meeting. He announced that the public hearing for the Enclave at Parkside preliminary plan. o Council President Carter and Mayor Link announced that Secretary Jake Day, from the Department of Housing and Community Development, and several of his staff members visited Sykesville and were able to see the Main Street program and its benefits, along with completed grant funded projects. o Council Member Guroff announced that the recent Movie in the Park was well attended. o Council Member Grasley announced that there are no applications, so there is no Historic District Commission meeting in August. At their July meeting, the Commission reviewed the draft guidelines. He also announced that he attended the Maryland Municipal League summer symposium regarding cannabis. o Council Member Keenan announced that the Golf Tournament is on Thursday, August 17, the Fall Fun Festival is on October 24, and he thanked Fred Gossage for allowing a volunteer appreciation party to be held on his property. The Council took a five-minute recess at 8:50 P.M. CLOSED SESSION: The meeting is proposed to be closed pursuant to the General Provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Section 3-305(b): (4) To consider a preliminary matter that concerns the proposal for a business or industrial organization to locate, expand, or remain in the State. MOTION: Council Member Grasley motioned and Council Member Schofield seconded to go into closed session at 8:58 P.M. The motion carried unanimously. Those in attendance were: Mayor Link, Council President Carter, Council Members Dyer, Grasley, Guroff, Keenan, and Schofield, Town Manager Joseph Cosentini, Town Clerk Kerry Kavaloski, and local business owners. Items discussed were: • Businesses – Businesses on Town Owned Property MOTION: Council motioned Guroff and Council Member Schofield seconded to go back into open session at 10:14 P.M. The motion carried unanimously. ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the Council, Council Member Keenan motioned and Council Member Schofield seconded to adjourn meeting at 10:15 P.M.  The motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted Town Clerk Kerry Kavaloski