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 JULY 8, 2024 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING NO. 24-11 The Council meeting of the Town of Sykesville was held on Monday, July 8, 2024. Mayor Link called the meeting to order at 7:01 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 Mark Dyer, Elizabeth Guroff, Leo Keenan, and Jeremiah Schofield. ABSENT: Council Member Alan Grasley STAFF: Joseph Cosentini, Town Manager Kerry Kavaloski, Town Clerk Elissa Levan, Town Attorney PUBLIC COMMENTS: There were no public comments. CONSENT AGENDA: I. Minutes from June 10, 2024 MOTION: Council President Carter motioned to approve the item on the Consent Agenda. Council Member Guroff seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS: • The next meeting is Monday, August 12, 2024. o Mayor Link announced that she and staff have discussed cancelling the business meeting scheduled for August 12, and instead schedule a workshop meeting on August 19 at 6:30 P.M. to discuss operations, Town growth, the Station, and the Town Manager’s performance review. • We have volunteer opportunities available on the Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Crossing Guard, and Police Auxiliary. Email town@sykesville.net for more information about volunteering with the Town. • Staff Updates o Town Manager Update  ▪ The tenant at the Station is working on cost estimates at the moment and should be ready by August 19. ▪ Springfield Avenue work is behind schedule, with the completion date pushed to the fall. The equipment has been moved to a stockpile location in the Warfield Complex. ▪ Main Street will be milled and repaved with a new top layer. A date has not been announced by the State Highway Administration; however, it may be after the completion of the work on Springfield Avenue. ▪ College Road (East of Route 32) has a sinkhole forming, and Carroll County Utilities have been notified to look for a water leak. ▪ The Splash Pad has been very busy, and a few requests have come in regarding potentially limiting activity of daycares and summer camps. Staff have started looking into a policy for it. o Public Safety Report Chief Spaulding presented the Public Safety Report for the period of June 3 through June 30. There was a total of 1,049 events, including 12 assist other agencies, 11 community policing events, 44 foot patrols, 17 incident reports, 601 patrol checks, 78 traffic enforcement initiatives. Mayor Link thanked the officers for reporting the assisted agencies on their calls for service. ▪ License Plate Reader Memorandum of Understanding Chief Spaulding explained that the Carroll County Sherrif’s Department recently received a grant that will allow for the purchase of cameras. The server housing the data is in Denton, MD because, even though the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center prefers regional servers, there are none available in Western, MD, and Denton received a grant for the server. The readers only read the license plates, and a hit on the license plate reader can tell officers to observe the vehicles and confirm possible suspected violations before pulling over the vehicle. It can alert to things such as suspended licenses and registrations, if the vehicle is reported stolen, and if the registered driver is linked to wanted lists or suspected dangerous activities. Chief Spaulding does not expect the license plate readers to increase the number of traffic enforcements and violations. He also explained that Officer Hoppa has been testing the license plate readers and has had one incident so far. MOTION: Council Member Keenan motioned to authorize the Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Sykesville and the Carroll County Sherrif’s Office for the use of License Plate Readers. Council Member Dyer seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously. • Council Commission/Committee Reports o Council Member Dyer announced that Comcast will be raising their prices on several channels. o Council Member Schofield announced that the Planning Commission met on July 1 for an update on upcoming projects including the Enclave at Parkside. The Parkside development, next to the proposed Enclave at Parkside, is working through the stormwater management process through Caroll County, and the owners plan to make up for a lack of adequate stormwater management in the Parkside development with additional stormwater management in the Enclave at Parkside development. o Council Member Guroff asked for a nametag for Sparky the Squirrel, as many people do not know what type of animal they are. The Movies in the Park continue with Jurassic Park on July 13 and Mighty Ducks on August 10. o Council Member Keenan announced the Downtown Sykesville Connection has a Doors of Sykesville poster, a composting session with Troop 1290, Juneteenth celebration was a success, the Let Freedom Ring Parade was a success, Sippin’ on Summer is at the end of July, and volunteers are always needed. o Mayor Link announced that she would like to discuss a new parking policy for public lots and on Main Street MOTION: Council Member Keenan motioned to take a recess at 7:47 P.M. Council President Carter seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. CLOSED SESSION: The meeting is proposed to be closed pursuant to the General Provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Section 3-305(b): (8) to consult with staff, consultants, or other individuals about pending or potential litigation. MOTION: Council President Carter motioned and Council Member Dyer seconded to go into closed session at 7:53 P.M. The motion carried unanimously. Those in attendance were: Mayor Link, Council President Carter, Council Members Dyer, Guroff, Keenan, and Schofield, Town Manager Joseph Cosentini, Town Clerk Kerry Kavaloski, Town Attorney Elissa Levan, and Attorney Bryan Bolton (only for the discussion of the pending litigation). Items discussed were:  • Real Property – Consideration of Purchasing Property within Town Limits – no action • Pending Litigation – Warfield Lawsuits – no action MOTION: Council Member Schofield motioned and Council Member Guroff seconded to go back into open session at 9:56 P.M. The motion carried unanimously. ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the Council, Council President Carter motioned and Council Member Guroff seconded to adjourn meeting at 9:57 P.M. The motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted Town Clerk Kerry Kavaloski