Mayor & Common Council Meetings

CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL MEETING July 9, 2012 QUORUM: A meeting of the Mayor and Common Council was held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane, Westminster, Maryland on the evening of July 9, 2012, at 7:00 P.M. Mayor Utz; Council President Halstad; Council Members Chiavacci, Frazier, and Whitson; City Administrator and Acting City Clerk Wolf, City Treasurer Ehlers; Chief of Police Spaulding, Director of Public Works Glass, Interim Director of Planning, Zoning, and Development Horn and City Attorney Levan were present. Council Member Wack and Director of Recreation and Parks Schroers were excused from attending. Mayor Utz recommended the reappointment of Kevin Beaver to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Upon motion of Mr. Frazier and seconded by Mr. Chiavacci, the motion passed unanimously. MINUTES: Mr. Chiavacci requested to remove McDaniel College from page four because this was not where the lacrosse tournament that he had referred to had taken place. Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci, seconded by Mr. Frazier and unanimously passed, the minutes of the Council meeting of June 11, 2012 were approved as amended. CONSENT CALENDAR: Mr. Chiavacci moved to approve the Consent Calendar, which consisted of Fuel and Vehicle Maintenance Services Agreement with Carroll County, UPSD Agreement with Town Mall, and E-Citation User Agreement. Mr. Whitson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. REPORT FROM THE MAYOR: Mayor Utz reported on the good information exchange at the recent Maryland Municipal League Convention in Ocean City. Mayor Utz reported that Mr. Glass received the Roland B. Sweitzer Employee of the Year Award, a very high honor from the Maryland Municipal League (MML). Mayor Utz thanked Mr. Glass for his services with the City of Westminster. Mr. Glass shared that he was the most moved by the calls and e-mails that he received from the local residents congratulating him. Mr. Glass thanked Ms. Wolf for nominating him for the award. Mayor Utz shared that at the convention and through e-mails he has received numerous comments from other mayors and council members throughout the state who were impressed by Mr. Glass’s accomplishments and would like his advice on many projects that he has completed for the City. Mayor Utz reported that City Arborist Eric Schlitzer from the Street Department received his 20 year Service Award on the morning of July 9, 2012. Mayor Utz encourages everyone to take notice of the Main Street Matters feature on Channel 23. This month included information about the Farmers Market and President Halstad discussing the repairs at the City Hall. REPORT FROM THE STANDING COMMITTEE: Mr. Whitson reported that the Arts Council has ended the year with a surplus. They are going to put at least $50,000 into the building, possibly more. They are very appreciative to the City for allowing them to use the building and will continue to work on upgrading it. Mr. Whitson shared that Ron Brewer, whose wife is very involved in the Arts Council, is now under the care of Hospice. Mr. Whitson asked everyone to please keep the family in their prayers. President Halstad shared that Mr. Brewer is also a sitting judge in the Orphans Court. President Halstad reported on the need to get Council approval to draw up a letter in support of an exception request pursuant to a recent e-mail from City Attorney, Ms. Levan, regarding ethics legislation. President Halstad explained that small municipalities have found it difficult to comply with the hearing in September. He further explained the need for a letter of support for the exception request before Ms. Levan argues in front of the committee in Annapolis on September 12. President Halstad continued with the Mayor’s comments about MML, Mr. Glass was a big hit and the award much deserved. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS: Ms. Levan explained that the City is a political subdivision of the State of Maryland and subject to the requirements of Art. 24, § 1-110 Art. 24, Section 1-110 of the Annotated Code of Maryland that requires political subdivisions of the State of Maryland to designate a person to serve as the jurisdiction’s resident agent upon whom process, notice and subpoenas to custodians of public records may be served under certain circumstances. Reviewing through there is no records that the City has appointed an agent. Ms. Levan suggested the acting City Clerk would normally be appointed; therefore, Ms. Wolf should be appointed as the Resident Agent. President Halstad commented that he felt Ms. Wolf would be a good a choice. Mr. Chiavacci inquired that he thought a resident agent was normally an attorney. President Halstad explained that for a small corporation it would be someone who normally gets the mail and who can respond to the state, IRS, etc. Ms. Levan replied that her suggestion is a staff member of the City in the case that if she is not reappointed, someone long term would still have this responsibility. Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci, seconded by Mr. Whitson and unanimously passed, Resolution 12-02 appointing Ms. Wolf, City Administrator as the Resident Agent, was approved. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Chief Spaulding explained that in continuation of the discussion of Alcohol Use Permit Policy, he has been working to develop working drafts of the documents needed to implement a process for the City of Westminster. The first document that was presented to the Council, “Alcohol Use Permit Application” is to be completed by the applicant and submitted to the City for consideration/ approval. This application is similar to other applications for permits with some specifics regarding alcohol use. The second document, “Alcohol Use Permit,” will be provided to applicants when their permit application is approved. This is similar to the other permits that are issued with the exception that the back of the permit contains a list of conditions that could be applied to a specific permit. The approving authority would simply check off all of those that applied to that permit. The third document, “Alcohol Use Permit Policy,” is the first draft which is provided for discussion and additional guidance. The draft has the City Clerk as the approving authority and the Common Council as the appeal body, as recommended by the City Administrator. He explained that the appeal process would be for the applicants who have been denied or disagree with the restrictions or certain conditions of the permit. The City Attorney will need to draft the language relating to the appeal process, but Ms. Levan has not had the opportunity to review this draft. Mr. Chiavacci questioned if the Arts Council will now have to go through this process because they already serve alcohol, or if they will be an exception. Ms. Wolf replied they have a special exception. Chief Spaulding clarified that they receive permits through the liquor board. Mr. Chiavacci inquired that the intention of the City is not to have the Arts Council follow this procedure going forward. He explained that he does not want to create something that will have to have them abide by these rules. Ms. Wolf agreed, replying they will not. Mr. Chiavacci suggested that when doing the final wording to ensure that the language included is clear regarding existing establishments. Ms. Wolf explained there is a section that identifies what kind of an exception they have and where it is located. Mr. Chiavacci commented that the alcohol permit is in line with how the Council was thinking. President Halstad commented that he likes the fact that it is not just the approval nor denial that can be appealed. He explained that when looking at the conditions it looks like each event gets its own self-examination. President Halstad inquired as to the size of the license area, if it would be an entire block or jus the area immediately surrounding the location. Chief Spaulding explained that the liquor board would require a specific premise or a part of a premise to be specified on the license. He explained that the business could allow those who are of a drinking age to be in the sectioned off area and exclude underage customers from coming into this area. President Halstad stated that the amount of security would depend on the number of people. Chief Spaulding replied it will be based on the event itself type of event. He explained that it would depend on the type of audience and gives an option to apply a local standard based on risk assessment of the specific event. President Halstad questioned who would cover that cost if police presence is required. Chief Spaulding replied that the City could require the party holding the event to pay the City. President Halstad commented that this applies to fund raising events to local nonprofits for City sanctioned events. Chief Spaulding commented this is a recommendation based on feedback from a lot of jurisdictions. He explained the County will only issue a one day liquor license for a nonprofit organization. If the event involves the sale of alcohol, the consumption of alcohol that is provided as part of the ticket price, they will only issue a liquor license for a nonprofit organization anyway. Ms. Wolf explained that private companies can have a license from the liquor board. Chief Spaulding explained there are 11 catering companies within the County that have liquor licenses. They are unable to have only alcohol at the events, food must be served at these events as well. President Halstad agreed to move forward with what Chief Spaulding and Ms. Wolf had come up with. Ms. Wolf thanked Chief Spaulding for taking on this project. NEW BUSINESS: Chief Spaulding reported on the Westminster Police Department initiated Automated Enforcement Program (AEP) that began at two intersections in the City on March 15, 2010. The purpose of this report is to update the Mayor and Common Council on the status of the AEP, now two years into the program. When the AEP was initiated, cameras were installed to monitor and capture red light violations for five traffic movements at the intersections of (1) Route 140 and Route 97, and (2) Route 97 and Nursery Road. Based upon the analysis provided in the year one review of the AEP, a decision was made to decommission Sites 502 and 504. As a result, only three cameras have been functional for year two of the program. Site 501, east bound Route 140 (through lanes) at Route 97; Site 503 West Bound Route 140 (through lanes) at 97; and Site 505 South Bound Route 97 (through lanes) at Nursery Road. Chief Spaulding explained the AEP is a violator-funded program. The net revenue for the program is the difference between the funds expended to operate the program and the revenue received from fines. Chief Spaulding explained AEP Program recommends to discontinue AEP activity at Sites 501 and 503 due to (1) the lack of crashes attributable to red light running, (2) the volume of rear end crashes occurring at the intersection and (3) the decline in documented red light violations to a rate well below the fiscal “break even” point of 2 citations per day per site. Continue AEP activity at Site 505 due to (1) an increase (29.6%) in red light running violations during year 2 of the program, (2) a significant percentage of serious crashes at the intersection attributable to red light running (83.3%) and (3) a significant decrease in serious crashes at the intersection since the implementation of the AEP. Mr. Frazier commented that when Council first voted on this program it was a sixty percent reduction in accidents, while this data shows an increase in accidents. In his opinion this is not safety because there is an increase in accidents because of the red light cameras. Mr. Frazier explained Council did not have this information when voted on this the last time and now that the Council has the correct information, he cannot see a reason for keeping the red light camera. President Halstad asked Mr. Frazier what his recommendation was. Mr. Frazier replied that he does not see a reason in keeping any of them. He explained as he recalls when Council voted on this before, the increase in accidents was not anticipated. Mr. Chiavacci explained Chief Spaulding is recommending to remove two of the three that have gone up. Chief Spaulding replied the total number of crashes, which are the minor fender benders and the more significant crashes, there were 15 crashes in two years prior to red light cameras. The difference is there has been a reduction in serious collisions. While there are still some collisions occurring in the intersection, there are less serious collisions occurring by a factor of sixty percent. Mr. Chiavacci agreed to disable 501 and 503 due to the increased number of accidents, as Councilman Frazier had pointed out. He explained that some people try to stop quickly at the lights so they do not get a ticket, which is not the purpose of the program. President Halstad questioned why Site 505 is such a problem. Chief Spaulding replied that part of the problem is due to a left turn south bound in the shopping center and the left turn does not have a designated light which is causing most of the collisions. Mr. Chiavacci questioned having a designated light for the left hand turn. Chief Spaulding explained that SHA has looked at that issue and done what they said that they can do under the circumstances. President Halstad questioned the thirty percent increase in red light running. Chief Spaulding replied yes, explaining that the Police Department is unable to monitor the left turn; the citations are from running the red light southbound, not the left turn lane. Mayor Utz commented that he has watched the video from the red light camera, showing the same truck, an hour later, running the same light. Chief Spaulding explained during the course of this program the Police Department has had people run the light at 140 and 97 in the left turn lane and seven seconds later, run the light at Nursery Road. In both cases the light had changed to red in 15 or more seconds prior crossing the line; therefore, they got two tickets within seven seconds. President Halstad inquired if the recommendation was to discontinue lights 501 and 503 and continue light 505. Chief Spaulding replied that is correct. Mr. Frazier questioned if could make a recommendation to discontinue all 3 lights. President Halstad replied yes you can. Mr. Frazier commented that is what he would like to propose. Mr. Chiavacci questioned the sixty-one and half percent reduction of the investigated accidents at 505. He explained like Mr. Frazier said, the Council made an argument to continue. Mr. Chiavacci commented that 505 seems to be doing a good job at cutting down on the significant accidents at that intersection. Mr. Frazier questioned how it is doing a good job if people are running it 15 seconds afterwards. In his opinion it would be a better job if the Police Department had an officer stationed there. Mr. Chiavacci commented that it is not practical to do that on a 24 hour basis. Mr. Frazier suggested going through the videos to determine the peak hours and then have an officer sit there during that time. President Halstad commented that is a bigger commitment of resources. Mr. Frazier explained that it would still be better alternative. President Halstad stated the real question would be how much worse it would be without the red light camera. President Halstad agreed with Mr. Chiavacci that decreasing accidents is what needs to be considered. Mr. Wolf explained that a series of criteria was presented to set up the red light cameras at these intersections. She explained this was not the City’s criteria; this was State Highway Administrator’s criteria. President Halstad explained it will not do any good by taking down the red light camera. Mr. Chiavacci questioned if it will decrease the amount of accidents at the intersection by removing the red light camera. Chief Spaulding replied that he thinks it has decreased the number of serious collisions at that intersection. Mr. Frazier replied that he believes nationwide red light cameras have been proven to increase accidents in intersections. Mr. Chiavacci explained that he feels should go with Chief Spaulding’s recommendation to eliminate the two, but keep the 505 for one more year and then take one more look at it and see what it is doing at that point. Mr. Whitson explained that he liked the idea of placing an officer there during the peak hours. Mayor Utz commented that they have been there with no left turning arrow. President Halstad asked Mr. Whitson what he thought in addition to the periodic presence of an officer, should continue with Site 505. Mr. Whitson replied that Site 505 should remain active. Mr. Chiavacci questioned if the camera will continue to pay for itself, in terms that it will not cost the City money. Chief Spaulding replied absolutely. Mayor Utz commented that the fire department calls for that intersection has been drastically reduced. Mr. Cumberland added that there have been less calls for the fire department since the red light camera has been added. In comparison to other intersections that are similar to this intersection, site 505 accidents have decreased. Mayor Utz suggested Council members to watch the red light camera videos to get a good sense as to what goes on. Mr. Chiavacci motioned to approve discontinued AEP activity at Sites 501 and 503 and continue AEP activities at Site 505 and Mr. Whitson seconded. Mr. Frazier opposed the approval. Mr. Halstad voted in favor of the agreement and the motion passed with a 3-1 vote. Mr. Frazier motioned pursuant to Section 10-508-A-7 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland to conduct an executive session at the conclusion of the current meeting. Any other personal matter affects one or more specific individuals. Mr. Chiavacci seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: President and C.E.O. of the Westminster Fire and Hose Company No. 1 Bob Cumberland reported that for the month of June, the department responded to 140 fire calls; 68 in the City, 64 in the County, and 8 Mutual Aids. He shared there is an average of 8 responders per call. Mr. Cumberland stated for the year of 2012, the department had 754 calls compared to 2011, when they had 722. Mr. Cumberland also reported that EMS ran 419 calls, averaging 13 calls a day. The department’s total for 2012 is 2,331 compared to 2011 at 2,384. Mr. Cumberland pointed out that the department is down 53 calls from last year. He stated that 154 calls were in the City, 186 were in the first due, which means they were outside of the City limits, and 12 were mutual aid calls. Mr. Cumberland shared the total fire loss for 2012 was $1,248,400. Mr. Cumberland explained EMS transported 311 patients to Carroll Hospital Center, 10 patients to University of Maryland Shock Trauma and patients refused transport 35 times. Mr. Chiavacci questioned when transporting from the hospital and then to shock trauma, does the Fire Department bill for this. Mr. Cumberland replied yes, under Medicare right now. There is a fee that is calculated by Medicare. It takes a unit out of service for an hour and half when transporting to Shock Trauma. Depending on the seriousness of the injury and the weather, they can be flown to Shock Trauma. Mr. Cumberland explained hopefully within the next year Maryland State Police will have new helicopters available which will allow the Fire Department to have some down time. Mr. Cumberland reported the State Convention was a week before the MML convention. The Westminster Fire Department had three members recognized for serving for over 50 years. The Fire Department Chairman received recognition for his fire prevention program and he was also awarded a grant for the program. Mr. Glass reported that the porch replacement for City Hall has been completed. Mr. Glass reported the next project to be done in the City Hall is the exterior window project, replacing the storm windows with fixed double pane glass which will be more energy efficient. He explained that the project is out for bid right now. He reported that the annual paving project is out for bid as well, for $1.1 million. Mr. Ehlers reported that the audits are underway. He explained the Council members and department heads will be receiving confirmation letters from the auditor. He encourages everyone to be prompt with their response. Chief Spaulding reported National Night Out will be on August 7th at 6 pm. He explained there will be multiple celebrations in town and encouraged the Council to celebrate with the command staff. Chief Spaulding reported that there will be Shop with A Cop for back to school at Dutterers Park on Tuesday, August 21 from 10:30 am – 1pm. There will be approximately 100 students who will come to meet with police officers, who will fill their back packs with school supplies for the school year and have lunch. Mr. Horn reported the City has been notified that FEMA has finalized their latest duration of flood way maps. He explained this is located on the City’s webpage. There are a few properties in the City, but not very many. The City is required to go through Public notification process. Mr. Horn shared that the City will be seeing advertisements and notices and there will be advertisement coming from FEMA in the Carroll County Times. Mr. Horn then reported that there will be a Rental Licensing Committee meeting on July 10. There will be a report recommendation for the Mayor and Council later this year. President Halstad questioned if there is general time table for coming to the Council with a recommendation on Rental Licensing. Mr. Horn replied the committee is still looking at draft codes; it is a couple of months away from a draft report. He will put together a review by staff for recommendations. President Halstad questioned how often the committee meets. Mr. Horn replied the committee meets every week, but took a break during the 4th of July holiday. They will be picking back up on July 10. Mr. Horn explained the committee will probably not continue meeting every week due to projects in between, but everyone is anxious to complete this as quickly as possible. Mr. Horn welcomed back Sandy Anderson, she will be helping to fill the gap with loss of Stan Ruchlewich. Ms. Wolf reported that her time at the MML convention was one of the best workshops that she has ever attended in Ocean City. The Mayor of La Plata shared how their City handled the recent tornado and their emergency management system. He explained what the City did in order to figure out where things were located that were no longer there. Ms. Wolf explained that La Plata did not have their City Hall to get data from because it was no longer there. There were 6 acres of ruble from the tornado. Ms. Wolf explained that she has shared this information with Chief Spaulding. The City needs an emergency management center, as La Plata had to run the City operation from trailers for over a year. Ms. Wolf shared everyone offered to help; they had 300 pieces of equipment and 600 people the next day. They made decisions that would stand them in good stead for 25 years. Instead of rebuilding a 80,000 gallon water tower, which they lost, they built one for 780,000 gallons so it would meet future demand. Ms. Wolf explained that the town of La Plata had an extensive visioning process and one of the components of their plan was to relocate the intersection entrance to 301 from where it was to two blocks down, which was a $10,000,000 project. Ms. Wolf explained that Mr. John Pecorro, Secretary of Transportation told La Plata that they will now get their intersection where they want it and gave them the money to fund the streetscape project and redesign the whole town according to that visioning exercise that they had done. La Plata was able to build a lot of things in the way they wanted because they had a plan in place. CITIZEN COMMENTS: Ms. Graham reported the Fall Fest Board has decided to support the First Thursdays in August, September, and October. Ms. Graham shared that she spoke to Missy Wilcox to help get the bands and everything organized. She explained there will be charities out on Main Street on those Thursday nights. President Halstad acknowledged the Boy Scout troops who were in attendance at the Council meeting. Dr. James Myers, Jr., DDS of 211 Washington Heights Medical Center in Westminster expressed his concerns regarding the City allowing alcohol at events. He shared his thoughts about alcohol and the negative effects it has on individuals who consume alcohol. ADJOURN: President Halstad adjourned the meeting at 8:25PM. Respectfully Submitted, Shannon Visocsky