Mayor & Common Council Meetings

CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 8, 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 October 8, 2012, at 7:00 P.M. Mayor Utz; Council President Pro Tem Wack; Council Members Chiavacci, Frazier, and Whitson; City Administrator and Acting City Clerk Wolf, Chief of Police Spaulding, Director of Public Works Glass, Interim Director of Planning, Zoning, and Development Horn, and City Attorney Levan were present. Director of Recreation and Parks Schroers and President Halstad were excused from attending. Mayor Utz proclaimed October 7 – October 13, 2012 as National Fire Prevention Week in the City of Westminster and presented a Mayoral Proclamation to the members of the Westminster Fire and Hose Company No. 1, Mr. Bob Cumberland, President and C.E.O; Mr. Robin Stanbury, Fire Prevention Committee Chair Person; and Mr. Chris Cull Past President of the Fire Department. Mr. Cumberland thanked Mayor and Council and Ms. Wolf for their support of Fire Engine No. 1. Mr. Stanbury also thanked Mayor Utz for the honor of receiving the proclamation. Mayor Utz then declared October 2012 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Westminster to Ms. Connie Sgarlata, Director of Carroll County Counseling Programs for the Family and Children’ s Services of Central Maryland. Ms. Sgarlata thanked Mayor Utz for the proclamation, adding that the Family and Children’s Services has been in partnership with the City of Westminster and the Westminster City Police Department since 1997. Ms. Sherry Hosfeld, owner of Birdie’s Café, presented a poster that she and her staff created to produce and sell. She shared that the proceeds will go towards the façade improvement grant program. She is very thankful for the funding that she received when renovating Birdie’s Café and wanted to give back to show her appreciation. She explained that the poster highlights 62 downtown businesses. Mr. Chiavacci questioned Ms. Hosfeld if she will be selling the posters in various locations. Mr. Hosfeld replied that she has the Art’s Council already on board to sell the posters and will be presenting them to the merchants who are represented on the poster, asking if they would like to be a part of selling them. Mr. Chiavacci shared that there will be a billboard advertising the posters and promoting the façade program. He complimented Ms. Hosfeld for her wonderful idea and enthusiasm. He thanked her for bringing the poster to present to the Mayor and Council. Dr. Wack began by explaining that a public hearing will be held on November 5th for the Rental Licensing and Inspection Program where extended remarks and feedback will be welcomed. During this Council meeting will be a informational presentation for the Council members because this is the first time that they will be receiving the information regarding this program. Mr. Dan Hoff introduced himself as Chairman of the Task Force and as Ms. Sharon Hooper, Mr. Bob Martin, Ms. Josie O’Neel and Mr. Jeff Stedding as the members. He added that from the City of Westminster Staff who joined the meetings were Mr. Steve Horn, Mr. Steve Sager, and Ms. Marge Wolf. Mr. Hoff shared that the Rental Licensing and Inspection Program has been recommended by neighborhood groups, task forces and committees for the past decade including the lower Pennsylvania Avenue Committee in 2002, Pennsylvania Avenue Task Force in 2008, Arts and Culture Task Force in 2009, and Main Street Business Roundtables in 2010. Mr. Hoff explained that the objectives for the Rental Licensing and Inspection Program are to improve the overall condition and marketability of rental housing by creating a financially constrained and self-sufficient program that provides financial incentives to owners to provide desirable living conditions for their tenants while assuring that owners are not overly burdened by program requirements. The Rental Licensing will be effective January 1, 2013, requiring every rental unit to be licensed and inspected. There are approximately 3,000 rental units in the City of Westminster. The recommendation of the Task Force would be to phase in the initial inspections of the rental units in a three year period of time. The annual rental housing license fee will be $20.00 per unit, which would generate about $60,000 per year which could be used by the City to hire a full time administrative person to oversee the program. The proposed fees for ‘late licensing’ consists of $30.00 fine for the landlords who are 30 days late, $60.00 fine for those who are 60 days late, and $90.00 fine for those who are 90 days late. The proposed fees for other violations are $200.00 for failure to apply for or renew their annual license, $200.00 for failure to apply for or renew annual license for each previous year(s) and $100.00 for failure to provide complete information on license application. Mr. Hoff further explained that every residential rental unit will be inspected and the inspections will be performed by a private contractor. The rental unit will be classified in levels 1-5. If the program is working as it should, over time there will be less inspections. Dr. Wack questioned the expense of the private contractor, if it would be coming from the $60,000 per year. Mr. Hoff replied that it will be a separate fee. The inspection fees will be $100.00 per unit in addition to the registration fee. The fee will only be charged when an inspection is done and the inspections may not occur each year depending the condition of the unit. The non-compliance fees will be $25.00 for first missed appointment, $50.00 for the second missed appointment, and $75.00 for the third and each successive missed appointment. The proposed penalties for incomplete re-inspections are $10.00 for the first incomplete re-inspection, $25.00 for the second incomplete re-inspection and $50.00 for the third and each successive incomplete re- inspection. The concept is to award properties that are maintained. Mr. Hoff shared that when inspections are being completed, it will be expected that the inspection will be completed in 30 minutes, looking for cleanliness and sanitation, working appliances and equipment, and safety. Cosmetic items such as minor areas of peeling paints or exterior caulking are not the focus. Mr. Hoff added that the inspector should be sensitive to the historic properties. There will be seven non-negotiable items such as working smoke detectors, GFI receptacles in kitchens, baths, restroom ventilation, working plumbing, functional heating/cooling systems, if air conditioning is provided, discharge pipe on hot water heater, and no bed bugs, pests or rodent infestations. There will be a 2-step process for appeals if someone disagrees with a re- inspection. The first step will be to the City Code Official, second will be three members Board of Housing Appeals. The Task force recommended staying involved if the City implements the Rental Licensing and Inspection program. Mr. Hoff added that the planned timeline for the Rental Licensing and Inspection Program begins with this meeting, October 8 to present to the Mayor and Common Council. On October 11 is the realtors association meeting; November 1is the meeting with the Landlord Association; November 5 is the Mayor and Common Council public hearing; November 12 is the Mayor and Common Council deliberations; December 1 is the program information and distributed; and January 1 is when the implementation begins. Mr. Frazier questioned why the City will need to hire an outside contractor for the inspections. Mr. Hoff replied that it is more cost effective. Within the first three years the Task Force expects to have 1,000 inspections per year, but over time there will be less per year, depending on the progress of the program. Mayor Utz added that over time there will be less inspections, therefore the City will not need to find something else for that person to do if they were employed by the City. Mr. Chiavacci thanked Mr. Hoff and the Task Force for their work that they have put into the Rental Licensing and Inspection Program. He shared that for a number of years, citizens have come to the Council meetings wanting to put something into place like this program. He questioned if this program is for all rental homes, multi- family as well as single family homes. Mr. Hoff replied that it is for all rental properties. Mr. Chiavacci questioned the fees that were being charged for the program, such as the $20.00 annual licensing fee. Mr. Hoff explained the Task Force came up with the different types of fees so that there was no unfairness for those who were complying with the program. He added that the fees were necessitated by the need for an administrative staff person to oversee the program. He explained that the Committee supported keeping the fees related to the program as low as possible. He also noted that the Committee proposed separating the registration fee and the inspection fee, whereas other programs combine the two fees. Mr. Chiavacci inquired as to Committee considered an incremental fee reduction for buildings containing multiple rental units and thus achieving an economy of scale. Dr. Wack questioned whether Mr. Chiavacci was referring to the inspection fee or the license fee. Mr. Chiavacci replied that he was talking about a little bit of both, but more so the inspection fee. Mayor Utz commented that he believed an incremental inspection fee reduction was an appropriate consideration for multiple unit locations. Mr. Hoff explained that the proposal before the Council was a starting point for further discussion. Mr. Chiavacci commented that he feels that this is a good starting point. Dr. Wack commented that the fees can be tweaked and agreed that the Committee’s proposal is a good starting point. Mayor Utz shared that he saw a problem with number 7, on the non-negotiable section, bedbugs and pests because landlords want to keep their properties safe from the infestations, but as everyone knows, its where the tenants are bringing in their belongings from. He explained that he would like to talk a little bit more on who bears the responsibility on this inspection part. Mr. Chiavacci questioned Mayor Utz what his suggestion would be. Mr. Hoff explained that the Task Force idea behind this was if the unit has a pest issue and it is being inspected, how the inspector can not address that. Mr. Chiavacci inquired the licensing owner, not the tenant, will have limited hook when it comes to the tenant vs. the landlord. Ms. Levan explained that if holding a tenant responsible depends on the specific circumstances in the specific condition in question. Anything like bedbugs and rodents what steps you are expecting the tenants to take and whose responsibility was to create the condition that in fact favors holding the tenant over the landlord responsible. Mr. Whitson commented that he likes the idea of an outside inspector, which will also create jobs. Mayor Utz questioned Mr. Hoff having a different inspector inspect a unit so that an inspector does not want to re-inspect for extra money. Mr. Hoff replied that they have not yet discussed this possibility, but if there is only an issue with one or two items, then that same inspector can walk in and look at just those items, but another inspector may come in and see something else they feel needs to addressed. Dr. Wack commented that this is just the beginning, the Council and the committee will have a lot to work out. He explained that trying to make it as easy as possible, rewarding the good landlords. He thanked the Task Force for bring their presentation to the Council. Dr. Wack feels that this is a way to encourage investment in property and improve everyone’s business situation. He encourages everyone to attend the public hearing on November 5th and then Mayor and Council will vote on November 12th. Mr. Cumberland questioned if he could have a copy of the presentation so that he and the fire department may view for any questions that they may have. Ms. Wolf shared that the presentation will be posted to the website. Mr. Chiavacci inquired if this will be complete in one more meeting. He inquired if the committee will be able to attend the meeting on November 12th so that they are able to meet again, come up with another draft with changes to present to the Council. Mr. Hoff replied yes, that the committee will be willing to do that. REPORT FROM THE MAYOR: Mayor Utz thanked members of the staff who worked on the Fallfest committee as well the Fallfest members for the weekend of Fallfest events in the downtown of City of Westminster. He shared that Friday night of Midnight Madness, Main Street was packed with people. He also reported that he attended the Maryland Municipal Legal Fall Conference where he took the time to complete courses for the excellence in Local Government Institute. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: The contract is for CTC to conduct a broadband feasibility study. This contract will not exceed $38,000 and will be for a period of nine months from the date of execution. The study will include an assessment of Westminster’s long-term broadband needs, identification of stakeholders’ resources and technological options, a market and public services benefits study, a SWOT analysis and business plan, and a plan for installation of a citywide FTTP network and identification of funding opportunities. Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci, seconded by Mr. Whitson, the Council unanimously approved Broadband Feasibility Study contract. Dr. Wack shared that he circulated proposals that move forward with the items on the CIP list without the solar panels and the geothermal defer consideration of those projects until Council had more information back about economics of those projects and that we would pay for the approved CIP projects out of appropriations in the budget. He explained that anything extra would make an allocation out of the City’s reserves for that. However, the first step would be to adopt a debt policy that would cap the debt in the general fund at 8%. The debt service ratio of the debt payments to the income in the general fund of 8% with the option of additional 4% for emergency situations. Mr. Chiavacci commented that 8% is a good compromise. He added that as far as the current items in the CIP he has no problem with moving forward on those items using the City’s current funding that the City has in the budget for those projects. He feels that if the City dips into reserves, the Council should know what projects are being requested, and make a decision at that time. Mr. Chiavacci suggested to maybe wait another year when the City has more of the budgeted money rather than just taking from the reserve. He questioned if bonding any of the projects was off the table completely. Dr. Wack replied yes, the City will not be financing a bond for the projects. Dr. Wack explained that this would require developing two sets of new budget estimates. One being the projects minus the solar panels and geothermal and then another number for what is currently funded in the CIP plus whatever the difference is. Mr. Chiavacci questioned if he has a sense of what those numbers are. Dr. Wack replied, no, not at this moment, but knows some of the projects had incremental funding over several years. Majority of the funding was in the current year. Mr. Glass explained that the Armory repairing is a project to be completed over four years. He added that the Street department would be reroofed before doing the solar panel project so there was an incremental approach to that too. Mr. Chiavacci questioned the if purpose on doing it all at once vs. the incremental is more cost effective due to needing the scaffolding. Mr. Glass replied yes, the contractor would have to have x amount of scaffolding there. Ms. Wolf explained that the projects that are in the capital improvement plans have already been funded over the next three years except for the solar panels and the geothermal. Mr. Frazier commented that he would still like to have more information on the geothermal and the solar panels, suggested getting an expert in by the next meeting. Mr. Chiavacci shared that he had a conversation with the president of Knorr Brake, which installing the largest solar array in the state and was very intrigued in what he had to say. He agrees this is something the Council should look at. Mr. Frazier added that need someone to come in to explaining the pricing of the solar panels, the savings, etc. Mr. Chiavacci suggested that he speak to the Knorr Brake Company to find out what company they are using. Mr. Glass explained that the City’s is too small to lease. Mr. Frazier suggested talking couple of different suppliers to hear their input. Mr. Frazier commented that if have the money funded for the next three years would not want to take money out of the reserve to pay for these projects, unless there is something that needs to be done due to a liability situation. Dr. Wack questioned Ms. Wolf if the Council needed to have a vote on anything during this meeting. Ms. Wolf replied that she has what needs, does not need a motion. Mr. Frazier inquired getting someone within the next month or so to give the Council information on the Solar Panels. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: President and C.E.O. of the Westminster Fire and Hose Company No. 1 Bob Cumberland reported that for the month of September, the department responded to 122 fire calls; 58 in the City, 54 in the County, and 10 Mutual Aids. He shared there is an average of 8 responders per call. He stated for the 2012, the department has 1,127 calls compared to 2011, when they had 1,126. He also reported that EMS ran 489 calls, averaging 16 calls a day. The department’s total for 2012 is 3,577 compared to 2011 at 3,625. He pointed out that the department is down 48 calls from last year. He stated that 213 calls were in the City, 213 calls were in the first due area, and 11 were mutual aid calls. He shared the total fire loss for 2012 was $1,314,700.00. He explained EMS transported 322 patients to Carroll Hospital Center, 4 patients to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, 1 patient to Sinai Hospital, 1 patient to University of Maryland Medical Center, 1 patient to John Hopkins Bayview Hospital, 2 patients to Union Memorial Hospital and patients refused transport 53 times. Mr. Cumberland thanked Mayor Utz and the City of Westminster for the proclamation for Fire Prevention week. He also thanked Dr. Wack for the debt program and the webpage. He reminded staff, council and citizens that the museum at the fire department is open every third Sunday of the month. Chief Spaulding reported that the Westminster Police Department and the local Wal- Mart store were selected for the Community Business Partnership of the Year Award for the Shop with a Cop program. This award will be presented at the Seventh Annual Carroll County Philanthropist of the Year Awards ceremony. He also reported that Cops on the Roof top event was successful. He thanked everyone for their support for this event. He shared that they were able to raise $6200 for Carroll County and $47,000 across the state of Maryland. Ms. Wolf reported that there were two recent activities that took place during the weekend. First was the 20th Tree Commission workshop where approximately 70 people attended. The second event was the camp out in Dutterer’s Park where a small fee is paid and those who attend roast marshmallows and hotdogs over a campfire and camp out in the park. Ms. Wolf shared that there was a nice article in the Carroll County Times about both of these activities. CITIZENS COMMENTS: Mr. Chuck Zeller, 517 Larsen Court, reported his concerns regarding the rental licensing program. He explained that his unit is inspected by Section 8 Housing and was concerned that he would need to have his rental property inspected twice. Ms. Wolf replied that he would not need to have his rental unit inspected more than once, his unit can just be inspected by the section 8 housing only. She explained that the landlords who are participating in the Section 8 program will still need to pay for the annual licensing fee. Rebecca Orenstein, of 64 Pennsylvania Avenue, shared that when she was on Council in September of 1993, an old garage had been completed for the Westminster Police department. She presented to Chief Spaulding a paper weight for the 20th anniversary. She explained that while she was on the committee the purchase of the 1st bicycle for the Police Department was made. She suggested that next year, in 2013 the City should have a concert in honor of the local heroes including the Fire Department. She suggested that this be held on the City Hall grounds giving symbolic restoration. She suggested holding this event in the summer rather than in September due to the Fallfest. She thanked the Westminster Police officers who worked during Bingo, Corporal Rad Darby, Officer Dave Jednorski, and Sergeant Scott Peter, giving security. She reminded the Mayor and Council of her idea of the Corbit’s Charge. Dr. Wack explained that they do not have control over this event. Mayor Utz explained that there is a committee for this event, suggesting that she speak to the committee. Ms. Orenstein feels that the Corbit’s Charge should happen in the City, where it originated. She suggested having the event around Sheetz, explaining that many events are held in downtown Westminster, but not in that part of Westminster. She suggested having an ice cream social. Dr. Wack suggested that he could speak to Mr. Legore, who is part of the committee. Mr. Chiavacci suggested that Ms. Ornstein speak to Mr. Legore because the Council has no control over this event. Ms. Josie O’Neel, 38 Fox Glove Court, Finksburg, is part of the rental licensing Task Force. Ms. O’Neel shared that she feels the Rental licensing and Inspection Program has had a real response. She added that the City staff had been supportive for the Task Force. She explained the four members of the Task Force needed to come to some sort of resolution. She felt when first beginning the discussion of the program that for two weeks she felt that the City should not do this, but then started to see the plus and minuses. She hopes that between now and the time of the public hearing that the public will see the pluses as well. Ms. O’Neel explained the program will need to have positive input from the City Staff, helping citizens to see the quality of life in Westminster if this program is accepted by the Council. She commented that the biggest issues will be about the money and the various items on the inspection list. She explained that she had not heard of the double inspection, that if a unit has HUD inspection then will not the rental licensing inspection. Mr. Chiavacci questioned if that is what Ms. Wolf had meant. Mayor Utz explained that the property owner will need to still be licensed, but will not be required to have inspections by two different inspectors. Ms. O’Neel commented that this will be a plus to the program. Mayor Utz inquired needing to have more discussions on this topic to clarify for those who are on the Section 8 program and the fees that will still be charged. Mr. Chiavacci explained that there is not an inspection fee for HUD. Mayor Utz explained that when putting the Task Force together, wanted the input of professionals. Dr. Wack appreciated Ms. O’Neel’s comments of wrestling with the plus and minuses of the program. Mr. Hoff explained that the task force needs to get feedback on what the Council may want to adjust. Ms. Orenstein thanked the committee for their work of putting this program together. ADJOURN: Dr. Wack adjourned the meeting at 8:34PM. Respectfully Submitted, Shannon Visocsky