Mayor & Common Council Meetings

CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2013 QUORUM: A meeting of the Mayor and Common Council was held in John Street Quarters at 28 John Street, Westminster, Maryland on the evening of December 9, 2013, at 7:00 P.M. Mayor Utz; Council President Wack; Council Members Albert, Chiavacci, Frazier and Whitson; City Administrator and Acting City Clerk Wolf, Chief of Police Spaulding, Director of Recreation and Parks Gruber, Director of Public Works Glass, City Treasurer Palmer, Director of Community Planning and Development Horn, and City Attorney Levan were present. CALL TO ORDER Ken Horak began by introducing the sponsors of Fallfest, explaining that without them, the event would have been more difficult. The sponsors included the City of Westminster, WestminsterPatch.com, Quantum Internet Services, WTTR Radio, Carroll Eagle newspaper, Community Media Center, Carroll County Times newspaper, Goodwill Industries of Monocacy Valley, Carroll Community Bank, BB&T Bank, Brian Wagner Web Design and Kohn Creative. Mr. Horak thanked all of the volunteers who were a part of Fallfest. He then recognized Rick and Laura Showingfield and Nikki Haschert who volunteered and helped to make Fallfest a success. Mr. Horak then recognized current Fallfest Committee members Marshall Green, Sue Horak, Tom Cannon, Lori Graham, Abby Gruber and Robin Cherney. He shared that this year’s Fallfest is donating $22,500. Mr. Horak then presented a check to Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, Stacy Davis Breast Cancer Fund and the Carroll County Special Olympics, each of which received a check for $7500. Mr. Horak announced that the 2014 charities would include Special Olympics of Carroll County, Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, and Carroll Hospice and the Aktion Club headed by the Kiwanis. On behalf of the City, Mayor Utz thanked the Fallfest Board for all of the outstanding work they had done. He explained that the City appreciates Fallfest because it brings thousands of people to downtown Westminster. Mayor Utz presented the Mayor’s Cup Award for best storefront decoration in Downtown Westminster to Flower Box II. He thanked the Good Time Gals for judging 16 different businesses before selecting Flower Box II as the first place winner, The Snoopers Shop as second place and 2012 Champion Sturgill & Associates for third place. Mayor Utz then presented the Awards for 2013 Miracle on Main Street Electric Holiday Parade. First he recognized Shirley and Richard Daniels accepting on behalf of Carroll Lutheran Village for their winning entry reflected by the Spirit of the Season Award. Mayor Utz then presented an award to Bob Wimmer representing Carroll County Veterinary Clinic for their entry that earned the award for Best & Brightest. Finally, Mayor Utz recognized Melissa Wolfe and JC Kuykendall on behalf of The Home Depot to accept the Main Street Champion Award. On behalf of the City of Westminster Mayor Utz extended the City’s gratitude to Mark Degasperi, owner of Interstate Battery, for his steadfast support of the community event. For all of Interstate Battery’s efforts and as a token of the City’s appreciation Mayor Utz presented the Miracle on Main Street Powerful Partner Award to Mr. Degasperi. Finally, Mayor Utz recognized the Penguin Random House for their generous sponsorship of the parade. MINUTES: Upon motion of Mr. Frazier, seconded by Mr. Chiavacci and unanimously passed, the minutes of the Council meeting of November 25, 2013, were approved. CONSENT CALENDAR Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci and seconded by Ms. Albert, the Consent Calendar consisting of the Renewal of Letter of Credit- BB&T Bank- $1,000,000.00- Prime was approved unanimously. REPORT FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Utz thanked City staff for the time that they spent planning for the Holiday events and bringing joy to the community. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION Ms. Albert wished the Mayor and Council and City staff Happy Holidays. Mr. Chiavacci thanked Chief Spaulding for his communication during the winter storms and Mr. Glass and his staff for a job well done on the snow removal in the City from the wintery mix. Mr. Frazier thanked City staff who were a part of the open house held at City Hall and commented that everything looked nice. Mr. Whitson echoed Mr. Frazier on the open house and added that the Festivals of Wreaths at the Carroll Arts Center was very successful as well. He also thanked the Street Department for their hours spent clearing road ways after the winter storm. Finally, Dr. Wack also complimented the job well done by the Street Department. NEW BUSINESS President Wack requested a motion to cancel the December 23, 2013, meeting of the Mayor and Common Council due to it being the week of the Christmas holiday. Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci, seconded by Mr. Whitson, the cancellation of the December 23, 2013, meeting of the Mayor and Common Council was approved. DEPARTMENT REPORTS Ms. Wolf began by wishing Mayor and Common Council happy holidays on behalf of City staff and thanking them for the additional time off for the holiday season. Mr. Horn reported that the Board of Zoning Appeals will be meeting on January 7 for the approach from Weis Market about Gas and Go. The Gas and Go is a special exception that requires approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals. Mr. Glass wished the Mayor and Common Council Happy Holidays and thanked them for the days off for the holiday season. Ms. Gruber reported that while Recreation and Parks has been putting away decorations and cleaning out the storage area, they have been utilizing down time to create an event-planning timeline for 2014 events. She also thanked the Mayor and Council for additional time off and wished them happy holidays. Ms. Palmer on behalf of the Finance Department thanked the Mayor and Common Council for their support throughout the past year and wished them Happy Holidays. Chief Spaulding alerted the Mayor and Common Council and City Staff of the upcoming winter storm advisory and steps taken by Street and Police Departments for the safety of the citizens. He also thanked the Mayor and Council for their support throughout the year, as well as for the additional time off. Ms. Wolf reported that she attended the Maryland Municipal Chapter meeting for the Legislators. She shared that the City will be receiving the same amount in grant funds for the highway user revenue as the City did last year. Ms. Wolf also reported that a study group has been formed to review the Town/ County Agreements. The study group will create a report for the Legislators after evaluating each municipality. Finally, she reported that during the MML Chapter dinner the commissioners shared with the legislators that an agreement and a plan to incorporate municipalities has been put in place for the Storm Water Fund. A meeting has been scheduled for December 18 with managers of WRCC to develop the plan. CITIZEN COMMENTS Tom Welliver, 776 Winchester Dr, shared that while volunteering his time with the Salvation Army at Walmart on December 7, he observed the Shop with A Cop event. During his time there he observed the interaction of the City Police officers who volunteered their time to walk with the children while they shopped for their Christmas gifts. He thanked Chief Spaulding and his staff for showing the care to the children. Chief Spaulding thanked Mr. Welliver and added that it was a great event. He also thanked the community for donations to the Shop with A Cop event this year, the Planning team for organizing the event, and Mayor Utz and Councilman Whitson who came to welcome the families. Missie Wilcox thanked the Mayor and Council for their participation and support in the holiday events. She also complimented on the job well done by Ms. Gruber and her enjoyment of working with her during these events. ADJOURNMENT President Wack adjourned the meeting at 7:38 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Shannon Visocsky