Mayor & Common Council Meetings

CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL MEETING FEBURARY 10, 2014 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 February 10, 2014, 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 Public Works Glass, City Treasurer Palmer, Director of Community Planning and Development Horn, and City Attorney Levan were present. Director of Recreation and Parks Gruber was excused from attending the meeting. MINUTES: Upon motion of Ms. Albert, seconded by Mr. Frazier and unanimously passed, the minutes of the Council meeting of January 27, 2014, were approved unanimously. CONSENT CALENDAR Chief Spaulding summarized that LaserCraft, Inc. has requested a third amendment to the original agreement which will extend the terms of the City’s agreement through January 4, 2015. Chief Spaulding requested approval of the Third Amendment to Agreement with LaserCraft, Inc. Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci and seconded by Mr. Frazier, the Consent Calendar, consisting of the Renewal of Lasercraft Agreement was approved unanimously. Chief Spaulding then summarized that Westminster Police Department was recently contacted by representatives of TSG Inc., a private security company employed by Exelon Energy, who requested to contract with the Department for uniformed police coverage to secure their trucks and equipment staged on the parking lot of the TownMall in response to heavy infrastructure damage from the recent ice storm. The agreement was consistent with other UPSD agreements entered into by the City. President Wack questioned if this was an extension of the existing program the City already had. Chief Spaulding replied that the City has entered into other agreements so that there would not be a need to renegotiate. Mr. Chiavacci questioned if the expenses are covered by the entities. Chief Spaulding replied that all the personnel related expenses are covered by the entity. Ms. Wolf added that there was another piece to the agreement that needed to be discussed with Council. She shared that Chief Spaulding prepared the agreement while Mayor Utz was the authorized signer of the agreement. Mayor Utz was in Annapolis when the execution of the agreement was needed, therefore, he was contacted to obtain verbal permission to move forward with this agreement. Due to circumstances such as this, Ms. Wolf requested that the signature authority be delegated to Chief Spaulding. Mr. Chiavacci and President Wack inquired if this would just be for this agreement which has already been approved by Council. Chief Spaulding replied that all previous agreements had been approved by Council and that agreements would still come to the Council for informational purposes or as required in the future. Mr. Whitson questioned who would sign the agreement if Mayor Utz or Chief Spaulding is not available. Chief Spaulding replied that he would then give permission to Major Stevens who is acting Chief when he is not available. Council gave a unanimous consensus to allow Chief Spaulding to sign agreements when Mayor Utz is not available. Upon motion of Mr. Frazier and seconded by Mr. Chiavacci, the Consent Calendar, consisting of Uniformed Police Services Detail Agreement- TSG, Inc., was approved unanimously. REPORT FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Utz thanked Westminster Police Department and Public Works department for a job well done with the road conditions due to the inclement weather. He then reported that he attended the Maryland Mayor’s Association (MMA) meeting in Annapolis on February 6 and 7. In response to concerns shared at the MMA, Mayor Utz encouraged the City to continue working collaboratively with local businesses to encourage them to remain in the area and to continue to invest in the local economy. He then shared that on February 7 there was a meeting in Annapolis regarding our local Delegation’s efforts to take $11,000 for liquor license fees away from the City and other municipalities. Some members of the Delegation do not believe local municipalities are doing enough to eliminate underage drinking. Mayor Utz briefly discussed the Westminster Police Department’s ongoing efforts to enforce underage drinking laws. Mayor Utz noted that the City will still be receiving funds from the Highway User Fund as he previously discussed during Council meeting on January 27. REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEE President Wack reported that preparation for the budget season for FY2015 is coming. He then thanked City employees who have gone above and beyond during the days of inclement weather. He commented that the weather is the reason why the City needs to spend the amount of money that they need to on repaving of the roads. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION Mr. Whitson thanked Officer Ott and Officer Arnold for their help in removing branches from his driveway after the ice storm. Mr. Chiavacci shared his thoughts regarding the article in Carroll County Times about the bill that would block Carroll County’s towns from liquor license fee revenue. He expressed his concerns about the delegation not discussing this bill with the municipalities and the funds that are being taken away from the municipalities. Mr. Chiavacci also expressed his concerns regarding the County’s lack of action on storm water fees and the negative impact that this may have on City citizens. Dr. Wack agreed with Mr. Chiavacci and suggested that the City continue to push for a resolution to the storm water fee issue. He also encouraged the City to continue working with other municipalities in this regard. Dr. Wack shared that he watched the video of the Commissioners meeting in December with Mayor Utz and other Mayor’s representing their municipalities. He complimented Mayor Utz on doing a fantastic job representing the City regarding the County’s policy on storm water management fees. Mayor Utz noted that he believes the municipalities, commissioners and the delegates do not have all the information that is needed about how much the necessary storm water projects will ultimately cost. He shared that Commissioner Howard felt that something needed to be done in order to support the municipalities. Mr. Frazier and Mr. Whitson agreed with Mr. Chiavacci’s concerns. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Chief Spaulding summarized that the Common Council adopted Chapter 103 of the Westminster City Code entitled “Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers” in 2008. Since the adoption of Chapter 103 it has become apparent that the language in the current Ordinance requires amendment to clarify more specifically the types of businesses that are subject (or not subject) to the transaction reporting requirements. The proposed amendment pertains specifically to unmanned kiosks; electronic stores that purchase used (post-consumer) electronic equipment, gaming systems, and electronic games for resale; used sporting equipment stores and clothing; and intent to resell property. Westminster Police Department believes that these proposed amendments will serve to better define the original intent of the Ordnance as well as address an unanticipated issue relating to emerging technology. Upon motion of Mr. Chiavacci, seconded by Mr. Frazier, approval of Ordinance No. 848- Amendments to Chapter 103 – Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers was approved unanimously. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS Mr. Glass updated the Council with regard to the ongoing window replacement projects at City Hall and the Armory. He noted that exterior work is on hold at this time due to the winter weather. Ms. Palmer reported that the budget for snow removal is expected to be fifty percent (50%) over budget for FY 2014, therefore, she will provide Mayor and Council with a budget amendment to use contingency funds for this purpose. Chief Spaulding reported that there is more snow to come on February 13 and advised everyone to use caution while on the roads. Council thanked Chief Spaulding for his weather updates. Mr. Horn complimented the job well done by Chris Iyles in contacting residents and homeowners associations regarding the requirement to remove snow within 24 hours. He noted that next year Mr. Ilyes plans to work with the homeowners associations in advance to provide prior notice of the requirements. Mr. Frazier questioned what happens if the property has been foreclosed. Mr. Horn replied that in a case where the City needs to provide snow removal a lien is placed on the property. Mayor Utz commented that sometimes the realtor who is selling a foreclosed property provides the snow removal. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mike Cassell, 3067 Crown Circle, Manchester, Maryland, shared that he attended the Mayor and Common Council meeting to follow up on the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement. He encouraged Mayor and Council to take a look at this issue and handed out flyers with website information. ADJOURNMENT President Wack adjourned the meeting at 7:56 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Shannon Visocsky