Town
Clerk Robert F. Karge, Town Attorney C. Kehoe, Assistant Town Engineer J. Gruber,
Town Planner
The Mayor and
Ms. Jackson-Amis asked that the minutes not be accepted due to their incompleteness. The President of the Council stated that he would meet with Ms. Jackson-Amis regarding her concerns.
AMENDMENT OF FORMAL AGENDA
Ms.
Jackson-Amis asked that the agenda be amended to include a brief discussion
of the insurance ordinance that was enacted
REPORT FROM
Mr. Barry Slaughter was present on behalf of the Fire Department. He reported on the month of December and the year-end report. For the year of 2002, the Department had a total of 816 calls; 450 within the town limits and 366 outside of the town.
RESOLUTION NO. 5797 AUTHORIZING CONSTRUCTION OF WATER
STORAGE TANK BY
Upon motion by Ms. Jackson-Amis, seconded by Mr. Reed, Resolution No. 5797 was carried unanimously following a roll call vote.
INTRODUCTION OF DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
FOR
Mr. Hugh E. Grunden, President and CEO, Easton Utilities introduced Ms. Trisha Slosman who has recently joined Easton Utilities.
RESOLUTION NO. 5798,
Mr. Ford made a motion to approve Resolution No. 5798, seconded by Mr. Reed and carried with Ms. Jackson-Amis voting no.
MR. BRUCE BUTLER DISCUSSES DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY BREAKFAST
Mr. Butler and Mr. Bill Banks were present and discussed PEACE, Peace, Education, and Community Effort. He discussed the Dr. Martin Luther King Day Breakfast to be held at Easton High School on Monday, January 20, 2003 at 8:00 a.m. Mr. Banks discussed the specified theme of non-violence.
LETTER FROM MR. RONALD LEE, BRYAN GROUP CAPITAL, LLC
PROPOSING A
Mr. Gruber asked that Easton Utilities be given the chance to see if there are any conflicts. The Town Attorney asked to report back at the next meeting to give the Council a basis for consideration.
LETTER FROM MAYOR BUTLER REGARDING VARIOUS APPOINTMENTS
A letter from Mayor Butler was brought to the floor recommending
Mayor Butler asked that the Supervisor of Election appointment be approved due to the time constraints with the upcoming election.
Ms.
Jackson-Amis made a motion to approve Ms. Carlene Phoenix’s appointment as the
Supervisor of Elections for the Town of
The remanding appointments will be considered at the upcoming meeting.
MEMO FROM THE TOWN CLERK REGARDING AN EASEMENT REQUEST FROM VERIZON
The President of the Council clarified that the desired easement location is Potter’s Field near Super Fresh.
The Town Attorney stated that more information will be provided to the Council. He stated that Verizon will also be contacted to see what exactly they need in terms of a location.
RESPONSES FROM
The Town Attorney reported that he has heard from four property owners which involve five properties and all have voted in favor of the annexation as well as the son of another property owner. Mr. Kehoe stated that we should know the outcome of by the next meeting.
REQUEST FOR RECOMMENDATION FROM PARK BOARD FOR SKATEPARK LOCATION
The President of the Council asked that a formal letter be drafted to the Park Board asking for their recommendation.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT CAPACITY
The President of the Council stated that the Town is getting close on the number of available hook-ups. He suggested a workshop to include the Town and County Council, Mr. Glass, Mr. Gruber, Mr. Ray Clark and Mr. Dan Cowee to discuss the capacity and new wastewater timeline. Mr. Gruber stated that the meeting will be held next week.
EMERGENCY HOUSING DISCUSSION
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that there needs to be a pro-active way of handling emergency housing situations in the town. She stated that there is no emergency housing mechanism in place controlled by the Town. She stated that the housing situation and the control or lack thereof needs to be looked at. Ms. Jackson-Amis asked that this problem be addressed as there are problems to be faced and nowhere to have a meaningful resolution reached.
REQUEST FOR PLANNING & ZONING WORKSHOP WITH COUNCIL REGARDING COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The Town Planner stated that this workshop meeting should be scheduled by the next meeting.
DISCUSSION OF IMPACT FEES
The Town Attorney stated that this should be done jointly with the County. He stated that Mr. Hollis will discuss this with the County Council tomorrow.
DATE OF NEXT TOWN ELECTION
The Town Attorney stated that the election date is set by the Charter and is the first Monday in May. The President of the Council concurred that it is May 5. The filing deadline is the first Monday in April which is April 7.
HEALTH INSURANCE FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS (RESOLUTION NO. 5792 (AS AMENDED) REGARDING HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN BENEFIT FOR FORMER ELECTED OFFICIALS.)
Ms. Jackson-Amis stated that at the time of the vote, she should have stated her unreadiness a little more thoroughly. The Town Clerk clarified that the resolution was effective upon signature by the Mayor. Ms. Jackson-Amis discussed pensions for elected officials and stated that she felt they should be discussed at the same time as she has found nine other municipalities, some similar in size with pension benefits for elected officials.
The Town Attorney stated that in order for Resolution No. 5792 to be reconsidered, Rule 33 provides that any matter can be reconsidered if a motion for reconsideration is made either at the meeting the action took place or at the next meeting which is tonight’s meeting. He stated that the motion has to be by one of the members who voted in favor of the action that is being reconsidered and then the motion for reconsideration has to be carried by at least three members of the Council whereupon the matter would be reconsidered.
Mr. Ford stated that he does not see any need to rescind or reconsider the vote already taken by the Council on the insurance benefit in relation to consideration for a pension benefit.
Mr.
Willey stated that he is not interested in talking about a pension plan or bringing
the health insurance resolution back to the
Mr. Reed stated that the cost of the plan had been discussed twice and he does not see a need to go over it again.
Ms.
Jackson-Amis stated that she will bring the pension matter up and Mr. Karge
can provide necessary information. She stated that with respect to the pension
plan, she is requesting a workshop to know how the Town of
REGULAR MEETING RE-SCHEDULED
The President of the Council stated that the next Town Council meeting will be held Wednesday, January 22.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Butler asked who would be attending the ESAM dinner January 21.
The President of the Council asked Mayor Butler to forward a copy of the MD Dept. of Planning’s Infrastructure Needs Survey Report for 2001.
CHIEF’S COMMENTS
Mr.
Bruce Butler,
Mr. Ford made a motion to approve the Peace Walk, seconded by Mr. Reed and carried unanimously.
TOWN ENGINEER’S COMMENTS
Mr.
Gruber discussed the collection by Public Works of discarded Christmas trees.
Mr. Gruber discussed the trash collection schedule for Monday, January 20 due
to the closing of the Town of
Mr.
Gruber invited interested Council members to the Road Inspection scheduled for
Friday, January 24 at
TOWN ATTORNEY’S COMMENTS
Mr. Kehoe stated that he had received a telephone call from the Maryland Department of Environment with regard to the Department of Social Services project. He stated that the Historic Trust approved the demolition of the building subject to the Town taking some efforts to document the existing gas plant building photographically and arranging for a professional exhibit showing the history of the site featured somewhere in the vicinity of the new building. He asked the Council if the conditions are acceptable, the documentations will be finalized with the Historic Trust and the project will proceed. It was the consensus to proceed.
The
Town Attorney stated that the grant application had been submitted for the
COUNCIL’S COMMENTS
Ms. Jackson-Amis asked the Council to revisit the issue of the Human Relations Commission and place the subject on the agenda for the next meeting.
Ms.
Jackson-Amis made public an invitation to the
AUDIENCE COMMENTS
There were none.
ADJOURNMENT
There
being no further business, upon motion by Mr. Ford, seconded by Mr. Reed and
carried unanimously, the President of the
______________________________________
Town Clerk