Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were Councilmembers W. Whaland Clark, Mabel Mumford-Pautz and J. Brian Kirby, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the previous meeting. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the minutes of the meeting of October 17, 2000 be accepted as presented, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey called on Capt. Edler for the police report. Capt. Edler gave the report for the month of October. Mayor Bailey asked if there were any questions and there were none.

Mayor Bailey said the first guests on the agenda were representatives of the State Highway Administration to discuss various traffic issues in Chestertown. She said as clarification, the Mayor and Council was not making an attempt to stop truck traffic or to interfere with local businesses whose trucks are in Chestertown or truckers doing business in Chestertown. She said the concern was about trucks using Rt. 213 when this was not their destination. She called on Richard Lindsay, District Engineer for State Highway.

Mr. Lindsay first introduced Jeff Wentz, Traffic Engineering Department, Bob Kiel, Traffic Engineer, Joe Miller, Bridge Engineer, and Lt. Garber of the Maryland State Police. Mayor Bailey stated she would open the meeting to questions or concerns. She asked that the person state their name and address before speaking.

Matthew Tobriner, N. Water Street, said he was interested in the assessment of how the bridge would hold up under the traffic loads now, predictions about future traffic loads, and whether the velocity of truck traffic has any affect on the condition of the bridge.

Joe Miller stated that the bridge was safe for all legal loads. He said the way the bridge was constructed (sectional) does affect the ride across the bridge and you get a repeated impact as a vehicle crosses. He said the bridge was designed for that type of impact and for the legal load and he did not see the increase in traffic impacting the bridge.

Anthony Scott, N. Water Street, asked when they begin to worry. He said he understood that the count done 1987 was 11,700 and by 2007 a 2%, it was projected to 17,500. He asked if that projection was still good.

Mr. Miller said he could not speak to traffic counts. He explained how the bridge was constructed and stated that the bridge was inspected every year even though Federal requirements for inspections are every two years. He said by inspecting yearly you see any maintenance issues. He said the bridge was rehabilitated about 10 years ago, and he did not see that the bridge was anywhere near a stage to be rehabilitated again. He said a concrete bridge does not have the fatigue factor that a steel bridge would have so trucks at the legal load do not have an adverse impact. He said the legal load for trucks was 80,000 lbs. and anything above that requires a permit. He said he did not believe they had issued any permits for overloaded trucks to cross this bridge.

Mary Jean Hudson, N. Water Street, asked whether the speed of trucks had any effect on the bridge. She said there were two different speed limits on the bridge, 25 mph on the Kent side and 30 mph on the Queen Anne's side. She said she felt that one speed all the way across the bridge would slow the traffic down coming into Town and also all the way across the bridge to the Queen Anne's side. She said trucks are rolling across the bridge at 50 mph and would it not be better for the life of the bridge if traffic was all going at 25 mph.

Mr. Kiel said the speeds sign match the speed on the road on either side of the bridge. He said there was a speed limit of 30 mph all the way across the bridge, but they have put a sign on the draw span coming toward Chestertown for 25 mph to slow the traffic coming across the bridge. He said looking at their radar speed studies they really do not have that much variance in speed where vehicles are coming faster than 25 or 30.

Mayor Bailey asked if there was any correlation between the speed of a truck on the bridge and damage done to a bridge. Mr. Miller said if he put that same bridge out on the interstate the impact that you would analyze on that bridge would be the same, so the speed at 30 mph was a lot lower and the impact a lot lower. He said regardless of the speed of traffic or traffic count, the impact factor was is a relationship of the span of the bridge and the individual spans of this bridge were 34'. He said the longer the span, the more of that bouncing effect, the more impact. He said for a short coupled bridge like this the truck traffic should not affect the serviceability.

Kirsten Bergen, Maple Avenue, said other towns have truck route that take the trucks around the Town and asked why there cannot be a truck route around this town for trucks over a certain weight.

Mr. Kiel said the last time a traffic count was done in Chestertown (1995) there was a concern that trucks were diverting around the truck weigh station on Rt. 301. He said they have done classified counts at all four entrances to Town and have found that most of the trucks coming in have business in Chestertown particularly the northern end of town. Mr. Kiel said the counts were done around the clock and the highest volume of trucks was coming from the north on 213 but it was also the highest volume going out. He said about 4% of the total traffic was trucks. Jeff Wentz said he has requested a traffic count for Chestertown at five locations: south of the bridge; 213 north of 291; 291 west and east of 291; 289 coming into Town.

Ms. Bergen asked if signs could be put up restricting "through truck" traffic in town. She said Chestertown has a lot of tourist pedestrian traffic. She said people cannot cross streets because of the traffic, and historic buildings are being affected by the traffic. Mr. Kiel said by law you cannot restrict a route by trucks unless there was a problem with a deteriorating bridge or emergency situation. He said even then they have to look at routes that do not require additional distance or fuel or consumption.

Jim McClung, Radcliffe Drive, asked how they know weight limits are not being exceeded just because they are not getting requests for permits. Mr. Miller said that enforcement of the weights would be up to the police departments.

Lt. Rob Garber, Maryland State Police, stated they came in for 56 hours beginning November 6. He said their first monitoring was Sunday night from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday and the truck count was 18. He said there was one overweight truck at 82,400 that night. He said because of the portable scales they allow 500 to 800 pounds variances. During the day, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 6th, there were 85 trucks with no violations for speed or noise. He said the noise they look for was noisy exhaust, jake brakes, noise from the truck itself. He said the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift there was a truck count of 36. He said the inspections done on these trucks are safety inspections and out of all the trucks only two were put out of service, and one of those was a driver with a suspended license. He said that was a poor rate because the national average was at least 15%. He said there were absolutely no speeding violations. He said they will come back in and use equipment that will pick up the type of violations complained of, if they are occurring. Lt. Garber said he had suggested to the Mayor that if there are truck carriers that frequently come through Town (such as UPS), the companies can be called and commercial carriers will usually work with you.

Mr. Tobriner asked if the State Police felt that trucks were using 213 to avoid the weigh station on Rt. 301. Lt. Garber said based on operations they have done, he did not think this was the case.

Bruce Helm, corner of Water and Maple, said he had lived there for five years and his perception was that traffic was going a lot faster that they used to. He asked that they consider putting video cameras tied to speed measuring devices on the bridge so they could get a more thorough look at this. He said he notices trucks coming off the bridge at such a speed that they cross the center line and a video camera might also pick up those violations. He said there was also a problem with more drivers going the wrong way on the 100 block of Water Street which was a dangerous situation.

Lt. Garber said the State Police cannot come into Town unless invited. He said the traffic offenses mentioned are handled by the Town police. He said they can do the truck weighing and some undercover work. He said the advance unit will come in but they must find a place to put it and the public must not be aware of it when they come. He said if people who live in the area are willing to allow them to set up equipment in their homes, they will do that.

Mayor Bailey asked whether the width of the streets in Town, when they were built, are the same size as newer streets of today. She said it looks as though there are very narrow roads with these big trucks passing each other. Mr. Lindsay said the streets are pretty typical. He said when they go into a town with the Neighborhood Conservation Program they now tend to narrow streets as this slows traffic.

Mayor Bailey also asked about solutions to the difficulty that pedestrians have crossing Water Street at the base of the bridge. Mr. Lindsay said since many residents were here, this may be the time to look at redoing 213 through Town with a street scape program. He said the State would be willing to look at it from an engineering standpoint and there may be something that can be done. He said he will discuss with the Town work on the manholes to eliminate the bumps which would in turn eliminate noise. He said they will be happy to form a task force to work on these problems in Chestertown at workshop meetings. He said a good working group would be 8 to 10 people. Mayor Bailey asked that anyone who would like to serve on the task force should call the Town Office and be put on a list. She said a meeting will be held after Thanksgiving.

Gail Regester, Cannon Street, asked whether the State was using the weighing program at the truck stop on 301 and was that the reason trucks were using 213. Lt. Garber explained the procedures the State used at various locations to monitor the truck traffic. He said the trucks being complained of were the legitimate truckers coming through Town.

Mayor Bailey asked Capt. Edler if the Department had continued the monitoring on Rt. 213. Capt. Edler said they had and he did not have the figures but the warnings and tickets had dropped in the last three or four weeks.

Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Lindsay what the procedure would be to get the bypass back on the priority list. Mr. Lindsay said the State just completed the annual tour with the Secretary. He said the Kent County Commissioners asked that it be brought up at Queen Anne's County which they did. He said Chestertown has done an exceptional job of keeping the bypass in line somewhere.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she did not understand why trucks used Rt. 313 or 213 through our Town as opposed to using 301 which was a straight shot. She said the trucks are going through the small towns and she knew the destinations were not in the towns. Lt. Garber said they use 313 because of the industries in Preston, etc. He said he would continue to do what he could but it all took money and maybe there are some grants to provide the manpower to monitor these problems. He said they can use cadets for the monitoring and cadets can do a level 3 inspection with a law enforcement officer.

Ann Wilmer Hoon asked if the route for the bypass could be changed to a route that would work, since it appeared Queen Anne's County did not want it where planned. Mr. Lindsay said that would be something that the counties could sit down together and work on.

Mr. Lindsay said the State can do an origin and destination study of the traffic. Mr. Kiel said he felt that the would just do the trucks along with the State Police. He said they will have a traffic count in the next couple of weeks. Mr. Kiel said spring was the prime time when trucks are moving and that would be time to do the origin and destination study.

Mayor Bailey asked about the roundabout suggested for 291 and 20. Mr. Lindsay said they have looked at it and the believe it would work. Mr. Kiel said the roundabout task force looked at it and the accident history and traffic volumes did not warrant a roundabout there. Mr. Lindsay said the Rt. 20 bridge will be redone and they will do the staining of the concrete at the 291/213 intersection. Mr. Ingersoll asked if it would be possible to put a through lane in the southbound Rt. 20 lane at the 2l1/20 intersection. Mr. Lindsay said they would look at that.

Mr. Kirby asked whether traffic counts were only done because they get complaints or requests or do you do them on a set schedule. Mr. Wentz said Federal highway requires different types of traffic counts, including trucks on primary routes annually or more often. He said they do counts based on requests. He said it was possible they can find some counts done along Rt. 213 or a similar route. Mr. Lindsey they do not wait for a complaint and he agreed that in the five years he has been here there has been a significant increase in the traffic in Chestertown.

Sam Sessa, Galena, said he was a member of the task force in Galena. He said the task force was doing an excellent job in Galena and he believed the recent traffic count Galena got from the State was 5200 cars a day on 213 through Galena. He said he would like to see a lowering of the speed limits which also lowers the noise level. He said this might be a deterrent to truck traffic.

Ms. Hudson said she would like to see promotion for vehicles, not only trucks, to use 291 to 301. Mr. Lindsay said they do not promote highway use, but they are in communication with the Maryland Truckers Association and they work with the State on these issues with get the word out.

Mayor Bailey said to recap the discussions: 1) anyone interested in being on the task force should call the Town Office and give Joan their name and address; 2) homeowners willing in allowing their homes to be used for video equipment also call and give their name and address; 3) anyone who sees trucks that do not appear to belong in Town should get the company name and give it to the office and we will contact the businesses; 4) and get the counties together to discuss another route for the bypass. Lt. Garber said Walt Thompson of Maryland Truckers Association, CVSA (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Rita Bond) are very open to working with you as they do not want DOT sitting in Chestertown. Mayor Bailey thanked the visitors for attending.

The next item on the agenda was Mrs. Debbie Toll. Mayor Bailey introduced Mrs. Toll. Mrs. Toll said she was a resident of 106 S. Water Street and would like to discuss parking issues. She said she was not speaking for Washington College. She discussed the parking situation at the President's House and the events held there and the availability of parking in in the area. She said there was property in the 400 block of Cannon Street and the availability of that property should be considered by the Town. She discussed future development of a walkway along the waterfront. She mentioned a possible hotel/restaurant complex and oil contaminated soil. She said she talked to an environmental risk analyst who said if you put the walkway in maybe the environmental restriction can be slightly removed. She said the various spots along the waterfront could be connected by a water taxi. She suggested that the Sultana be anchored between the Custom House and Widehall out in the river and it could come to one of the marinas or Wilmer Park to load children or visitors to the ship. She suggested that buses be banned below Cross Street in Chestertown because visitors come to Chestertown to walk and see the historic buildings, they will not be blocked by buses. She said the Town should not miss the opportunity to get the waterfront property and complete a walkway.

Mrs. Toll discussed drug problems and said that now the vacant lot on upper High Street allowed the police to be there with the dogs. She said putting parking on that lot temporarily before the building was built would work. She said she was hoping there could be long term solutions for parking rather than short term and that the way of life as it exists in Chestertown can continue. She said she was hoping that the Town could somehow buy more parking lots.

Mayor Bailey said she will share the suggestions with the Riverfront Committee who will meet in the next few weeks and they will be working on many of these issues. She said the committee had not been dissolved and anyone on Cannon Street who would like to join was welcome to do so. Gail Regester said she offered that and no one had been in touch with her. She suggested that visitors to an event at the President's House be directed to the College and then driven by bus or van to Water Street. Mrs. Toll said that was a touchy issue and did not think it would work for the type of visitors they have.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she thought Mrs. Toll had done an excellent presentation and her suggestions went far beyond Water and Cannon Streets and the Town did not have an overall plan. She said the parking situation has become a spillover clear up to Lynchburg Street.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that we have continually planned for offstreet parking. He said that the parking lot Mrs. Toll talked about across from the Arts League was built by the Town and cost about $300,000. He said at that time there was not a perceived problem with parking but the lot has been parked full since it was opened. He said he has worked with many of the 100 block Cannon Street residents to get off street parking for them. He said we will continue to plan. He said the Riverfront Committee stopped at the College boathouse but they realized a lot more time could be spent going down the river and they will be back for future planning.

Mayor Bailey called on the Town Manager for his report. Mr. Ingersoll said the Police Chief application process will proceed with a review of over 38 applications from all over. He said the Mayor and each Councilmember will review the applications and then applicants will be interviewed.

Mr. Ingersoll said the Christmas lighting ceremony will be Friday, November 24, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. and Santa will arrive.

Mr. Ingersoll said the annual audit will be presented at the meeting on Monday, November 20, 2000.

Mayor Bailey said the COG meeting will be Wednesday, November 15, 2000 at noon at the Granary.

Mayor Bailey said the Gallery at Chestertown Bank currently has a show called Unfolding Palettes by Lorraine Fry and Sihn Ja An which will run through November 24.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said on Saturday, November 11, 2000 an appreciation night event was held at Garnett School for Dawn Wright, Orgirina Graves and Daryl Deaton who ran the program. She said she wanted to thank the school and all the workers for continuing to do the summer recreation program. She said there was still a need for recreation for the 14 to 18 years old and suggested that after the program for the younger children ends, something should be open for the older ones.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said on a personal note, she wanted to mention that one of her sons would be playing in "Cabaret" at Chesapeake College this coming weekend and the show would then go to the Avalon Theater in Easton in December.

Mayor Bailey asked the Council to review the bills. Mr. Clark moved that the bills be paid as presented, as seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

There being no further business, Mr. Clark moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:10 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Kirby and carried unanimously.

Submitted by:
Joan Merryman
Stenographer