Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the Mayor and Council meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were Council members, Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., Whaland Clark, Mabel Mumford-Pautz and James R. Johnson, 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 meeting or executive session of April 19, 2004. Mr. Clark moved to approve the minutes as submitted, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey stated that an executive session was held April 5, 2004 pursuant to section 10.508 of the Annotated Code of the State of Maryland to discuss contractual matters directly following the Mayor and Council meeting. In attendance were council members Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., Mabel Mumford-Pautz, James R. Johnson and Whaland Clark, W.S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Jennifer Stead, Stenographer and for portions of the meeting were James Barry, Shawna Buckley and Stacey Richardson. One motion was passed with three of the Council members in favor; Mrs. Mumford-Pautz abstained from the vote. The motion passed was to sell the Town property at 314-316 Cannon Street to Mr. James F. Barry for $50,000.00. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Minutes were taken and are part of the record.

Mr. Bob Kiel, of State Highway Administration, was present to discuss the installation of left turn lanes on MD 213 and the hardwired signalization of MD 213. Mr. Kiel said the left hand turns that were now in place at campus and Kent Streets should provide some relief from traffic congestion. He also said that the SHA was thinking of putting a “Do Not Enter” sign by the Dollar General Store at the curve for traffic heading south on Rt. 213. He said that if a left turn was restricted on Queen Street it might also help with traffic.

Mayor Bailey stated that the left hand “Do Not Enter” at Dollar General should not cause problems for residents. Mayor Bailey stated that she would like to poll the Queen Street residents to find out how they felt about not being allowed to take a left off of Rt. 213 onto Queen Street.

Ms. Mumford-Pautz asked if there could be a traffic signal at Rt. 20 and Rt. 291. She said that could also help traffic at Rt. 20 and Rt. 514. Mr. Kiel stated that the SHA had to meet standards for traffic signals and they had to be warranted. So far, this site had not been.

Mr. Steve Atkinson stated that the traffic signal at Greenwood and Washington Avenue needs left hand turns northbound and southbound at Washington Avenue.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that he had a permit request from the Sultana Project, Inc., to waive the open container ordinance on Saturday, May 22, 2004 between 5- 7 pm for the dedication of naming plaques for donors of the mast and deck. The reception would be held on the Cannon Street Dock. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved to approve the permit as submitted, was seconded by Mr. Johnson and carried unanimously.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that he had a permit request from the Massoni Gallery to reserve three (3) parking spaces in front of 201 and 203 high Street for a reception from 5-8:00 pm on Friday, May 14, 2004. The sidewalk area would be cordoned off for a reception and they asked that the open container law be waived during the event. There were letters from neighboring businesses in support of the event. Mr. Clark moved to approve the permit as submitted, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the received a request by the Knights of Columbus to hold a parade on Monday, May 31, 2004. They asked that High Street be blocked off from Dixon Valve to Stam’s beginning at 9:00 am. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved for approval of the request for the Knights of Columbus parade on Monday, May 31, 2004, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that there was a bid opening for water upgrade contracts 1 & 2 on Friday, April 30 th. He said approximately 6-years ago the contracts were estimated to be about 1.5 million dollars. Contract 2 was the larger contract for the new reservoir, new reservoir covers, new treatment building, and piping for the system. The low bid was from Bearing Construction of Sudlersville at $1,616,000.00. The second low bid was from J.F. Fischer of Baltimore for $1,770,000.00. The apparent low bidder was Bearing Construction. A report would be supplied by Peter Bourne, construction engineer for the project, to state that Bearing Construction was the low bidder with no qualifications.

Mr. Ingersoll recommended to the Council to award the bid to Bearing Construction and work with them on a final contract amount. Mr. Bristoll moved to award the bid to Bearing Construction for a final contract amount, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that Contract 1 was for a deep-water well and turbine pump. Layne Christiansen of Crofton, Maryland had a bid of $236,775.00. The second bid was from A.C. Schultze of Bridgeville, Delaware at $119,975.00. There were no qualifications on the bid and A.C. Schultze of Bridgeville, Delaware, was the apparent low bidder. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved to award Contract 1 to the apparent low bidder, A.C. Schultze, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that there was an Ordinance passed about two (2) years ago to borrow $1.5 million dollars for the project. He said the total contracts added up to about $1.750,000.00. He said the Ordinance could be changed to that amount and the Town would be able to qualify for .4% financing. Mr. Ingersoll stated that he would like to bring a revision of that Ordinance to the next meeting.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that Mr. Al Hammond from Broadband was coming to the next meeting to discuss high-speed Internet access. He wanted to put the satellite module on one of the Town water towers. He said that the Town could get free hook-ups or charge a fee for the privilege of hooking onto the tower. Mr. Sipes had gone over the issues of hooking up to the tower with Broadband.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that he wanted to introduce Ordinance 3-2004 adoption of the County Dog Ordinance. He said that this was in response to the Humane Society request for one countywide dog ordinance. Kennels were deleted and fees for licenses would go to the Humane Society. The Ordinance would be enacted on May 17 th, and effective on June 6, 2004.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that Chef Will of the Osprey Point Restaurant would be teaching a culinary class at the Family Support Center on Wednesday, May 5 th, from 5:30-7:30 pm. The fee was $40.00 per person.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Council received a draft budget. He said it would be another lean year with State revenues down. The property tax revenues of Town were estimated by the State at $1,207,331.00. Anticipating projects already under construction, the Town added $50,000.00 to those revenues. Revenues excluding grants totaled $2,100,248.00, which included $100,000.00 for the sale of surplus property. He said that the town was expecting $450,857.00 in grants for a total of $2,551,105.00 in revenues.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that this was the first year that the town would show depreciation in the Mayor and Council funding, demonstrating the figure of $168,000.00 and a total government general expense of $2,694,031.00 funded by depreciation of $142,926.00.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Chestertown Utilities Budget assumed a 10% rate increase, the first since 1995. He said that water and sewer bills would still be low and the Town was borrowing $1.7 million dollars to upgrade the water, plus $4.4 million to meet EPA requirements for sewer. Total revenue excluding grants was $1,109,586.00. $3,889,400.00 for construction was also in the budget, for total revenues of $4,998,986.00. Operating expenses came to $842,018.00. Capital expenditures were $4,025,036.00 with a depreciation of $121,826.00.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that there would be a workshop on Tuesday, May 11 th at 6:00 pm. He said after the workshop, the Council could go over the rate increase and pass the Ordinance for that. Mayor Bailey stated that rates for water and sewer had to reflect the cost of doing business and that the first thing she learned after taking office was that the rate increase should not be put off for years.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the last two pages of the proposed budget were enterprise funds for Satterfield Court and Cannon Street apartments. The total revenues for Satterfield Court were $43,550.00, operating expenses were $28,962.00 and depreciation was $20,441.00. The Town funded $5,853.00 of the depreciation to balance the budget. Cannon Street Apartments had $14,900.00 of total revenue, expenditures were $8,585.00 and the depreciation was $9,800.00. The Town would fund $3,485.00 with depreciation.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the proposed budget had no contingencies and very few capital items because of the lack of State revenues.

Mr. Ingersoll requested an executive session regarding contractual matters. Mr. Bristoll moved for an executive session under section 10.508 of the Annotated Code of the State of Maryland directly following the meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey stated that she met with the County Commissioners to discuss the hotel tax increase. She requested a new Memorandum of Understanding and assistance from the County for the Visitors Center. She said she would report back to the Council as soon as a decision was made.

There being no further business, Mr. Clark moved to pay bills. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Submitted by:
Jennifer Stead
Stenographer

Approved by:
Margo G. Bailey
Mayor