MINUTES
MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were Councilmembers Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., Thomas A. Gross, Sr., Mabel Mumford-Pautz and J. Brian Kirby, Police Chief Wayne Bradley, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked for a moment of silence in remembrance of the four Chestertown residents who were lost in the Egyptian flight 990 crash this past weekend. Mayor Bailey praised Don and Bee Heck and John and Joann Schelpert for their many contributions to the community and stated that they would really be missed.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the meeting and executive session of October 18, 1999. Mr. Bristoll moved that the minutes be approved as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey stated that an executive session was held on Monday, October 18, 1999 at 8:20 p.m. pursuant to Sec. 10.508 of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The entire Mayor and Council was present, voted unanimously to go into executive session. The meeting was held to discuss a personnel matter and was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Minutes were taken and are part of the record.

Mayor Bailey called on Chief Bradley for the Police Report. Chief Bradley gave the monthly report for the month of October. He further reported that crime was down 38.6% in Chestertown over the first six months of last year. Chief Bradley said that the Halloween weekend went well with no major occurrences.

Chief Bradley said that the K-9 officer, Ricky Strong has resigned to take a job with the Kent County Sheriff's Office. His last day will be November 2, 1999. Chief Bradley said the problem at hand is that as our K-9 officer he was 3 days shy of completing annual recertification with the dog at the Baltimore County training facility. He said Baltimore County will not certify the dog because the dog and officer work as a team. He said the dog will have to sit until we can have another officer trained with the dog.

Chief Bradley said another officer is willing to take the dog, however, Baltimore County informed the Chief that the officer will have to go through a minimum 10 week training course which will not start until March of 2000. He said an option would be to have Officer Standridge go through a shorter training period at Castle Canine, where we purchased the trained dog in Pennsylvania. He said this would not be a Maryland agency, which was requested by the Council but not required. The training at Castle could probably be accomplished in an intensive 3 week period and before the end of this year.

Mayor Bailey said not only would we not have the dog working until after retraining in March, but we would be down another officer while the 10 weeks of training take place. Mayor Bailey asked whether the Chief knew if we can have the training done in Pennsylvania or whether we are required to have them certified by a Maryland training agency. Chief Bradley said he talked to the State's Attorney's office and they had no problem with the dog being certified in Pennsylvania. He said when we buy a dog from Castle they are certified to be trained in tracking, K-9 crowd control and drugs. However, the officer is not K-9 trained and gets 3 weeks of training with the dog. Mayor Bailey asked if the officer's initial training were done in Pennsylvania, could she then go to the Maryland agency for state certification. Chief Bradley said the Maryland agency allowed Ricky Strong to go there for 90 hours of recertification training. Mayor Bailey said that was a viable option rather than have the dog unused until after the March training.

Mr. Gross said he would not send someone to both schools if the Pennsylvania school were sanctioned by the Maryland Police Training Commission. Chief Bradley said you don't have to go to both. He said there was no specified amount of hours of training set out in the State of Maryland. He said most dogs are licensed by the Maryland State Police and then you keep the dogs certified.

Mr. Kirby said it sounded good, however, the purpose of getting the training in Baltimore County was that you have an agency other than the person whom you purchased the dog from certifying as to the dog's training. He said he did not think there was a problem as long as you would continue to have the dog certified in the State of Maryland. He questioned the difference in the time for training between the 10 weeks required in Baltimore County and 3 weeks in Pennsylvania. Chief Bradley said the 10 weeks was for a dog with no training and that time period was to train dog and officer. He said Officer Johnson (from the Baltimore County training agency) indicated to him that since Officer Standridge had no training with a K-9 he would start over with the dog and the officer. Mr. Kirby said the County sent an officer with a trained dog and the new officer went for probably 4 or 5 weeks.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked if consideration was being given to getting a second dog. Chief Bradley said it was up to the Council whether the Town wanted a seconded dog, and we would have to have an officer who wanted to have the dog. He said he could let Officer Standridge go over to Baltimore County with the dog and have them evaluate how much training she would need. However, that class would not start until March. He said Castle Canine training could be done before the end of the year. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked that the Chief do some more research on the time for training the officer and vote on this matter at the another meeting.

Mayor Bailey asked Chief to check with Castle Canine on the time frame and advise her this week. The Council will then make a decision on the training

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked why bicycle patrols were not being used. Chief Bradley said the bicycle patrols were being done, however, you need an officer who was willing to do the bike patrol. He said you also need two officers on duty so one can assist the bike officer if a car is needed.

Mayor Bailey said the Council had received a report from the Citizens on Patrol. The report shows favorable improvements in the Vickers Park/Barker's area, fewer juveniles hanging around, fewer people on corners. The report states there was increased activity in Washington Square shopping center, young people gathering, racing of cars in the lot, damage to light poles, etc. Mayor Bailey asked that Chief Bradley talk to Dennis Silicato, the owner of Washington Square, about the problems. He has been very cooperative in the past and hopefully he will be again. She said the report also discusses problems at the Royal Farms Store and Mayor Bailey will talk to them. She said she has talked to the management at Brookmeadow and they are cooperative and willing to work with the Town on problems there.

Mayor Bailey called on the Town Manager for his report. Mr. Ingersoll said that the Town has had two different requests for the renaming of the lower block of Park Row. The first was from the Frank M. Jarman Post 36 and requested that the street be called "Memorial Plaza." The second from the VFW J. T. Kibler, Jr. Memorial Post 10063 has asked that it be named "Veterans Row." He said we have had no other comments or requests. Mayor Bailey said Memorial Place was suggested as plaza gives a feeling of a bigger place.

Mr. Bristoll said he would like to use Memorial Plaza as he saw nothing wrong with the use of the word plaza in that location. Jake Downey said that "plaza" was defined as a public square in a city or town. He said it takes one quarter of a page to define "place." He said the Legion felt that "Plaza" was a better name for that location where the memorials are located. Mayor Bailey asked for a motion and Mr. Kirby moved that the street be named "Memorial Plaza", was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mr. Ingersoll said that we will notify 911 and order signs. He said another matter he had cleared up was that the first couple of buildings on the other side of Rt. 213 (Cross Street) which had been number 213 and 215 Cross Street. He said working with the owner, Vince Raimond, the two houses have been renumbered for Philosopher's Terrace so everything to the north of Rt. 213 is Philosopher's Terrace. He said now there will be no confusion about addresses for the Rescue Squad. He said this conforms with the signs the State Roads put up as Cross Street on the south and Philosopher's Terrace on the north.

Mr. Ingersoll said that we have filed a grant application with the Maryland Historical Trust identical to the one last year to have the historical publications reprinted. He said the project would be $5,000 with $3,000 and a $2,000 in-kind match from the Town. He asked the Council if they still approved of this grant and it was approved.

Mr. Ingersoll announced CDBG awarded SOS a grant in the amount of $440,000 for acquisition of lands on High Street (Barker's, PJ's and the laundromat). He said this was a pass through grant which means that the money will go through the Town and he will administer the grant. He said that the proper procedures for acquiring land with HUD funds must be followed and he will assist SOS with the administration.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the State Board of Public Works just approved the $300,000 grant for the park in Town. He said this was a park behind Rolling Road off of Rt. 291 on property that was owned by the Hospital. He said the County was putting in $100,000 and the Town will contribute $50,000 to acquire this land. He said contrary to recent public speculation there were no other current Town park projects nor have their been while considering this one. He said this was the same grant application originally discussed for another site, but this site was deemed to be better for a park.

Mr. Ingersoll said he had a budget revision. He said the Town had a windfall from property insurance costs that were reduced by LGIT in the amount of $5218 which we are using to offset the demolition at 104 Cannon Street. Further, the costs of the demolition of 104 Cannon Street will be repaid when the land is sold, since the debt is a lien on the property.

Mr. Ingersoll said the auditor will present the audit to the Mayor and Council at the next meeting on November 15, 1999. He said the public was welcome to attend.

Mr. Ingersoll said that the Town had about 50 phone calls about the time for trick or treating in Chestertown. He said Chestertown has never designated a night or time for this. He said the Lions Club parade went well and they intend to continue to have it always on the Saturday afternoon before Halloween at 3 p.m. The rain date will always be on Sunday. He suggested that if the Town was ever going to designate a trick or treat night, it should be Halloween itself, but the Town could consider setting hours. Mayor Bailey said she felt the holiday should be celebrated on the actual day. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said that when families are dressed for the parade, which was a lot of work, then that was the time to go trick or treating. She said she felt people should be allowed to make the decision themselves.

Mayor Bailey said she wanted to thank Washington College and the Student Government Association as well as the Lions Club for their work and participation in the Halloween parade. Mr. Downey said he would like to see the hours regulated for trick or treating as it would make it easier for the residents. Mr. Gross said we need a cut off time but it was hard to regulate and enforce such a thing. Mr. Kirby said he thought a time frame could only be a suggestion. Mr. Ingersoll said with the parade being held on the Saturday before Halloween, it will always be during daylight savings time and there would be an hour of daylight following the parade. He said for that reason, he had recommended that the trick or treating be done on Halloween. The Council will consider this issue.

Mr. Ingersoll said he has noticed a proliferation of neon signs that mostly come from beer or soda manufacturers and are given to store owners. He said he had a complaint from an owner who was getting a permit for larger signs and was told that the extra neon signs were not allowed under our ordinances. He said he wanted to give businesses a month or two to remove all of those signs whether they are free or not. The Council agreed that those signs should be gone by the end of the year.

Mr. Ingersoll reported that the Board of Supervisors of Elections met at 5 p.m. They had two petitions for candidacy, one had been certified, and one had to have the signatures certified. They formally approved both the changed petitions for candidacy and the absentee and emergency absentee procedures. The absentee procedures were advertised in the newspaper. They will meet again on Monday, November 15, 1999 at 5 p.m. which is the deadline for filing. We will have four people work on the polls on Monday, December 13, 1999 and the Board will meet on Tuesday to open absentee ballots and do the final count on the election.

Mayor Bailey asked that an executive session be held on Monday, November 8, 1999 at 6 p.m. for a personnel matter. She said that was the best time for the Town Attorney. Mr. Bristoll moved that an executive session be held pursuant to Sec. 10-508 of the Annotated Code of Maryland, was seconded by Mr. Gross and carried unanimously.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she would like to ask for an executive session following the meeting pursuant to Sec. 10-508 of the Annotated Code of Maryland for a personnel matter. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kirby and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey read a signed a Proclamation declaring the month of November as Epilepsy Month in Chestertown.

Mayor Bailey announced the opening of an exhibit of the Old Kent Quilters at Chestertown Bank on Thursday, November 4, 1999 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Mayor Bailey stated that the Local Management Board has put out a booklet called "Kent County Directory for Resources for Families and Children." The booklet contains listings for all of the agencies that deal with everything from education, recreation, families in crisis and she thanked the Local Management Board for their work in gathering all of this information. She said she will get some copies and have them available in the Town Hall.

Mayor Bailey said that Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and she attended the MML Fall Legislative Conference in Easton. She said it was one of the best they have attended. She said that the Smart Growth Initiative has sometimes made it difficult to fill downtown buildings or restore older buildings because of the Maryland building codes. She said the codes are written to apply to new construction and some of the requirements, such as widths of stairways, just will not work when reusing old buildings. These things make renovations more difficult both from a construction standpoint and an economic standpoint. She said some sections of the Maryland building codes are being rewritten to make provisions for alternatives for older buildings.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said that elected officials can now get certifications for attending the workshops. She said the one on human resources was very informative. She said she was disappointed that there were not more people from the Easton Shore at the conference because she had worked hard to get the conference back on the Eastern Shore after about ten years as this conference moves around the State.

Mayor Bailey said we need a replacement member on the Tree Committee since Mike Wick has moved out of Town. She asked the Council and the public for names of people who would be interested in serving on the Tree Committee.

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

Mr. Bristoll moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:24 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Kirby and carried unanimously.

Submitted by:
Joan Merryman
Stenographer

Approved by:
Margo G. Bailey
Mayor