← All documents

2024-11-21- tc-minutes.pdf

Minutes November 21, 2024 · 7 page(s)

View original PDF ↗ Meeting

Full extracted text

The document's complete text, exactly as extracted — not a summary. Use “Summarize this document” above for the short version.

Town Council of Centreville
November 21, 2024
7:00 p.m.
M I N U T ES
The November 21, 2024, Town Council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Ashley H. Kaiser at the
Liberty Building located at 107 North Liberty Street, 2nd floor meeting room. The following members and staff were
present: Ashley H. Kaiser, President, Jeffrey D. Kiel, Vice President, Jim A. Beauchamp, Daniel B. Worth, and Sandra
L. Huffer, Members; Carolyn M. Brinkley, Town Manager; Sharon VanEmburgh, Town Attorney; Karen Luffman,
Finance Director; Clifford “Kip” Matthews, Director Public Works, Lt. Charles Harris, Centreville Police Department;
and Gaye Adams, Town Clerk.
• Following the Pledge of Allegiance, and with no objections to the proposed agenda, Mr. Kiel made a
motion to approve the November 7, 2024, Town Council meeting minutes with amending page 2
deleting the duplicate sentence. Mr. Kiel made a motion to approve the minutes, as amended, and Ms.
Huffer seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Citizens Forum
No citizens offered comments.
Appearances
a. Jennifer Moore- Farmers’ Market and Heck with the Malls
• Requested permission to close Lawyers Row for Heck with the Malls on Saturday December 2nd from
8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Mr. Worth made a motion to close Lawyers Row for the event, Mr. Beauchamp
seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
b. Carol D’Agostino- Centreville Day
• Ms. D’Agostino meet with the Centreville Day planning and volunteer group. They discussed
Centreville Day and informed the Council that it was the first time the event had enough volunteers.
Ms. D’Agostino wants to improve the event and discussed several ideas.
• Centreville Day would like to hold a makerspace event at the Wye River Upper School to
accommodate older children on Centreville Day as well. Ms. Kaiser stated that the Centreville Library
and the Boys and Girls Clubs have a mobile bus as well if the Wye River Upper School cannot
accommodate such an event.
• Ms. D’Agostino may need to relocate Centreville Day next year due to renovations of the Historic
Courthouse. Ms. D’Agostino stated she will receive the construction schedule from the County in the
spring and will keep the Council informed on what needs to happen.
• The word search is very popular with the residents, but it has a greater impact with Town businesses.
The winners of the word search get a $25.00 gift card. The businesses that participate donate that
$25.00 gift card or merchandise valued at $25.00, in return they get one hour of professional
videography to create an edited professional 3 min video as well as all the B role for advertising. This
money is part of a Main Street Improvement Grant and helps businesses with their marketing. The
response has been great so far. Metrics will be added to measure the effectiveness of the program.
• Lastly, an update on 102 N. Commerce Street. The owners are waiting for signed architectural
drawings to proceed with the renovations. Those are expected to be completed by December. The
grant paperwork for this project has been completed so as soon as the architectural drawings are
complete, new permits will be issued.
c. Commission for 250th Birthday Grant Request- Mary Margaret Goodwin
• The Commission is requesting the Town submit a grant request on behalf of the Commission to cover
the cost of the work being done to create a book showcasing who we were before we became who we
are.
• Ms. Kaiser asked Ms. Goodwin who would write the request? Ms. Goodwin stated that she and Ms.
Adams would write it together. Ms. Brinkley clarified that the Commission would work with our
Pa g e | 1

Town’s grant writer as well. Ms. Kaiser asked would the Town managed the grant. Ms. Brinkley
stated yes.
• Ms. Goodwin stated most of the money would be used to document all the historical information.
• Mr. Kiel made a motion to approve the Town submitting the grant request on behalf of the
Commission. Ms. Huffer seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
d. Jaime Johnson- Donation Request
• Ms. Johnson made the following presentation with a request for a donation to cover the presented
projects.
• After a brief discussion Mr. Beauchamp made a motion to fund budget items B Services and E Events
for a total donation of $1300.00. Mr. Worth seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Old Business
a. Ordinance 12-2024- Site Plan Review Procedures – Second Reading- Sponsored by Council Member Worth
• Mr. Worth provided background on Ordinance 12-2024 for the purpose of amending the Town’s
Zoning Ordinance codified as Chapter 170 of the Town Code to clarify the procedures and criteria by
which site plans are evaluated.
• He stated that this Ordinance was created by the Planning Commission, as they want to codify their
procedures for evaluating site plans and includes a list of approvals that are necessary for site plan
approvals.
• Town Council will hold a public hearing for Ordinance 12-2024 at their December 5th meeting.
b. Ordinance 11-2024- Sidewalks-Council President
• Ms. Kaiser opened the discussion on this Ordinance. Mr. Beachamp stated the only part of the
Ordinance that should be kept is Section 134-7, the time limit for snow removal.
Pa g e | 2

• Ms. Kaiser clarified that this Ordinance has been discussed several times and that none of the Council
Members are excited about the specifics of the Ordinance. After a lengthy discussion, Ms. Kaiser
recommended that this sidewalk issue should be treated very similarly to how the Town deals with
streets. The Department of Public Works should scan the Town, identify the sidewalks that need repair,
and prioritize them based on need. Once a baseline has been established, prioritize those sidewalks in the
budget and then create a policy that is very clear on how to deal with the repair issues.
• Mr. Kiel added that through his investigation, 90% of other towns’ sidewalks Ordinances fall with the
owner to maintain the sidewalk.
• Ms. VanEmburgh stated there are a few more items that the Town should keep in the Ordinance. One is
the right-of-way entry and the other is the process to address if the property owner should cause damage
to the sidewalk.
• Mr. Worth discussed brick sidewalks and asked if they are practical to repair or just do concrete? Ms.
Huffer loves the brick sidewalks, and the Town should make every effort to fix those as well.
• All Council members support Town maintenance.
• Ms. Kaiser asked if sidewalks can be added to a Public Works Agreement. Ms. VanEmburgh stated yes
it would be a maintenance bond.
• Ms. Kaiser stated that the Town will amend Ordinance 11-2024 and return with an updated version at a
later meeting.
New Business
a. Providence at Centreville, LLC- Joseph A. Stevens, Esq.
• Mr. Stephens presented a memo that requests the application to amend the Comprehensive Water and
Sewer Plan to designate the Property W-3/S-3 (3-10 years planned service) and obtain the County
Commissioners’ approval of the TND zoning from Agricultural. This would go before the County
Commissioners in February. Mr. Stephens is looking for the Town Council’s consensus to have the Town
Manager, Ms. Carolyn Brinkley, to sign the letter making those requests.
Pa g e | 3

• Mr. Beauchamp moved to give Ms. Brinkley the authority to sign the letter, Mr. Kiel seconded the motion
which passed unanimously.
c. Ordinance 13-2024 Penalties Section Updates – Sponsored by President Kaiser
• Ms. Brinkley and Ms. Kaiser reviewed the schedule for municipal infractions and found there needed to be
some changes to give our Code Enforcement Officer clarity of what to fine. This ordinance will need to be
passed before Resolution 19-2024 can be considered.
• Some municipal fines needed to be amended to fit the infraction properly.
• A public hearing will be scheduled in January.
d. WWTP Office /Lab Renovations- Sponsored by Vice President Kiel
• Mr. Matthews and Ms. Luffman presented a memo about the Queen Annes County Rural Maryland
Economic Development Grant Fund that needs to be spent by June 2025. The Department of Public
works is proposing using those funds to upgrade the Wastewater Treatment Plant/Lab Office building
and requested approval of the Gordian quote in the amount of $296,572.05.
• The current grant is $200,000.00. Ms. Luffman stated the Town currently has approximately $500,000
of interest in the ARPA fund account and would use $96,572.05 of that interest to fund the quote from
Gordian.
• Mr. Kiel made a motion to approve the Gordion quote for the Wastewater Treatment Plant lab/building
upgrade at a cost not to exceed $29,572.05. Mr. Beauchamp seconded the motion which passed
unanimously.
Reports of Boards and Commissions
a. Maryland Municipal League
• Nothing at this time
b. Council of Governments
• Ms. Brinkley presented on behalf of Mr. Kiel.
• The County’s Department Public Works is updating the Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan. Mr.
Pa g e | 4

Matthews and Ms. Brinkley are updating some of the language as it relates to Centreville.
• Commissioner Jack Wilson mentioned a bill going into this year’s Legislative session that gives
municipalities the ability to lower the speed limit on state roads within town limits.
• December 7th- 8th and December 14th-15th the Festival of Trains is at the Old Outlets in Chester.
• The Clerk of the Court Katherine Hager was in attendance and informed the meeting that there is a rise in
property fraud in the County.
• Next meeting will be January 8th hosted by Queen Annes County at Mama Mia’s
c. Economic Development
• Ms. Kaiser stated that there is nothing to report at this time and the Council needs to work on getting CEDA
members seated.
d. Park Advisory Board
• Nothing at this time
e. Planning Commission
• Mr. Worth reported the following:
• Reviewed site plan for Hillside Liquors and the proposed Millstream trail. There were a lot of
questions and concerns about the project. The Planning Commission also discovered items were
omitted and not presented to the Commission that were important to know. The Planning Commission
tabled the site plan review until the next meeting.
• Spent little time on the Planned Unit Development (PUD) code. The Planning Commission is going to
do some homework and discuss this at length during their next meeting.
• The next work session meeting is on December 4th and the regular meeting is on December 18th. Ms.
Kaiser discussed the Millstream Trail in regards to the Hillside Liquors project. After a lengthy
discussion, the Council feels the trail easement should stay exactly how it is. Should the Applicant for
Hillside Liquors want to address the trail easement they will need to make that request to meet with
the Town Council.
Reports Department Heads
a. Town Manager
• Ms. Brinkley reported the following:
• Staff met with the Corsica River Conservancy regarding the wastewater treatment plant. It was a good
conversation getting everyone back up to speed.
• The Town’s lobbyist mentioned that MML will have weekly calls with lobbyists that represent
municipalities during the 2025 Legislative Session.
• Ms. Kaiser requested we ask the Lobbyist to flag the speed limit bill.
b. Chief of Police
• Lt. Harris presented, in place of Chief Hobbs, the October 2024 statistical report for the Council, staff, and
citizens.
• Special mention of K9 Cash and Officer Henderson who were called for duty and seized 70 wax holds of
suspected fentanyl with a street value of $1000.00. Congratulations to the K9 team for removing that
threat from our streets.
Pa g e | 5

c. Finance Officer
• Ms. Luffman reported the following:
• Will have a draft of the audit statement to Council early next week.
• Last month’s federal interest rates dropped twice so the Insured Cash Sweep (ICS) accounts
went from earning 5.38% to earning 4.88% in interest.
• She is looking to lock in a % rate and get back to the Council once that is completed.
d. Town Clerk
• Ms. Adams reported that the Holiday Parade has a Master of Ceremonies now, thank you to
Ashley Kaiser for agreeing to do that.
• Ms. Adams stated the parade line-up numbers will be emailed and e-blasted out approximately
December 3rd.
• December 4th is the Tree Lighting Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on the Courthouse Square.
Citizen Comments
Ms. Jennifer Moore thanked the Centreville Police Department for the fantastic job at the Farmers’ Market. Ms.Kaiser
also added the Centreville Police Department is doing a great job talking with residents that visit the market.
Council Roundtable.
Ms. Kaiser informed the Council that Saturday December 28th the lighting of the Town Menorah will be on the
Courthouse Square at 4:45 p.m.
Motion to Adjourn
Ms. Kaiser asked for a motion to adjourn, Mr. Beauchamp made a motion to adjourn the November 21, 2024, Town
Council meeting. Mr. Kiel seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
R. Gaye Adams
Pa g e | 6

Town Clerk
Council Action Items:
1. Approved the meeting minutes from November 7, 2024.
2. Approved $1300 donation to Holiday Committee for Services and Events.
3. Approved Ms. Brinkley signing the letter to the County Commissioners regarding the Comprehensive
Wastewater and Sewer plan Amendment/Zoning approval.
4. Approved the Gordian quote for the Wastewater Treatment Plant/Lab Building upgrade.
Pa g e | 7