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2025-04-03-tc minutes.pdf

Minutes April 3, 2025 · 6 page(s)

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Town Council of Centreville
April 3, 2025
7:00 p.m.
M I N U T E S
The April 3, 2025, 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 Brinkley, Town Manager; Sharon VanEmburgh, Town Attorney; Krystel
Ebaugh, Human Resource Manager, Chief Robert Hobbs, Centreville Police Department; Carol D’Agostino, Main
Street Manager; and Gaye Adams, Town Clerk.
• Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Mr. Kiel made a motion to approve the March 13, 2025
meeting minutes, with amendments, March 20, 2025, budget meeting minutes, and March 20, 2025
meeting minutes. Mr. Beauchamp seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Closed Session Statement
(i) The Town Council met in closed session on Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, at 6:07 p.m. to discuss personnel and
seek counsel on a legal matter in accordance with the Maryland Open Meetings Act. (ii) Five members of the Town
Council voted to close the session. (iii) The authority to close the session is found in Section 3-305 of the General
Provisions Article.
(iv) The Town Council discussed the following topics:
Personnel- Discussed board and commission appointments and a matter involving an employee.
Consulted with counsel on a legal matter.
Actions: No actions were taken
The following members and staff were present: Ashley H. Kaiser, President; Jeffrey D. Kiel, Vice President; Daniel
B. Worth, Jim A. Beauchamp and Sandra D. Huffer, Members; Sharon VanEmburgh, Town Attorney; Carolyn M.
Brinkley, Town Manager; Gaye Adams, Town Clerk; and for part of the meeting Karen Luffman, Finance Officer;
Ashley Russ, Finance Specialist; and Chief Robert Hobbs.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
Citizens Forum
Mr. Tim McClusky spoke in opposition to Ordinance 01-2025 and asked the Council to not pass.
Appearances
a. Proclamation Presentation – Cadet 2nd Lt. Claire Hersh
• Ms. Kaiser presented a Proclamation to Cadet 2nd Lt. Claire Hersh for achieving the Mitchell Award.
This significant milestone is only achieved by 15% of cadets in the CAP’s cadet program.
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Old Business
a. Ordinance 01-2025- Amending Chapter 158, Discussion - Vehicles, Non-Self-Propelled- Council
Member Beauchamp
• Ordinance 01-2025 was discussed for the purpose of amending Chapter 158 Vehicles, Non-Self
Propelled.
• Ms. Kaiser and Mr. Beauchamp confirmed that no meetings or emails had occurred regarding this
Ordinance since the last meeting. This was simply a miscommunication of the approved
amendments.
• Mr. Beauchamp moved not to consider Ordinance 05-2025, and to make the amendments agreed on
at the March 20, 2025 meeting.
• The Ordinance is still tabled within that 60-day window and at the April 17th meeting, the Council
will address each amendment individually as an effort to provide transparency.
b. Ordinance 03-2025 – Amending Chapter 20 – CEDA Structure - Second Reading – Sponsored by
Council President Kaiser.
• Ordinance 03-2025 was read for the purpose of amending the provisions of Chapter 20, Article V of
the Town’s Code related to the Centreville Economic Development Authority.
• Ms. Kaiser stated this is ordinance creates a new CEDA Structure and the Public Hearing is
scheduled for April 17, 2025.
New Business
a. Resolution 04-2025 – On Call Policy – Council President
• Resolution 04-2025 was discussed for the purpose of adopting an on-call/emergency call back pay
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policy for employees.
• Ms. Ebaugh discussed this resolution with legal counsel and received a clarification via email
regarding the condition of being able to respond within 60 minutes.
• Ms. Kaiser was satisfied with the explanation from Ms. VanEmburgh and requested that the
Council make a motion to approve Resolution 04-2025.
• Mr. Kiel made a motion to approve Resolution 04-2025 – On Call Policy, and Ms. Huffer seconded
the motion.
• Ms. Kaiser then called for a roll call vote, which passed unanimously.
Council Member Yes No Abstain Absent
Council Member Beauchamp X
Council Member Huffer X
President Kaiser X
Vice President Kiel X
Council Member Worth X
b. Resolution 05-2025 – Centreville Comprehensive Plan; 2040 Amendment – Sponsored by Council Member
Worth
• Resolution 05-2025 was introduced for the purpose of approving an amendment to the Town of
Centreville Comprehensive Plan: 2040 pursuant to the Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of
Maryland.
• Mr. Worth explained that these are the approved map changes from the Planning Commission for
review by the Town Council. A public hearing is required and Mr. Worth would like to have a
discussion among the Council before the public hearing.
• Ms. Brinkley asked if the Council would like the Town Planner or the Planning Commission Chair to
provide background on all the changes.
• Ms. Kaiser thought the Planning Commission Chair should provide background and discussion at the
April 17, 2025 meeting.
c. Ordinance 04-2025 – Zoning Text Amendment Amending Section 170-38 – First Reading- Sponsored by
Council President Kaiser.
• Ordinance 04-2025 was introduced for a first reading for the purpose of amending the Town of
Centreville Zoning Ordinance codified as Chapter 170 of the Town Code to clarify the procedures and
criteria by which signage may be approved.
• Ms. Kaiser stated this text amendment is for a future Planned Business District park monument sign.
• Ms. VanEmburgh stated the Ordinance is being introduced tonight and is to be referred to the Planning
Commission.
• Ms. Kaiser asked for a motion on Ordinance 04-2025 to be referred to the Planning Commission.
• Mr. Beauchamp motioned to refer Ordinance 04-2025 to the Planning Commission.
• Mr. Worth wondered if the Council should amend the sign code at the same time as tackling this
amendment.
• Ms. Kaiser considers sign code changes to be vastly different from this text amendment request as well
as the High School electronic sign and should not be considered at the same time.
• Ms. Kaiser does recognize that the Sign Code needs to be revised.
• Ms. Kaiser stated there was a motion to refer to the Planning Commission and asked for a second. Mr.
Kiel seconded the motion.
• Ms. Huffer has issues with the height and square footage but will wait to discuss it once returned from
the Planning Commission.
• The Council unanimously passed the referral to the Planning Commission.
d. Proclamation Arbor Day 2025
• Mr. Beauchamp moved to approve the Arbor Day Proclamation; Mr. Worth seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously.
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e. Proclamation Trail’s Day 2025
• Mr. Kiel moved to approve the Trails Day Proclamation; Ms. Huffer seconded the motion, which
passed.
f. School-related Traffic and Bussing Concerns
• Ms. Kaiser asked Chief Hobbs to also provide discussion on these issues.
• Ms. Kaiser stated she observed and then video recorded multiple bus violations, which included
speeding, running a stop sign, and almost hitting a child in the crosswalk.
• Ms. Kaiser called John Murdock at the Board of Education, sent the videos, and asked to discuss these
traffic violations as well as other school-related issues at a meeting. Ms. Kaiser requested that this
meeting include members of the Town Council, the Town Manager, and a representative from the
Centreville Police Department. Mr. Murdock agreed to such a meeting.
• The meeting never occurred due to several issues, including a particularly negative email from the
Superintendent of Queen Anne’s County Public Schools.
• A lengthy discussion was had regarding ways to solve the issue and protect the kids who walk to school
and ride on public school bus transportation, Chief Hobbs offered a few suggestions.
• Chief Hobbs reminded the Council that he has had several meetings with the local elementary schools
as well as the Board of Education's Transportation office.
• Chief Hobbs stated that speed trailers can be put in the area, as well as give warnings to offenders. He
stated that the issue is that once the police presence leaves and the speed trailers get moved, the
violations come right back.
• Chief Hobbs stated that the bus drivers stated they used to drive a different route that did not present
the Town with the traffic issues it has now and the Board of Education refuses to go back to the old bus
route.
• Ms. Kaiser hopes in the future the Town will have better relations with new leadership. In the
meantime, if tickets are what is needed to address the immediate problem, then that is what the police
department should do.
Reports of Board and Commissions
a. Maryland Municipal League
• Mr. Beachamp stated the legislative session is almost complete.
• MML sent a memo regarding the budget tools they can provide, and Mr. Beachamp passed that
onto Ms. Luffman.
b. Council of Governments
• Mr. Kiel stated he will, once again, report at the next meeting and does not want to report on the
March 11th meeting without his notes.
c. Park Advisory Board
• Ms. Huffer reported the following:
o A third year is required for phragmite mitigation.
o A planter box or a bio-retention box on Front Street will be replanted with help from the
Queen Anne’s County Master Gardeners. Ms. Huffer suggested wanting to do some PR on
this box once completed to showcase Centreville’s environmental stewardship.
o The engineering plans for the final phase of the Wharf Park will be forthcoming.
d. Planning Commission
• Mr. Worth reported the following:
o Queen Annes County has sent a letter to the Planning Commission with suggestions for the
Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) changes that would pertain to the property
they would like to acquire from the Providence Farm property. The County wanted to ensure
it included opportunities for office space for the Sheriff’s Department, Animal Services and
Health Department as well as outdoor recreation and warehouses. The Planning Commission
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does not intend to allow warehouses.
o These requests brought up an interesting question as to what the County intends to do with all
the empty buildings and what their master plan is?
o The Planning Commission might consider something called Neighborhood Commercial,
which is small-scale commercial within a residential area; the current code does not allow at
this time.
o The Planning Commission will consider an all-day work session at the Centreville Wharf
building on May 3, 2025 to work on the TND.
e. Economic Development
• Ms. Kaiser previously discussed CEDA under New Business. The consideration of Ordinance 03-
2025 and a public hearing will be on April 17, 2025.
Reports of Department Heads
a. Town Manager
• Ms. Brinkley stated she had a meeting with the Code Enforcement Officer. Mr. Stagnaro has been
educating and visiting town businesses regarding the sign code and focusing on signs and the plastic
bag ban.
• The Town Staff is attending a two-day training on Public Speaking on April 23rd and 24th.
b. Chief of Police
• Chief Hobbs reported the following:
o Speed Cameras will be going up at Hope Road, 4-H Park Road, and Chesterfield Avenue, and the
location of the 4th speed camera is to be determined.
c. Main Street Manager
• Ms. D’Agostino reported the following:
o Working on re-branding Maryland Makers event that has a new name: Maryland Crafted. This
rebranded event will also have a new VIP experience at the Bull and Goat Brewery.
o Ms. D’Agostino thanked Mr. Beauchamp for his suggestions on expanding the focus of the event.
o The Maryland Crafted event is scheduled for June 7, 2025.
o Shore United Bank is part of the volunteer team.
o Sponsors are already calling to get involved.
o Next week, Ms. D’Agostino will be at a Main Street conference in Philadelphia.
o Next month, Ms. D’Agostino stated she would clean up the current business directory and launch
an on-line business directory.
• Mr. Beauchamp would like to develop a Centreville Business Update as well as a roster of potential
business sites.
• Ms. Huffer asked about the property on the Corner of Commerce St. Ms. D’Agostino informed the
Council that they are still waiting for the architectural drawings.
Citizens Forum
• No citizens comment.
Council Roundtable
• Ms. Kaiser wanted to inform everyone that tomorrow, April 4, 2025 at 4:00 p.m., the Town Council will hold an
emergency meeting at the Centreville Wharf to discuss an ordinance related to emergency search warrants. This
meeting is open to the public in the first-floor meeting room at the Wharf.
Motion to Adjourn
There being no further business, Mr. Beauchamp made a motion to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 8:27
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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R. Gaye Adams
Town Clerk
Council Action Items:
• Approved the March 13, 2025, meeting minutes with amendments.
• Approved the March 20, 2025, budget meeting minutes
• Approved the March 20, 2025 meeting minutes.
• Approved Resolution 04-2025- On-Call Policy.
• Approved the referral of the Resolution 05-2025 to the Planning Commission.
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