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january 19 2023 town council approved minutes

Minutes January 19, 2023 · 7 page(s)

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Town Council of Centreville
January 19, 2023
7:00 p.m.
M I N U T E S
The January 19, 2023 Town Council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Steven K. Kline at the
Liberty Building located at 107 N. Liberty Street, 2nd floor meeting room. The following members and staff were
present: Steven K. Kline, President; Ashley H. Kaiser, Vice President; Daniel B. Worth and Jim A. Beauchamp,
Members; Charles (Chip) Koogle, Town Manager; Clifford (Kip) Matthews, Director of Public Works; Chief Robert
Hobbs, Centreville Police Department; Krystel Ebaugh, Human Resources Manager; Sharon VanEmburgh, Town
Attorney; Karen Luffman, Finance Officer; Lt. Charles Larrimore, Centreville Police Department; Ashley Russ,
Finance Specialist; Jacki Payne, Administrative Assistant; and Carolyn Brinkley, Town Clerk.
 Following the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence, Mr. Worth made a motion to approve the
January 5, 2023 meeting minutes, as presented. Ms. Kaiser seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously.
Citizens Forum: No citizen comments were offered.
Closed Session Statement
(i) The Town Council met in closed session on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 6:18 p.m. at the Liberty Building, 107
N. Liberty Street, 2nd floor meeting room to consult with counsel in accordance with the Maryland Open Meetings
Act. (ii) Four 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:
 Consult with counsel: discussed a legal matter related to a property located within town limits
Actions: No actions were taken.
The following members and staff were present: Steven K. Kline, President; Ashley H. Kaiser, Vice President; Daniel
B. Worth and Jim A. Beauchamp, Members; Sharon VanEmburgh, Town Attorney; Charles (Chip) Koogle, Town
Manager; and Carolyn Brinkley, Town Clerk.
The meeting adjourned at 6:38 p.m.
Appearances
a. WATEK Engineering Corporation
 Ben Movahed, P.E., BCEE, President and Zoreh Movahed, Ph.D., P.E., Senior Engineer were present
from WATEK Engineering Corporation to make the following presentation:
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Old Business
a. Centreville Police Department Salary Compression – Sponsored by Council Member Johnson
 Ms. Ebaugh presented the following memo:
 Later in the meeting and after additional discussion, Ms. Kaiser made a motion to approve the salary
compression study in the amount of $9,254 be made as indicated in the findings of the Centreville Police
Department sworn employee salary compression study with the expectation to come back to the Town
Council to change the career ladder.
b. Resolution 01-2023 – Charter Amendment – Section 701 – Chief of Police – Sponsored by Council Member
Johnson
 Mr. Kline read Resolution 01-2023 for the purpose of amending the Town Charter to revise the reporting
structure for the Chief of Police.
 Mr. Beauchamp stated that he asked for revised language to be included for consideration to allow the
Chief of Police to report to the Town Manager for administrative matters and the Town Council for law
enforcement matters as opposed to reporting only to the Town Manager.
 Ms. Kaiser stated she was in favor of the 2nd version. Mr. Kline stated he was opposed to the revised
language and indicated if duties are split for the Chief of Police then that position needs to be told
specifically how they report to the Town Council and the Town Manager.
 After additional discussion, by consensus, the Town Council agreed to revert to the original language
proposed for the public hearing and consideration.
c. Resolution 02-2023 – Charter Amendment – Section 702 – Merit System – Council President
 Mr. Kline read Resolution 02-2023 for the purpose of amending the Town Charter to revise the references
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to the State Office and Regulations for the merit system.
 Ms. Ebaugh reported that this resolution is to keep the Town consistent with the language of the State.
d. Resolution 03-2023 – Charter Amendment – Section 703 – Unclassified and Classified Service
 Ms. Kaiser read Resolution 03-2023 for the purpose of amending the Town Charter to revise the
unclassified and classified service for the Town.
 Ms. Ebaugh reported that this resolution codifies what the Town is already doing.
New Business
a. FY2023 Mid-Year Update – Karen Luffman, Finance Officer
 Ms. Luffman presented the following memo:
b. Automatic License Plate Reader System – Council Vice President Kaiser
 Chief Hobbs, Lt. Larrimore, and Sgt. Walter Johnson were present to discuss automatic license plate reader
(ALPR) systems with the Town Council.
 Chief Hobbs stated that he misspoke at the last Town Council meeting indicating that Centreville had
already received a grant for ALPR. He stated that Queen Anne’s County was applying for a grant and
was including the Town as well for the equipment.
 Ms. Kaiser stated her dislike of ALPRs and feels it is a violation of a person’s civil liberties.
 Sgt. Johnson stated that Wes Moore, the then Governor-elect, did a ride along with him to see the system
and allocated additional funds for the program. He also stated that the regulations for the use of ALPRs
were developed with the ACLU.
 Mr. Beauchamp asked if the Town could have its own system. Sgt. Johnson stated that the Town could
however, they would not have the ability to receive data from the State.
 After additional discussion, Mr. Kline stated that he was in favor of the grant to purchase ALPRs.
 Ms. Kaiser stated she was a hard no.
 Mr. Worth stated that he was in favor of the grant.
 Mr. Beauchamp stated he originally was in favor of the grant however, after Ms. Kaiser’s example, is not
in favor.
 It was asked of Sgt. Johnson how many agencies and ALPRs are in Maryland. He reported that currently
there are 603 ALPRs in use in Maryland with 48 law enforcement agencies using them. The number of
agencies will be approximately 57 by the end of the grant cycle.
 It was decided to revisit this topic in two weeks when Mr. Johnson was present.
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c. Rules of Council
 Mr. Worth suggested that Ms. Kaiser and Mr. Kline work on the rules of Council and come back for a
discussion.
 A discussion will take place at the February 2, 2023 Town Council meeting.
Correspondence
 A flyer for If I Was Mayor contest with the Maryland Municipal League was included in the Council’s
packets.
Reports of Boards and Commissions
a. Maryland Municipal League
 Nothing to report.
b. Council of Governments
 Mr. Worth reported that COG met on January 9th with the Town of Centreville hosting. He reported that
QAC Detention Center is looking in to relocating to the Eastern Shore Pre Release building located in
Church Hill. He also reported that the County is beginning discussions on AFPOs (Adequate Public
Facility Ordinance) with municipalities.
c. Park Advisory Board
 Nothing to report.
d. Centreville Planning Commission
 Mr. Kline reported that a public hearing was held the previous night at the Planning Commission meeting
to receive public comment on the Town’s Comprehensive Community Plan. There will be another public
hearing held in February.
 Mr. Kline stated that the Town sent a letter to the Maryland Department of Transportation regarding the
acquisition of the property at the bottom of the hill across from Red Zone. He was told that MDOT
would not sell the property to the Town for $1 however, the Town could apply for Program Open Space
grant money through the Department of Natural Resources.
Reports of Department Heads
a. Town Manager
 Mr. Koogle reported the following:
 A number of requests for bids have been sent to bid:
 Trash contract – currently being worked for a rebid
 Cleaning contract – has been distributed
 Rebid for farm is completed – farm rent was increased to $64,000 per year
 Contractor to run the WWTP
 Maintenance of the water towers
 The Town’s electricity contract runs until July. The cost in the FY2023 budget was $122,000 and
will be increased to $230,000 in the FY2024 budget due to an increase in costs.
 Requested consideration from the Council to look at Town properties to sell that are no longer
needed. Mr. Kline stated that he was in favor of reviewing properties and suggested selling the
Pennsylvania Avenue property. Mr. Beauchamp stated the Pennsylvania Avenue property is an
incredible opportunity to use for economic development.
b. Chief of Police
 Chief Hobbs presented the statistical report for 2022 for the benefit of the Town Council, staff, and
public.
c. Finance Officer
 Ms. Luffman reported on the grant to assist with the repayment of past due water and sewer charges.
She stated this grant does not cover Bay Restoration Fees or trash/recycle fees.
 After some discussion, it was decided to submit for the grant to recapture some of the past due bills.
She stated the Town would need to create payment agreements for Bay Restoration Fees and trash/
recycle fees, and late fees would have to be written off.
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d. Director of Public Works
 Mr. Matthews reported the following:
 December 1st through March 15th the Town cannot discharge to the farm and the pond is
currently at 80% full. Maryland Environmental Service (MES) is working with the Maryland
Department of the Environment (MDE) to evaluate options to discharge the pond back through
the WWTP for stream discharge.
 There was a water leak on Holton Street that was repaired by Town employees.
e. Human Resources Manager
 Nothing to report.
f. Town Clerk
 Nothing to report.
Citizen Comments: No citizen comments were offered.
Council Roundtable
 The Town Council had nothing additional to report.
Motion to Adjourn
There being no further business, Mr. Beauchamp made a motion to adjourn the January 19, 2023 meeting. Ms.
Kaiser seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:59 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn M. Brinkley Town Clerk
Council Action Items:
1. Approved the January 5, 2023 meeting minutes, as presented.
2. Approved the salary compression study in the amount of $9,254 be made as indicated in the findings of the
Centreville Police Department sworn employee salary compression study with the expectation to come back
to the Town Council to change the career ladder.
3. By consensus, approved submitting the grant for the purpose of helping to recapture past due water and
sewer charges for residents.
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