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march 17 2023 town council approved minutes

Minutes March 2, 2023 · 3 page(s)

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Town Council of Centreville
March 2, 2023
7:00 p.m.
M I N U T E S
The March 2, 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; Chief Robert Hobbs, Centreville Police Department; Krystel
Ebaugh, Human Resources Manager; Sharon VanEmburgh, Town Attorney; Karen Luffman, Finance Officer; and
Carolyn Brinkley, Town Clerk.
 Following the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence, Mr. Worth made a motion to approve the
February 16, 2023 meeting minutes, as presented. Ms. Kaiser seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously.
Citizens Forum
Theo Reed, Little Kidwell Avenue, discussed the speeding and running of stop signs in Providence Farm; and
Brandon Bonner, Green Street, discussed speeding in Providence Farm.
Old Business
a. Rules of Council – Sponsored by Council President
 Mr. Kline read the Rules of Council and stated that the Town Council is trying to streamline meetings.
 Mr. Worth discussed public comments and stated that public comments received prior to the meeting
should be announced. Mr. Kline stated that written correspondence for public hearings will be batched
based on being for or against a public hearing subject.
 The agenda will continue to have two (2) comment periods.
 Mr. Worth will update and re-distribute the Rules of Council for consideration.
b. Speed Study
 Chief Hobbs presented a speed study that took place over the previous 9 days from the speed trailer on
Little Kidwell Avenue.
 Chief Hobbs reported that currently, 3,888 vehicles had traveled on Little Kidwell Avenue over the
previous 9 days with an average speed of 19.5 mph.
 There was discussion regarding the installation of a speed hump. By consensus, the Town Council
agreed to install speed humps on Little Kidwell Avenue.
New Business
a. Code Enforcement – Sponsored by Council Vice President Kaiser
 Ms. Kaiser stated that she requested this be placed on the agenda for discussion and reported that 124
hours of code enforcement has taken place and no fines have been collected, no cases have been closed,
and there has not been an effective use of the code enforcement officer.
 Ms. Kaiser stated that issues are not being enforced and the process needs to be sped up to put a fine
schedule in place.
 Mr. Kline asked what the most frequent code violation is. Mr. Koogle stated it is dependent on the time
of year.
 Mr. Koogle stated that he is currently working on a fine schedule with the Town Attorney for the
Council’s consideration. The Town Code is very vague when identifying fines and leaves room for
inconsistencies.
Reports of Boards and Commissions
a. Maryland Municipal League
 Mr. Beauchamp stated the summer conference is currently open for registration.
 A law passed, that is not in effect yet, eliminating the need to advertise for the Constant Yield Tax Rate.
b. Council of Governments
 Mr. Worth stated COG meets on March 8th to discuss tax set-off. The meeting will be held at Mamma
Mia’s in Centreville and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
2023-03-02-TC-Approved-Minutes

c. Park Advisory Board
 Ms. Kaiser reported that the Park Advisory Board meets on Wednesday, March 7th.
d. Centreville Planning Commission
 Mr. Kline reported that the Planning Commission met the previous night for a work session on the
Community Plan. Two (2) public hearings have been held on the Community Plan.
Reports of Department Heads
a. Town Manager
 Mr. Koogle reported the following:
 Working on the budget which is currently in the red for FY2024. He will be proposing a plan to
attack the debt which will put funds from debt service back into operations.
 Federal Earmark applications are due. The Senate side is completed and the House side is due by
March 10th. The needs were broken down by streets and then by water/wastewater to apply for
separate funding.
 The right-of-entry has been completed and submitted for farm testing. The Town is waiting to hear
back from the farmer.
 Meeting the following day with Todd Mohn, QAC Administrator, to discuss the use of Bloomfield
Farm as a potential spray field.
 Ms. VanEmburgh is working on changes to the code related to code enforcement. In addition,
amendments are being written for penalty sections and removing “Town Commissioners” and all
references to Article 23A.
 A draft copy of the Personnel Manual will be distributed to the Town Council for review. A
resolution will be presented as well as a method for amending the manual in the future.
 Continue to work on quotes for electricity.
 Discussed updates to the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) with Whitman Requardt and
Associates (WRA). The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has been engaged
several times over the last few weeks. The Town was finally able to uncouple the plant and field so
that options for the plant could be proffered independent of obtaining a field. This will get the Town
into planning and design for the plant.
 Spoke with the Fire Marshal and Taco Bell is required to place a fire hydrant at Rt. 213 and Laser
Drive. The desired location is outside the easement.
 The Town was only able to install one fire hydrant versus two that was originally budgeted due to
the increase in cost. The updated cost will double in next year’s budget, absent assisting a lower
replacement based on the condition.
 As part of the inflow and infiltration (I&I) study, a smoke test will take place on 4-H Park Road.
Fliers will be delivered to residents this will affect.
 Meeting the following week with Delegate Chang, Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee.
Citizen Comments:
Theo Reed, Little Kidwell Avenue, offered comments.
Council Roundtable
 Mr. Beauchamp thanked the citizens attending for bringing up the traffic issues in Providence Farm. He
stated his disappointment in the Community Plan and its lack of addressing economic development and the
utilization of businesses.
 Mr. Worth had nothing to report.
 Ms. Kaiser stated, with regards to the Federal Earmark funding, that when seeking funding, it should be
brought up and given consent by the Town Council prior to applying for funding. All grants are coming to
the Town Council for review on the consent agenda.
 Mr. Kline reported that he is working with Ms. Kaiser on a plastic bag ban in Centreville.
Motion to Adjourn
There being no further business, Ms. Kaiser made a motion to adjourn the March 2, 2023 meeting. Mr. Beauchamp
seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:54 p.m.
2023-03-02-TC-Approved-Minutes

Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn M. Brinkley Town Clerk
Council Action Items:
1. Approved the February 16, 2023 meeting minutes, as presented.
2023-03-02-TC-Approved-Minutes