← All documents

town council reorganization meeting minutes

Minutes October 15, 2020 · 4 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
Reorganizational Meeting
October 15, 2020
7:00 p.m.
M I N U T E S
The October 15, 2020 Town Council Reorganizational Meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by
Council President Jeffrey C. Morgan at the Queen Anne’s County Office Building, 110 Vincit Street,
Planning and Zoning meeting room. The following members and staff were present: Jeffrey C. Morgan,
President, via telephone; Timothy E. McCluskey, Vice President; Robert R. Hardy, Jr., Member-elect;
Steven K. Kline, Member-elect; Jeffrey D. Kiel, Member-elect; Shelby Brown, Member-elect; Steve
Walls, Town Manager; Sharon VanEmburgh, Town Attorney, Clifford (Kip) Matthews, Director of
Public Works; Chief Joe Saboury, Centreville Police Department, Karen Luffman, Finance Officer;
Krystel Ebaugh, Human Resources Manager; and Carolyn Brinkley, Town Clerk.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence, Mr. McCluskey made a motion to approve
the October 1, 2020 minutes, as presented. Mr. Morgan seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Citizens Forum
No citizen’s comments.
Report of the Board of Supervisors of Elections
Ms. Brinkley read the October 5, 2020 Certification of the Board of Supervisors of Elections, confirming
the election of Robert R. Hardy, Jr. and Steven K. Kline for three-year terms to the Town Council and
Jeffrey D. Kiel and Shelby Brown for two-year terms to the Town Council.
Mr. Morgan thanked the members of the Board of Elections, Jim Watson, Chair; John Beskid, Vice Chair;
and Nancy Weibell, Member for their service.
Mr. McCluskey offered the following comments:
Before we move on with the business of the evening, on behalf of the Town of Centreville, I want to
present our outgoing, retiring Council President Jeff Morgan with a gift. This gift serves 2 purposes, it
will symbolically open any door in Centreville, and it will actually open any bottle of beer, so if you
see Jeff coming with this key in his hand, you should have a six pack on you.
A little history of Jeff’s time on the Council.
 Jeff was elected in April 2017. In 2018, Jeff was elected Council Vice President, and in 2020,
he was elected Council President.
 He got right to work in the middle of our budget cycle. Acknowledging the awkwardness of
that, he came up with the idea to move the election outside of the middle of the budget cycle,
thereby enabling new council members to come up to speed before having to decide on the
most consequential of council decisions. This will certainly be helpful in the upcoming budget
cycle.
 Since 2017, the town has received or been approved for over $500,000 in grants to improve the
wharf park.
 Jeff was instrumental in creating and funding the budget line item for the Sidewalk and Trail
fund, which will continue to improve the pedestrian and bicycle paths throughout town for
generations to come.
2020-10-15-TC Approved Reorg Minutes.doc Page 1 of 4

 Jeff was involved with hiring 2 police chiefs, Ken Rhodes who recently retired, and Joe
Saboury our current chief as well as our current Finance officer, Karen Luffman.
 Jeff helped to negotiate and approve the Cable Franchise agreement with Atlantic Broadband.
 Jeff supported the special election vote to allow the investment fund to be spent to finance the
liberty/commerce infrastructure project.
 Jeff worked to lower the municipal property tax rate and increase the county tax differential,
thereby reducing the property tax burden throughout Centreville.
 Jeff worked to increase the procurement policy limit from $5k to $10k enabling our
administration to more efficiently respond to purchasing demands.
 Jeff was instrumental in approving the transfer of low-interest bearing savings into high-
interest bearing savings, thereby producing considerable non-tax revenues for the general fund.
 Street improvements that were made under his watch include:
 Happy Lady Lane, Church Lane, Pennsylvania Ave and Kidwell Ave final paving and last but
certainly not least, Liberty & Commerce 100-year-old infrastructure replacement, the largest
infrastructure replacement project the town has undertaken in recent history.
 Growth happened under Jeff’s tenure as well, including 355 approved building permits and
255 approved occupancy permits
 In addition, during Jeff’s tenure, the Council passed 32 ordinances, including 4 annual budgets.
 Since 2017, the Council passed 34 Resolutions, including 15 charter amendments.
 Jeff conceived what would become last year’s Downtown Appreciation Day special event
presented on Small Business Saturday called Barksgiving. The shopping promotion included
14 participating merchants, a Passport, demonstrations on the courthouse lawn and Centreville
Barksgiving Bucks.
QUOTE: In local government, it's very clear to your customers - your citizens - whether or not you're
delivering. Either that pothole gets filled in, or it doesn't. The results are very much on display, and
that creates a very healthy pressure to innovate. Pete Buttigieg
I believe that Jeff has produced results and he has presented innovative ideas to improve local
government. Thank you, Jeff.
No elected official will ever accomplish everything they set out to, but Jeff can be proud of what he
has accomplished on behalf of the Citizens of the town of Centreville.
As we move on to the portion of the night which includes seating of the new council members, we
demonstrate the ideals of the American experiment, the peaceful transition of power and we reflect that
in America, governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed. I believe that the
Citizens of Centreville will be served well by this incoming group of leaders and I look forward to
working with them to that end.
Jeff, best of luck in your future endeavors.
Swearing In of New Town Council Members
Ms. Katherine Hager, Clerk of the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County, administered the oath of
office for Robert J. Hardy, Jr., Steven K. Kline, Jeffrey D. Kiel, and Shelby Brown as Centreville Town
Council Members.
Certification of Oath Administration
Ms. Brinkley read the certification of Oath Administration for Robert J. Hardy, Jr., Steven K. Kline,
Jeffrey D. Kiel, and Shelby Brown, as administered by Katherine Hager, Clerk of the Circuit Court.
2020-10-15-TC Approved Reorg Minutes.doc Page 2 of 4

Seating of New Council Member
Robert J. Hardy, Jr., Steven K. Kline, Jeffrey D. Kiel, and Shelby Brown were seated as Council
members. They said a word of thanks to family, friends, and citizens.
Mr. McCluskey welcomed the new members to the Town Council and looked forward to working with
each of them.
Election of the Council President 2020-2021
Ms. Brown made a motion that Timothy E. McCluskey be elected President of the Town Council, 2020-
2021. Mr. Kiel seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Mr. McCluskey thanked his fellow council members for their support and confidence.
Election of the Council Vice President for 2020-2021
Mr. Kiel made a motion to elect Steven K. Kline as Vice President of the Town Council, 2020-2021. Ms.
Brown seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Council Appointments
 Mr. Kline made a motion to appoint Sharon VanEmburgh as Centreville Town Attorney for 2020-
2021. Mr. Kiel seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
 Mr. Hardy made a motion to appoint Karen Luffman as Finance Officer for 2020-2021. Ms.
Brown seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
President’s Appointments
Mr. McCluskey appointed himself as Town Council liaison to the Centreville Planning Commission. Mr.
McCluskey appointed Ms. Brown as Town Council liaison to the Park Advisory Board. Mr. McCluskey
appointed Mr. Kline as Town Council liaison to the Centreville Economic Development Authority. Mr.
McCluskey appointed Mr. Kiel as the Town Council liaison and voting member of the Queen Anne’s
County Council of Governments.
Citizens Comments
No citizen’s comments.
Motion to Adjourn
Mr. Kline made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Kiel seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The
meeting adjourned at 7:24 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carolyn M. Brinkley
Town Clerk
2020-10-15-TC Approved Reorg Minutes.doc Page 3 of 4

Council Action Items:
1. Elected Timothy E. McCluskey as President for 2020-2021.
2. Elected Steven K. Kline as Vice President for 2020-2021.
3. Appointed Sharon VanEmburgh as Town Attorney for 2020-2021.
4. Appointed Karen Luffman as Finance Officer for 2020-2021.
5. Appointed Timothy E. McCluskey as Town Council liaison to the Planning Commission.
6. Appointed Shelby Brown as Town Council liaison to the Park Advisory Board.
7. Appointed Steven K. Kline as Town Council liaison to the Centreville Economic Development
Authority.
8. Appointed Jeffrey D. Kiel to serve as the Town Council liaison and voting member of the Queen
Anne’s County Council of Governments.
2020-10-15-TC Approved Reorg Minutes.doc Page 4 of 4