← All documents

town council meeting minutes

Minutes November 5, 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
November 5, 2020
7:00 p.m.
M I N U T E S
The November 5, 2020 Town Council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Timothy E. McCluskey
at the Liberty Building located at 107 N. Liberty Street, 2nd floor meeting room. The following members and staff
were present: Timothy E. McCluskey, President; Steven K. Kline, Vice President; Robert J. Hardy, Jr., Jeffrey D.
Kiel, and Shelby C. Anania, Members; Steve Walls, Town Manager; Chief Joe Saboury, Centreville Police
Department; Clifford Matthews, Director of Public Works; Krystel Ebaugh, Human Resources Manager; and Carolyn
Brinkley, Town Clerk.
 Following the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence, Mr. Kline made a motion to approve the
October 15, 2020 reorganization meeting minutes, as presented. Mr. Kiel seconded the motion, which
passed unanimously.
Citizens Comments
 Elaine Studley, Liberty Street, offered comments.
New Business
a. AmWins – Voluntary Retiree Healthcare Program
 Ms. Ebaugh presented the following memo:
 Mr. Hardy made a motion to approve the Voluntary Retiree Healthcare Program at no cost to the
Town for future retirees when they become Medicare eligible (post-65). Mr. Kline seconded the
motion, which passed unanimously.
b. End of Year Decisions
 Mr. Kline made a motion to approve the following recommendations:
 Full-day of leave for employees on December 24th
 Employee holiday bonus ($100 bonus plus $15 for turkey)
 Employee Christmas breakfast – Friday December 11th at 8:30 a.m. Location TBD
 Cancellation of the December 3, 2020 Town Council meeting
 Ms. Anania seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
2020-11-05-TC Approved Minutes.doc Page 1 of 4

 Mr. Hardy made a motion to approve the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner for Saturday, January 23,
2021 with the location to be determined. Mr. Kiel seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
It was mentioned that Ms. Brinkley poll the volunteers on their level of comfort attending the event.
 There was discussion regarding the bagged parking meters from December 4th through December
25th. Mr. Kline was not in favor of this due to lost revenue during this timeframe. Mr. Hardy stated
he felt it was a spirit of goodwill and a way to show appreciation to the Town’s businesses and
citizens. After further discussion and by consensus, the parking meters will be bagged from Friday,
December 4th through Friday, December 25th.
c. Letter of Support – YMCA State Grant
 Mr. Walls explained that the Queen Anne’s County YMCA submitted a grant request to the State for a
contribution towards the construction of their new building. He stated that three draft support letters are
in the Council’s packet for consideration and are addressed to Governor Hogan, Comptroller Franchot,
and Secretary Brinkley.
 Mr. Kiel made a motion to approve the support letters on behalf of the Queen Anne’s County YMCA.
Mr. Hardy seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
d. Letter of Support/Cash Match – Stories of the Chesapeake
 Ms. Brinkley reported that Paige Tilghman submitted a grant to the Stories of the Chesapeake in the
amount of $2,500. The purpose of the project is to partner with the Maryland Women’s Museum to
develop and print materials to market an exhibit planned for January 15, 2021.
 Mr. Kline noted for the record, the Council has already spent thousands of dollars and reduced revenue
collection of bagging meters, the employee breakfast and bonus, and the volunteer appreciation dinner.
He was not in favor of spending more money on this project.
 Mr. Hardy made a motion to approve the support letter and $1,000 cash match for the Stories of the
Chesapeake grant. Ms. Anania seconded the motion. Mr. McCluskey, Mr. Hardy, Mr. Kiel, and Ms.
Anania voted yea and Mr. Kline voted nay. The motion passed four to one.
e. Discussion of Board/Commission Appointments
 Mr. McCluskey stated that he feels it is incumbent upon the sitting council to recruit members for open
positions on the Town’s boards and commissions. He stated that in the past, the Council has held a
closed session to conduct interviews with applicants and then make a formal vote in open session. He
proposed holding a closed session prior to the November 19th Council meeting. If other applications are
received prior to that meeting, interviews can be scheduled in 15-minute increments.
 Mr. McCluskey stated that he will be creating an ordinance to expand the Board of Supervisors of
Elections from three members to five members and change the date of when their appointments are to be
renewed, from February to April.
 Mr. McCluskey asked Ms. Brinkley to send meeting schedules for each board/commission to the
Council.
f. Tree Lighting Ceremony
 Ms. Anania stated that she wanted to get thoughts from the other Council members regarding holding the
Tree Lighting Ceremony this year.
 By consensus, the Town Council agreed to hold the Tree Lighting Ceremony on Wednesday, December
2nd at 6:00 p.m. and offer hot chocolate and hot apple cider but eliminate the cookies. Ms. Brinkley will
check if the carolers would be willing to attend again this year.
Correspondence
 A request for sponsorship was received from the YMCA for the Y Turkey Trot Charity 5K to be held
November 22 – 28th. Mr. McCluskey reported that included in their packets was a list of donations the
Council has contributed to over the past few years. He stated that there is currently $3,000 in the budget for
donations.
 After some discussion, Mr. Hardy made a motion to donate $250, Building Futures Sponsor, to the Y Turkey
Trot Charity 5K. Mr. Kiel seconded the motion. Mr. McCluskey, Mr. Hardy, Ms. Anania, and Mr. Kiel
voted yea. Mr. Kline voted nay. The motion passed four to one.
 Letters were included in the Council’s packets regarding allocations related to the Symphony Village
Clubhouse. Mr. Walls stated that the Town will be monitoring usage for a longer period of time.
2020-11-05-TC Approved Minutes.doc Page 2 of 4

Reports of Department Heads
a. Town Manager
 Mr. Walls reported the following:
 Continuing to work on the new Councils’ transition
 Queen Anne’s County dredging project began this week and the Town slips are included in this
project
 Contractor at North Brook is continuing to make repairs to the streets which will eventually be
turned over to the Town
 Issued permits to two (2) companies to install fiber in North Brook. They will begin once the Miss
Utility tickets have been cleared and received
b. Chief of Police Report
 Chief Saboury reported the following:
 There were no reported issues on Halloween
 Sgt. Larrimore has been assigned as the agency Parking Enforcement Supervisor and will oversee
maintenance, tickets, and bi-weekly deposits
 Presented the Police Department overview for October 2020
 There was discussion regarding the speed cameras and Mr. Kline stated he would like to see one at
Kennard Elementary School. Mr. McCluskey stated he would like to see one at Wye River Upper
School
 Mr. McCluskey stated that the awards ceremony Chief Saboury presented Monday evening was
great and was happy the officers were recognized
c. Director of Public Works
 Mr. Matthews stated that the Little Free Library has been installed on the left-hand corner of the parking
lot at the Centreville Wharf closest to the playground. He stated books have already been placed inside.
d. Human Resources Manager
 Ms. Ebaugh reported the following:
 There are three (3) officer vacancies in the Police Department
 Working on draft policies for review by the Council
e. Town Clerk
 Ms. Brinkley reported the following:
 Letters were sent to the current boat slip holders informing them of the upcoming dredging and that
boats will need to be removed by November 23rd to allow the contractor to dredge the Town slips
 There has been a boat tied up to the dock illegally and she has the information to contact them to
remove their boat and let the owner know about the $10 per night fee that is required
 There was discussion regarding signs and a payment process for transient boaters. Ms. Brinkley
stated the Town used to have a phone payment processing system in place but was unreliable. She
hopes to have information for the Council’s consideration prior to the spring season
Citizens Forum
 Elaine Studley, Liberty Street, offered comments.
Council Roundtable
 Ms. Anania reported on the following for the Park Advisory Board:
 Approved using $2,500 of the PAB budget to relocate and affix the swing set by the new playground
 Mr. Ryan, member of the PAB, is working with organizations to decorate Christmas trees along
Lawyer’s Row again this year. The theme this year is “Centreville Christmas: Memories or Dreams”
 The PAB discussed comments from former Council Member Jim Beauchamp regarding
encumbering the PAB budget each year for remaining funds. This would allow them the ability to
complete larger projects
 Mr. Kiel stated that he did not have anything to report at this time but is looking forward to serving the
citizens of Centreville.
 Mr. Hardy reported on the following:
 Everyone he has talked to appreciates the work that is being done at the Wharf
2020-11-05-TC Approved Minutes.doc Page 3 of 4

 Residents of the Town would like a rack for kayaks at the Wharf. Mr. McCluskey asked Mr. Hardy
to research the costs of racks and bring back to the Council
 Mr. Kline reported on the following:
 Requested a place on the website be developed for people to request time on the Town Council
agenda
 Discussed the possibility of a communications task force be developed to work with citizens to help
get information out to the public. He stated that he would spearhead this task
 Feels the Council and staff need to look into employee salaries across the board. He feels the Town
needs to be more competitive, especially in the Police Department. He stated that he would
spearhead this task
 The Centreville Economic Development Authority (CEDA) held a work session and there was only
one member of the CEDA in attendance. He felt the attendance of other members needed to be
reviewed based on the attendance policy. CEDA will be coming before the Council to give an
updated on their priorities.
 Mr. McCluskey reported the following:
 Requested each board/commission be placed on the agenda for liaisons to give a report
 He also requested that a member/s from each board attend a Council meeting to give an update on
their board/commission/committee to better inform the new Council of their priorities
 He will be presenting a text amendment to allow museums in the R-2 zoning district. He stated that
the process is the Town Council reviews the ordinance, sends to the Planning Commission for
review and comment, then comes back to the Town Council for a public hearing and consideration
Motion to Adjourn
There being no further business, Mr. Kline made a motion to adjourn the November 5, 2020 Town Council meeting.
Mr. Kiel seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:23 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn M. Brinkley
Town Clerk
Council Action Items:
1. Approved the October 15, 2020 reorganization meeting minutes, as presented.
2. Approved the Voluntary Retiree Healthcare Program at no cost to the Town for future retirees when they
become Medicare eligible (post-65).
3. Approved the following recommendations:
 Full-day of leave for employees on December 24th
 Employee holiday bonus ($100 bonus plus $15 for turkey)
 Employee Christmas breakfast – Friday December 11th at 8:30 a.m. Location TBD
 Cancellation of the December 3, 2020 Town Council meeting.
4. Approved the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner for Saturday, January 23, 2021 with the location to be
determined and solicit feedback on attendance from volunteers.
5. By consensus, the parking meters will be bagged from Friday, December 4th through Friday, December 25th.
6. Approved support letters on behalf of the Queen Anne’s County YMCA to Governor Hogan, Comptroller
Franchot, and Secretary Brinkley.
7. On a 4 to 1 vote, approved a support letter and $1,000 cash match for the Stories of the Chesapeake grant.
8. By consensus, the Town Council agreed to hold the Tree Lighting Ceremony on Wednesday, December 2nd
at 6:00 p.m. and offer hot chocolate and hot apple cider but would forego the cookies.
9. On a 4 to 1 vote, approved a $250 donation, Building Futures Sponsor, to the Y Turkey Trot Charity 5K.
2020-11-05-TC Approved Minutes.doc Page 4 of 4