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2024-08-01-tc-minutes.pdf

Minutes August 1, 2024 · 4 page(s)

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Town Council of Centreville
August 1, 2024
7:00 p.m.
M I N U T E S
The August 1, 2024, 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; Eric B. Johnson, Jr., Vice President; Jim A.
Beauchamp, Daniel B. Worth, and Jeffrey D. Kiel, Members; Carolyn M. Brinkley, Town Manager;
Sharon VanEmburgh, Town Attorney; Krystel Ebaugh, Human Resources Manager; Chief Robert Hobbs,
Centreville Police Department; and Gaye Adams, Town Clerk.
• Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Mr. Worth made a motion to approve the July 18,
2024, meeting minutes, as presented. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously.
Citizens Comments
No citizens offered comments.
Appearances
a. Heather Tinelli- Queen Annes County Economic & Tourism Development Director
• Ms. Tinelli provided a summary of the Rural Maryland Grant the Town applied for
two years ago. The funding included renovations to the lab building, UV
disinfection, and influent screening.
• The Town was awarded $500,000 for those projects.
• There was a strict deadline for the grant money to be used by June 2024, but due to
the Town’s staff changes and other unforeseen delays the deadline was not met.
• Ms. Tinelli assured the Town that every avenue was explored to save the grant
funding. The County worked with Ms. Brinkley on ways the money could be
utilized as well as the Department of Commerce, Upper Shore Regional Council,
and the County Commissioners.
• The Town was able to get an extension on the funding for the laboratory building,
the extended funds are for a total of $200,000. Ms. Brinkley was able to work with
the Town’s engineer and the Department of Public Works to ensure the new
timeline will be met to spend those funds.
• Ms. Tinelli offered that her office is available for any support the Town may need to
find ways to fund the complete wastewater renovation project.
• Mr. Johnson asked Ms. Tinelli if she foresees any trends with grant funding in the
next five to ten years. Ms. Tinelli feels this will be the last pot of grant funding her
office will manage, but that the Department of Housing and Community
Development (DHCS) receives money earmarked for housing and community
development projects. Due to Centreville’s strong sustainable communities plan Ms.
Tinelli said the Town has been and will continue to be in a perfect position to
continue to take advantage of those funding opportunities.
Old Business
a. Resolution 15-2024 – On Call Policy – Council President
• Resolution 15-2024 was presented for the purpose of adopting an On Call Policy.
Ms. Ebaugh presented an update on the On Call Policy, stating she spoke with the
Town of Centreville’s employment law attorney with LGIT, Kevin Karpinski,
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regarding the update to ensure compliance.
• Mr. Karpinski reviewed the policy and apart from a grammatical change he felt that
the policy was compliant with FLSA.
• Ms. Kaiser would like to see a legal letter of guidance or opinion from Ms.
VanEmburgh.
• Mr. Beauchamp moved to approve Resolution 15-2024- On Call Policy for a trial
60-day period pending legal review and field validation. Mr. Worth seconded the
motion, which passed unanimously.
• Ms. Kaiser called for a Roll Call Vote:
Council Member Yes No Abstain Absent
Council Member Beauchamp X
Vice President Johnson X
President Kaiser X
Council Member Worth X
Council Member Kiel X
Reports of Board and Commissions
a. Maryland Municipal League
• Mr. Beauchamp had nothing to report.
b. Council of Governments
• Mr. Kiel had nothing to report.
c. Park Advisory Board
• Ms. Kaiser stated the next meeting is August 6, 2024.
d. Planning Commission
• Mr. Worth stated the next work session is August 7, 2024.
Reports of Department Heads
a. Town Manager
• Ms. Brinkley reported the following:
o Ms. Brinkley asked the Council to consider holding public hearings for Ordinance
08-2024 Temporary Moratorium and Ordinance 09-2024 Cannabis Provisions
during the September 19, 2024, Town Council Meeting. The Council agreed
unanimously.
o David A. Bramble LLC completed the work on Rt. 213 in front of the Police
Department.
o Monday, August 5, 2024, at 4 p.m. is the deadline to submit paperwork to be
included on the ballot for the upcoming election on October 7, 2024.
o 105 N. Liberty St. building was power washed and looks great. The roof
replacement will begin soon.
o To follow up on the laboratory building renovations per the discussion with Ms.
Tinelli, the engineers and DPW staff have met and are working on those plans to
ensure the deadline of the grant is met.
b. Chief of Police
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• Chief Hobbs reported the following:
o The enforcement activity for June 2024 vs July 2024 was less, however, that does
not mean there were less man hours. The CPD received many incidents that
required investigative work.
o There were some felonious crimes and CPD worked diligently to obtain search
warrants and arrest warrants. Chief Hobbs stated all were executed and served.
• Chief Hobbs clarified the items under the Special Assignments portion of the overview:
o Lexipol Training- The policy software training is underway, and the police
department is already updating policies. Training is going well and is ahead of the 6
month estimate and should complete the training and policy implementation within
4.5 months.
o CPD all hands staff meeting/trainings- Currently meeting 2 times a year to ensure
staff are all on the same page and updated on future CPD plans. The last meeting
was in July and the next meeting will be November or December.
o The social media conference Chief Hobbs attended with Ms. Brinkley was of
significant value and great a training on addressing the public.
o Armor School- sent two officers to learn how to perform maintenance on any of the
weapon’s systems within our agency.
o Symphony Village July 4th parade- Centreville Police attended and it was a
wonderful time.
o Task Force Advisory Meeting-Command Staff met with heads of other local law
enforcement agencies along with the Task Force heads to discuss current trends
with narcotics and issues the Town may be faced with. He stated drug trends are
down in Centreville.
o Field Training Officer School- Officer Ford attended this training which gives him
the ability to field train any of the local certified law enforcement or new recruits.
o Defensive Tactic Training- Lt. Larrimore is one of only twelve in the state of
Maryland certified to conduct that training. Lt. Larrimore goes to the Eastern Shore
Criminal Justice Academy to help train new recruits.
o National Night Out is August 6, from 6-8pm on Lawyers Row.
c. Town Clerk
• Ms. Adams met with the City of Cambridge to discuss their intern program. Specifically, how
they funded and structured the intern program to be compliant within the city. The meeting
was a success, and the Town looks forward to having an intern program ready for the summer
of 2025.
Citizen Comments:
No citizens offered comments.
Council Roundtable
a. Mr. Kiel was in town for the elm tree removal on the courtyard square. He was able to get a piece of
the historic tree and delivered a piece to Mary Margaret Goodwin.
b. Mr. Beauchamp is working with Human Resources and Finance to look at the medical expense
numbers, trying to find out how to achieve an equitable cost for healthcare for lower paid employees.
c. Mr. Worth said one of the items the Town should be working on during the moratorium is the
capacity management plan and sewer allocation policy. Ms. Brinkley agreed and wanted to compare
the Comprehensive Plan suggestions with those policies and then make changes. Mr. Worth is
interested in helping and providing changes. Ms. Brinkley will send those to Mr. Worth. Mr. Worth
also wants to create an Ordinance regarding shoveling snow on residential sidewalks within 24 hours
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of the snow falling. Ms. Brinkley mentioned that at the September 19th meeting, a sidewalk
ordinance will be introduced, and staff will include snow removal as part of this ordinance draft.
d. Mr. Johnson announced to the Town that he will not run for re-election due to health considerations.
Mr. Johnson also wanted the endorsement of the Council to send an email to Director Kip Matthews
of DPW, Gary Phillips of DPW, the organizer of Hometown Hero’s Leah Hall and Chad Baker. The
purpose is to discuss options for the banners. It has been impossible to get a hold of anyone at
Delmarva Power and alternatives for poles needs to be discussed to display the banners.
e. Ms. Kaiser announced that First Friday is the following day, August 2 from 6-8 on Lawyers Row,
weather permitting.
Motion to Adjourn
There being no further business, Mr. Kiel made a motion to adjourn the August 1, 2024 meeting. Mr.
Johnson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gaye Adams
Town Clerk
Council Action Items:
1. Approved the meeting minutes of July 18, 2024.
2. Approved Resolution 15-2024 – On Call Policy with a 60-day trial period.
3. By consensus, agreed to hold public hearings for Ordinance 08-2024 Temporary Moratorium and
Ordinance 09-2024 Cannabis Provisions on September 19, 2024
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