MAYOR AND COUNCIL
DECEMBER 1, 2014
Mayor Cerino called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. In attendance were Council members Liz Gross, Linda Kuiper, Samuel T. Shoge and Mauritz Stetson, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Jennifer Mulligan, Town Clerk and guests.
Mayor Cerino asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the Mayor and Council meeting of November 17, 2014 or the Executive Session of the same date. Mr. Stetson moved to approve the Mayor and Council meeting minutes of November 17, 2014 and the executive session of the same date as presented, was seconded by Mr. Shoge and carried unanimously.
Mayor Cerino asked for a motion to pay bills. Ms. Gross moved to pay the bills as submitted, was seconded by Ms. Kuiper and carried unanimously.
Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration would be in Town on the following dates in 2015: January 12 and 13; February 9 and 10; March 16 and 17; April 20 and 21; May 11 and 12, and; June 15 and 16.
Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Town was in receipt of a letter from Horizons thanking the Town for a $4,000.00 donation to Horizon’s annual programs.
Mr. Ingersoll stated that a morning meeting had been scheduled with the Department of Housing and Community Development at the Marina for December 11, 2014 followed by a working lunch at the Fish Whistle. A discussion ensued over how many Council members wanted to attend this working meeting. Mayor Cerino and Linda Kuiper planned to attend. Mr. Stetson expressed his desire to attend the meeting. Mr. Ingersoll stated that if there were three (3) or more Council members present, it would be considered a Council meeting and would have to be open to the public. Mayor Cerino stated that he planned to report back to the Council on December 15th.
Mr. Ingersoll stated that if this became a Council meeting rather than a working meeting. Any public attending should understand that they could not participate. He said that he did not know how a meeting would work in a public restaurant. Mr. Ingersoll stated that he would contact the Town Attorney as how to handle the meeting.
Mr. Ingersoll stated that there were four (4) finalists for the Finance Director position that he thought should be interviewed by the Town Council. The Council decided to hold an executive session to interview the four finalists on Wednesday, December 10th beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Mayor Cerino stated that Winterfest Weekend would begin Friday, December 5th and run through Sunday, December 7th. He said that information was on the website and available in Town Hall. There would be a new tradition called the “Community Candle Lighting Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Fountain Park, where a large candle would begin the lighting of a total of 308 candles, each representing a year of Chestertown’s history. The lighting would take place in procession type fashion. Events were planned throughout Town and it was sure to be a fun event for all.
Mayor Cerino stated that the Council received the winner’s list from last year’s holiday decorating contest, noting that the same residence should not win two (2) years in a row. The Council was to report this year’s winners to Ms. Mulligan by Monday, December 29th.
Mayor Cerino stated that the Town of Chestertown submitted a $4,000,000.00 request to the Governor’s Capital Budget for FY2015 for the Marina revitalization. He said that he, along with Mr. Ingersoll and Mr. de Mooy had met with representatives of the Department and Budget Management earlier in the day to discuss the Marina property, noting that it was the first “domino” to fall in the overall waterfront redevelopment. He said that he thought the meeting went well and the Town was on Governor O’Malley’s list of capital projects so it would receive consideration for funding. Mayor Cerino stated that Governor O’Malley would submit his budget to Governor-Elect Hogan on December 9, 2014. He said that there was then a budget transition team in place that would likely make alterations to the budget as they saw fit.
Mayor Cerino stated that contacts for the transition team were Mr. Boyd Rutherford (Lieutenant Governor Elect), Mr. James Brady (former Secretary of DBED) and Robert Neill (budget advisor). He said if anyone in the community had direct ties to any of these individuals it was time for a “full-court press” as to the urgency to fund this project. Mayor Cerino stated that Chestertown would know if it was a part of the upcoming budget on January 23, 2014.
Mayor Cerino stated that Mr. Ingersoll was going to try to set up a meeting with Delegate Jay Jacobs and Senator Steve Hershey to ask for support of the Marina revitalization project. Mayor Cerino said that he intended to approach the Kent County Commissioners to ask for their support.
Mayor Cerino stated that he had asked the Council to fund artist renditions of the Marina. He said that when he was making presentations all that he had to work with was the engineer’s site plan. Mayor Cerino stated that an artist’s rendering would show what the Marina would look like when the project was finished, noting that he worked professionally with Locust Grove out of Kennedyville who did professional, three dimensional digital renderings. He said that the cost would be $4,000.00.
Mayor Cerino stated that if the Council thought the price for the renderings was too high, he would entertain other ideas from them. Ms. Gross stated that she thought the renderings were important. Ms. Kuiper stated that she thought there should be an RFP for the project. Mr. Stetson stated that he thought the money should come out of the donation from Washington College. Ms. Kuiper stated that she did not want to whittle away at the Washington College donation because it was supposed to be used for a Waterway Improvement grant match, but said she would not be against taking funds out of the Marina budget.
Mayor Cerino stated that if he was going to be the person to take time from his full-time job to try to get funding for this project, he wanted the tools that he thought were necessary to get the job done.
Mr. Stetson moved to approve $4,000.00 for three-dimensional drawings of the Marina as per Mayor Cerino’s request from the Washington College donation, was seconded by Ms. Gross and carried with four (4) in favor, Ms. Kuiper opposed.
Ms. Gross stated that the leaves were piling high and said that it should be automatic for the leaf truck to go through the entire Town on a Monday morning. Mr. Ingersoll stated that the street crew worked through the weekend to keep up with leaves put out by property owners. He said that to be sure that leaf pick-ups will occur, residents should call Town Hall to report that they have leaves for pick-up.
Ms. Kuiper stated that there were many activities taking place downtown this coming weekend. She also thanked Chief Baker and the other police officers for their assistance with the Christmas parade last weekend.
Ms. Kuiper stated that Curb Appeal has done a wonderful job with the lights throughout the Downtown. Mayor Cerino stated that Curb Appeal, the Downtown Chestertown Association and the Town staff worked very hard to decorate for the holidays and it was appreciated. Ms. Kuiper stated that many donations were received for holiday decorations this year.
Mr. Shoge stated that he met with the Environmental Committee (former “Green Team”) and said they the Committee had a number of things in motion such as a Tree Canopy project, storm water management improvement in Town and their work with Infinity Recycling. He said that the Committee meets the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Shoge stated that he told them he would be the point person for the Council and said he also let them know about the new website so they could participate.
Ms. Gross asked if there was any further progress on the website. Mr. Shoge stated that Ms. Sullivan was fine-tuning the site and it would be released the first week in January 2015. Mr. Shoge stated that the password that the Council received is still working so they can see any changes as they are made.
Ms. Gross asked if Infinity Recycling had transitioned to dual stream recycling.
Mr. Stetson stated that the day after the last Mayor and Council meeting, the dead trees were all replaced in Margo Bailey Park.
Mr. Stetson stated that he was told that the Acme project would be finishing up around December 15th. Mayor Cerino stated that he has received complaints regarding the current state of the renovation so it would be nice to have the project finished.
There being no further business, Ms. Kuiper moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Shoge and carried unanimously.
Submitted by: Approved by:
Jennifer Mulligan Chris Cerino
Town Clerk Mayor