Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. In attendance were Councilmembers Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., W. Whaland Clark, Mabel Mumford-Pautz and J. Brian Kirby, Police Chief Wayne Bradley, Town Manager W. S. Ingersoll, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the previous meeting. Mr. Bristoll moved that the minutes be approved as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey asked that a moment of silence be observed in memory of Betty Capel, wife of Med Capel, who passed away on February 28, 2000.

Mayor Bailey called on Chief Bradley for the police report. Chief Bradley gave the report for the month of February 2000. Mayor Bailey asked when the Hot Spots patrols would start. Chief Bradley said they will be having a meeting on Wednesday and they will discuss when those patrols will start. He said probably next month depending on the weather.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were questions for Chief Bradley. Mr. Kirby said he had a letter from a citizen about running radar on Rt. 291 at Todd's Body Shop. He asked if the Chief had received requests about the problems down there. Chief Bradley so no one has called him. He said he saw the letter in the newspaper about this. He said the problem was that coming in Town you do not hit the Town limits until after Todd's. Mr. Kirby said the complaint he got concerned the school bus stop at Chestertown Landing which was in Town limits, however, the other side of the road was not. He said everyone slows down when you set up radar. He said there were near misses when people do not stop for school buses and the kids are right on the road. He asked if there could be some regular radar enforcement a couple of mornings a week.

Chief Bradley said they were told not to run the radar there as it was right at the Town limits and right at the change of the speed limits. Mayor Bailey said the police were told not to have radar there, but if there are children in jeopardy, we can certainly run the radar there.

Ms. Colleen Perry asked why they were told not to have radar there. She said she had not seen Town Police radar there from September to date. Mayor Bailey said the police department was told not to do radar and speeding. Mr. Ingersoll said Ms. Perry's letter in the paper said the Town had never had radar there. He said they had been there quite a bit over the years. He said the real problem sounded like people breaking the law by passing school buses that are stopped. Ms. Perry said there is a problem with the speed limit coming into Town and maybe that should be changed. She said there are no signs indicating that there are three school bus stops on Rt. 291. Mr. Ingersoll said the solution was that school buses should go into Chestertown Landing and load and unload there. He said the Planning Commission addressed that and the interior roads were designed so that the school buses could go into the project. Ms. Perry said she had talked to the Board of Education Transportation Department and they said they had not done it this year because of the construction. They said they will look into this. She said the construction was clearly back beyond the bus turn around on the road. She asked that there be some signage to indicate that there are school bus stops on that road.

Mr. Ingersoll said the Town should write a letter to the Board of Education requesting that the buses pick up the children in Chestertown Landing. Mayor Bailey asked the Police Chief to get someone out there immediately to work on this and we will write to the Board of Education and the State Highway Administration.

Chief Bradley said he had written a memo to the Mayor and Council on February 29, 2000 in reference to purchasing a second K-9 dog for the Department. He said the dog could be purchased with money seized in drug cases. He said the dog can be acquired from Castle Canine where both Indy and Dingo were purchased. Mayor Bailey asked for comments.

Mr. Kirby said that in two years when there were two dogs working, they went from a high of 70+ arrests in 1997 down to 50+ in 1998 down to 40+ in 1999. He asked what value there was to having two dogs. Chief Bradley said possibly people knew that we had two dogs and cars can be scanned and were not coming into town. He said the dogs are an excellent deterrent. He said the two dogs have more than paid for themselves and you cannot work a dog everyday so there was a need for the second dog. Mr. Kirby asked if there was an alternative to buying a dog, to get a dog donated or for someone to have their own dog and have it trained. Chief Bradley said they have gone both routes in the past. He said a trained dog cost $6000 with a guarantee that the dog would pass training 100% and if the dog dies within one year it would be replaced. He said Tom Alexander's dog (Buck) was free (it was Alexander dog) and they figured all the training costs came to $6740. He said not every dog can be successfully trained.

Mr. Kirby read from a document put out by the Chief Counsel of the Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration, a guide to canine interdiction regarding acquisition of K-9 dogs and training. Their recommendation was that a dog be trained with the handler rather than purchasing a pre-trained dog. They also recommended that the trained canine team should be certified by an organization that has no financial interest in the training process. They further recommended that continuing recertification be done by an agency that has no financial interest. Mr. Kirby said he was not disputing whether or not the Town needed a second K-9. He said they already had a patrol dog that could bite and track and asked how many times they had used a dog in an aggressive situation. He said the majority of drug arrests are made by one or two people. He said in 1998 there were 56 drug arrests and Sgt. Wode made 24; in 1999 there were 44 arrests and Wode made 27 and that was 50% of the arrests and he was not a K-9 man. He asked how many were a direct results of K-9 scans. Chief Bradley said he could not state those figures but could research them.

Mr. Kirby said he was disputing the need to spend $7000 on a second dog. He said when you buy a dog the seller will certify that the dog can do the job since that person was profiting from selling the dog. Chief Bradley said Castle has been in this business for 25 years and the Town had success with two dogs from them. Mr. Kirby said there had been several meetings dealing with training, documentation of training, lack of training and lack of documentation.

Mayor Bailey said that the question before the Council was whether the Town proceeds with purchasing a K-9 dog from Castle Canine with the seized money. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she would like to go ahead with getting another K-9 dog. She said she felt that the procedure for training of the K-9 dogs was resolved in previous meetings. She said she would not dispute what Mr. Kirby had said about training and she would like the procedure for how the dog would be purchased and trained worked out at another meeting. Mayor Bailey said the Council should decide whether to purchase the dog from Castle or go through getting the dog elsewhere and getting it trained.

Mr. Bristoll said he understood that the dogs are somewhat trained when they are purchased and were finished off when the dog and handler were trained together. He said that was the process used before. Chief Bradley said that was correct. He said the difference in hours of training was a little over 100. He said the continuing training would take place in Maryland. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she felt that was in contradiction to the Fall meetings and decision of the Council regarding training. Mr. Bristoll asked if delaying the vote until the meeting next Monday so that the Council could review their decisions on training would cause a problem.

Officer John Beville said you can purchase a dog imported, not fully trained, for $3800. However they would have to go to a class in Baltimore County (which already has a class underway) or trained in Ocean City where the retraining would be done. He said that class started last week but they could get in it. He said the training would be 10 weeks. Chief Bradley said they would lose an officer for the 10 weeks of training. He said the next 3 week class will begin on April 17. Mr. Bristoll said the difference was 3 weeks of training vs. 10 weeks. Mr. Kirby said when you finish that you would still have to go through training in Maryland. Chief Bradley said you do not have to have Maryland training. Mr. Kirby disagreed and said there was case law on it.

Mayor Bailey said the question was whether a trained dog was purchased and an officer would need 3 weeks of training or, an untrained dog was purchased and an officer would need 10 weeks of training. She said her understanding was that it would be fall before we could get into a class with an untrained dog. She said we were going into the warm weather when the dog was needed. Mr. Clark asked what the deadline was go getting a dog to get into the 3 week class. Chief Bradley said he was certain of the date that Castle would have to be notified. He said he would have to check with them.

Mr. Kirby said as a point of order, it was his understanding that according to the Charter any purchase over $3,000 should be bid and there were more places than one to buy a dog. Mr. Ingersoll said that was the requirement on something that could be bid. He said he did not know that you could bid for a dog. He said there were many things in the past that were unique items and the Council did not bid on a particular item. Mr. Kirby said there had not been a situation since he was on the Council where we did not bid. Mr. Ingersoll said there had been several instances in recent years where things have been purchased that we could not bid. Mr. Kirby said if it was a routine practice that was violating the Charter.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the Town get a second K-9 dog and was seconded by Mr. Bristoll. The vote was carried by unanimous vote.

Mayor Bailey asked if there was a motion to purchase the dog from Castle Canine as stated in Chief Bradley's letter. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that another meeting be held to give Mr. Ingersoll a chance to review previous minutes on the training and police issues. Mr. Bristoll said he did not think the answers could be gotten in 24 hours and that they should study the whole issue. He said the Town could do without a dog for another three months.

Chief Bradley discussed the success of the former dogs. He said the current dog was now in its fourth training for drugs. He said a new dog would be purchased with funds seized in drug arrests, not from taxpayers' money. The 3 weeks training costs, meals and travel would also be paid for by the seized money. Mr. Kirby pointed out that time spent training, training costs, traveling for training, upkeep of the dog, and an additional K-9 car did amount to costs to the taxpayers. He asked that he be shown on paper how successful the dogs had been and what the alternative costs would be for a donated dog and its training.

Officer Wode stated that the dogs were not just used for drugs. He said the Sheriff's Department, Queen Anne's, and the State Police also use the Town's dogs for drugs and tracking. He said the Hot Spots patrols will be starting and if we get the dog on the streets we will have it in the Hot Spots area. He said the sooner we have the dog, the sooner it was on the streets and that was priceless. Mr. Kirby said quickest and cheapest was not always the best. Mayor Bailey asked the Council members if they would be available on Wednesday at 5 p.m. for a special meeting. Since everyone could attend, the special meeting was set for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, 2000. The meeting would be open to the public.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said there had been meetings about coordinated ordinances between the town and asked whether Chief Bradley or Mr. Ingersoll had attended. Chief Bradley said he had not been advised of the meetings. Mr. Ingersoll said there had been one in January but he had not been advised of any further meetings. He said he will call Harry Pisapia and find out about the next meeting.

Mayor Bailey called on the Town Manager for his report. Mr. Ingersoll reported that we had applied for funds from FEMA for damage from hurricane Floyd. He said we received a total of $19,726.00, $12,899 to the Utilities Commission and $6800 to the Streets. He said he had a call from FEMA about the snow storm, but he was not sure that snow removal funds were available but he would check on this.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Town has as request from Cellular One to use 12' x 20' of ground space under the cell tower and to place a dish on the tower. They would pay $6,000 a year with a 4% increase annually. He said the terms are similar to the other contracts except that the yearly increase is 1% higher. He recommended that the Town sign a contract under these terms. He said that would mean three large companies would all be in one place rather than separate towers all over. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the Town enter into the contract with Cellular One as discussed and was seconded by Mr. Clark. Mr. Bristoll asked how many of these buildings would be there. Mr. Ingersoll said this third one was probably the last one as all the useable space would have been used. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Mr. Ingersoll said we got the Hot Spot grant for cleanup of building and hazardous materials in the Hot Spot area. He said the ramshackle sheds and buildings are hiding places for people. He said we will be asking people if we can help remove such falling down accessory buildings. He said the grant was for the tipping fees for the building materials and the Town will supply the manpower to crush the buildings and haul the materials. He said the grant also applies to hazardous conditions. He said last week with the cooperation of the County, we picked up 160 tires under a tire recycling fund. He said so far we have had a lot of cooperation in the neighborhood. He said anyone in the Hot Spot area who would like to participate should contact him

Mr. Ingersoll said he would like to thank additional donors to the waterfront promenade. Those donors are Paul Hensley, Nancy Morris, Anne Vansant, Betty Thibodeau, Chestertown Wildlife Exhibit and Sale and the Charrette. He said the project was done but he wanted to acknowledge these donations.

Mayor Bailey asked for an executive session on a contractual matter following the meeting. Mr. Bristoll moved that an executive session be held pursuant to Sec. 10-508 of the Annotated Code of Maryland, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried by unanimous vote.

Mayor Bailey said the Council had discussed forming a committee to study a location for the bandstand to be donated by the Rotary Club. She named the following people for the committee: Marge Fallaw, Mark Mumford, Davy McCall and Bob Tyson from the Historic District Commission, Ken Noble and Marsha Fritz from the Planning Commission, and Lorraine Martin from the Chestertown Garden Club. She asked for a motion to approve the committee members. Mr. Bristoll moved that the committee be appointed as named was seconded by Mr. Clark. Mr. Bristoll asked if a period of time should be specified when the committee should submit their report, possibly 3 months. Mayor Bailey said she thought 3 months was sufficient. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Mayor Bailey said she had a request from Candy Sorge for a letter of support for the Kent County Public Schools' grant for after-school programs. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the Mayor and Council write a letter of support for this grant, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey said the Sultana group has asked for a letter of support for their bond bill for $200,000 to complete the construction of the ship. Mr. Clark moved that a letter of support be sent, was seconded by Mr. Kirby and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey announced that the COG meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 15, 2000 at 12 noon at the Old Wharf. She said Mrs. Mumford-Pautz will attend in her place.

Mayor Bailey read a notice of a liquor license hearing for Neal Almen representing Mandolin LLC for a beer, wine and liquor license. The location will be Peppercorn Bistro and Spirits at 315 High Street, formerly Copperfield's in the back of the building. There were no comments.

Mayor Bailey reminded the Council of the meetings on the Kent County Land Use Ordinance on March 22 at 7 p.m., and March 23 from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at the Commissioner's Hearing Room.

Mayor Bailey announced that Chestertown has been named a Tree City USA for the 19th year. Arbor Day will be celebrated in April.

Mayor Bailey said the MML has sent a nomination form for the Board of Directors of the MML. Anyone interested in running or making nominations should let the Mayor know and we will send them in by May 15, 2000.

Mayor Bailey said we have a request from the Kids Town USA safety coalition for funding for their summer program. She said it was a County activity at Worton. She said the Town has not supported this program in the past since it was not a Town activity. The Council agreed.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked about the progress on 600 High Street. Mr. Ingersoll said the funds have been released for the purchase of the property and settlement will take place on March 31. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked that after the buildings are demolished that the site be completely fenced. She said there will be quite an impact on the area during the transition. She said with summer coming if the property was vacant, she would request that it be fenced as soon as the buildings are removed. Mr. Ingersoll said he was call the SOS executive board and find out what their intentions are.

Mayor Bailey asked the Council to review the bills. Mr. Bristoll moved that the bills be paid as presented, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mr. Bristoll moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:45 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Submitted by:
Joan Merryman
Stenographer

Approved by:
Margo G. Bailey
Mayor