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, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Pat Diver, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the meetings of March 13 and 20, 2000, Special Meeting of March 15, 2000, and Executive Session of March 13, 2000. Mr. Bristoll moved that the minutes of those meetings be approved as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey stated that an executive session was held on Monday, March 13, 2000 at 8:47 p.m. pursuant to Sec. 10-508 of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The entire Mayor and Council was present and voted unanimously to go into executive session. The meeting was called to discuss a contractual matter and action taken by the Mayor and Council was by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 9:04 p.m. Minutes were taken and are part of the record.

Mayor Bailey called on the Police Chief for the police report. Chief Bradley gave the report for the month of March 2000. He announced that on Friday, April 14, 2000 the Neighborhood Walk will begin at 6 p.m. from 506 Calvert Street. He said different groups will walk throughout the Hot Spot area. He said they will probably ride out to Brookmeadow Apartments and back. He stated that the Hot Spot patrols have started. He said on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in addition to the Town officers patrolling the area, the State and County will also be patrolling the Hot Spot area. He said there are two officers who will do bike patrols this year, Brian Redman and Jason Yannikis.

Chief Bradley said in order to deter some of the problems he would like to take one car and remove the markings. He said there would still be equipment inside and lights inside, but no exterior markings. He said it would be more effective particularly at night. Mayor Bailey asked if there was any discussion. Mr. Clark asked how many vehicles they had and how many were marked. Chief Bradley said they now have 5 marked cars. Mr. Bristoll said they had gone through this a couple of years ago and decided to try without having unmarked cars. He said this was the kind of decision that the Chief might feel was micromanagement if the Council tells the Chief how to run his department. Mayor Bailey asked for any other comments. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she would leave it to the Chief and his officers to make the decision. Mayor Bailey told Chief Bradley to do what he felt was best.

Mayor Bailey called on Ken Noble, Chairman of the Chestertown Planning Commission, for a report on the Kent County Land Use Plan. Mr. Noble presented an executive summary of the County Land Use Plan. He said in the past there had been a "Zoning Ordinance" but the County had included in their new plan several ordinances that are part of the review process. He said the end of the review period was Monday, April 10, 2000. He said the Planning Commission had reviewed and discussed the plan. He said the Town was working on its own comprehensive plan and will mention in our plan what has been done with the County. Mr. Noble passed out some maps. He said one of the biggest issues discussed in the earlier joint Planning Commission task force with the County was what the zoning should be at the juncture of a bypass and Rt. 213 near Hopewell corner and whether that would contribute to sprawl. He said there are questions about the definition of sprawl. He said the bypass has been removed from the State wide transportation plan. He said the recommendation from the Planning Commission would be a letter from the Mayor and Council to the County stating that the Council had reviewed the proposed zoning in the area of a potential bypass and it appears to us that it would not result in sprawl. He said that was an area could potentially be annexed into the Town and hooked up to water and sewer.

Mr. Noble discussed Agricultural Preservation areas and the Transfer Development Rights process. He said Chestertown could have no receiving areas inside of its current jurisdictional boundary. He said that was a process where an agriculturally zoned area can sell the development rights to that farm rather than split a farm into smaller units. He said if the marketing was there and someone wanted to buy those rights and increase their development capacity on a different piece of land, they could then do that. He said in the County plan they have identified 7 types of zoning which could potentially be receiving areas for the development rights. He said out on John Hanson Road both sides the zoning would be R-C (resource conservation). He said on a 300 acre parcel with the transfer development rights you could go from a density of 1 in 30 to 1 in 5 so you could potentially get 60 units clustered on 300 acres. He said Intense Village could have a mixed use with more intense use. He said the questions arise on where and how the County would come to an agreement on annexations. He said the Town does not permit water and sewer services to be extended unless property was annexed into the Town. He said the County could possibly refuse to allow annexation unless transfer rights were accepted by the Town. He said his understanding was what the Town has enough water and sewer capacity to handle anything within our immediate perimeter. Mr. Noble said the County's efforts with TDR's was to save farm land.

Mr. Noble said it was important for the Mayor and Council to send a letter to the County stating that the Land Use Plan had been reviewed and that the zoning changes being made would not contribute to the sprawl problem in the direction of Hopewell Corner because of the mixed use zoning being proposed. He said the Planning Commission will review a draft comprehensive plan that will again mention a Chester River bypass. He said unless the Town has the ducks in a row and discussed it with the adjoining jurisdiction the State may not accept the argument to reinstate the bypass on Rt. 213. He said he understands that the State Transportation Department has the ability to do computer modeling on a 10% traffic growth on a major state thoroughfare and what would be the effect of a bypass. He said the Planning Commission has tried recently with projects being done at or in the shopping centers to tie those areas together. He said that future development from the existing shopping centers out to the end of a bypass should be planned with internal sidewalk and connections as an extension of the traditional town grid.

Mr. Ingersoll said the Charter was changed back to the original language which stated that the Town would not allow extension of water and sewer without annexation. He said TDR clustering of housing would not work without water and sewer because of the denser soil types that surround Chestertown. He said TDR's are so complex that they are only understood by developers and developers do not always have the purest of motives. He said if the Town annexes property using R-4 and R-5 zoning the higher densities are already there. He said we should be anticipating that property would be taken in at R-4 or R-5 and added to the city rather than adding already built larger suburban-type houses.

Mayor Bailey asked if the Council agreed that a letter to the County should be sent stating we do not see a problem with the County's proposed Land Use Plan and that the zoning between the Town boundary and Hopewell corner would not be extended as sprawl. Mr. Noble said the Town needs to get on record to the County Commissioners that they need to get this to the Growth Commission. He said there was a green belt of agricultural zoning out a little farther around the Town. Mr. Clark moved that the Town write a letter to Kent County with a copy to the Growth Commission stating that in the Town's opinion the County's Land Use Plan does not contribute to sprawl outside the community and was seconded by Mr. Bristoll. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked if the Town was going in the direction of having the bypass in the future or how far they should go in planning around it. Mr. Noble said the Planning Commission was working under a Town comprehensive plan that mentions the bypass as does the County plan. He said the Mayor and Council makes the laws and adopts the comprehensive plan. He said if the bypass was taken out of our plan he would hope the Department of Transportation would give us some help with major problems, traffic and parking. Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Noble to give us some written on notes on this and she asked for the vote. The vote was unanimous in favor.

Mayor Bailey called on the Town Manager for his report. Mr. Ingersoll said that Arbor Day will be on April 25, 2000. He asked the Mayor to read the Arbor Day Proclamation. Mr. Ingersoll said the County's ceremony will be at 1:15 p.m. at 400 High Street.

Mr. Ingersoll said he forwarded the question about the Charter to the Town Attorney. Mr. Ingersoll read the letter from Stewart Barroll regarding purchasing and bidding of items over $3,000. Mr. Barroll's letter stated that according to the Charter the Council may provide by ordinance rules and regulations regarding the use of competitive bidding and contracts for all Town purchase and contracts. The Charter states that all purchases over $3,000 will be made on written contracts. Mr. Barroll said the Town had never enacted an ordinance which prescribed the manner for advertising for sealed bids and if on prior occasions purchases have been made without advertising for sealed bids, it was his opinion that such purchases did not violate Sec. C621. He said such purchases should have been made with a written contract as set forth in C621. He said the Council may wish to consider a charter amendment to increase the $3,000 figure and to enact an ordinance to prescribe the manner for advertising for sealed bids.

Mr. Ingersoll said from the attorney's opinion, he would say that if you have a contract for all purchases over $3,000 and if all such written contracts were approved by the Council (which they have done in every case) that so far they were following the Charter. He said there have been unique items in the past where there have not been sealed bids because it was not practical to do. He said if they want to be more specific, they should amend the Charter, raise the purchasing level and pass an ordinance stating what the bidding procedures will be. He said the Charter was probably written in 1968 and the equivalent figure now would probably be $10,000. He said the current language gives flexibility and an amendment should either remove that or an ordinance setting the procedures should be passed.

Mr. Kirby asked how the Town had advertised for sealed bids if there never were any procedures in an ordinance. He said essentially he had another question, how have they bid anything, what have been the guidelines for advertising and bidding, and who has made the determination on what gets bid. Mr. Ingersoll said the Town has always used $3,000 as a guide over the years for sealed bids. He said this Council and every other Council before has bought things in special situations without bidding. Mr. Bristoll said they had followed policy because the language of the charter had never been carried into a regulation which we must follow and what we call an ordinance. Mr. Kirby asked if the criteria was the same every time that a bid process has been used and has any criteria been set up for this even though there was not an ordinance. Mr. Ingersoll said they would be similar but not exactly the same. He said bid documents can be lengthy or not depending on what was being bid. Bid documents have been done for such varied things such as housing projects, vehicles, equipment and there have been many bid contract documents he could show the Mr. Kirby. He said bidding was an attempt to get the lowest price for the public and the clearer the documents the better bids you get. He said we do not have a written ordinance but the policies that have been followed vary with every project. He said what Mr. Barroll has said was valid. The Council may want to raise the limit in the Charter, but there should be an ordinance which states details, such as number of bidding days for small or large projects. He said there will always be items that there are not two of in the world that serve a particular need. Mr. Ingersoll said the rule he has followed was that the Council votes on any item that was $3000 or over when it cannot be bid practically. He said the auditors have found that was fine.

Mr. Kirby said there was something wrong with the language in this section of the Charter if you have to pay attention to one part and not the other. Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Ingersoll to draw up a draft ordinance for the bidding process including bid amounts. He can have Mr. Barroll review the draft. Mr. Ingersoll asked for a feeling from the Council what level should be set for requiring a bid on purchases. He said from a practical standpoint $3,000 was way too low. Mr. Bristoll said if the minimum were $10,000 he would recommend that language be included that said they could go over $10,000 without bids on a vote by the majority of the Council for a particular item.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she had been there a long time and had not seen anything wrong with the way they conducted business. She said with the recent purchase of the dog, Mr. Kirby may have been correct that it could have gone out for bid and they would have had a choice. She said she did not feel that any change was needed. Mr. Kirby said if the figure were changed and then you have exceptions then just leave it the way it was. Mr. Ingersoll said in an emergency situation, such as the water line break on High Street when Bramble had to be called to make repairs and the cost was $60,000, the Council has to have a way to handle the emergency. He said the Charter or the ordinance from the Charter must allow a way to handle that. Mr. Kirby said emergencies and there should be some provision for that, but there should be an ordinance or written policy for how things are to be handled. Mr. Ingersoll said he thought he knew what the Council wished him to do.

Mr. Ingersoll said the Hot Spots cleanup projects are moving well. We said we have worked on the Hicks property on Cannon Street and we now have 7 more property owners and 11 ramshackle buildings that are coming down on the interior of the Hot Spots area. The Town has had good cooperation from the County and we have found some different sources through grants to get rid of metal.

Mr. Ingersoll said that Chestertown has been named a Plant Community for the second year in a row. He said this was similar to Tree City USA. He said an award will be given to Chestertown at the Salisbury Zoo on April 15, 2000 at 11 a.m.

Mayor Bailey said Crossroads Community will hold their May Fair on Saturday, May 13, 2000 at 937 Gateway Drive. For further information call 410-778-9200.

Mayor Bailey read a request from the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company. The Fire Company Board voted to purchase a 1985 heavy rescue truck for $115,000 to replace a 1960 rescue truck. The Fire Company requested support from the Town in obtaining a loan for the purchase of the truck. Mr. Ingersoll said the Town has sponsored loans for the Fire Company in the past as a pass through agency. He recommended that it be approved. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the Town assist the Fire Company as requested, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey said that on July 6, 2000 the Wal-Mart will begin again in Kent County. She said a number of years ago we requested and received from the State a traffic study and an economic feasibility study. She asked the Council to approve a request to the State to do these two studies and provide the Town with the information. She said there was no cost to the Town for the studies by the State. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the studies be requested and was seconded by Mr. Bristoll. Mr. Kirby asked if these studies were requested when Washington Square was put up. Mr. Clark said if there was an issue about whether or not Wal-Mart was built, the Town should have the traffic information because we take the brunt of the traffic. The vote on the motion was unanimous.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any questions or comments. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said in response to recent comments to the Town, she was never fully in favor of the television broadcasts of the meetings because it cuts down on public attendance at meetings. She said a councilmember was an elected official and was chosen to represent the area in which he/she lives and act upon Town business. She discussed the impact on her community that the loss of the store and laundry will have. She said she hoped that the Tourism office could be back in the downtown public area as soon as possible. She said the sooner we can have a visitor's center and find it quickly the better.

Mr. Kirby said everyone received a copy of a letter sent to Mr. Bristoll by someone identified as a newcomer taxpayer of the 1st district. He said he was offended by the letter. He said they were elected to make decisions and obviously they would make citizens who do not agree with them mad, but that was part of being in the public eye. He said he does not mind being criticized but he did mind when someone hides behind an anonymous letter. He invited anyone who had something to say to come to the meeting and say what they have to say or have the guts to sign their name.

Mr. Kirby asked about the paving in College Heights. Mr. Ingersoll said he talked to Bramble. He said last year we bid it out and the low bidder was LaFarge/Genstar who has been bought out by Bramble. He said the language in the contract was that if the contractor who gets the contract wants to continue at the same rate as the bid for another year, they may exercise that option which would speed up the process. He said it was a fair price, at the time but they may want it rebid. He said the 4th ward with the four streets that had not been paved will be the first bid this year and will be prior to July 1.

Mr. Clark said while they were discussing blacktopping, there were some drop offs 16" deep in Foxley Manor. Mr. Ingersoll said there was some edging left to do in Foxley Manor. He knew that was not finished.

Mrs. Hoon asked the status of the Visitor's Center. Mr. Ingersoll said we have a grant from the State of $150,000. He said he found another program through the Federal Highway Department which we will apply for in May. He said we need $150,000 in grant funds to get started. He said the plans are done. He said the County contributes by allowing us to receive the room rental tax.

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.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. on a motion by Mr. Kirby, seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Submitted by:
Joan Merryman
Stenographer

Approved by:
Margo G. Bailey
Mayor