Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the previous meetings. Mr. Bristoll moved that the minutes of the Budget Workshop Meeting, Mayor and Council Meeting and Executive Session of May 15, 2000, be approved as submitted, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey stated that an executive session was held on Monday, May 15, 2000 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 contractual matters. Actions taken by the Mayor and Council on one contract was by a vote of 4 in favor, one opposed; action taken on the other contractual matter was unanimous. The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m., minutes were taken and are part of the record.

Mayor Bailey called on Chief Bradley for the Police Report. Chief Bradley gave the report for the month of May 2000. He announced that on Saturday, June 24, 2000 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon there will be a demonstration of the work of the Town's K-9 dogs in Wilmer Park. He invited the Mayor and Council and public to attend.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any questions. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked if there was a reason why a Town plain police car would be on the other side of the bridge in Queen Anne's County. Chief Bradley said if an officer had not been able to make a stop of someone who was speeding or otherwise until the vehicle crossed the bridge, the officer would follow across the bridge. They could also be called to assist across the bridge. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked about the use of bicycle helmets and asked whether they were any programs to provide helmets to children. She said she wanted to encourage parents to take safety precautions for children. She asked whether "no skateboarding" on sidewalks will be enforced this summer. Chief Bradley said it would. She thanked everyone for all the work done during the Tea Party.

Mayor Bailey called on the Town Manager for his report. Mr. Ingersoll said he had prepared a Transportation Enhancement grant application to be submitted to the State Highway Administration for $150,000 for the Visitor's Center. He said the deadline for filing was the end of June. He said we applied earlier for Business Revitalization funds and were denied. He said this would be the last piece for funding needed for the Visitor's Center. He asked for approval to apply for the funds and to authorize Mayor Bailey to execute any and all documents necessary for the grant submission. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the grant application be filed and that the Mayor be authorize to sign all documents, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried by a vote of 4 in favor, Mr. Kirby opposed.

Mr. Ingersoll said the Council needed to adopt the Budget for 2000-01 as Ordinance No. 1-00. Mr. Bristoll moved that the Budget Ordinance No. 1-00 be adopted, as seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mr. Ingersoll said he will meet with the State Highway Administration officials about continued improvement of the Rt. 213/291 exchange. He said the vegetation will be removed from the islands and they will be discussing the appearance of the dividers which will be done in imprinted concrete. He said they told us the Town would be getting $17,014 in retrofit sidewalk funds which will allow us to complete some of the sidewalk projects.

Mr. Ingersoll said David A. Bramble completed the street paving in College Heights Friday and Saturday. He said we were able to get notice to the residents that the work would be done over the weekend and hopefully no one had any problems.

Mr. Ingersoll said there have been a lot of phone calls to Councilmembers and the office regarding the cable television bills. He said Gene Magary will be at the meeting on June 19, 2000 to discuss to answer questions and explain what was going on. He said there are three months of free expanded basic service for those customers who had basic or basic plus tier one service before. Mr. Magary said there are over 1000 customers in Chestertown, of that 76 have plain basic, 133 have basic plus tier one, and 39 have basic plus sat-pac. The other 971 have basic, tier one and sat-pac which went up $1.93. Mr. McGary feels he can explain the impact on those 76 or 133 who do not want all the options. Charter has trimmed tier one from 34 down to 16 channels and fleshed out the other larger service. Mr. Ingersoll said the Town cannot control the rates.

Jody Taylor asked whether the Town permitted the satellite dishes. Mr. Ingersoll said they are allowed but regulated for location and appearance in the Historic District would have to have approval.

Mr. Ingersoll asked the Council to hold an executive session following the meeting to discuss the sale of town property and a legal matter. Mr. Bristoll moved that an executive session be held following the meeting pursuant to Sec. 10-508 of the Annotated Code of Maryland, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey read a Resolution in support of Shared Opportunity Services' grant application for Neighborhood Business Development funds. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the Resolution be adopted, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey said she discussed the permit request submitted by Pastor Donald Blad with the Town Attorney. She said Mr. Barroll stated that the Art-in-the-Park and Music in the Park activities come under the category of support for the arts. He said when you are dealing with permits to churches you are dealing with a different issue. She said once the Town opened the door and issued a permit for one church to use the park, they would not refuse any future requests that would come from any church group. She said Mr. Barroll recommended that the Town not grant the permit request to the Church. She asked the Council for comments.

Mr. Kirby discussed other permit requests that are granted for the use of the Town park. He asked how selling tickets for the garden party was different from the church's request and were they part of the Farmer's Market. Mr. Ingersoll said the Garden Party was sponsored by a committee formed by the Town and being done in the park but not as part of the Farmer's Market. He said permits that he issues for things like the tickets are not on the Market side of the park. He said he issues other permits all the time except when a permit request is unusual or might cause a problem and then he brings them to the Council for approval. He said he felt the issue of the separation of church and state was the question here. He said Pastor Blad could go to a shopping center and get permission to be on private property and the Town would not have any involvement. He said this was an unusual request and he thought the Council should make the decision. He said Pastor Blad had something good in mind but there were reasons for the separation of church and state. He said anyone can be on Federal property, such as the post office, to give out information and no one can be refused. Mayor Bailey asked the Council what they wished to do about the permit. Mr. Bristoll said he felt they should take no action. Mr. Clark agreed, Mrs. Mumford-Pautz agreed, and Mr. Kirby said he would take no action.

Mr. Kirby said he felt the Town should be very careful about issuing permits for things while the Farmer's Market was in the park. He said if they are not part of the market, they why should they pick and choose what other activities are permitted. Mr. Ingersoll said on every permit that he grants at the park, he writes that they are not to be part of the Farmer's Market. Mayor Bailey told Pastor Blad that the Town was sorry but they felt they had to be careful about granting this type of permit.

Mayor Bailey read a letter from the Rotary Club about the band stand. The Rotary would like to dedicate the band stand during the summer of 2001 and would like a final decision from the Town no later than the first July meeting. Mayor Bailey said Garden Club was totally against putting a structure in the Fountain Park. She said it was also felt that it would affect the historic character of the park. She said she would like to get some funding before the end of the year for some design work at Wilmer Park and would include putting the structure in that park.

Mr. Bristoll said the Town had previously decided to accept the gift. He said the study was not for landscaping at Wilmer Park but how the park will be used and the appropriate location for the structure. He said there are citizens who are professionals and could come up with a use plan for the park. He said to respond to the Rotary we should tell them we do want the band stand and they can proceed with their fund raising. Mayor Bailey said she would like the Town to have control of the final design of the structure.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she thought the Town was going to see what other kind of structure could be donated. She said she did not know why the Town was saying yes to a band stand when they really do not know what it would be. Mayor Bailey said it would be a structure that can be used for many purposes, but the Rotary would like to donate a permanent structure. Mr. Bristoll said he thought the Council had voted on accepting the gift. Mr. Ingersoll said such a structure could serve many functions in the park, such as a pavilion during the day. Mayor Bailey said we will let the Rotary know that we have voted to accept their gift to be placed in Wilmer Park and the Town will work on the location and final design.

Mayor Bailey reminded everyone that Saturday, June 10, 2000 was the date for Garden Tour. The tickets will be on sale at the park beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Mayor Bailey said she wanted to nominate Michael Berry to be appointed to the Recreation Commission to be voted on at the next meeting. Mr. Kirby asked if we had a resume from Mr. Berry. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she will get some information from him.

Mayor Bailey read a invitation to the closing ceremonies at Kidstown at Worton Elementary School in Worton on Friday, June 23, 2000, one session at 11 a.m. and one at 1 p.m. Anyone wishing to attend should let Joan know.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any questions or comments. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she wanted to discuss more activities for the Garnett property, basketball courts for the summer. Mayor Bailey said she had not gotten any feedback on basketball courts. She said we have been informed that they will charge almost $800 ($27.93 a day for 28 days) this year to use of the gym for the summer recreation program. She said last year we paid $300. She said we may have to cut back from 4 nights a week to three rather than cut activities. Mr. Bristoll said cutting this for a large group of kids was the last thing we should cut. Mayor Bailey said we have to have the three people who are paid to supervise. She said she will call and try to negotiate these costs. Mr. Bristoll said he be in favor of negotiating and if not successful, take the extra $450 from something else in the recreation budget.

Mayor Bailey the Council needs to find another location for outdoor basketball. She said the one in back of Tidewater Trader was not a good location because you mix kids with business and evening hours. She said a more central location for the kids who use the courts needs to be found. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz had suggested something be worked out to use the Garnett School property. She said the equipment could be portable and put away during the school year. She said next to the plumbing supply place was near the street, away from residences, and would not be lighted. She said we need a court. Mr. Bristoll suggested they consider paving a court at the Cannon Street yard after Sultana goes out of there. Mayor Bailey said will follow up with the Board of Education.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said there were so many things that could be taken care of simply if the police officers were out of a car and walking in Town rather than doing traffic control. She discussed things she had seen and said it was up to the police to be on the street and see these things. Mayor Bailey said she gets calls from all over Town about speeding and traffic gridlocks. People are cutting through residential streets to avoid Washington Avenue and speeding down those streets. She said there was a dramatic increase in the Town's traffic and she has discussed this with the State Highway.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said the Town was being promoted as one of the greatest places to live, but they were turning their backs on a lot of things that are problems with the living conditions and life styles in Town. She asked that the Health Department be notified of the buildings that are coming down on High Street and to be aware that there may be rodents in the area. She said there are two food stores involved and the rodents will have to go somewhere. Mr. Kirby asked if that property would be a fenced. Mr. Ingersoll said there will be a silt fence and the property will be graded and seeded, but that no permanent fence was proposed.

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

Mr. Clark moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:40 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Submitted by:
Joan Merryman
Stenographer

Approved by:
Margo G. Bailey
Mayor