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, Capt. Robert Edler, Acting Chief of Police, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the meetings of November 13 and 20, 2000. Mr. Bristoll moved that the minutes be approved as presented, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey called Capt. Edler for the police report. Capt. Edler gave the report for the month of November 2000. He reported that they had started their holiday patrols in the business sections. He asked that businesses who wanted escorts to banks at night call the office at least a half an hour lead time. There were no questions of Capt. Edler.

Mayor Bailey called on the Town Manager for his report. Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Council had approved a direct deposit system for employees' paychecks. He said that part of the paper work the bank needed was a Resolution signed by the Council. He read Resolution No. 3-00, which authorized an agreement with Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust through Chestertown Bank of Maryland for direct payroll deposits. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that Resolution No. 3-00 be adopted, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously. Mr. Kirby asked if that included the Council. Mr. Ingersoll said he will have Pat Diver check on that.

Mr. Ingersoll said when the Town bought the park property behind Rolling Road, we promised to install fencing. He said he sent a letter to all property owners on Rolling Road abutting the park. He said about 50% have replied and there are preferences in all categories. He said he will bring the results back to the Council when he has replies from all residents.

Mr. Ingersoll reported that we have paved Byford Court, the 100 block North Water Street, the 100, 200, 400, 500 and 600 blocks of Cannon Street. The 100 block of North Water Street and the 200 block of Cannon Street were milled before paving. He said some of the streets we hope to pave next year are Calvert Street, parts of Mill, Byford Heights, particularly Kent Street and Richard Drive, and Philosophers Terrace. We said we get short notice about the paving and therefore hand deliver notices to residents and this works well.

Mr. Ingersoll said the Council had talked in the past about two charter revisions. He said he had distributed the full version of the charter change to raise the amount of spending that can be done without bidding from $3,000 to $10,000. He said this revision was long overdue. He said the second charter change was brought up by Mr. Clark and deals with realigning the Town's election dates to correspond with State and National elections. He distributed a chart showing the effect of the proposed charter change. In essence, the persons elected in the next Town election (December 2001 for Mayor and First and Third Wards) would serve 3 year terms. The same hold true for the December 2003 Election for Second and Fourth Wards. Then in November of 2004 the persons elected for Mayor, First and Third Wards would serve four years, and persons elected in November 2006 for Second and Fourth Wards would serve 4 years. He discussed pros and cons of changing the date to coincide with the November elections for State and National offices. He said the next step for charter changes would be to hold a public hearing and they could both be discussed at the same hearing. Mayor Bailey asked the Council to review the changes and if they wished to go forward with them, a public hearing could be set after the first of the year.

Mr. Kirby said the charge change on the bid amount states "the Council may provide by ordinance for rules and regulations regarding the use of competitive bidding and contracts for all town purchases and contracts. He said he felt it the "may" should be "must" because if there was no ordinance there was nothing to go by for the bidding process. He said also if it says "all town purchases" and the next sentence talks about "all expenditures for supplies, materials, equipment, construction of public improvements, or contractual services involving more than $10,000." He asked if there would include all town purchases or just those four categories. Mr. Ingersoll said this was straight from the current charter. Mr. Kirby said he thought Mr. Barroll should look at this because there was a question about this language when the issue of purchasing the dog without bidding came up. He said the way he reads the charter, without an ordinance there is nothing that says you must bid things even for $3,000. Mr. Kirby said he would like Mr. Barroll to look at the language and clean it up while we are considering a change so there was no confusion if a question comes up. Mr. Clark suggested that some language on emergency purchasing be included also. The Council agreed that the charter changes should be reviewed by Mr. Barroll.

Mr. Ingersoll said that some changes had been made to the personnel manual and it was sent to Mr. Barroll for his review. Mr. Barroll said the Council should adopt a Resolution to be included at the beginning of the Manual that Adopts the Personnel Manual and specifically includes the Substance Abuse Policy. Mr. Ingersoll read Resolution #4-00. Mr. Kirby moved that Resolution #4-00 be adopted, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mr. Ingersoll requested that the Council hold an executive session following the meeting on personnel matters. Mr. Kirby asked that a legal matter be discussed also. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz 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 the report for the month of October from the Chestertown Fire Company. The fire calls were a total of 42, 19 in Town, 18 in the County, and 5 out of the County.

Mayor Bailey stated that the Beautification Committee will judge Christmas decorations on Sunday December 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. She asked the Councilmembers to look at their wards and submit their recommendations to Joan in the office by Friday.

Mayor Bailey said that COG has proposed that they have Ed McMahon come to speak in Kent County. Mr. McMahon is the Director of American Greenway Commission and came to the Charrette a few years ago. The five municipalities and Kent County would split the cost, if approved by each Council. The cost to each entity would be $180. She said the Mayors, Councilmembers, Planning Commission members and any citizens would be welcome to attend. The meeting would be March 10, 2001 at 1 p.m. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the Town contribute the $180 as discussed and was seconded by Mr. Clark. Mr. Kirby asked where the funds would come from. Mayor Bailey said from the Public Relations category. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Mayor Bailey said that the State Highway Administration will set a date for the Task Force meeting after the first of the year and we will advise those who volunteered to serve.

Mayor Bailey said a letter was received from the State Highway Administration about a request from the County Commissioners to review the traffic operations at Md. 213 and the main entrance to Washington Square. The State Highway Administration has reviewed the location and determined that the distance from the main entrance of Washington Square to the curve creates a sight problem which they see as creating additional problems as traffic conditions change. They also feel that traffic levels at the main entrance may warrant a traffic signal, however, a signal at that location, because of the reduced sight distance, would cause an increase in the number of rear end type accidents. The State suggested that an alternative to installing a signal at the main entrance would be to restrict left turns from the main entrance onto southbound 213 and reroute the traffic to the north entrance. The increase in the traffic at the north entrance would satisfy the warrants for a traffic signal at that location. The State has advised the owners of Washington Square of their findings since the owners would be responsible for improvements to the main entrance of the shopping center. The State is finalizing the plans and will schedule the work.

Mayor Bailey announced that the January meetings will be on Tuesday, January 2 and Tuesday, January 15, 2001 since both Mondays are holidays.

Mayor Bailey said Mr. Field of the Governor's Office on Crime Control is researching legislation on vicious dogs. She said he will get us the proper language that has been upheld in court cases on solving the problems with the vicious dogs. Mr. Ingersoll said he got a call from the Health Department and they felt there was some good language in the Kent County Animal Ordinance and we will get a copy of that.

Mayor Bailey said on Tuesday, December 12, 2000 at 7 p.m. the Riverfront Committee will meet at Town Hall to work further on the riverfront.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said there were discussions previously on what can be done about the partying in Town and she guessed that we were waiting until we have a Police Chief before going further. Mayor Bailey said she discussed the problems and how to be fair to the students who are good citizens with Dr. Toll. She said next year the College will have a senior living off campus as a liaison with other students who live off campus. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said that the other problem which has not been resolved was the parking situation. Mayor Bailey said she has gotten information from other Towns and when we get a Police Chief and Billie Beck back to work from her surgery, they can sit down and work on this. She said we now have a Town that was designed when there were no automobiles and the homes were single family homes. She said we are now a Town with homes that have apartments and many residents who each own a car and it was a real problem.

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.

Submitted by:
Joan Merryman
Stenographer