MINUTES
MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING
FEBRUARY 20, 2001

Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. In attendance were Councilmembers Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., W. Whaland Clark, Mabel Mumford-Pautz and J. Brian Kirby, 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 meeting of February 5, 2001. Mr. Kirby moved that the minutes be accepted as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey stated that the Mayor and Council has cash on hand and in banks of $810,423.09.

Mayor Bailey stated it gave her great pleasure to welcome and swear in Walter T. Coryell as Chief of Police for Chestertown. She read Mr. Coryell's impressive resume and introduced him, his wife Mary and daughter Katie. Mrs. Coryell held the Bible while Walter Coryell took the oath of office. Chief Coryell made a short speech. He thanked the members of the Chestertown Police Department and the Mayor and Council for welcoming him and allowing him to stand with the Department at the funeral service for the Michael Nickerson, former Chestertown Police Officer.

Mr. Kirby thanked Officer Jason Yiannakis and Officer John Beville and their wives for their participation and attendance at the funeral of Officer Nickerson and for their attendance at the viewing and funeral of Deputy Jason Swenz from Queen Anne's County. He said the represented not only the Police Department but also the Town of Chestertown.

Mayor Bailey called on the Town Manager for his report. Mr. Ingersoll reported that bids were opened on February 12, 2001 for the Cannon Street pier. He read the minutes from the bid opening. He stated that the apparent low bidder was Dissen & Juhn with a lump sum bid for the pier of $94,900 with the add or deduct for the lineal footage of $14.75. Their bid for alternate #1 for the dinghy dock was $10,500; alternate #2 for the 8' walkway was $12,580. He said the add/deduct alternate was that the pier was designed assuming 50' pilings; if pilings needed to be shorter or longer the add/deduct alternate amount would be used. He said looking at the bids, the Town cannot afford to build the dinghy dock at this point. He discussed the 8' walkway landside (which was absolutely necessary to connect the pier when it comes to land to the walkway of the marina) and the Sultana will build this portion for us. The lowest bid we have for the pier, without rebidding it, was $94,900. He said the commitments from the past include escrowed funds from the Sultana and Echo Hill for $50,000 and remaining funds from a $46,000 Program Open Space grant (transferred from the High Street landing to the Cannon Street landing) of $36,762.50. He said about $10,000 of the POS funds were used by the County to redeck the foot of High Street. He said that gives a shortfall between $94,900 and $86,762.50.

Mr. Ingersoll said alternatives were to rebid the project and attempt to get a lower bid. This would be time consuming and since the bids were close might not result in much of a difference. He said another alternative would be to consider funding the balance with funds from the Mayor and Council since the $36,762 was a grant. Mayor Bailey said since the Town had spent no money so far on the project she would have no problem with the Town funding the difference. She said there was an urgency to have this matter resolved as there are important deadlines for the project. She said we must make sure that the contract agreement drawn up with the Sultana and Echo Hill lets the Town do that. She asked whether the Town Attorney should be consulted. Mr. Ingersoll said the contract was written to control the situation with the two groups and they had stated then the maximum they could fund would be $50,000. He said the contract was to protect the Town from having to go over that but there was nothing in the agreement that says that the Town cannot reconsider the agreement after getting bids.

Mr. Ingersoll said the add/deduct item was very important. He said at this point we do not know that the contract would actually be $94,900 because if the pilings come in at less than 50 ft. there will be a substantial rebate, or if they come in at more than 50' the contract will be higher. He said there was no way to determine what the actual contract amount would be until the job was awarded and test pilings are done. He recommended building the pier after checking against the Town agreement with Sultana. He said that Mr. Barroll should be consulted to read the agreement and let us know if the Town has the authority to fund any part of the project. He said he saw nothing that says that the two agencies could not fund the difference.

Mr. Bristoll said that the contract precludes that and that they should discuss the matters with Mr. Barroll. He asked when the test pilings would be driven. Mr. Ingersoll said they are not done until the contract was awarded. He said there may be other grant funds that can be transferred to the project or other grants available. He said he had talked to the apparent low bidder and they stated they needed to know soon if the contract would be awarded and if so, they could give a completion date of Memorial Day.

Mr. Kirby said he was always under the impression that the pier would be built with grant money and money from Sultana and Echo Hill and not with any Town funds. He said if there are not enough grant funds, someone else will have to step up. Mr. Bristoll said the Council should have an executive meeting with Mr. Barroll to discuss the contract. Mayor Bailey said that a meeting will be arranged with Mr. Barroll as soon as possible.

Mayor Bailey said that items A and B on the agenda would be taken off as she had more work to do on them. She said the MML was backing Community Legacy Legislation, Senate Bill 202 and House Bill 301. These bills would create a program to provide grants, loans, loan guarantees and other forms of financial assistance to fund a broad of improvements in Smart Growth priority funding areas. She said this piece has been missing in the Smart Growth initiatives and it was important that these bills be passed. The MML was asking that Towns contact their legislators asking that they support these bills. She asked the Council for a motion to write a letter of support to Mary Roe Walkup. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the Town write a letter of support, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey said that following the event last fall at Washington Square several committees were formed to work on solutions to problems in the community. She said the police piece was not complete as investigations were ongoing and she was awaiting information before calling another community meeting. She said another community will be set at the Board of Education building when the final report was received from the Maryland State Police.

Mayor Bailey asked the Council to think about the "No Trucks" restriction on High Street for discussion at the next meeting. Mr. Kirby said that they should get input from the Chief of Police on the traffic question since enforcing the limitation would be the issue.

Mayor Bailey said another thing for the Council to consider was that Chester Bridge Foundation, who has done a summer recreation program for several years, will not be doing it this year. She said the Town had donated funds to this program. She asked that the Council consider what type programs the Town could consider and how much funding the Town could consider. She said Parks and Rec has someone interested in running an evening summer program for youth. Mr. Kirby said that Leonard Smith had been coordinating the programs for the past several years and the Town should contact him and get his opinion of what had been done and whether the program should be continued.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were questions or comments. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she want to encourage citizens to continue the Old Chestertown Neighborhood Association. Dorothy Plummer said she did not think that group was still in existence.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz said she would be attending a luncheon meeting of WINGS, a statewide organization of women in government. She said one of the concerns they have was employee benefits for women and she wanted to encourage local employers to consider retirement benefits program for workers.

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

Mr. Bristoll moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:05 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Submitted by:
Joan Merryman
Stenographer