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 Walter Coryell, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey said the minutes will be ready in a few minutes. Mayor Bailey stated that an executive session was held on Monday, March 26, 2001 at 8:30 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 personnel matters. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Minutes were taken and are part of the record.

Mayor Bailey said she would like to request an executive session for a personnel 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 unanimously.

Mayor Bailey called on Chief Coryell for his report. Chief Coryell gave the report for the month of March 2001. He thanked the State Police and the Sheriff's Office for their assistance during the Sultana launch and also on search and seizure arrests in Town. He reported that K-9 training has been suspended for four months due to problems with the training service. He said the Chestertown Police now has permission to train its K-9 dogs at the Baltimore County Police Department at no cost to the Town. He said they are going through refresher training and then we will send our dogs and officers for regularly monthly training.

Chief Coryell said they have been getting a volume of requests for finger printing. He said they have set up a schedule for finger printing at the Police Department on Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. He said there will be a charge of $10 for this service.

Chief Coryell reported that in order to provide maximum coverage and safety they had changed their schedule from 8 hour shifts to 10 hour shifts. He said that allows the maximum overlap so there were less times when there may be only one officer working. He said that was the best way to have the most number of officers on the street at a time when they are needed.

Chief Coryell said on March 6 the Chestertown officers, along with all officers from all other agencies signed a pledge to give priority to enforcement of underage drinking in our community. He said there have been many problems with these types of violations.

Chief Coryell said the department was two officers short of their authorized strength and he had recommended a candidate to fill one of the positions and asked to have this discussed in executive session. He said the department has very good people working hard for the community. He said the officers in the small departments have expertise and experience as they follow a case from the immediate response to the conclusion of the case. He discussed the problems associated with retaining officers after training. He said a pension that was adequate and suits a police career was needed as was an adequate salary. He asked that the Town look at LEOPS which was a State pension system created for police officers in smaller communities. He proposed that the Town undertake an actuarial study of the LEOPS program for Chestertown police officers. He said the cost of the study was $4700 and the County FOP has offered to pay half of that cost. He said he will make additional information available to the Council concerning that program.

Mayor Bailey said the Council will review the information provided by Chief Coryell and she will let him know if he should attend the next meeting to discuss it further.

Mr. Kirby said he was glad that the K-9 dogs were going to Baltimore County for training.

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

Mayor Bailey called on the Town Manager for his report. Mr. Ingersoll announced that this is the 20th year that Chestertown has been awarded Tree City USA. He said the Arbor Day ceremony will be April 24, 2001 at the Court House across the street.

Mr. Ingersoll said every year the County holds a hazardous waste collection day. He said on April 21, 2001 citizens may take hazardous waste materials to the Nicholson landfill.

Mayor Bailey asked for a motion to appoint Ted Chase to fill the vacancy on the Ethics Commission. Mr. Bristoll moved that Ted Chase be appoint to fill the unexpired term on the Ethics Commission, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey said she had a letter from Richard Norton who has volunteered to serve as Chairman of the Recreation Commission. She said she would like to nominate him and have the vote taken at this meeting since the Recreation Commission needs to get to work to budget and plan the summer programs. Mr. Clark made the motion to appoint Richard Norton as Chairman of the Recreation Commission, was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey read a letter from Charter Communications stating that they were moving to digital service for premium channels and in order for anyone to have the premium channels they must pay for and change to the digital service. After June 4 service for such as HBO will disappear if a person does not subscribe to the digital service. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz discussed problems with billing from Charter. Mr. Ingersoll said he had many complaints about Charter's billing. He suggested that Gene MaGary be asked to attend the next meeting to discuss the change in the service, the charges and the billing procedures.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any questions or comments. Mr. Clark said he felt he may have been over zealous in making the motion to restrict the parking on Church Alley and Court Street seven days a week. He said he had heard from several residents who felt that was unfair as that would be the only area in Town where limited parking was enforced seven days a week and the residents do use that parking on weekends. Mr. Bristoll agreed and moved that the Council change the two hour parking times to the weekdays only, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

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

Mr. Clark moved that the meeting be adjourned at 7:55 p.m., was seconded by Mr. Bristoll and carried unanimously.