MINUTES
MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING
November 19 , 2001

Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. In attendance were Mabel Mumford-Pautz, J. Brian Kirby, Whaland Clark, Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., William S. Ingersoll, Town Manager and Zoning Administrator, Jennifer Stead, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the previous meeting or executive session of November 5, 2001. Mr. Kirby moved that the minutes be accepted as presented, was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.

An executive session was held on Monday, November 5, 2001 at 8:33 p.m. pursuant to 10.508 of the annotated code of Maryland. The entire Mayor and Council was present. The matter concerned a contractual matter regarding a proposed pension system. No decision was reached. The next item discussed was also a contractual matter. Mr. Ingersoll discussed the bids for the Visitor's Center and what efforts would be required to award any contract. Mr. Ingersoll was authorized to secure additional information. The vote was four in favor, one opposed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:13 p.m. Minutes were taken and are part of the record.

Mayor Bailey stated that cash on hand and in banks was $715,387.98.

Mayor Bailey introduced Joyce Smith, President of the Schooner Sultana Project, who had a request from Sultana. Ms. Smith introduced John Swain, the Shipwright who built the Sultana. Ms. Smith stated her reason for attending the meeting was to request that the Mayor and Council to allow for a two-year lease extension on the Schooner Sultana Shipyard lease for the Cannon Street yard, since the lease would expire at the end of the year. Ms. Smith stated that the shipyard meant a lot to the community, being a center for community activities and an educational center. The merchant's of downtown Chestertown appreciated the visitor's who came to town to the shipyard and shopped at the same time.

Ms. Smith stated there were many ideas for the shipyard, which John Swain would direct. She stated there was a need to retain the shipyard and there were some ideas for projects they were willing to do. Ms. Smith did not want to mislead the Council into thinking that there was a huge project funded for the shipyard. That was not the case. There were smaller educational projects being lined up which included children. Ms. Smith wanted to have a summer boat building camp for the neighborhood children if they could find funding. She wanted to continue the shipyard in a way that was productive for the community.

Mr. Swain stated that he was appreciative of the yard, which was an excellent facility and hoped that the Council was pleased with their tenantship. One of the things the yard was needed for was for the maintenance of the vessel. He stated that a land base was needed for painting, refurbishing, and other work needed to be done to the vessel. The other thing that he wanted to do, if allowed, was to build a ship's boat for the Sultana. The Sultana did not originally have a dock, only the ship's boat, which was its tie to the land. He felt it would also aid in education and a small vessel would demonstrate the way the ship used the boat to go to shore for firewood, water, and other ship's services. They did have the funding for that project. He stated another project might be building two duck-boats and were organizing to have around 12 children involved in the building process. That would carry through the summer and they had more educational projects coming up which would keep the shipyard busy. Mr. Swain stated that it had been slow at the shipyard, because the boat was away and they were reorganizing, but they were looking forward to come back for another season.

Mayor Bailey stated that the Sultana had always treated Chestertown with care and thoughtfulness and was a great partner and benefit to the town. Personally, Mayor Bailey said it was a wonderful idea since the Sultana had brought joy and pleasure to kids in town, and there was no immediate use for the space.

Mr. Bristoll stated that he was a supporter of the Sultana. He wanted to know more details about how the yard would be used for the two-year period before he extended the contract. He was concerned about the liabilities involved. Also, he mentioned that it had looked like the yard had not been cleaned up and thought it was a fire hazard as it was. Ms. Smith stated that she thought it had been cleaned to the extent the town asked. Mr. Swain stated that they were asked to move things from around the building, which they had done and raked the yard. He stated they would be back in the yard after Thanksgiving and further cleaning would be addressed then.

Mayor Bailey asked for information on their liability and insurance coverage. Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Bristoll what liability was in question. Mr. Bristoll wanted to know exactly what was going to be done on the yard. Ms. Smith stated the problem was that they did not want to do anything on the shipyard unless the funding was available and they could not say what would be done for the full two years because they were being very careful not to overextend themselves. She did state there was a need for the shipyard and they would be trying to receive funding for various projects. They did have projects in mind, but they were not finalized. Ms. Smith stated that there was a store and an interpretive center at 107 Cross Street opening up sometime in the next week. Ms. Smith told the Commission that the interpretive center was going to house educational information on the Sultana, with exhibits and retail items available. When the ship was not in Chestertown they wanted to have visitors who were interested in Sultana to be able to go to the shipyard and observe what was happening.

Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Bristoll what liability issues he wanted clarified. Mr. Bristoll stated if they knew it was going to be used to build small boats he would approve it. He wondered if there should be protection against other things that might increase liability. He knew it was covered with the Sultana, but recognizing that they did not know what was going to happen there, the Council did not know either. Mayor Bailey asked if they could come back to the Mayor and Council if there was a drastic change. Mr. Bristoll stated that would be fine with him.

Mr. Kirby asked Mr. Swain if the Sultana group solely employed him. Mr. Swain stated he was not solely employed by Sultana and had a yard elsewhere. He stated what he did in town he contracted them for, but he only did Sultana business in Chestertown.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked what the lease included. Ms. Smith stated that they were a 501-C3 Charity and did not pay rent. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked Mr. Ingersoll if there had been any problem with town employees not having enough room. Mr. Ingersoll stated that there were no problems with space.

Mr. Kirby asked what 501-C3 allowed for and if their employees were paid. Ms. Smith explained that they did pay their employees and 501-C3 allowed for a tax-exempt charitable organization.

Mayor Bailey stated there was a good contract in place. She suggested pulling the contract for the Council to look over and after reviewing it they could vote on it at the next meeting. Mr. Kirby thought the matter should be discussed in an executive session since it was a contractual matter. Mayor Bailey stated that it could be discussed in an executive session when they had the contract.

Mr. Clark stated that the part of the purpose of the yard was for maintenance of the ship and asked what happened at the end of the two years and where their maintenance would be done at that time. Ms. Smith stated they might return for an additional extension, but at present did not have any other place to maintain or restore the ship. Mr. Ingersoll asked if they would need the entire area for the maintenance of the ship. Mr. Swayne stated that they did not need the entire area for the ship, but they did need that area if they were going to continue teaching and building boats.

Mr. Ingersoll stated when the time came that they were finished that they may only need a smaller area. Mr. Ingersoll stated there should be a contract similar or exactly like the contract put in place three years ago, which the lawyers prepared and was very precise about dollar amounts on liability. The town should not have any additional exposure after giving a gift. Mr. Ingersoll agreed with Mr. Kirby that when they had the document they should go into executive session and discuss it. He suggested drafting a document with specifics, and if they could review it annually, then the Council might not be so apprehensive about it. This way, if projects ran out or it did not work out, after one year there would not be any problem.

Ms. Smith stated that they would submit a contract to the town.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz stated that they have been great neighbors and hoped that it worked out.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the first thing on his report was the Town Charter requiring him to certify the Town elections officially and he read an excerpt from the minutes of the Chestertown Board of Supervisors of Elections meeting of November 7, 2001, as follows:

"Mrs. Needles announced that the total vote count for November 6, 2001 election was as follows:
Mayor
Margo G. Bailey: 779 votes, 29 absentees for a total of 808
Thomas A Gross, Sr.: 262 votes, 4 absentees for a total of 266
First Ward
Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr.: 271 votes, 10 absentees for a total of 281
Marianna Sipala Quigley: 117 votes, 5 absentees for a total of 122
Third Ward
Mabel Mumford-Pautz: 95 votes, 12 absentees for a total of 107
Ellsworth Tolliver: 97 votes, 0 absentees for a total of 97
Ann L. Noerr Wilson: 84 votes, 1 absentee for a total of 85

Mrs. Needles certified that the results of the election based on the highest vote count was Margo G. Bailey, Mayor, Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., First Ward Councilman, Mabel Mumford-Pautz, Third Ward Councilwoman. The results of the election will be transmitted to the Town Manager by the minutes of this meeting."

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the election was hereby certified as required by the Council to the Mayor and Council.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the audit would be presented at the December 3rd meeting. Mr. Wallace, the owner of Wallace and Co., would be present to make the presentation.

Mr. Ingersoll had a letter from the downtown merchants asking to slightly change the procedure with reference to bagging the meters downtown and suggested the following request. Mr. Ingersoll passed a letter to the Mayor and Council. What the merchants were requesting in lieu of bagging meters was asking to ease up on the enforcement. That way, it there were people that were parking all day, or people who were violating the spirit of Christmas, they would be notified as such. Otherwise, the town's position was to lay-off the downtown and let the holiday season be merry. Mr. Bristoll stated that Billie would be watching and if cars stayed all day, she should be allowed to cite them. The Council agreed.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that he had a request from the State's Attorney for Kent County, which he passed on to the Town attorney. It was a Municipal Forfeiture Authority Agreement, which was returned to Mr. Ingersoll after being reviewed by and approved by the Town attorney. The Agreement required the signatures of all council members. Mr. Kirby stated what the Agreement meant was when drug dealers were arrested, if anything was taken from them, i.e., cars, houses, money, etc., the Town would receive a portion of it. Mr. Ingersoll passed around the document for signatures of Council members.

The last item on Mr. Ingersoll's agenda was funding for a winter program for the Recreation Commission. There was still $7,889.00 in the budget for recreational activities that had not been earmarked. It was decided that a motion was not needed since the money was already in the budget. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked if there would be an accounting. Mayor Bailey stated that financially there would be an accounting, and, as well, Richard Norton was going to appear before the Council more often to tell what the successes and failures have been in each program.

Mr. Kirby stated that while the money may be in the budget, he thought $8,000 was a blanket request, because when pressed on the issue, Mr. Norton did not know how much he would need, but was asking for $8,000. He stated he would not make an issue out of it because the money was in the budget. However, he said that at some point somebody was going to have to point out that it was impossible to provide recreation for every child in Chestertown. Mr. Kirby stated that was a parent's job. He was not against recreation, but did not understand why it was the town's job to provide recreation when the county already provided it. He stated the town was providing recreation to the same group of kids from the same neighborhoods, but not providing recreation to children outside of the hot-spot areas. Mr. Kirby thought it was wrong.

Mr. Bristoll stated that was a good point and that Mr. Norton was going to check on that and speak about it at the Recreation meeting. There had not been a Council member present for that meeting.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that Mr. Kirby also pointed out that the children may have Chestertown addresses, but they were not within the city limits. Mr. Ingersoll stated that Mr. Norton said the budget was going to be much larger next year as they tried to reach out to other areas and start work on the park. Mr. Ingersoll stated the Mayor and Council had to be vigilant about not funding programs the County may be having simultaneously.

Mr. Bristoll stated if Chestertown was hosting a program where 60% of the children were non-Chestertownians, perhaps they could seek funding from the County for those programs. Mr. Kirby stated that he thought Mr. Norton was doing a great job, but did not think enough attention was being paid to the duplication of whatever services were being provided by the County.

Mayor Bailey stated that the Recreation Commission should clarify that carefully before they start planning their budget. Mayor Bailey also stated that Mr. Norton was very thorough in his work and he should be able to sort it out.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz stated that she was concerned about the development of the park. She stated that she saw Church Hill's new park, which was beautiful and something the County would welcome, but they should not duplicate. Church Hill Park was going to have tennis and basketball courts. However, supervision needed to be provided for any recreation that was offered.

Mr. Bristoll stated that would be a wonderful thing to have, but Chestertown's tax base was not increasing one bit and Queen Anne's was going up. He said if you don't have the money to do something it can't be done and that was the problem. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz thought that was where the County should come in to help. Mayor Bailey asked the Council to remember this, when it came to the tax differential this year. She said the $50,000 could have been very handy for a number of things that could not get done this year because the County did not have the money to do it.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that the Rolling Road residents stated that they would be part of the planning process and the Recreation Commission needed to be told that those people have to be part of any planning. He thought it was time for a Park Study Committee. Mayor Bailey stated that she had spoken to the Recreation Commission about that and hoped to get to it by the first of the year.

Mayor Bailey announced Dr. Janson-LaPalme's resignation from the Historic District Commission. He had served the Historic Commission extremely well for over 20 years and she thanked him for his many years of service.

Mayor Bailey nominated Ron Kerns to be added to the Historic District Commission, with a vote following at the December 3rd meeting. Mayor Bailey stated that the Council members had already been given a resume for Mr. Kerns.

Mayor Bailey stated that she had given the Council information on the Arts and Entertainment District that had been approved by the State of Maryland. Mayor Bailey stated that three years ago, she and Mr. Norton went to Annapolis for a session discussing creating arts and entertainment districts. Mayor Bailey stated that the city of Providence, Rhode Island found itself again and became a new city when they established an arts and entertainment district. The purpose would be to create a place for artists to move in and use buildings or residences that may not be in use. Mayor Bailey asked the Council to review the information she gave out and let her know whether she should proceed further. Mayor Bailey stated there were many questions that needed to be asked because there were tax credits for the artists. Mayor Bailey asked if the Council could vote on it next meeting.

Mayor Bailey stated that in 4 years Chestertown would be celebrating its 300th anniversary. Mayor Bailey wanted the Council to start thinking about people who could serve on a Committee for the anniversary. Mayor Bailey said she came across the booklet that was created for the last celebration, which was an elaborate event. Mayor Bailey asked the Council think of people from their wards who would be interested. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz asked if there was a film made of the last celebration. Mr. Ingersoll stated that there had to have been a film of it and asked the audience if anybody has a home film that they could reproduce, it would be a great thing for Channel 3 to show.

Mr. Clark stated that he would like to have more winners for the Decoration Contest. He thought that people tried hard and did a great job decorating for the holidays. He proposed having a residential and a residential apartment from each ward having first prizes, plus a commercial winner. He stated to only have two winners in the town was not enough. The Council thought it was a great idea. It was decided there would be two first prizes, residential and apartment, in each ward, plus a commercial winner. Also, there would be two second-place winners for each ward for the same, Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved to approve the suggestion, was seconded by Mr. Kirby and carried unanimously.

Mrs. Mumford-Pautz gave Mayor Bailey a booklet of photos of properties that were in disrepair. Mayor Bailey made a mention of the list of homes listed for Demolition by Neglect, which would be voted on next time. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz stated that it had to be fair throughout the town. Mayor Bailey stated that the list came from the Historic District Commission whose authority was only in the Historic District and not beyond.

Jeff Held, who was a third-ward resident, was in the audience and asked the Council if they would consider installing bike racks around town, perhaps in the park or around the waterfront. Mr. Held also wanted to propose a run-off when there were more than two candidates and nobody received a majority of votes.

Mr. Ingersoll stated that they did have bike racks for the foot of High Street but they were flimsy and would not hold up. They were knocked over by cars almost immediately. Mayor Bailey asked him to look for a natural place for a bikerack; he should let the town know about it. Mr. Ingersoll stated that near the alley next to Chestertown Pharmacy, there was a perfect spot for a bikerack. Also, bikeracks should be at Wilmer Park and at the foot of High Street.

Mr. Bristoll made a motion for payment of bills, was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Mr. Bristoll moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:31 p.m. was seconded by Mr. Clark and carried unanimously.

Submitted by:
Jennifer Stead
Stenographer