Note: This is a SUMMARY of the Commissioners Meeting for the purposes of a Press Release. These are not the official minutes of the meeting.
JOINT MEETING WITH BOARD OF EDUCATION
The Board of County Commissioners held a joint meeting with the Board of Education to hear presentations on two issues. Superintendent Betty Morgan and Deputy Superintendent for Instruction Patricia Abernethy shared results of the Maryland School Assessment for 2005. Chief Operating Officer Bill Blum and Rod Turnbough, Director of Facilities Management for the schools presented an update on the Maugansville Elementary School Design and Construction Status
COMMISSIONERS' REPORTS AND COMMENTS
Commissioner John Munson reported on a meeting of the Agricultural Education Center Board that discussed a Memorial Fund in the name of long-time Extension Service Agent Don Schwartz. That fund has risen to $9,000, and will likely be used for a project at the Ag Center, Munson said. New owners of land adjacent to the Ag Center have stated willingness to work with the Ag Center Board on the need for additional land at that park. A letter from the Disability Advisory Committee to the Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) has requested Landfill permit fees be the same for people with disabilities on fixed income, as for Senior Citizens. That fee would be $90 per year, and the individual would have to show proof of fixed-income status due to disability. The measure will be taken before the SWAC at its meeting on Thursday. Munson represents the Commissioners on that Committee.
Commissioner Dori Nipps reported on the Airport Advisory Commission meeting, which heard from URS Consultants on the next phase of the Runway Improvement Project. The next “package” is one of the largest undertaken to date and includes realignment of U.S. Route 11, bridge and taxiway construction. Ceremonies in Annapolis last week cut the ribbon for Habitat for Humanity’s 700 th house in Maryland, Nipps reported. The Women’s Commission and the County Detention Center Inmates’ Children’s Program will focus on recordings of inmates reading books for their children. Those recordings will be presented to the children as a way to improve parent-child communication while the parent is incarcerated. Inmates will complete mandatory parenting classes prior to becoming a program participant. Donations of children’s books are needed Nipps said.
Commissioner Jim Kercheval reported on a meeting of the Black Rock Golf Course Board. Repair to the fence fronting Mount Aetna road was discussed. The U.S. Golf Association recently utilized Black Rock as site for a qualifying round for a tournament in Ohio. Employees were commended for the condition of the course and the staff's cooperation with the USGA. Last Sunday saw the most revenue generated in a single day in the course history, Kercheval said, with nearly $11,000 in revenue generated. The Hagerstown Mayor and Council will discuss a sewer allocation policy at its meeting today, Kercheval said. The County has severeal concerns about the proposed policy that have been discussed at the 2+2 meetings and hope those concerns will be addressed. Kercheval reported that the movie "Fields of Freedom" wrapped filming in the County and contributed an estimated $2 million to the local economy.
Commissioners' Vice President Bill Wivell discussed the film “Fields of Freedom” recently shot on the Flook farm in Keedysville. The crew of that movie, about the Battle of Gettysburg, had a very positive experience in the County, and benefited the local economy. The film will be used as the documentary shown at a new visitors’ center at Gettysburg, Wivell said.
REPORTS FROM COUNTY STAFF
Disability Issues Administrator Norman Bassett reported on a letter to the Commissioners and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee from the Disabilities Advisory Committee requesting the change in the Landfill permit rate for people with disabilities on fixed incomes. The intent was to allow persons who cannot work due to disability and whose income may be as small as $579 per month, the ability to pay the same rate, $90, as do Senior citizens. Currently anyone under the age of 62 pays $120 per year. The issue came about as the result of a number of requests for such a change over the past several months.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE SOLID WASTE COLLECTION LICENSING ORDINANCE
Solid Waste Department Director Bob Davenport and County Attorney Richard Douglas brought this matter before the Board for approval. A public hearing was held on June 7, 2005 for the purpose of considering amendments to the Solid Waste Collection Licensing Ordinance. Certain amendments to the ordinance called for wording and technical changes in Section 1 to bring it up to date. Section 2 changes licensing requirements and also establishes the Washington County Health Department as the permitting and enforcement agency for proposed burning. Section 3 changes the listing of materials because the rubble fill is no longer in operation. Due to the length of the ordinance, a version showing all of the individual changes will be made available upon request to the County Attorney’s office and is on the County's Web site at www.washco-md.net. The regulation of burning will be revisited in 6 months to measure effectiveness. The issue has not been a major problem, Davenport said. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
OTHER BUSINESS
Amendment to Excise Tax: The Board recommended revising the Excise Tax to reflect that municipalities would receive the rebate for collection of the County tax if the municipal Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance is in place by September 1st, 2005. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
Appointments to Boards and Commissions: County Clerk Joni Bittner told the Board that the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), requested that Thomas Oyster, who serves as an alternate, be reappointed to his second three-year term on the Board. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
BID AWARD: LANDFILL CONTRACT SERVICES
Luther requested that the Board award the bid for Contract Services at Transfer Stations and On-Site at the Forty-West Landfill to the sole responsive, responsible, bidder Peck’s Refuse Disposal, LLC of McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania on the Total Base Bid for Option No. II in the amount of $282,820.00 plus Alternate No. I for cardboard transports in the amount of $2,280.00 for a Total Amount of $285,100.00, based on annual estimated pulls/unit costs from each location. The proposed rates for the new FY’06 contract are equal to the present FY’05 unit costs of the present contract with Pecks. The contract is for a 1-year period, commencing August 1st, 2005 with an option by the County to renew for up to 4 additional consecutive 1-year periods, subject to written notice given by the County at least 60 calendar days in advance of its expiration date. The County guarantees neither a maximum nor minimum number of transports from each location under this contract.
Option No. I includes all transfer stations, on-site at the Forty-West Landfill, and an Alternate cost for cardboard transfers to Maryland Paper Company. Option No. II includes the same services as stated in Option No. I for only the initial one-year period or up to the time of cancellation by the County during the initial one-year period by providing a 30-day written notice to the successful contractor. Therefore, Option No. II allows flexibility for the County to perform the services at the Forty-West Landfill location if it would so desire. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
CONTRACT RENEWAL: NATURAL GAS AT COUNTY FACILITIES
County Purchasing Agent Karen Luther brought this matter before the Board for approval, requesting concurrence to again “piggy-back” with the State’s contract and renew the County’s contract for natural gas with Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc. (WGESI) of Timonium, Maryland. The contract is based on the fixed rate for transportation and the NYMEX index for natural gas as outlined in the State Contract, with the right to select a Fixed Price at any time. The term of the contract would be June 1, 2005 through May 31, 2006. On December 5th of 2000, the Board voted to piggyback with the State of Maryland contract for natural gas with WGESI. It was anticipated that a contract with WGESI for natural gas service in 2001 would result in net savings of a minimum of 10%-12%. The contract began in April 2001. Each year since then, the Board has renewed its contract with WGESI based on the State of Maryland contract with WGESI for natural gas. $29,249 was saved in FY 2005, or 8.1%. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
BID AWARD: OFFICE SUPPLIES DESKTOP DELIVERY
Luther also requested approval of a bid for Office Supplies to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, OfficeMax of Elkridge, Maryland, in the total amount of $179,184.00, which includes a 55% discount on non-listed items.For over 17 years, the Purchasing Department operated its own stockroom consisting of office supplies and household items for distribution to County departments and agencies. It had become apparent that the County would benefit in closing that operation and transitioning to a system of “desktop” delivery of office supplies. In June of 1999, the Board awarded the first “desk-top” delivery of office supplies contract to Boise-Cascade Office Products, now known as OfficeMax. The contract was for three-years expiring June 30th, 2002. A subsequent award was made to Boise-Cascade in 2002 that expires June 30th, 2005. Since the initial award, the Washington County Public Schools (WCPS) and Frederick County Government have piggybacked the County’s bid. County departments spend approximately $150,000.00 annually on office supplies and WCPS spends approximately $430,000.00 annually. WCPS has included its requirements in the bid to be awarded. Frederick County did not commit to being included in the bid but has expressed interest in piggybacking the bid again. The City of Hagerstown recently implemented the contracted service, and will be advised of the disposition of this contract after the award.
OfficeMax will extend this contract to all Western Maryland Counties, their municipalities and educational facilities. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
CITIZENS PARTICIPATION
Each week the Board of County Commissioners sets aside time to hear from citizens of Washington County on matters of importance to the community.
Tom Berry of Rohrersville commented on the Rural Rezoning workshop held on Monday and suggested the document be changed to reflect changes in the County that have taken place since adoption of the Comprehensive Plan revision in 2002.
CONTRACT RENEWALS: NIGHT INTAKE & CRISIS INTERVENTION AND COMMUNITY SERVICE GRANTS
Jim Manuel of the Department of Juvenile Services brought these requests before the Board to renew and extend contracts between the County and the Department of Juvenile Services to provide Community Service/Informal Supervision and Night Intake Services for FY 2006. The awards are the same as they were for FY 2005 and serve a combined total of approximately 600 youths per year who come under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court in Washington County. The Community Service/Informal Supervision grant is a total award of $72,000. Juvenile offenders are placed at one of nearly 70 non-profit County organizations to perform a specified number of hours of community service in lieu of other sentencing. Staff also provides informal supervision and makes referrals for support services. The Night Intake grant total award is $33,441. The funds provide for 2 part-time after hours counselors who are on call to provide emergency services to children referred by local police and other agencies. The counselors authorize detention, placement in shelter care or release from police custody to a parent or guardian of the referred youth. The grants are awarded to the County on an annual basis. The County is reimbursed for expenses incurred by both programs on a quarterly basis by invoice. The County is not responsible for any matching funds. The measures were approved by unanimous vote.
PUBLIC HEARING: AMENDMENTS TO BUILDING EXCISE TAX ORDINANCE
County Attorney Richard Douglas brought these amendments to Public Hearing. Although the enabling law authorizing the adoption of the Ordinance does not require a public hearing, the Commissioners elected to schedule a hearing to entertain public comment on the proposed changes that were finalized at last week's meeting.
During the discussions last Tuesday, staff was directed to make certain revisions to the draft Ordinance, including: Redevelopment Areas. These areas, which will be exempt from the building excise tax will be defined as the C3 and Conversion overlay zoning districts in the City of Hagerstown and similar areas in other municipalities that may be designated by the Commissioners in the future upon request. A matrix has been included in the Ordinance. Provision has been made for the possible future adoption of regulations.
Nonresidential Construction . The Commissioners adopted a matrix proposed by a committee of the Economic Development Commission for use in determining the Tax on nonresidential construction, along with an exemption on the first 5000 sq. ft. of nonresidential construction. Enhanced Tax. In subdivisions of over 25 residential units in one fiscal year, developers will be charged double the normal tax beginning with the 26 th unit if one or more of certain conditions exist. Enterprise Zones. Land in enterprise zones is exempt from the Tax. Administration Fee. The 2% administrative fee that the municipalities may retain for collection of the Tax will be calculated on only the County's portion of the tax collected, not on that portion retained by a municipality as its share of the Credit for In-kind Contributions. Parties who contribute real property or other items of value acceptable to the Commissioners may be afforded credits toward the Tax, as governed by Article IX of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. Douglas suggested that the section on exemptions on small developments be revised to read “non-residential, non-commercial under 5,000 square feet”. A change was proposed for the exemption for churches and places of worship. The exemption would apply to buildings used for religious, educational and community purposes only. Other minor clarifications to language were discussed. Ted Shankle of Hagerstown testified for the ordinance. James Upchurch of Frederick testified against portions of the ordinance. Pete Plamondon of Frederick testified against portions of the ordinance. Glenn Worgan of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania testified against portions of the ordinance. Michael Wineman of Hagerstown testified against portions of the ordinance. Tom Plant of Gaithersburg testified in favor of the ordinance. Kathy Maher of Hagerstown testified in favor of the ordinance. Jason Divilbiss of Hagerstown testified against portions of the ordinance. Martin Brubaker of Hagerstown testified in favor of the ordinance and asked that the Workforce/Affordable Housing Task Force recommendations be made part of the ordinance. A vote on the ordinance is scheduled for July 12 th.
THE BOARD ATTENDED A PRESENTATION AT THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB DURING THE NOON HOUR.
GOING FOR THE GOLD RECOGNITION AND PRESENTATION
11 employees were recognized as having completed the "Going for the Gold" management training program sponsored jointly by the Washington County Training Office and Hagerstown Community College. Since 1997, the Training Office and HCC's Division for Continuing Education have offered employee development courses in government management and support. The series is designed to improve employee skills, knowledge and abilities, and employees completing the coursework are certified in Government Supervisory Management or Office Support Management. In order to qualify, candidates had to take a minimum of 24 course hours in a core curriculum and elective courses. 11 employees have completed this most recent series. Receiving Government Supervisory Management Certificates were: Rocky Bishop and Mark Bradshaw from the Department of Water Quality; Bernard Canfield from Highways, Rick Curry from Purchasing, Randy Edwards from Engineering, Angie Loewenheim of Budget and Finance, Kenny Rickett of Buildings Grounds & Parks, Misty Wagner-Grillo and Jennifer Kinzer of the Planning Department. Receiving the Office Support Management Certification are: Joanne Morgan of the Purchasing Department and Irene Rosenberry of Central Services. Completion of the training series is noted in the employee’s personnel file, and can be useful in achieving promotion in County government. The courses, taught at HCC’s Valley Mall site, are open to employees of all local governments in Washington County. Over the last several years, many employees who were promoted to higher positions as supervisors or office managers have been graduates of this program. Commissioners' Vice-President Bill Wivell commended the graduates and presented them with Certificates of Merit from the Commissioners. County Human Resources Director Dave Hankinson presented recognition plaques from HCC.
SIX MONTH REVIEW OF REVISIONS TO OUTDOOR ADVERTISING ORDINANCE
Planner Jill Baker and Planning Department Director Mike Thompson brought this
Report to the Board. In November 2004, the Commissioners approved revisions to the Outdoor Advertising section of the County Zoning Ordinance. As part of the motion of approval the Board requested a six-month update on the implementation of the changes. To date, there have been no new applications made to the Planning Commission to install, remove, or relocate any Outdoor Advertising Signs within the County's jurisdiction. One of the signs scheduled for relocation has not been erected in an alternate site, Thompson said. Baker commented on signage regulations that would apply to barns, silos and cell towers.
OTHER BUSINESS
County Attorney Issues: County Attorney Richard Douglas recommended adoption of an amendment to the Building Excise Tax Transition Policy, postponing the effective date from July 1 st to July 12 th to coincide with the date for the Excise tax vote scheduled by the Commissioners. The tax would not apply to applications for permits filed and accepted prior to that date. Applications must be completed within 6 months following date of filing or become void.
RIGHT OF WAY PURCHASE: MAUGANS AVENUE
Real property Administrator Joe Kuhna brought this request, for approval of purchase of Right of Way (ROW) fee simple and easements for the Maugans Avenue improvement project, to the Board. Kuhna told the Board that Additional ROW and supporting easements are needed for the construction of the Maugans Avenue project and proposed several purchases. The County would purchase a fee simple 1,063 square foot parcel, a revertible slope/grading easement of 1,313 square feet, and temporary construction easement of 788 square feet from the Dinezza property for a total cost of $34,600. The Hovermale property purchase of a fee simple 1,914 square foot area, a revertible slope/grading easement of 2,233 square feet, and temporary construction easement of 582 square feet would have a total cost of $ 11,140. Both properties are zoned residential suburban. The measures were approved by unanimous vote.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT: DIGITAL ASSET AND PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT TRACKING SOFTWARE ABD CONSULTING SERVICES
County Buyer Michael Haifley and Engineering Department Civil Engineer Randy Edwards brought to the Board a request, to award a bid for Intergovernmental Agreement and Sole Source Purchase of Digital Based Asset and Pavement Management Tracking Consulting Services and Software, in the total amount of $82,469.00 to Enterprise Information Solutions, Inc. of Columbia, Maryland.Under County law, the Board of County Commissioners may procure goods and services through a contract entered into by another governmental entity, in accordance with the terms of the contract, regardless of whether the County was a party to the original contract. The County will realize savings through administrative efficiencies as a result of not preparing, soliciting and evaluating a bid. The County does not currently have an all inclusive road inventory rating system. Currently road ratings and subsequent Capital Budgets are prepared manually after the assessment and input of various reviewers. Because of the extensive field effort to gather the pertinent data required to make this assessment, this approach is not the most cost effective means of rating roads nor is it the best approach to improving the road system. After reviewing the available Roadway Surface Management Systems (RSMS) applications, Engineering has determined that the EnterRoadInfo system is the best approach available for the County to rate roads and then prepare project plans and the appropriate budgets. The Digital Image Asset and Pavement Tracking will minimize the Engineer’s amount of time in the field. Data and images are captured by driving and photographing the County roads. Data is then verified and added in the office and the ratings are applied. After the ratings are completed the application suggests repair alternatives. Alternatives can be altered based on repair strategy and budget constraints to develop the most suitable options. The software portion of this purchase is made up of three components. Two of those components are the proprietary software of the Enterprise Information Solutions, Inc. that is only available from that firm, the EnterRoadInfo and the Pavement Module for EnterRoadInfo. The last component is for one user License for ESRI ArcView software that is commercially available. Sole source supplier requires approval by 4 members of the Board. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
Smithsburg Branch Library Bid Award
Chief County Engineer Terry McGee, Project Coordinator Gary Pozzouli and Washington County Free Library Director Mary Baykan brought this recommendation, to
award the construction contract for the Town of Smithsburg library branch to Excel construction of Hagerstown in the amount of $1,218,000. The bid is for the construction of a new 8,742 square foot library, including site work, to be located in Veterans Park in that community. The actual budget for the project is $1.622 million, including almost $857,000 raised from contributions. McGee told the Board that the total cost, including design, construction, inspection services, equipment and furniture and a 10% contingency is $1.62 million, leaving a surplus of $2,186.00. Baykan praised the people of Smithsburg for their hard work in the fundraising effort. Pozzouli told the Board that notice to proceed will be July 25 th and the 10-month construction period should be complete by May 2 nd of 2006. Baykan said a groundbreaking ceremony will be held during mid to late July.
APPLICATION FOR AMENDMENT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Chief Senior Planner Steve Goodrich brought this matter for final decision by the Board of County Commissioners. The Applicant, Shank Farms, Inc., has requested that the Land Use Plan of the Comprehensive Plan be amended to include 351 acres it owns in the Urban Growth Area and be assigned a land use policy designation of Low Density Residential. The property is currently located in the Rural Area and has a policy area designation of Agricultural. The subject property is contained in 7 parcels located adjacent to, but outside of, the current growth area boundary. The properties are located along the southeast side of the Leitersburg Pike, about 1000 feet east of its intersection with Longmeadow Road and have frontage on Leitersburg Pike in several locations. The property also has approximately 100 feet of frontage on Herman Myers Road about 3,000 feet south of its intersection with Leitersburg Pike. A joint public hearing was held on March 14, 2005 by the Washington County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners. The Planning Commission recommended denial of the amendment. Reasons for support of the Planning Commission findings include no evidence of error in the boundary location, limited capacity of infrastructure, limitation of sewer capacity under current densities, the growth area being "large enough" as stated by the Planning Commission, and impropriety of dense development near large mining operations. A motion by Commissioners Munson to include the parcel inside the growth area died for lack of a second. A motion to deny the application based on the listed reasons was approved on a 3-1 vote with Commission Munson voting "no".
TOWN OF SMITHSBURG APPLICATION FOR TEXT AMENDMENT TO COUNTY WATER/SEWER PLAN
Planner Tim Lung brought this request before the Board. A public hearing was held on March 14th, 2005 on the Town of Smithsburg’s request for an amendment to the Water and Sewerage Plan, to include revisions to Table 3, "Projected Water Supply Demands and Planned Capacity", Table 6 "Immediate, Five and Ten Year Priorities for Water Development", and the text for the Smithsburg Water Service Area in Chapter Three. The changes would reference the proposed construction of a new 250,000 Gallon ground water storage tank to augment the Town’s finished water storage. The proposed water system improvements associated with this amendment are located within the corporate limits of the Town of Smithsburg and within the existing Smithsburg Water Service Area. The Comprehensive Plan encourages growth and development to occur within the designated growth area where public facilities exist or can easily be extended. The proposed text amendment does not involve any changes to the existing water service area associated with the Town. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the text amendment. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
TEXT AMENDMENT: SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE
Planning Director Michael Thompson brought this amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance before the Board for approval. The amendment would revise language relating to the design of cul-de-sacs within Washington County. The purpose of the amendment is to establish a foundation on which the Planning Commission can review and determine the appropriate length of a cul-de-sac. The adoption of the proposed text amendment would establish a basis for actions by the Planning Commission and weaken any argument that it is arbitrary and capricious in its decisions in establishing cul-de-sac lengths. The measure was debated and a motion to approve failed on a 2-2 vote with Commissioners Kercheval and Nipps voting "yes".
OTHER BUSINESS
County Administrator's Comments: County Administrator Rod Shoop reminded the Boards that there will be no meetings for the next two weeks. The next Commissioners' meeting will be held on July 12 th.