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.
Review of Actions Taken in the Washington County
Board of County Commissioners Meeting
June 20, 2006
THE COMMISSIONERS ATTENDED A JOINT MEETING WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AT CLEAR SPRING MIDDLE SCHOOL TO HEAR A FACILITIES UPDATE AND A REQUEST FOR 3RD QUARTER BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS.
FORD DRIVE-TOLLGATE RIDGE ROAD OPENING
The Commissioners
attended the formal opening of Ford Drive / Tollgate Ridge Road at 10:00 a.m..
Deputy Chief Engineer Rob Slocum recommended that the Board accept the
Ford Drive Extension to Tollgate Ridge. Washington County constructed a new
section of Roadway from the Intersection of Maryland State Route 144 to Tollgate
Ridge, east of Hancock. Construction began on June 9th, 2004, under contract
with LW Wolfe Enterprises, Inc for a contract value of $1,913,707.64. The connection
of Ford Drive and Tollgate Ridge Road will significantly reduce the traffic
on residential streets in the town of Hancock and also provide a more
direct route for commercial vehicles between Interstate 70 and Rayloc Road.
The design included mechanically stabilized earth slopes and segmental retaining
walls to reduce right of way costs and save private property. A storm
in September of 2004 significantly damaged the Tollgate Ridge Bridge and delayed
the project. Washington County dedicated an additional $491,748.27 to
reconstruct four wingwalls and portions of the road at the bridge. The
Road was opened to through Traffic on May 5 of 2006. A ribbon was cut to formally
open the road to traffic.
COMMISSIONERS' REPORTS AND COMMENTS
Commissioner
Jim Kercheval reported on Friday's meeting of the Local Management Board. Use
of carryover funds was approved at that meeting and will be presented later
in today's meeting, Kercheval said. The Citibank 20th anniversary celebration
last week was a fitting tribute to the employees of the County's largest employer.
Kercheval presented Citibank with a proclamation, and commended Citibank for
its quality of work and for their commitment to their employees, customers,
and community.
Commissioner Dori Nipps commented on the Citibank event and the Women's Commission
reception in honor of a book the Commission published on Women's firsts in
Washington County. The Ryder Jet facility open house on Sunday was informative,
Nipps said. The Historic District Commission has been looking for an attorney
to serve on that advisory board, and the name of Chip Stewart was put forth
to fill that position. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
Commissioners'
President Greg Snook reported on attending the Flag Day ceremony last week at
the Plaza Park adjacent to the University System of Maryland Hagerstown campus.
Serving as a speaker for the Board of Education's Administrators' meeting last
week was useful in presenting financial information about County government
to the educators. Three water projects that will improve water tanks and a reservoir
that were announced last week will begin immediately and should be completed
by October, Snook said. Manpower, Inc's regional outlook shows significant increase
in employment in the coming quarter, with 40% of County businesses indicating
new hires. That figure is above the stated average of 33% and is second only
to Montgomery County, Snook said. Approval of funding for several projects
has been announced by the Appalachian Regional Commission, pending approval
of the federal budget. Hagerstown Community College's Nursing and Applied Health
Programs, the Board of Education projects on biotech and infrastructure at the
Boonsboro school complex, and County projects on the Geographical Information
System received tentative approval, as well as TEA-21 funds for the Newgate
Road extension.
OTHER BUSINESS
Reports from
County Staff: Human Resources Director Dave Hankinson requested approval of
three positions. One Motor Equipment Operator II position is vacant at Highways.
A Systems Mechanic II and a Water Plant Operator are both vacant at the Department
of Water Quality. Advertisement of the positions was approved by unanimous vote.
Division
of Fire and Emergency Services Director John Latimer requested that the Board
accept the FY 2006 Senator Amos Part 58 state funds for Fire companies. An annual
appropriation, the funds are devided equally among all fire companies in the
County. This year's total is $229,659.36, which equals $8,505.90 for each fire
company.
Public Works
Director Gary Rohrer told the Board that an Architect is looking at details
of the Williamsport Library roof project and that work could begin as soon as
September 1st. The walk-through inspection of the Smithsburg Library branch
was completed last week, and work is substantially complete on that facility.
A formal opening is expected in mid to late July, Rohrer said.
Budget and
Finance Director Deb Murray reported that 30,030 tax refund checks are being
printed and will be mailed late this week or early next week. The $150 rebate
checks come from recordation tax surpluses over a two-year period. Information
in the form of Frequently Asked Questions about the tax refund and other tax
rebate programs will be available on the County website at www.washco-md.net,
and in print version at the County Commissioners' Office and the Budget and
Finance Office in the Administration building, at the County Treasurer's Office
at 35 West Washington Street, and at the State Office of Assessments and Taxation
on the square in downtown Hagerstown.
County Attorney
Issues: County Attorney John Martirano brought this request, for approval
of a resolution designating the Resident Agent for Washington County, to the
Board. State Law requires certain units of the State government, political subdivisions
and other local entities to file designations of persons as "resident agents" on
whom process notice may be served under certain circumstances with the State
Department of Assessments and Taxation. This is comparable to the long-standing
requirement for corporations and other private legal entities to maintain resident
agents in the state for service of legal process such as lawsuits. The designee
must be a natural person who is a citizen and a resident of the State, a corporation,
or a public official of the County. The designee may not be the name of
a position. Further changes in the designation can be made by notice to
the Department. This resolution designates John M. Martirano, County Attorney,
as resident agent, and comports with long-standing practice well known to the
bar that the County Attorney will accept service on behalf of the County Commissioners
or any County agency or employee sued. It also lessens the likelihood
of delay in responding to a lawsuit. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
County Administrator's
Comments: County Administrator Rod Shoop requested of approval of a budget transfer
in the amount of $40,000 from Judge Fred Wright's operating budget to the Courthouse
Renovation budget to cover the cost of furnishings for the fifth Circuit Judge
office. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
CONTRACT
AWARD: PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
County Deputy
Chief Engineer Rob Slocum brought this request, to award the contract for the
Pavement Maintenance Program for Fiscal Year 2007 to the lowest, responsible,
responsive bidder, C. William Hetzer, Inc., Hagerstown, Maryland for the total
amount of $4,969,124.05. The Pavement Maintenance Program for FY '07 is described
as asphalt preservation, repair and rehabilitation including, but not limited
to, Crack Filling, Slurry Seal, Patching, Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Overlay, Full
Depth Pavement Reclamation, and Thermoplastic Pavement Markings. The bid
alternate was for high performance wet reflective pavement markings at select
locations. Due to the high bid price, it is recommended that the alternate
not be utilized at this time. The contract as bid, for the County roadways include:
10 miles of HMA overlay, which includes patching, milling, wedging and leveling;
6.6 miles of Full Depth Reclamation; 15 miles of Crack Fill and Patching; 9.2
miles Slurry Seal; and miscellaneous items include pavement markings and loop
detectors. This is a 180 calendar day contract. Assuming prompt bid award and
anticipating Notice-To-Proceed on or about July 10, 2006, the anticipated completion
date is May 13, 2007, assuming a winter shutdown, which is assumed to be from
November 4, 2006 to March 12, 2007. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
REZONING: RZ-06-005-KIM RICHEY
Senior Planner
Jill Baker brought this request, for rezoning of 0.91 acres located at 13514
Little Antietam Road, in Leitersburg. The applicant, Kim Ritchey/Ritchey's
Totlot, LLC has requested that the property that is be rezoned from RV (Rural
Village) to RB-N (Rural Business-New) floating zone. A joint public hearing
was held on this rezoning request on March 20, 2006. The Planning Commission
recommended approval of this rezoning request. The purpose of the RB-N District
is to permit the development of businesses that support the agricultural industry
and farming community, serve the needs of the rural residential population,
provide for recreation and tourism opportunities, as well as establish locations
for businesses and facilities not otherwise permitted in the rural areas of
the County. The RB-N District is established as a "floating zone" which
may be located on any parcel in an Agricultural, Environmental Conservation,
preservation or Rural Village Zoning District.
The Board supported the Planning Commission's decision by unanimous vote.
REZONING: RZ-06-007-PROPOSED REVISIONS TO RURAL AREA REZONING
Senior Planner
Jill Baker also brought this application for Text Amendments to the Washington
County Zoning Ordinance, proposed revisions relating to Rural Area Rezoning,
before the Board for approval. The applicant, the Board of
County Commissioners of Washington County, Maryland, has requested amendments
to the text of the Zoning Ordinance focusing on clarifying language related
to the adoption of the Rural Area Rezoning. The Washington County Planning Commission
recommended adoption of the amendments. Subsequent to the writing of the initial
Staff Report and Analysis by Planning Staff and before the public hearing, a
few minor changes were found. Those changes include deleting setbacks
for In-Home Daycare under Articles 5A, 5B, and 5C, clarification of different
setback modification for the RU zoning district in Section 23.3, and fixing
section D of the definition of "Yard Measurements" in Article 28A.
The other amendments proposed center on the administrative articles of the Ordinance
including Articles 4, 22, 23, and 24. These amendments were proposed to
incorporate the new zoning designations adopted as part of RZ-03-005, more commonly
referred to as the Rural Area Rezoning. References to the new zoning districts
were inadvertently omitted from the administrative sections during the rezoning
case and are now being incorporated back into the document to ensure continuity. Another
minor change included removal of "R district" references and replacing
them with the appropriate residential zoning designations, removing redundant
and/or contradictory language in various sections, and clarifying definitions.
The measures were tabled pending clarification of some issues.
CITY OF HAGERSTOWN ANNEXATION REQUEST: SHAOOL PROPERTY
Planning
Director Mike Thompson requested that the Commissioners concur with the finding
of consistency with the adopted County Comprehensive Plan by Planning staff
and the Planning Commission. For annexation of 1.6
acres of land by the City of Hagerstown. The property is located
on the east side of the Dual Highway between Mount Aetna Road and Edgewood
Drive. The site is designated as Low Density Residential on the Comprehensive
Plan and currently has RU-Residential Urban zoning. The applicant is requesting
R-2 (residential) zoning upon annexation into the City and is currently under
development with four single-family dwellings. The County issued building
permits for the construction of the new dwellings. Staff finds the request consistent
with the adopted 2002 Comprehensive Plan. The measure was approved by unanimous
vote.
DETERMINATION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND DISTRICT TERM
Land Preservation
Planner Holly Thibault brought this request, that the County
Commissioners approve the Ag Board’s decision to keep the Ag District
term at 10 years. Washington County provides property tax credits to landowners
who commit to a 10-year agricultural land preservation district, whereby development
is not permitted during the 10-year period. The program piggybacks onto
the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program. The state is allowing each
county to determine the length of the District Agreement, between 3 and 10 years.
The Ag Board voted to keep the term for Washington County at 10 years. The
measure was approved by unanimous vote.
REQUEST TO REMOVE INDUSTRIAL/MINERAL OVERLAY
Tim Lung,
Chief Planner brought this request, to remove Industrial Mineral (IM) Overlay
from a portion of a 35.36-acre parcel of land and restore it
to its previous classification of Agricultural-Rural. St. Lawrence Cement has
requested that the IM Overlay be removed from approximately 30 acres of land
that is being transferred to an individual for a residential building lot as
part of a legal settlement. The Zoning Ordinance allows such action. The Planning
Commission considered the request at their regular meeting on June 5, 2006 and
voted unanimously to recommend that the overlay be deleted. A portion of the
property being transferred is located within the Urban Growth Area and is zoned
IM. This portion of the property must retain the IM designation at this time
because it has no underlying zoning and can only be changed through the rezoning
process. Staff believes this area was left in the Growth Area and retained the
IM zoning, due to its proximity to existing development and its ownership by
the Cement Company. The remaining lands owned by the St. Lawrence Cement outside
the Growth Area are now zoned Agricultural-Rural with the IM overlay. No
mining has ever occurred on the subject property. The measure was approved by
unanimous vote.
CONTRACT AWARD: RECORD KEEPING AND ACTUARIAL SERVICES
County Purchasing
Agent Karen Luther and Human Resources Director Dave Hankinson brought this
request before the Board, to award a contract for Record-Keeping and Actuarial
Services Consulting Services for the Retirement Plan and Length of Service Award
Program (LOSAP) to CBIZ Benefits and Insurance Services of Cumberland, Maryland,
for a five-year period for the Total Lump Sum of $84,000.00. Services consist
of an annual valuation including Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
disclosure and employee statements, monthly management meetings, quarterly investment
performance reviews, annual presentation to the Commissioners, approximately
50 benefit calculations annually, and approximately 10 service buy-back calculations
annually. The duration of the contract is for one 1 year with 4 additional
consecutive 1-year renewal periods. The annual fee was $12,000 under the previous
5-year contract that was awarded to CBIZ. The measure was approved by unanimous
vote.
RECOMMENDATION FOR PARTNERSHIP CARRY-OVER FUNDS
Washington County Community Partnership (WCCP) Director Stephanie Stone brought
this Program Recommendation for Partnership Carry-Forward Funds to the Board
for approval. A plan to utilize the Partnership Carry-forward funding from the
Governor’s Office for Children was developed by WCCP. The funds were earned
by the Community Partnership through savings in program management in fiscal
year 2003. A total of $698,995.45 was approved by the Governor’s Office
for Children (GOC) for disbursement for one-time only expenditures. GOC states “the
use of carry forward funds is reserved exclusively for one-time expenditures.
It is not intended to sustain existing programming and/or to initiate services
or staffing that cannot be subsequently sustained.” Washington County
Public Schools would receive $222,500 for a School-Based Health Centers (SBHC)
Expansion Project at South Hagerstown High School, and construction of a new
School-Based Health Center at Williamsport High School. SBHCs deliver comprehensive
services that are integrated with existing school health and pupil personnel
services in support of educational goals. The program is currently operational
in two sites within the county, at Western Heights Middle School and South Hagerstown
High School. Expansion to a third site, Williamsport High School, has been targeted
for the 2006-2007 school year. Both expansions can be supported by one-time
only funding to cover the costs of building renovations. The Washington County
Health Department would receive $30,000 for Purchase of start up equipment and
clinic supplies for Williamsport High School’s SBHC. $75,000 would go
to the United Way of Washington County to support an advertising and educational
campaign titled "Born Learning", targeted towards families of young
children at risk of developmental delay. The campaign would promote services
available to those families and children in the local area. $246,000.00 would
go to the Department of Social Services and County Commuter to fund transportation
for Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) clients to job sites along Hopewell Road.
Employers in that area have said they have as many as 500 jobs available, and
there is currentlyu no public transportation to those sites. The funding would
be for a pilot project to determine how many TCA clients would utilize the service,
and if the need can be met using such a program. If successful, information
from the pilot project would be used as the basis for application to state and
federal sources for new bus route startup funds, to sustain the program. The
measures were approved by unanimous vote.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Appointments
to County Boards and Commissions: County Clerk Joni Bittner brought a request
from the Local Management Board that Michael Keifer, Lori Connolly, and Ladetra
Robinson be appointed, to the Commissioners for approval. The measures were
approved by unanimous vote. Officers for the LMB were proposed: Dave Engle,
Chair; Paul Pittman, Vice Chair; Secretary, Carolyn Brooks and Treasurer, Melicent
Malchenson. The request was approved by unanimous vote.