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
February 13, 2007
THE BOARD ATTENDED A JOINT MEETING WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO DISCUSS Second Quarter Budget Adjustments, Funding Availability for Future Capital Projects, Status of the County Mitigation Policy and The Two Plus Two Committee
COMMISSIONERS' REPORTS AND COMMENTS
Commissioner
Kristin Aleshire asked if the Commissioners were intending to pursue a request
from the Liquor Board that all alcohol servers in Washington County be certified,
as requested by that Board's President last week. The Delegation took that bill
off the table at week's end. Consensus was not to pursue that request. Information
from the County Free Library's periodicals indicates
that Washington County funds 90% of costs for Agricultural Easements, Aleshire
said. The annual Department of Social Services awards event will be held on
March 16th, he said.
Commissioner Bill
Wivell reported on a recent meeting of the Pen Mar Development Corporation.
PMDC has approximately $7.5 million in assets and is seeking clarification from
the Army's auditor about ways in which those funds may be spent. Demolition
continues on the site and the first project is slated to be construction of
a Community Center, Wivell said.
Commissioner
Jim Kercheval reported on Governor Martin O'Malley's visit to the Maryland Correction
and Training Center on Monday. The meeting focused primarily on the correctional
officers and safety issues. The Commissioner met with several Boonsboro officials
and residents on annexation proposals to answer questions and convey some of
the concerns expressed by the Commissioners during a December presentation. The
town will be gathering information on these annexations and will make a presentation
to the Commissioners at a future meeting. Last week the County/City 2+2 committee
held its first meeting since the new Commissioners took office, and reviewed
some of the issues that were discussed by the former group. City Councilman
Martin Brubaker will be an alternate to that Committee when Councilman Lew Metzner
cannot attend, Kercheval said.
Commissioner
Terry Baker requested additional time to consider items on the agenda for the
City/County quarterly meetings. The Commissioner reported on attending the Hancock
Winter Ice Festival last weekend, and reported citizen concerns over possible
construction of a truck stop along I-81.
Commissioners'
President John Barr also discussed attending the Governor's visit, and welcomed
O'Malley to Washington County. Barr sought consensus from the Board to
support Hagerstown Business College's request to approach the Maryland Higher
Education Commission about 4-year degree status. A letter of support to that
state agency will be drafted.
BUDGET PRESENTATION: COMMISSION ON AGING
Susan MacDonald,
Executive Director of the Washington County Commission on Aging (COA) brought
this review of proposed expenditures to the Board for initial review. MacDonald
made the operating budget presentation for that agency for FY 2008. The
agency is asking for an increase of $43,408 to cover growth in the Meals on
Wheels program and the Medicare Part D Senior Health Insurance Program. The
Grand Total requested from the County would be $586,581.00. County funds make
up about 25% of the total agency budget. The state allocated about $45,000 last
year on a one-time basis to assist the agency, but those funds are not in this
year's budget, MacDonald said. $25,000 of the request from the County would
support the Medicare drug program, she said. The local COA is the only
stand-alone non-profit aging agency serving a single county that is not physically
a part of County government, MacDonald said, and discussions may take place
in the future to bring the COA into the County as a Department. COA moved from
its facility on the Square to the Franklin Street address in March of 2006 with
assistance from the County. All budget items will be reviewed prior to the Public
Hearing in May.
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.
Bob Harsh of Williamsport commented on Health
Department transportation service contract issues.
OTHER BUSINESS
County Attorney
Issues: Assistant County Attorney Kirk Downey brought a request from the Local
Delegation to the Maryland General Assembly for support of the proposed bill
that would modify the Excise Tax cap for Washington County. Enabling legislation
would allow the cap to be removed for Fiscal Year 2008, for new residential
construction. The cap would be re-imposed in FY '09 and thereafter. A task force
would be appointed to study the tax cap and submit a report to the delegation
and the Commissioners. Two motions were made that died for lack of seconds.
A motion by Commissioner Aleshire that would support a measure to remove the
cap for one fiscal year with the imposition of a graduated tax scale on residential
construction, to revert to current tax amounts on July 1, 2008, and to allow
a task force to study the residential excise tax, was approved on a 4-1 vote
with Commissioner Wivell voting "no".
Staff Reports: Division of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Director John
Latimer gave the Commissioners an update on the weather situation. 3-5 inches
of snow are predicted, followed by a half to three-quarters of an inch of
ice accumulation , over the next 24 hours. A planning meeting is set for 1
p.m., with activation of the Emergency Operations Center a possibility.
MARYLAND INSTITUTE OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES SYSTEMS 2006 BIO-TERRORISM
GRANT
DFES Director
John Latimer, brought this request for acceptance of the Maryland Institute
of Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) 2006 Bio-Terrorism Preparedness
Grant before the Board. Latimer requested the Board authorize the Division of
Fire and Emergency Services to accept the grant in the amount of $48,880
for preparedness and response to terrorism in the community. MIEMSS awards preparedness
and response grants annually to regions demonstrating a need that is project
specific. Washington and Frederick Counties (Region II) have been collaborating
for three years to establish adequate resources for response to mass casualty
events. The award provides funding for ongoing efforts to acquire medical
supplies and equipment for such an emergency. Additionally, the collaboration
creates a redundancy through mutual aid response agreements because each County
supports the other with an identical equipment cache. There is no fiscal
impact to the County. The measure was approved by unanimous vote.
MISS MARYLAND SCHOLARSHIP PAGEANT
Hagerstown
Mayor Bob Bruchey and Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Tom Riford brought
this request, to provide $14,000 in funding to assist in the
Miss Maryland Scholarship Pageant for 2007, to be held at the Maryland Theatre
from June 17th through the 24th. The contracted arrangement would be
five years with the City of Hagerstown, the Miss Maryland Scholarship Pageant,
and the Maryland Theatre. The City of Hagerstown is co-sponsoring and
hosting the event, and funding with a contribution of $14,000. The
funding would escalate by $1,000 each year, split between the County and City.
The total cost of the Pageant for this year is $38,000. Mayor Bruchey said
that the event was not able to meet that funding level and had considered
another venue for the pageant. The funding could be seen
as an example of revenue sharing, Bruckey said.The annual event has been held
in Hagerstown for 30 years and creates more than $125,000 of local economic
impact, Riford said, as well as positive publicity for Hagerstown and Washington
County. The not-for-profit Miss Maryland Scholarship Program is part of the
Miss America Organization. The request is for the County Commissioners, through
the lodging tax special projects fund, to assist in sponsoring the pageant.
The measure, to provide $14,000 in FY '08 and an additional $500 each of the
next 4 fiscal years, from the Hotel-Motel tax fund was approved by unanimous
vote.
PROPOSAL: WASHINGTON COUNTY CHARTER BOARD CONSULTANT
Jeanne Singer,
Washington County Charter Home Rule Board Chairperson
brought this request, to approve a working budget for writing the Charter,
to the Commission. The Charter Board unanimously voted to hire Victor Tervala
of the University of Maryland to assist the Charter Board in preparing
a Charter document. The consultant has been involved with all recent Charters
in Maryland, and the Charter Board felt Trevala's expertise could help move
along the discussion and assist the board in avoiding problems. The Charter
Board was initially funded at $12,000, but no formal action was taken. Commissioner
Kercheval stated that the Charter Board is independent of the Commissioners
once appointed, and could contract with a consultant without Commissioners'
approval. The County Attorney's Office could also assist in the effort, and
could be cost-effective. A motion, to approve funding for up to $12,000 from
the Commissioners' contingency fund for use in Charter Board activities was
approved on a 3-2 vote with Commissioners Wivell and Aleshire voting "no".