Town of Brookeville
Commissioners Meeting Minutes
February 11, 2013 8:00 pm
Commissioner President Michael Acierno, Commissioners Sue Daley and Katherine Farquhar, Academy Manager Andrea Scanlon and Treasurer Susan Johnson were present. Present during the meeting was Gazette reporter, Terri Hogan,
The meeting was held in the Brookeville Academy and began at 8:10 pm.
Planning Commission: Michelle Rosenfeld, JD, Bob Sheehan, owner of Inn at Brookeville Farms, architects Jeff Broadhurst and Gregory Wiedemann came to the meeting to present preliminary plans for rooms to be built next to the Inn at Brookville Farms. Greg Wiedemann presented the plan which shows a total of 79 rooms. It consists of one larger building and four smaller buildings in a U shape with a courtyard in the middle. It also had a spa located farther in the back as a separate building. The buildings would have a golf cart shuttle that would run from the restaurant to the rooms. The plan has been presented in detail to the Brookeville Planning Commission. They will be making changes based on input from both the BPC and the Historic Planning Commission. See commissioners’ comments below.
Bypass: Chris Haris came and presented a letter that he wrote regarding the need for the bypass and outlining accidents that have happened near his house. He also spoke to resident and state senator Karen Montgomery about the letter and who to send it to. She provided him a list of officials it should go to. Commissioner Acierno said that a plea to write letters will be in the Feb newsletter. He asked Chris to e-mail him the letter and we could use it as a template. Chris also offered to go door to door in the town to collect letters.
Minutes:Â The minutes were approved as amended.
Financial Reports: Susan stated that the mortgage on the Academy will be paid off in March. Commissioner Daley suggested that the town have some kind of a celebration. No firm plans were finalized.
Academy Report: Andrea reported that we have had a lot of rentals but they are low dollar rentals. Many are resident rentals. It was suggested that the newsletter mention that resident rates are for residents only and not friends or family members. She said she has only seen this happen once.
Inn at Brookeville Farms proposal: President Acierno commented that he attended the BPC meeting where the Inn plans were presented. He said there are several things that are conditions for any type of approval. First is that it must not jeopardize the construction of the bypass. If so, commissioners will not approve. Developer must get a guarantee from state and county officials that this would not happen if it were to be built. There was also discussion that the property would have to be rezoned commercial. It is currently zoned residential. All commissioners agreed that there would have to be a great benefit to the town by approving the project. Other discussion included that the project would have to be postponed until after 2014 so that there would not be construction during the 2014 celebration. Also points to look at are what should happen in the future if it fails or gets sold.
2014 Commemoration Report: There will be a town meeting on March 18 at 7:30 in the Brookeville Academy where a full report of the plans will be presented.
Highway User Funds: President Acierno commented that our funds have increased and are up to 4 times what we have gotten the last few years.
Landscaping: Sandy Hieler and Bob Hines have asked if the mill race could start to be cleaned up in March over spring break. Since the town would then have to maintain this area until next year, it was decided that it would be postponed until 2014. There was discussion that we should look for landscapers who would be willing to help and perhaps give a reduced rate. The town needs to come up with a beautification plan and a plan for sidewalk restoration. Some areas to include are the millrace, academy, schoolhouse, sidewalks, property in front of 205/203 Market and WSSC, hill between Issokson/Yinger, town signs, town meadow, historic lamps, and pot holes. There was also discussion about cleaning up the millrace that leads to Oakley cabin. It was decided that the town would try and do town signs and sidewalks in the current fiscal year. Sidewalks would include Heritage to Heiler, Van Gelders house to Evans house and the academy area. Commissioner Farquhar has a landscaping contact.
Misc: Resident Debbie Wagner had a car run into her property on the snow day but she was unable to get information on the car. It can be put in the Brookeville Times to see if anyone may have seen anything.
Meeting adjourned at 10:05 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Johnson, Treasurer