January 11, 2010 Commissioners Meeting Minutes

January 11, 2010
8:00 p.m.

Commissioner Robert Heritage, Commissioner Katherine Farquhar, Town Clerk Cate McDonald, Academy Manager Andrea Scanlon, Treasurer Susan Johnson. Commissioner President Michael Acierno was not in attendance. Present during all or portions of the meeting were Fred Teal, Debbie Wagner, and Gazette Reporter Terri Hogan

Minutes: The December 2009 Commissioners Meeting Minutes were approved.

Financial: The December financial report was not available.

The Town ordered a new Dell computer which should be operational sometime in January. The current computer malfunctioned after a virus entered its system. The suspected entry point for the virus is the on-line calendar for the Brookeville Academy.

Academy Update: Rentals were down for 2009. Rental inquiries are down. The networking group, Leads2Share, will hold a trail meeting at the Academy Jan. 19th from 7:00am-9:00am.

The Dec. 26th fire sprinkler alarm was a false alarm triggered by the dry system in the attic. The fire alarm code was for water moving in the system. The alarm was serviced by Judd Fire Protection and the system is functioning properly.

Google calendar for Academy rentals: Commissioner President Michael Acierno set up a Google calendar to manage the Academy rentals. Academy Manager says the new calendar is ready to go onto the website; would like the calendar to say “reserved” vs. “busy”. The new Google calendar will replace the existing calendar feature on the Town’s website.

Schoolhouse: Davenport Insulation provided the lowest written quote for gutters: $698/COD. Installation has been delayed because of snow.

Snow Removal: The Town experienced Severe Snow/Blizzard conditions December 19-20, 2009. The Town hopes to recoup some of it snow removal expenses from the State via potential federal assistance which may be made available to local jurisdictions. Current snow removal costs for this winter have far exceeded the budgeted amount.

Weather Alerts sent to Town Residents are appreciated by all who receive them.

309 & 311 Market St: the next hearing is scheduled for the afternoon of February 11, 2010. Commissioner Robert Heritage has not been able to get in touch with Bill Calloway of Code Enforcement, via phone, to arrange a meeting prior to the hearing.

Master Plan: Commissioners Heritage and Farquhar discuss the Comprehensive Plan prior to Commissioners Meeting and will pass along their comments Commissioner President Acierno. Commissioner Farquhar questioned the future of commercial property when existing businesses cease to exist.

Public hearing is set for Feb. 9th, 2010.

Legislative Night: Annual Legislative Night will be held February 1, 2010 from 6:00pm-8:00pm in Annapolis. Commissioner President Acierno plans to attend with Commissioner Heritage. Commissioner Farquhar will not be available to attend.

Commissioner President Acierno and Commissioner Farquhar met with Josh Russin, Intergovernmental Affairs & Zone Coordinator for the Governor on Jan.5th to discuss the Governor’s priorities this legislative session, the State Budget and anticipated budget cuts, and the future of the Brookeville Bypass.

Trees: Fred Teal, 9 North Street, wants the Commissioners to take actions on the English Ivy that is growing on trees along North Street. The Town contracted with an Arborist in Fall 2008 and one of her recommendations in developing a strategy to maintain the health of our trees was ivy removal and Fred Teal wants this to be a priority for the Town for the trees along North Street and wants the ivy removed ASAP. Commissioner Farquhar wants quotes for the Town to pay for the ivy removal; having Residents performing this task during a Spring Community Clean-up, as suggested, seems to be to too hazardous and should be done by professionals.

Open Discussion:

Wireless Internet: Debbie Wagner, 198 Market Street, requested the Town to have wireless access points. This will allow Residents to have high speed internet free of charge.

Solar Coop: Fred Teal, 9 North Street, is still working on a Solar Coop for any interested Town Resident. He has been in contact with 2 companies that provide home energy audits, ecobeco and Ardently Green, to provide quotes which will range from $200-$400 or more depending on the size of the house. As of yet, no Town Resident’s have expressed interest in having a home energy audit conducted or joining a solar energy coop. Commissioner Farquhar suggested Mr. Teal prepare the information for the next Town newsletter and hopefully that will generate interested among Residents.

Clean Currents: Fred Teal and Debbie Wagner signed up for Clean Currents “Green Neighborhood Effect” seminar to learn more about this program that gives back $10 per household that signs up to contribute to a green community project.

Commissioner Farquhar wanted to know the status of stop sign at Market & High Sts. The “traffic from the left does not stop” portion of the sign is hanging too low and people are bumping their heads on the sign. The SHA maintenance division is investigating the sign placement.

The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

Cate McDonald
Town Clerk