March 10, 2003 Commissioners Meeting Minutes

March 10, 2003

ATTENDING: President Richard Allan, Commissioners Robert Heritage and Les Unglesbee, Clerk-Treasurer Susan Johnson and Terri Hogan from the Olney Gazette were in attendance. A member of Boy Scout Troop 759 and his parents also attended the meeting. He is working on fulfilling the requirements for a government badge. The meeting began at 8:00 p.m. at the Brookeville Academy.

MINUTES: The January minutes were read and accepted as amended.

FINANCIAL REPORT: The financial report was reviewed and accepted.

REGULAR ORDER OF BUSINESS:

Margaret Van Gelder was sworn is by President Allan as Supervisor of Elections. She will reside over the May election for one commissioner.

1. Planning Commission – President Allan spoke to a former town attorney, Nancy Floreen, about the property located on High Street. A potential buyer for the property apparently contends that the property may be subdivided. President Allan was asked by the Planning Commission to discuss the matter informally with Ms. Floreen as she had drafted the zoning and subdivision ordinances. Ms. Floreen advised that the Planning Commission consider making a determination based on their reading of the Master Plan and the zoning/subdivision ordinances. Should they believe that subdivision in this case should not be permissible, they should so decide. If a buyer of the property then wants to contest this position, then they can litigate. The Commissioners also approved a permit for a house addition to be constructed at 208 Market St.
2.Operations and Maintenance:

Public Maintenance. The commissioners discussed the problem of residents not clearing sidewalks during the snowstorms this winter. President Allan suggested the town might want to purchase a snow blower. There is concern about where to store it and who would operate it. President Allan noted that the Town of Somerset hires contractors to keep sidewalks clear. The Commissioners took no action on this matter. The Sheahin property has submitted a subdivision application for the May Planning Commission meeting. An ad to this effect will be run two times in the Gazette prior to the meeting. Ms. Johnson reported that she would send a revised maintenance schedule to Damascus Lawn regarding the public maintenance contract.

3. MML Business – President Allan attended the annual Montgomery County MML Chapter meeting with County Executive Doug Duncan. He reported that the main issue at the meeting was the very bad budget situation at the County and State levels and how it was impacting on municipalities. Additionally, the head of the Emergency Management office for Montgomery County attended and reported on the process for recovering snow removal costs from Disaster Assistance funding from the Federal government. The MML Chapter will meet with the County Council at its March meeting.

NEW BUSINESS

President Allan reported that the Local Government Insurance Trust (LGIT) has purchased terrorism insurance for all member towns at no additional cost to the towns.

Election 2003 – the election will be held on Tuesday, May 13th from 4:00 – 9:00 p.m. The current term of Commissioner Heritage will expire and thus the election is for one commissioner for a two-year term. Nominations must be submitted to Ms. VanGelder by April 21st. Ms. Johnson will send out the nomination letter announcement to all residents this week. The annual meeting will be held May 19th at 8:00 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 9:45p.m. The next meeting is on April 14 at 8:00 p.m. at the Brookeville Academy.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan L. Johnson
Clerk-Treasurer