Town of Brookeville Annual Meeting Minutes
May 14, 2012
7:30pm
Commissioner President Michael Acierno, Commissioner Sue Daley, Commissioner Katherine Farquhar, Town Clerk Cate McDonald, and Academy Manager Andrea Scanlon. Treasurer Susan Johnson was away.
Moment of silence to honor Jo Unglesbee, a Town Resident who passed away since last year’s Annual Meeting.
Commissioner President Michael Acierno acknowledged all the hard work of the Town’s employees and his fellow Commissioners.
Election results: Commissioner President Michael Acierno won re-election to another 2 year term; he stated this will be his last term and urged Town Residents to consider helping with the governance of their Town.
FY 2011-2012 Budget: a draft budget was available for review.  Commissioner President Michael Acierno stated that the Town is in good financial shape with ample reserves. The Town will have a slight deficit for the coming FY.
Welcome to New Neighbors: our newest neighbors were acknowledged: The Haris’s at 301 Market; The Davis’s at 13 North; and the Pollock’s building at 4 North.
Pepco and Trees: Pepco will be removing several trees from various locations in Town that are encroaching on their lines. Pepco will make trees available to be replanted.
New Construction: work has begun at 4 North Street. As part of the building process, the owner posted a bond in lieu of damages that might occur during the construction process.
Amphitheatre Sign: The sign that banned all recreational fires in the Amphitheatre area was found several feet off the Mill Race path. The Town will have the sign installed with concrete.
Academy Update: Energy updating work started today and the Town will be reimbursed by the MEA.  An underground propane tank will be installed this Fall.
Website: the Town’s new website will go live in a few days. The Town will save money ($99 current hosting fee vs. $4.24 per month new fee) and will allow the Town to have more control over the content management.
Town Picnic: all Town Residents were invited to the Annual Town Picnic to be held Sunday, August 26 from 4:00pm – 7:00pm.
War of 1812 update: Commissioner President Michael Acierno acknowledged Sandy Heiler, Chair of the War of 1812 committee. Mrs. Heiler reported that the DAR awarded a grant of $10,000 to the Friends of the Maryland State Archives for researching and documenting the events of August, 1814 in Brookeville and making relevant documents available online.  It will be a micro history of the Town itself and the people living here back in 1814.   The DAR Fellows will be visiting the Town several Monday’s in June. There are plans for a symposium at the Academy planned for Fall 2013.The Town will be applying for a Bicentennial Commission Grant for planning for 2014.
All grants require matching funds from the Town.
The White House Historical Association will be visiting the Town in August to do a survey.
There will be an archaeological dig this summer in the field behind the Madison House. The dig will take place in two phases over 2 years.
Sprucing Up:
The one room Schoolhouse has been painted
There will be plans in the coming months to fix the sidewalk pavers and general landscaping in Town.
SUMC will be donating time and talent this coming weekend within the Town as part of Methodist Service weekend initiative.
309 / 311 Market Street update: current projects are on hold. The owner is no longer in contempt as he has shown a lack of resources. MoCo does not have the resources to take over the clean-up.
Open Discussion:
- Debbie Wagner: National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY ‘12 was signed into law Dec. 31, 2011, by President Obama. She has concerns regarding sub-sections 1021 and 1022, which deal with detention of persons the government suspects of involvement in terrorism. She wants the Town to pass a resolution that these sub-sections do not apply within the Town’s jurisdiction. The Town Commissioners thought this should be an issue that Town Residents decide. It was unanimous that more information was needed before the Town could pass a resolution. Suggestions were for Mrs. Wagner to provide more information about her proposed resolution via the Town newsletter or on the Town website. Also, the information needs to be in layman terms so everyone can understand the issue.  Than a special meeting can be called and Residents can vote on the issue.
- The Town will discontinue use of its P.O. Box address within the coming year and use a mailbox at 5 High Street.
- There will be a dumpster available to Town Residents this year in the Fall for large trash.
- A request was made for Residents who have sidewalks in front of their house to trim their bushes and shrubs for easy access.
The meeting adjourned at 8:50p.m.
Cate McDonald
Town Clerk