Town of Brookeville
Commissioners Meeting Minutes
November 14, 2016
7:00pm
Commissioner:
Present: Katherine Farquhar, Buck Bartley, and Sue Daley
Absent: none
Quorum present? Yes
Present during all or portions of the meeting:
Town Clerk Cate McDonald, Academy Manager Andrea Scanlon, and Treasurer Susan Johnson
Town Residents: none
Others: Terri Hogan, Greater Olney News
Proceedings:
Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Commissioner President Farquhar
UPDATES:
• Waiting on the completed topological survey for the Academy from CPH. Once received, will come up with a plan on how to grade the Academy lawn.
• Authorized CPH to do the grading plan for the Schoolhouse lot based on ideas from Miche Booz, Chris Scanlon, Andrea Scanlon and various contractors. Commissioner Bartley will be working on quotes for the grading.
• Commissioner Bartley received a quote for $12K for interior and exterior repairs to the Schoolhouse but the quote does not include drywall patch and painting. The building might have termites. There may be grants available to help defer the repair costs. The estimated total for the Schoolhouse repairs is approximately $20K. Once the Town has the grading plan, a HAWP will be submitted for all work that needs to be done to the Schoolhouse.
• Town Tree Survey: is underway
• Water Street: a quote of $3800 was received to regrade the end of Water Street for storm water remediation. There was a discussion about why regrade only the end of Water Street. The resident of 108 Water are willing to wait until the entire street is regraded and covered with tar & chip. The grading has to be done anyhow – either now or when the entire road is regraded. Regarding the road is not stopping tar & chip. CPH will design a plan to regrade the roads to minimize drainage across properties as much as possible. After the regrading plan, CPH will come back with a design for tar & chip including specifications. For example, 12 foot lane of tar & chips with 2 feet of gravel on the sides = 16 feet total in width or 10 foot lane tar & chips with 4 feet of gravel on the sides. There is no money in this year’s fiscal budget for road resurfacing. It was decided that the Town will get the cost of the tar & chip for North and Water Streets and work on finding funds for the road (State or Federal funds). It was suggested to regrade the gravel roads and keep the roads gravel for a while before the surface is put on.
It was decided to get the design for regrading, get the design for tar & chip, bid the plans out and go ahead with just the regrading. Get the grading correct on the gravel roads and then cover with tar & chip.
Schoolhouse: Commissioner Farquhar met with Heritage Montgomery and the Schoolhouse project with be done 3 phase.
• Phase 1: site prep now through Spring 2017 – due diligence; put in the walking path; North Street trees assessment, talk about funding, clean-up the Schoolhouse; parking lot cleared and resurfaced, move street light; install a lockable portapotty. Apply for grants to minimize cost to Town and any HAWP needed.
• Phase 2: going on the same time as Phase 1 – Exhibit preparation, consult with Park & Planning, program will be a paid exhibit tour (buy tickets at Woodlawn to include entrance to Woodlawn, Schoolhouse, and Oakley Cabin). There was a questioned raised about this being a paid tour: would the Town see any revenue, can people without tickets still be able to access the schoolhouse. Being part of a paid exhibit had not been discussed with the Town. Commissioner Farquhar will get more details from Heritage Montgomery. Signs will be installed in pea gravel not cement.
• Phase 3: docents to be recruited. Heritage Days 2017 (June 24 & 25) will be when the program goes live for the first time. Fall 2017 the Schoolhouse exhibit will be fully functioning and will be open the same days as Oakley Cabin. At this point, the Schoolhouse will be ready for rentals.
Questions / concerns: we do not know how much money will come from grants; as of now, there is not a signed contract. Once all the phases are mapped out, the information will posted to the Town’s website. A lot of questions will be answered tomorrow when Commissioner Farquhar meets with Exec. Director of Heritage Montgomery Sarah Rogers. Heritage Montgomery suggested the Town look at landscaping companies to install the pathway gratis and put up a sign. The Town will provide and maintain the Schoolhouse, Heritage Montgomery will do the rest of the program, including installing the fence and portapotty enclosure. Sandy Hailer will be the grant writer on behalf of the Town.
• Academy Chairs: to date, Sandy Heiler has purchased 41 chairs.
• Progress on Donna Will Teas and Schools program: off to a slow start but underway.
ROUTINE TOWN BUSINESS:
Minutes: The October Commissioners Meeting were approved as edited.
Flags: Commissioner Bartley would like the Town to purchase longer flag poles. Commissioner Bartley, Stefan Syski, and Duane Heiler took the flags down.
Estimated cost to install new Town signs is $2500.
Streetlight by Schoolhouse: where to move the pole? Have the plan incorporated with regrading. Suggested to move near where the portapotty will be located or other side of the parking lot.
Financial: financial report was emailed prior to meeting.
Treasurer reported there is nothing out the ordinary with the financial reports.
A payment of $840 was approved to Mark Ennes for mowing the Academy lawn; Mark Ennes did not send a bill for the work.
Treasurer wants to switch to QuickBooks online; this will enable her to access financial information any time.
There was a discussion regarding switching to a cloud based email services – Outlook 365 or Google Apps for Government.
QuickBooks online and cloud based email was approved by the Commissioners.
The 2 year tax increase netted the Town an additional $12,100 last year. The estimated tax increase net is estimated to be $25,000 total for 2 years. The tax increase is through 2017. This will be discussed at the interim Town meeting in January. The Commissioners plan to let the tax increased lapse.
The date for the interim Town meeting was scheduled for January 17 at 7:30pm.
The January Commissioners Meeting will be Monday, January 2 at 7:00pm
The Town’s auditor will be available to Town Staff and Commissioner prior to the December Commissioners Meeting to explain the audit report and answer questions.
Academy update:
The building is busier than usual between Scouts, Hebrew School, and a lecture series.
• There was a discussion about how to tactfully market for funeral receptions
• The above ground propane tank will be removed this Thursday
• Bogan Electric is working on an estimate for streetlight repair and maintenance.
• Dec. 1-3 will be clean-up days at the Academy. The current chairs in the Lecture Hall will need to stay until January. Filing cabinet in the basement and the office closet needs to clean out. The Commissioners will decide what will stay and what will go. Sandy Heiler will be included in the document clean up.
• Bids for the new Academy roof are out
• The Academy interior will be repainted in Jan / Feb as well as some electrical work.
• There was a discussion about renovating the kitchen. Mary Kay and Andy Spagnolo recently visited the Academy and gave some recommendation to make the kitchen more caterer-friendly. One item was to remove the water fountain to put in a closet. The Academy Manager states the water fountain has to stay; if removed, the Academy would need to provide bottled water. The 2 doors should stay because it more caterer-friendly. The estimated cost to update the kitchen is $8K-$10K. Academy Manager suggested engaging the services of a kitchen consultant for clearances, ventilation, and other questions. Any changes to the kitchen would require approval of MHT. A plan is needed: Jorge Chacon has offered to create a CAD design. Academy Manager was asked to consult with Mary Kay, Andy, and Jorge to develop a design. Funds for the kitchen update is under capital funds in the budget = $10K
BYPASS:
• Next Partnering Meeting at SHA, Baltimore = nothing planned; meetings are pretty much done. Spring 2017 is the projected start date.
Open Discussion
• Commissioner Bartley favors cooper for Academy roof. A mixture of cedar and metal is more appropriate for the age of the Academy and cooper is not an appropriate for the age of the building. Any change in roof material must be approved by MHT before applying for a HAWP. As soon as bids / prices are in, the Commissioners will decided what material to use and apply for permits.
• Saturday Dec. 3rd: Town Holiday Party
Ham – Buck
Turkey – Cate
Beer / wine – Sue
Ice – Katherine
Coffee – Andrea
Town Clerk will send postcard invitation.
• Town Clerk and Treasurer were asked to write their job descriptions similar to the one for the Academy Manager.
The meeting adjourned at 9:12p.m.
Cate McDonald
Town Clerk