[2:46] Now convene this July 16th meeting of
the Centerville Town Council. We'll
[2:49] start as we always do with the pledge of
allegiance and remain standing for a
[2:52] moment of silence
[2:56] to the flag of the United States of
America. and to the republic for it
[3:01] stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[3:08] for all.
[3:14] You all right, council. First up is
agenda review. Are there any changes to
[3:20] the agenda?
>> None.
[3:23] » Have none.
>> Okay. I just want to state the agenda
[3:25] that we had previously included
legislation about the solar arrays.
[3:29] We're doing some additional work on that
and so that's why it's not on the agenda
[3:33] for a public hearing now, but it had
been previously and it will likely be
[3:37] back in just an updated form in a
meeting or two.
[3:42] Um, all right. Next up is review of the
minutes from the June 4th meeting. Are
[3:46] there any additions or changes to the
minutes?
[3:50] » None.
>> You good?
[3:54] » All right. Do we have a motion to
approve the minutes?
[3:56] » Approve.
>> Is there a second? Second.
[3:59] » All in favor?
>> I
[4:00] » I.
>> Okay. Next up, we have a close session
[4:04] statement from this evening. The town
council met in close session on
[4:08] Thursday, July 16th, 2026 at 6 p.m. to
discuss personnel in accordance with the
[4:13] Maryland Open Meetings Act. Four members
of the town council voted to close the
[4:17] session. The authority to close the
session is found in section 3305 of the
[4:21] general provisions article. The town
council discussed the following topics.
[4:25] Personnel discussed a personnel issue,
performance review, and applications for
[4:29] boards and commissions. No actions were
taken. The following members and staff
[4:34] were present. Ashley H. Kaiser,
president. Jeffrey D. Keiel, vice
[4:37] president. Frederick E. Bu and Sandra
Lee Huffer, members. Sharon Vanberg,
[4:41] town attorney. Gay Adams, town clerk.
Crystal Eb, HR director.
[4:47] Chief Hobbes, and Carolyn Brinkley, town
manager, were both here for part. The
[4:51] close session meeting adjourned at 6:32
p.m.
[4:56] Okay. Now, we will enter a citizens
forum. Citizens are requested to keep
[5:00] their comments for 3 minutes. If you're
here to comment on specific legislation,
[5:06] either the short-term rentals moratorum
or the utility rate increase, we will
[5:09] have that public hearing in a few
minutes. So, this is for more general or
[5:13] related to other things, public comment
if anyone is interested in addressing
[5:16] the council.
>> Yeah, come on up.
[5:21] I can address.
>> Yeah.
[5:26] So, we're going to keep time tonight.
Um, but you have three minutes. If you
[5:29] could state your name for the record.
>> Okay. I just need a minute. Um, I
[5:33] understand the town council wanted
information.
[5:35] » You have come closer to the mic
>> and we need your name for the record
[5:38] first.
[5:46] [laughter]
>> There you go.
[5:48] » Now, can you hear me?
>> Yes. Good evening. Um, I'm Margaret
[5:51] Jaggley from Northbrook. Um,
[5:57] » thank you.
>> Okay.
[5:59] » Thank you. Uh, I understand the town
council wanted information on flock
[6:03] cameras. Um, and I have submitted that
information for your perusal, but a
[6:08] flock c uh camera can flock can sell you
the information gathered and one does
[6:14] not know who is monitoring the
recordings. They use facial recognition,
[6:20] read license plates, ping, and gather
information from cell phones, tablets,
[6:25] and laptops in the car, leaving them
open to hacking. This information is
[6:30] then fed and stored in federal databases
like ICE, government hot list, and then
[6:36] they keep logs of every place you go for
medical treatment, political meetings,
[6:41] religious meetings, and where you sleep
at night. This information is available
[6:46] not only to your town but the whole
country and the whole world. There are
[6:51] numerous lawsuits against flock for
fourth amendment violations. And an HOA
[6:56] can govern govern their HOA property,
but Maryland law prevents an HOA from
[7:02] violating constitutional rights of those
both in and out of HOA. Please do not
[7:08] allow flat cameras on our streets.
>> Thank you. They sound more terrifying
[7:12] than I even thought they were.
>> Mhm.
[7:15] » Um, appreciate that. All right. Next up,
we have a couple of appearances. Council
[7:19] member McNeel, are you going to read the
proclamation?
[7:23] » Okay.
>> For our wonderful Queen Ans County
[7:25] Garden Club.
>> Please come on up.
[7:28] » Susan Robin, come on up. One of the
great jo
[7:36] » Fred, you can't talk until you're at the
microphone. [laughter]
[7:39] » I have the ability to never stop
talking. So, uh, good friend of mine.
[7:44] Come on. Come on. Come on.
Yeah. Come on. Who's
[7:49] » Yes. The whole garden club.
>> Okay. There you go.
[7:51] » Everybody's in the
>> uh a good friend of mine, Bill Moore
[7:56] said, "Fred, if you live in Centerville,
little miracles happen every day. These
[8:00] people who you see here, who I've never
met before except for Susan, I think,
[8:04] right, Susan?" Okay. Uh, one day I'm
walking out of the c the coffee shop up
[8:08] town, 90 degrees. This wonderful woman
had, who was it?
[8:13] » Laura. Laura, come on. Come on. Laura
stole my heart to save the plants. Come
[8:18] on. So sweet.
>> 90 degrees. Laura had two watering cans
[8:23] and she was going around town watering
the plants around town. If you walk
[8:28] outside when you leave tonight, look at
these flowers. They're all blooming.
[8:31] They all look beautiful. What turns up,
Laura, okay, gives me a phone number and
[8:37] says, "Look, we've been doing this for
30 years, right? What the heck's going
[8:40] on?" [laughter]
Okay. And all these plants that look
[8:44] beautiful thanks to these ladies and
others. And what's even more
[8:47] interesting, uh, I go to the farmers
market every Sunday. I'm sitting there
[8:51] eating my bagel and mustard and
whatever. A husband and a wife team,
[8:55] right, Robin, came through and they were
watering plants. And in this type of
[9:00] weather, it's extremely important. Our
plants, our trees, and our senior
[9:05] citizens, by the way, right? Give them a
lot of liquid. So, you get a little
[9:08] closer. I get to hold your hand. Let me
read this. Gay does a wonderful job
[9:12] making proclamations. If I can read it,
it says, "Whereas the Queen Anne's
[9:16] County Garden Club has long served as a
steward of public spaces, enhancing the
[9:22] beauty of parks, gardens, streetscapes,
and civic landscapes that contribute to
[9:28] the charm and historic character of
center, Queen County." Rather than read
[9:33] the whole thing, and I apologize. All
right. They do a wonderful job. How
[9:36] about give them a standing ovation
before [applause]
[9:47] Thank you so much. [applause]
>> And actually, that's one of the missions
[9:51] of of of the garden club is to beautify
the county and our county seat of of
[9:57] Centerville. In in addition to the
flowers, we also do the greens at
[10:02] Christmas before your holiday parade
around the town and the county office
[10:06] buildings in the city and everything.
and we've been doing that for over 50
[10:10] years. Our club just celebrated our 90th
anniversary um last year. And so um
[10:17] that's what we give back to you and we
we just uh love our county and we we
[10:21] enjoy making it beautiful.
>> Thank you.
[10:26] [applause]
[10:30] » Let's take a picture.
[10:48] Thank you.
>> Thank you so much.
[10:53] » All right. Do we have another appearance
before we get to public hearing? So,
[10:57] we'll bring up Lisa Thompson regarding
the Main Street Market study.
[11:02] Good.
She outside.
[11:26] » Hi, thank you for being here.
[11:33] You have the um Perfect. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[11:40] » We didn't practice this or anything.
[laughter]
[11:42] » You'll do fine. I know.
>> How are y'all doing tonight?
[11:44] » Good. How are you?
>> Good. Good. Thank you. Um I'm Lisa
[11:48] Thompson. I'm a senior program officer
with Main Street America. And um
[11:54] » would you pull your microphone just a
little bit closer to you? There you go.
[11:58] » Certainly. Um and I really um I thank
you for the invitation today to come
[12:03] talk to you all. Um this is really sort
of the uh compilation of uh a
[12:10] transformation strategy or economic
development plan that we've been working
[12:14] on with your main street program. And so
I wanted to take about eight minutes to
[12:19] sort of go over some of the highlights
of the survey, some market data. Um what
[12:24] are those strategies that the steering
committee have identified to work on for
[12:28] the next three to five years and then uh
give you all some time if you have any
[12:32] questions. Um I'm happy to help. Next
slide. Oh no, this slide. Sorry. Um so
[12:40] basically um you know Main Street when
you think about it, we start with the
[12:44] people. the people are so so important
um to this the work that we do and I
[12:50] wanted to start by thanking uh the
volunteers that have been um working on
[12:55] the steering committee. So we have
Anthony and Christy Pugzi um William
[13:00] Cheshire, Brian Johnston and Jennifer
Moore. They gave up weekends uh a lot of
[13:06] time sort of thinking about um the
market data, the studies and how we
[13:11] really sort of move downtown Centerville
forward.
[13:15] And I also want to take a time to thank
Carol. So without Carol's um dedication,
[13:21] the work that she has done for this
community for the last 14 years, she's
[13:25] really helped build the foundation. Um
so I really, you know, would be remiss
[13:30] without calling out that. Um, I also
want to recognize that as part of the
[13:36] Maryland Main Street program, which is
part of our network of coordinating
[13:40] programs, uh, Christine McFerson is here
from the state of Maryland. Um, and that
[13:45] this grant that came from, um,
Christine's office was actually what
[13:50] funded this work. So [snorts] being part
of the Maryland Main Street program um
[13:56] also has its financial benefits and
rewards in addition to the technical
[14:00] assistance and the on ground um support
that they give the communities day in
[14:06] and day out.
>> Uh next slide.
[14:10] » See if this works.
[14:16] » Maybe. No.
>> Does it turn on? Oh no, it's not. I
[14:21] didn't know there was an on. Sorry.
There we go.
[14:24] » Excellent. Okay. So, um so how did we
get here? We basically had um four steps
[14:29] that we followed. Uh the first thing was
a community survey that we launched. So,
[14:33] some of you might have filled this out.
Um we had 463
[14:38] real people in your community take the
time to fill out a survey. Um and that
[14:43] really is remarkable given the size of
your community. Um we had focus groups
[14:48] with business owners, property owners.
Um we met with town council folks. Um
[14:53] Sandy and Frederick were also
participants in a lot of the um steering
[14:57] group meetings that we did. Um we read
um and sort of analyzed some hard data
[15:03] about your community. So we looked at
Ezri data, we looked at Placer AI, so
[15:08] how are those visitors that are coming
in and out of your main street district?
[15:12] Um and we thought about like what
happens in the life cycle of your
[15:16] downtown. We also had a workshop um just
earlier today with the steering
[15:21] committee um and really thought about
what are the goals that we want to
[15:26] achieve for the next three to five
years. Next slide.
[15:33] So I really wanted to share with you a
little bit um of the sort of highlights
[15:39] from the survey. So, of those 463
responses, people overwhelmingly said
[15:46] they love your town. They love this
place. When we asked them one word about
[15:50] downtown, they said quaint, historic,
small, walkable, charming. Um, they love
[15:56] this community. The courthouse square,
the library, um, lots of your local
[16:01] businesses are what anchor daily life
here in Centerville. Um residents were
[16:06] just as clear about what's also holding
back Centerville. Um twothirds said that
[16:13] there aren't enough businesses and
destinations suited to them. 62% pointed
[16:19] to vacant storefronts. Nearly half
pointed to buildings needing
[16:24] rehabilitation.
And notice what's not on this list,
[16:28] safety. So safety was barely mentioned.
It was all about vibrancy, not about
[16:34] security. And so I think that's
important as you think about your next
[16:38] steps. Um, next slide.
So this is not just the single most
[16:44] important finding in the survey, but
it's important to to say out loud 82% of
[16:50] the people here said that they're going
to stay. They see themselves living in
[16:55] this community five years from now. 74%
feel very welcome downtown, which is
[17:03] also really important. Yet, 64% said
they would not recommend downtown to a
[17:10] friend as a place to visit.
[17:15] Yeah, think about that. So, that means
that you don't have an unhappy
[17:21] community. People feel at home here.
They love it here, but they can't point
[17:27] their friend toward enough to see or do
or buy.
[17:33] So, the people are here and they're
going to stay, but the storefronts that
[17:38] you have really haven't caught up to the
people who live here and the demand that
[17:43] they're asking for. So, that's the gap
and the strategies that we're going to
[17:48] try and fill. Next slide.
So, then we looked at market data. So,
[17:55] it's like, okay, who lives here? Who
what kind of market can your community
[18:00] support? Um, and your market's a very
affluent market. The median household
[18:08] income within five minutes of the
courthouse is over $119,000,
[18:14] headed towards $130,000
by 2030.
[18:20] More than 48,000 people live within a 25
minute drive and food spending alone in
[18:27] the trade area is projected to grow by $
8.6 million
[18:33] by the year 2030.
Yet, if you look at the employees, your
[18:39] service businesses, the employees that
would um work in those service
[18:45] businesses only represent about 13 to
16% of your area jobs.
[18:52] So what it means is when you think about
housing, affordable housing, how do you
[18:58] provide housing that's affordable for
the service worker if you want to grow
[19:04] your restaurant and retail business?
Next slide.
[19:12] So here's the part that I think really
surprised everybody um on the steering
[19:16] committee. So you already have a lot of
people downtown.
[19:20] Placer AI counted 453,000
visits last year and that's really up
[19:28] over 23% over the last two years.
So that's 105,000
[19:34] unique visitors
and they average a visit of about 79
[19:41] minutes.
So this is where two problems show up.
[19:47] The first is that visits peak on
weekdays around your court business.
[19:54] Probably no surprise to you all, okay?
And it hits its lowest visitation on the
[20:00] weekends and that's exactly when the
residents said that they wanted to
[20:05] visit.
The second issue is leakage.
[20:11] So that leakage is where are those sales
going if they're not buying goods and
[20:15] services in your main street district.
[clears throat] So more than half of
[20:19] downtown's own visitors routinely shop
at Kenttown Market in Easton and they go
[20:26] to the outlets at Queenstown.
So you have the spending power in your
[20:30] community, but most of it is being spent
12 to 18 miles away.
[20:38] Next slide.
So this really brings us kind of to the
[20:43] the insight of this whole process. So
Centerville really does not need to
[20:48] create more activity. You don't need
more festivals. You don't need more
[20:52] events. It needs to capture, connect,
and expand on the activity that you
[20:59] already have here. So capture the daily
county traffic.
[21:04] Um bring those people into your
storefronts.
[21:08] help them spend more money while they're
here. Um, and figure out how to connect
[21:14] the people to the businesses,
parking, side streets. We even talked
[21:21] about how to connect people that come by
boat to the waterfront. How do we get
[21:25] them downtown?
And so, think about how do you fill the
[21:30] vacant buildings?
How do you fill your vacant upper
[21:34] floors? and they could be with
businesses or hopefully more residents
[21:39] that might fit that need for more
workers.
[21:43] Next slide.
So, the committee chose two strategies.
[21:49] Uh the first one is just a one-year
strategy. And so, this is really
[21:54] thinking about how we build the
foundation for a strong Main Street
[21:58] program.
Stakeholders told us candidly that roles
[22:03] among Main Street, CEDA, the town and
the county are unclear
[22:10] and that lasting revitalization needs an
organization structured to lead it.
[22:17] Year one is going to deliver a committed
working board written rules framework
[22:24] for CEDA and the town and the county, a
funding strategy that includes state
[22:30] main street grants,
a public working document that is really
[22:36] going to demonstrate real
accountability,
[22:39] that transparency,
early visible wins like signage,
[22:44] storefront refreshes, and a downtown map
and directory. Those are just some of
[22:49] the things that are on the list that the
steering committee wants to work on.
[22:55] Next slide.
The second strategy is going to span
[23:02] really that three to five year goals.
And so we want to capture and grow
[23:07] downtown activity with two distinct
goals.
[23:12] Goal one is really spaces and
businesses. So we want to think about
[23:18] how do we fill vacant buildings and
upper floors through adaptive reuse,
[23:23] through popup shops.
Recruit what residents have asked for.
[23:29] They want more casual dining. They want
arts and culture. They want boutiques, a
[23:35] coffee shop, entertainment.
They're also going to focus on how do
[23:41] they connect property owners with
tenants
[23:45] and financing because we know that when
you rehabilitate a historic building
[23:50] it's noninexpensive
and so through that they want to
[23:55] encourage also not only more businesses
but also more second floor housing.
[24:02] Goal number two is really about
visibility and access. So wayfinding to
[24:08] parking to side streets. How do we think
about how 301 and 213 really connect
[24:15] with downtown? And how do you navigate
both vehicle and pedestrian foot
[24:20] traffic?
How do you connect the courthouse to the
[24:24] waterfront and all the businesses? What
does that look like? And how do we
[24:29] coordinate evening and Saturday hours
with our restaurants and our businesses
[24:34] so that downtown is open when your
residents have said they want to shop?
[24:40] [clears throat] Slide.
[24:44] So how will how will we know this is
working right? So we want to have
[24:49] measures of success so that they can
report back to you. They can report to
[24:54] the stakeholders. they can report to
funders and sponsors that they're
[24:59] meeting their goals. And so the
committee is looking at adopting some
[25:03] specific measures. So 3 to five net new
businesses over 3 to five years.
[25:12] Vacancy would be down let's say 25 to
40% from a 2026 baseline. So they're
[25:18] working on establishing what that
baseline would be.
[25:23] maybe two to three upper floor projects
with more housing or relocating
[25:28] businesses that maybe take up a an
important storefront and maybe we're
[25:32] going to move them upstairs.
We finally get wayfinding system in
[25:38] installed which I know that you all have
been working on for several years now.
[25:43] We get half of the businesses to have
coordinated hours. And this one is a
[25:49] really tough one, but if you could get
half of the businesses to have
[25:53] coordinated hours, so when someone comes
downtown, it all is open and vibrant,
[25:58] that would be a great goal.
So progress that gets reported from the
[26:04] board will also go to the council and to
the public on a regular basis. So
[26:10] there's lots more transparency
Next slide.
[26:16] So what happens next? So when I met with
the steering committee today, I
[26:20] challenged them that in the next 90
days, I want that group to adopt a work
[26:26] plan that is going to include volunteers
that are going to lead some of these
[26:30] tasks. What are the timelines? Are there
any budget implications that are
[26:34] occurring? How much that is? What do
they need to plan for?
[26:39] I challenge them to complete their
business inventory and a vacant property
[26:44] index. I want them to establish like
what that vacancy baseline is, who are
[26:51] those property owners, and what are some
of the hurdles, why those properties are
[26:55] still vacant.
If we can't get traction on wayfinding,
[27:00] I've encouraged them to think about
temporary wayfinding. So what's like a
[27:06] you know sort of gorilla kind of
wayfinding that we can at least do
[27:09] temporary to sort of pilot test it out
and then put together a downtown map
[27:15] maybe have a kiosk. There are grants for
this that are available. So think about
[27:20] how do we get that circulation and
experience to continue to grow and of
[27:26] course they need to formalize the roles
between the main street program CEDA the
[27:31] town and the county.
So here's where your partnership is
[27:36] really going to matter. So support on
signage placement and that joint
[27:41] outreach this state highway
administration is going to be key.
[27:45] Partnership on evaluating rehabilitation
incentives
[27:49] because a lot of this work doesn't
happen unless there are public funds
[27:54] that are matched.
Um we need a welcoming and predictable
[27:59] path for new investment. So, what is
that sort of like key to opening a
[28:05] business here or buying a building and
rehabilitating it? What does that look
[28:09] like for somebody who wants to make this
place home?
[28:13] And it's important that we continue to
build on the investment in this program
[28:18] that you all have had for a very, very
long time and think about how we're
[28:23] going to build on that for this
foundation year. So, what is that going
[28:28] to look like? So every measure that you
see is going to actually happen um
[28:35] hopefully faster with the town's
support. It's really important.
[28:41] Um next slide.
And so I just really want to thank you
[28:46] for your time. It's been a really
pleasure working with this community.
[28:50] It's um coming back to the Eastern Shore
is like coming home in some ways to me.
[28:54] It feels very familiar even though I get
to work and travel all over the United
[28:59] States now in my job. Um, but if you all
have any questions, I'm happy to answer
[29:04] them or as well as Carol or Christine.
Thank you.
[29:09] » Any questions, council?
>> I'd just like to say first of all, thank
[29:12] you. It's a great report.
>> This is great.
[29:14] » Thank you.
>> The number that jumped out on me
[29:16] immediately was uh a little scary. 66%
your top issues
[29:23] » people feel not enough businesses and
destinations suited to me. Yeah.
[29:26] » So, kind of a wakeup figure. Okay.
>> I was in a Harper's Ferry last
[29:30] Wednesday. You might be familiar with
it's town of 2100
[29:33] » and they do exactly what you talk about.
They have a fed, state, county, city
[29:38] cooperative program.
>> And their key issues they said like you
[29:42] is parking,
>> pedestrian access, and the ability, all
[29:46] right, to show off what makes Harper's
Ferry shine besides John Brown and
[29:50] everything else. All right. [laughter]
So, this is right up the alley. what
[29:53] they're doing with 2100 people and you
can't get in there on Saturdays.
[29:56] » Yep. Yeah.
>> Thank you. It was a great job.
[29:58] » Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Wilson.
Appreciate it.
[30:02] » No, an excellent report. And um a lot of
this I kind of already knew.
[30:06] » Yeah.
>> I mean, because we've talked, you know,
[30:09] we've been talking this is a very
important issue for me as it relates to
[30:12] economic development for our main
downtown.
[30:15] » Yes. Yes. That that drives so much a
part of our community and people want to
[30:20] do they want this and we need to give it
to them.
[30:23] » Yes.
>> As a council and relating to that
[30:26] investment and supporting them.
>> Yes.
[30:27] » And supporting the board as it relates
to that and like you said um how we can
[30:33] support them that we're open to what
they need in order to be successful.
[30:38] » Um and that they know that. Um, so I
think this is just one of our top
[30:44] priorities for me
>> for this fiscal year that we're in um
[30:49] that just started um to really make some
ground and traction on this. And I love
[30:54] as far as just the the visibility and
the supporting and what's the reporting
[30:58] and having that every month
>> or if you backslide why what do you
[31:03] need? How can we help? Right?
>> So but that I think that communication
[31:07] is critical for success.
um and allowing the community to
[31:12] participate in this process because
>> what do they want? And helping that and
[31:16] the financial resources for um building
rehabilitation
[31:21] » is a major thing that our town needs to
do to help people who want it and go out
[31:27] and help them and what are their
struggles and show them the programs
[31:31] that state, county provide and even
federal in order to be successful for
[31:37] their capital. Yes. you know,
investments they need to do in their
[31:40] business. So,
>> absolutely. Thank you.
[31:42] » Absolutely. You're very welcome. And I
would I would encourage you as you think
[31:46] about a a board, an advisory board that
you're going to sort of appoint, I think
[31:51] is what I've heard, like think about not
just putting people on that board that
[31:56] are residents
>> of Centerville. Um it's, you know, think
[32:01] of Centerville, it's a marketplace. And
so even on the steering committee now,
[32:06] there are people there that are not
residents of Centerville, but they think
[32:09] of this as their community. It's the
place they call home. It's the place
[32:13] they shop. They might go to church here,
but they might live outside of your
[32:17] city. So think of it as a market place,
not necessarily just the geographical
[32:24] boundaries of your town or even like
downtown like the Main Street District.
[32:30] like put people from your community,
people that were part of that 463 who
[32:35] took the time to tell you how much they
love this place.
[32:40] » Lisa, I'd also like to compliment you
for such a wonderful presentation. And
[32:46] for folks in the audience, uh she
mentioned CEDA two or three times
[32:50] throughout that. And if you're not
familiar with that, uh, that was an
[32:53] organization that was in effect for
several years from 2013 up to about 2019
[33:00] and then kind of dissolved. We've put a
lot of effort into that over the last
[33:03] several months to reorganize that group
and it's seven members of either
[33:09] business owners, residents, people with
economic development background. Uh, and
[33:14] I'm very excited that we're got a lot of
energy in that group. and CEDA is for
[33:19] the overall community. Main Street is
for a designated 10 10 blocks in the
[33:25] downtown Main Street area, but CEDA and
Main Street are working in a very
[33:30] cooperative, very close-knit manner so
that all of our efforts are going to be
[33:35] coordinated going forward. and I'm
really excited about, you know, what
[33:39] you've put together and what Main Street
currently represents and the the new
[33:44] steering committee going forward, but
also we'll see that in combination with
[33:48] that. I'm very enthusiastic about
addressing some of these things about
[33:53] the 66% and some of those things that
the we know the community at large is
[33:58] looking for and we're looking for
feedback from you all the community to
[34:03] help guide us through those efforts.
there's uh a lot of energy moving in
[34:07] that direction and not to take up any
more of your time, but I just wanted to
[34:11] if you weren't familiar with CEDA that
that's stands for Centerville Economic
[34:15] Development Authority and that's a group
that we're meeting two and three times a
[34:20] month with subcommittees on specific
projects uh for desirable to help bring
[34:27] in desirable businesses that will maybe
have residences above or also uh bring
[34:33] employment into the area for um the
population that we have here. So, enough
[34:39] about that, but I really appreciate your
efforts and I just want to let everybody
[34:43] know a little bit more about what the
town is doing as a whole um in some of
[34:48] these objectives.
>> Thank you.
[34:50] » Awesome. Thanks for that, Fred. And
thank you.
[34:52] » Thank you. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you for coming. Thank you for
[34:56] everything. See you again soon.
>> All right. Next up, we have our first of
[35:00] two public hearings. This first one is
ordinance 062026, a short-term rental
[35:05] moratorum.
An ordinance of the town council of
[35:08] Centerville adopting a temporary
moratorum on the application for
[35:12] approval of, construction of, expansion
of, processing of, or issuance of any
[35:17] board of appeals, building permit, and
zoning certificate applications for any
[35:20] boarding houses, bed and breakfast, and
short-term rentals impending
[35:24] consideration and adoption of revised
zoning ordinance provisions as the town
[35:27] council may consider advisable. I will
now call on Peter Flynn, our town zoning
[35:32] administrator, to provide background on
the ordinance.
[35:35] » Thanks, Peter.
>> Thanks. Um, so
[35:39] as as we say, this is a moratorum. Um,
this came about, we've had a couple of,
[35:45] uh, short-term rental applications,
um, you know, various platforms, Airbnb,
[35:52] whatever. Um, the platform doesn't
really matter in the in the sense of the
[35:57] ordinance. Um, so we're not looking to
abolish short-term rentals. This came
[36:03] about because
it's very clear that our short-term
[36:08] rental ordinance was written um at the
very beginning of um of that service.
[36:14] And as it has gone on, we have very very
little um standards for property owners
[36:22] to adhere to. Um,
I guess I don't want to get too much
[36:27] into that. So, we it's very very easy to
achieve to achieve a short-term rental
[36:32] under the
>> But right now to get one, you have to go
[36:34] before the board of appeals.
>> You have to go before the board of
[36:36] appeals, but the going before the board
of appeals as a special exception is a
[36:40] list of extra conditions that you need
to meet. And so, some of those
[36:44] conditions, we've lumped everything in
together with the with the hotels and
[36:49] motel and short-term rentals. and the
uses of those properties don't truly
[36:54] align with the fire marshall's office.
So, we can't even in our current
[36:58] ordinance like require people to
have a third party inspection to make
[37:04] sure they have working smoke detectors
and things of that nature. So, like real
[37:07] like life and safety issues um for some
>> So, right now the process, just so
[37:11] people know, is you would go in front of
the planning commission and they would
[37:14] make a [snorts] recommendation and then
you go to the board of appeals.
[37:17] » That's correct. Yep. And we've had some
that the planning commission recommended
[37:21] yes and some no. It's just so unclear.
>> Yes.
[37:23] » Kind of when or why these should exist.
>> Yes.
[37:26] » So the moratorium is to give us time.
>> The moratorium is to give us time to
[37:31] draft. Um I've started working on the
draft and um just kind of some quick
[37:36] highlights of things that are in the
draft. Right. Um we're always talking
[37:39] about coordinating and what and all
these things. So kind of aligning our
[37:43] terms better with Queen Anne's County.
So, when you have a, you know, we don't
[37:47] have a different definition of what a
short-term rental is than Queen Anands
[37:50] County, which today we do. Um, some
third-party inspections. Again, the
[37:55] county recently redid their their
short-term rental. They're requiring a
[38:00] third party inspection. You do it upon
application. Um, they come in and make
[38:06] sure you have working smoke detectors,
carbon monoxide if necessary, all those
[38:09] types of things. And then uh you they
self-certify for a certain period of
[38:15] time, but there's like I think it's like
five years, right? So there's a time
[38:17] period where you have to get another
like physical inspection and things like
[38:22] that. Um we are also working on the
accessory dwelling unit. So it's kind of
[38:28] some policy choices where we're not
planning on having uh short-term rentals
[38:35] uh in accessory dwelling units. um just
from the policy decision of an ADU is
[38:41] kind of not really meant for that. We're
not looking to provide a easy
[38:45] opportunity for you know ADUs are for uh
you know long-term arrangements.
[38:51] Um let's see what else we didn't touch
on yet. So the certificates would be
[38:56] issued annually. They would not transfer
with the sale of the property. Um
[39:01] currently the certificate is issued one
time. There's no renewal.
[39:06] um it's it's just a onetime thing and it
has been a condition of all of them that
[39:11] have been issued so far that it does not
transfer with the property. So that will
[39:14] that will continue. [snorts]
Um it will allow for setting some clear
[39:20] guidelines for enforcement. You know if
people are constantly violating our
[39:25] noise ordinances or other, you know,
other things, that's probably going to
[39:29] be the most common issue. Um and then
some other policy decisions that will
[39:34] really be sorted out at the planning
commission level and then brought here
[39:37] where um you know the county has some
really large properties where they have
[39:42] where they're allow like events like
weddings and stuff to happen at a thing.
[39:46] You know that's maybe not really
appropriate for town. We don't have any
[39:49] like humongous properties. Um so those
are kind of policy decisions that will
[39:53] work out uh in the future at the
planning commission.
[39:56] » And it's a brief moratorum six months
which is
[40:00] quick. It'll go by quick for the
planning commission to work on it. It's
[40:04] half the length of Annapolis's current
similar
[40:07] » Yes.
>> Yeah.
[40:09] » Peter, could I ask you? I've lived here
47 years, and Caroline woke me up this
[40:13] morning. How many boarding houses, bed
and breakfast, and short-term rentals do
[40:18] we have in town?
>> There is I don't think there's any bed
[40:22] and breakfast currently
>> anymore. Um, and there is, I think, four
[40:28] short-term rentals that have um
operating certificates that are that are
[40:33] currently operating. Um,
>> I was told you went online was surprised
[40:37] to find when you typed in Centerville
that there were people doing this that
[40:41] we didn't know.
>> Um, so yeah, I think with local zoning,
[40:48] um, you know, typically the first thing
people do when they buy a house is not
[40:52] read the zoning code. Um, so but
Centerville's pretty small. It's easy to
[40:57] monitor. I can go on, you know, the
platforms once a month or once every few
[41:02] months and look and see if there's any
new ones. Um, I've I've had really good
[41:07] luck. I just reach out to the person
who's renting. Um, and I ask them to
[41:11] contact the zoning office and they've
contacted us and, you know, complied
[41:15] with our requirements once they've
learned of the rules.
[41:20] » Perfect. All right.
>> Um, thank you.
[41:24] I will now call Gay Adams town clerk to
present evidence of the published notice
[41:28] of this hearing.
>> This is to certify Can you hear me? This
[41:33] is to certify that the annex legal
advertisement has been published in the
[41:37] publications and insertions below.
Um ordinance
[41:42] 062026
was published in the Bay Times record
[41:45] observer on June 19th and June 26th.
>> Okay. Thank you. We will first hear from
[41:52] all those in favor of oppose Ordinance
062026 and then hear from those opposed.
[41:56] Please keep your comments to three
minutes. You're welcome to provide
[41:59] written testimony as well.
Um, can you read the public comment
[42:03] guidelines?
>> Welcome to this meeting of the
[42:05] Centerville Town Council. This is a
public meeting and we welcome your
[42:09] participation. By attending, you
acknowledge that this session is
[42:12] recorded and aired live on QACV.
If you have the new Breezeline streaming
[42:17] box, that channel is 2001. During the
meeting, we ask that you turn your cell
[42:22] phones off and hold personal
conversations outside the meeting room.
[42:25] The scheduled agenda is available just
outside on the information table. Public
[42:30] comment will be limited to three minutes
per person. The town council respects
[42:35] and appreciates your desire and right to
convey your message freely and in
[42:39] keeping with the dignity of proceedings,
we ask that all views be expressed in a
[42:43] respectful and civil manner. Comments
longer than three minutes should be
[42:47] submitted in writing. If questions are
part of your comments, we will refer
[42:51] those to the appropriate individual.
Thank you.
[42:54] » Right. Thank you. Is anyone here on
ordinance 06 2026?
[43:00] Okay. Do we have a motion to adjurnn the
hearing on this one?
[43:03] » I make a motion.
>> Is there a second?
[43:06] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[43:08] » I. All right.
Next up, we have ordinance 07206
[43:15] utility rate increase. This is an
ordinance of the town council of
[43:18] Centerville establishing the town of
Centerville water and sewer user fees
[43:22] and service fees for both metered and
unmetered customers and allocation fees.
[43:27] I will now call on Carolyn Brinkley,
town manager, to provide background on
[43:30] the ordinance. So, I'm going to call
Karen, our finance officer, up as well.
[43:35] So, the town um began back in um gosh
almost a year ago. We began doing a
[43:43] utility rate study um with a company
that we have done it we he actually done
[43:47] it three times for us. So and Karen you
probably can
[43:53] » so with the new with the aging plant
that we currently have we knew as we
[43:58] invest in um bringing a new plant on
board that there was going to be some
[44:02] issues with funding and cost for rate
increases. So, we hired the consulting
[44:07] company to take our
um history in the past and for the
[44:12] future cost for the new plant into
consideration to tell us what we need
[44:15] rates to be to fund the operations of
the plant. So, nothing looking to and to
[44:23] make money, you know, it's just to cover
the current bills. In the last few
[44:27] years, we also um as a council decided
to have allocations go into their own
[44:33] bank account to help fund future plants.
So we're not in this position at at some
[44:37] point later, you know, but in the in the
interim, we need to be able to do
[44:41] something now, not only to fund the
current, but as we progress to build the
[44:45] new plant and then once the new plant
comes online, how the costs will
[44:52] um come into play and and what we need
to do then, too.
[44:55] » Thank you. Good.
>> Y
[44:58] » All right. I will now call Gay Adams
Town Clerk to present evidence of the
[45:01] published notice of the hearing. This is
to certify that the annex legal
[45:05] advertisement has been published in the
publications and insertions below.
[45:11] Um, ordinance 07206
was published in the Bay Times Record
[45:16] Observer on June 19th and June 26th.
Right. Thank you. Um, and I'm sure this
[45:23] is a huge group. So, first we're going
to hear from those in favor of proposed
[45:26] ordinance 07206
>> and then from those opposed. Um, I'm
[45:32] assuming many many of you are here to
speak on this ordinance. And so, do we
[45:36] have a sign-in sheet in the hall or no?
>> Why don't we go with those people first?
[45:40] Anyone who signed in and then people of
course can just stand up. We are going
[45:44] to keep time for three minutes. You can
of course wrap up your thought. It's not
[45:48] just like the buzzer goes off. Sit down.
We're not mean. Um, also just if you've
[45:54] sent us an email, we are going to we
received 15 emails in opposition to the
[45:59] rate increase. you are welcome to stand
up and read your email, but if you sent
[46:03] us an email, know that we are each
reading all of them. And I believe Gay
[46:06] has responded um and let people know.
And so we do have those comments.
[46:12] Um
we know there are likely also going to
[46:17] be a lot of questions and so it is
certainly up to the council and we'll
[46:21] have to um act in this. But my
recommendation is going to be that we
[46:26] don't consider this tonight and that
rather at our August meeting we have our
[46:30] public works team here so they can
answer some of the questions that might
[46:33] come up tonight and some questions
frankly that council members might
[46:37] continue to have. We did have a half day
work session on this so it's not like
[46:40] we're just flying blind here and not
doing this with some thought and then
[46:45] delay actual consideration of this until
the first week. I have my volume up
[46:49] » for the timer for the
>> actual consideration of this until
[46:52] September. And so there will be time.
It's not as if you don't say everything
[46:56] you want to say to us tonight that it's
over. And so, you know, if you get up
[47:00] and do your three minutes and then you
hear something from someone else, you
[47:04] can email us. You can reach out to us at
town hall. You can come to the August or
[47:07] September meeting. So, I just want to
make clear that we want, of course, as
[47:12] many public comments and as much
conversation as we can have around this
[47:15] and frankly other issues, too. um would
love to hear from the public more than
[47:19] we do on a lot of things, but we want to
thoughtfully consider the things that
[47:23] are said. So, it's going to be my
recommendation that we don't actually
[47:26] act on the ordinance tonight. So, I
don't want anyone to feel like you have
[47:29] to say every thought you've ever had
about allocation fees or water and sewer
[47:33] bills. We're going to be talking about
this for the next several weeks. Um so,
[47:37] that I'll just put that out there and
then we will go through. Just I'm going
[47:42] to go like I said through the people who
signed up on the sheet and then others
[47:46] can get up because we don't often rely
on the sheet. So first Miss Jagley if
[47:51] you want to get up again.
[47:55] » Thank you Margaret Jaggley from
Northbrook.
[48:00] » Um regarding the water plant I think the
first thing that should happen is that
[48:05] we should abolish the tiered billing
system. Um when Danworth joined the town
[48:11] council, um I at one of the first
meetings I had suggested that and he
[48:17] said it had been 10 years and it was
created by a man in Annapolis. I don't
[48:21] think it's ever been addressed. I would
like to see a fair billing system where
[48:27] we're build simply for our usage. Um, I
invite all the town council members to
[48:33] attend the July 30th Maryland municipal
league symposium, funding beyond the
[48:38] state house, which helps municipalities
navigate fiscal challenges and reveals
[48:45] innovative funding strategies. I hope
you discover something instead of our
[48:50] pocketbooks.
Um, I think the plan for this water
[48:55] plant will make Centerville right for
attracting a data center or ICE
[48:59] detention center, both which I oppose.
And the tracking from the Gallup economy
[49:05] and personal finance poll reveals that
55% of all Americans right now report
[49:11] their financial situations are actively
worsening. I've submitted document
[49:17] documentation on that as well as the
invitation to the symposium. I don't
[49:22] think Centerville should be creating
worse hardship for the residents.
[49:27] » Thank you.
>> Thank
[49:30] you put your phone in do not disturb
it'll do the time ringing.
[49:34] » Thank you.
>> I was just trying to think how could we
[49:37] All right. Fred Kersch.
[clears throat]
[49:44] First time I've ever been to a town
meeting. Uh [snorts] my name is Fred
[49:48] Kersh. I live in Queenstown
and I am the developer and builder of uh
[49:55] Frederick Drive, Weatherbe uh out on the
edge of town. And I am here on behalf of
[50:03] the seven families that rent houses from
me. And uh about half I'm sitting there
[50:11] thinking about half of uh uh parents
live in the county and work in the
[50:17] county. About half of the families the
children go to school here and the water
[50:24] bills are horrendous already. Um I saw
three of them today. 400 something,
[50:31] seven something, a thousand something.
Um these people uh love living in
[50:40] Centerville.
Um
[50:43] the today's prices of houses they can't
afford to uh to purchase and I provide a
[50:50] service to them so they can live in
Centerville.
[50:53] And uh many years ago I was a banker and
I learned about a rule of 72.
[51:00] Take 8% divided into 72
in a little over eight years the water
[51:06] bills will double. The property taxes
same thing happened this year. They
[51:12] raised almost uh 24%.
And so people that are paying,
[51:19] you know, they're going to their
property taxes are going to double in a
[51:22] little over eight years. And I venture
to say there's a lot of people that live
[51:26] in the town of Centerville that won't be
able to afford to stay here. So I
[51:33] strongly suggest that our government at
all levels take that into consideration.
[51:40] Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[51:42] » Thank you.
>> Um Lynn Hickden.
[51:52] My name is Lyn Hickden. I would just
like to know if you have any kind of
[51:57] program for senior citizens that are
being forced out of Centerville because
[52:02] we can't afford to stay here.
Um
[52:06] my daughter, her husband, and two
children lived in my house before I
[52:10] moved back in my home a year ago.
They are paying the same as I'm paying
[52:16] and I'm only a single person paying the
same amount they were charged. I want to
[52:21] know if we have meters,
why can't we go to the town office and
[52:27] find out exactly how many gallons of
water that I'm using?
[52:32] They're telling me that it's the minimum
amount.
[52:38] So, I just want to know, am I paying for
water that I'm not using?
[52:47] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[52:49] » Next up, we have Pat Eaggan. And I
apologize if I pronounce pronounce
[52:53] anyone's name wrong.
[52:56] » I'm sorry.
[53:04] » Well, now I won't do it wrong again.
>> It's okay. Um, so I'm Pat Edgington. I
[53:08] live down on Hammond Street down at the
Warf. Um, I'm at a swimming pool since
[53:14] 1992, back when it cost me $15,000.
Um, so many times I have called the town
[53:22] office. I pay water to fill up that
swimming pool to refill the swimming
[53:27] pool when it's hot. I'm also paying
sewer on that water that I'm using. And
[53:33] what I've been told over the years is
there's no way to separate it. I know in
[53:37] Queenstown
um they take up um months out of the
[53:43] winter um and that's what they bill you
in the summer for your sewer um your
[53:49] water and your sewer. So you're not
paying extra for that water. Now, if
[53:54] we're looking looking again at a rate
for sewer and water, that means I and
[54:02] anybody else that's watering their lawn
or has a swimming pool or is filling up
[54:07] a hot tub that's using the water but not
using the sewer are going to pay way
[54:14] more than people not doing that. Um, and
and it's just not fair. I know in
[54:21] Antaronda County they also have a
provision for people with swimming
[54:24] pools. Um, like I said, I don't have a
$100,000 swimming pool. I paid not a
[54:30] whole lot of money for it in 1992, but
as the years go on and I'm paying for
[54:36] water and sewer to fill up my swimming
pool, um, it's a little crazy. And if
[54:44] we're looking at a rate increase, it's
even going to be crazier. Right now, our
[54:48] water bill is a lot. Um, and you know,
we're on a fixed income like a lot of
[54:54] people in Centerville are. So, any kind
of rate increase is just not good for
[55:01] this town. You know, and and over the
years, we've heard, you know, when a new
[55:07] development goes in that, uh, well,
they're gone to offset the water and
[55:12] sewer. We hear that over and over again.
No be that never happens. You know,
[55:18] yeah, they're paying impact fees, but
you know, it never makes up for where we
[55:22] are now. We have, you know, a sewer
system that's outdated and yes, it
[55:29] probably needs work. I'm not doubting
that at all, but it's not those new
[55:34] developments that have come online that
are paying for it. Everybody's paying
[55:39] for it. And I think that's the way that
you have to look at this um this rate
[55:45] hike and new developments coming in. Are
they paying for it down the line because
[55:50] they've overburdened our our water or
our sewer?
[55:55] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[55:56] » Thank you,
>> Lyn Knight.
[56:02] » Hello, I'm Lyn Knight. I'm a resident of
Centerville. I bought my house in 95. I
[56:07] grew up in Queen Ans County. live right
outside of town. Um, I'm more concerned
[56:12] about the the multi-year piece of this.
Your publication shows 26, 27, and 28,
[56:19] but this goes through 32. And so, even
on the face of your ordinance, you're
[56:24] being deceptive to the citizens of Queen
of Centerville because you're not
[56:30] showing how bad it's going to be in 32.
And there's no accountability. It's just
[56:37] like giving your teenager $20 this week.
They're going to spend all $20 because
[56:41] they're getting $20 next week. If you're
not accountable to the citizens, the
[56:45] residents about what you're doing with
this 8% and you automatically get it for
[56:50] six years, then that is unfair to the
residents of Centerville. And I do
[56:54] believe everybody else you're going to
run people out of town. It's
[56:56] unfortunate.
>> Thank you.
[56:58] » Thank you.
Next is Deborah Wells Cooper.
[57:07] » Good evening, town council members, and
I want to tell you I really appreciate
[57:11] all the work that you do for our town.
So, as you know, I'm Debbie Wells
[57:15] Hooper. I'm a resident here in
Centerville, and I'm a property owner.
[57:19] » Can you hear me now?
>> Yeah.
[57:21] » Okay. I hate that saying.
>> Okay. So, I also want to thank you. I
[57:25] believe I recently read that the state
legislative capital grant for 600k was
[57:31] awarded to us. Is that correct?
>> So, thank you for working on that and
[57:37] getting that for us. Hopefully, that
goes towards the wastewater treatment
[57:41] upgrades.
So, I hope that there are other grant
[57:45] applications in the works because I'm
here tonight to voice my opposition to
[57:50] to the proposed rate increases.
While I understand the town faces rising
[57:55] operational costs and infrastructure
needs, passing these burdens onto the
[58:00] backs of residents and local businesses
I feel is wrong. We are paying 5.5
[58:09] each July and now we're talking about
another 8% for the from now until from
[58:16] next year until 2032.
So,
[58:21] I'm looking at our cost of living
increase and I go to Food Lion. I wonder
[58:28] how these people actually feed their
families when I'm just paying for
[58:32] myself. I don't know how the citizens of
Centerville are going to handle this,
[58:37] but I think we need to find another way.
There has to be another approach.
[58:43] I believe families in Centerville are
already grappling with inflation and
[58:47] higher taxes. Increasing quarterly water
and sewer fees by this kind of
[58:53] percentage will stretch all of us. And
here's the thing, folks. We know there's
[58:57] been no no increase in the quality or
improvement of our water. I'm still
[59:03] getting white spots all over my clothes
in the in the washing machine.
[59:08] So um before the council votes to
increase rates, I urge you to look at
[59:13] alternative measures. We need to explore
other state and federal grants, cut
[59:19] ineffic inefficiencies if there are any
in town operations, and exhaust all
[59:25] other funding avenues before we ask
residents to pay for a wastewater
[59:30] treatment plant upgrade, which most of
us consider to be a basic essential of
[59:35] living in any town.
So, I respectfully ask the town council
[59:40] to vote no on ordinance 72026.
Thank you.
[59:44] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[59:47] » So, I know many more people want to
speak. We need to be somewhat orderly
[59:51] about it. So, if you'd like to address
the council, just please come up and you
[59:57] can you can get in a queue if you'd
like. So, it's not just madness, but
[1:00:00] anyone who would like to address the
council can come forward and state their
[1:00:03] name for the record.
[1:00:12] Hi there. For the record, my name is
Herman Edward Chiki the third, but I go
[1:00:16] by Ted. Lived in Centerville for uh 22
years.
[1:00:21] Um,
nobody runs for office to screw the
[1:00:26] people. You don't run for fame and you
damn sure don't run for money.
[1:00:31] You're running to serve the people that
you live with, the people of this town,
[1:00:37] your constituents.
Um, the town has a problem. It doesn't
[1:00:42] have enough money. Simple. Reasons for
that can be debated. Is it the sewer,
[1:00:47] you know, whatever. However we got here,
we're here. We need enough money to
[1:00:51] operate. We need enough money to upgrade
the plant. That's that's the issue
[1:00:56] before us.
Now there are lots of ways to get that
[1:01:01] money.
We can look at you know I I've seen I've
[1:01:07] seen lots and lots and lots of problems
in my business career
[1:01:12] and each problem many similar problems
have many many different solutions.
[1:01:19] I think with this problem you guys have
come together you've come up hey this is
[1:01:24] a solution that we think is good. you've
taken it to your constituents, people
[1:01:29] you serve, and as you can see, they
don't like it.
[1:01:35] So, what my ask is, it's just, you know,
I I know you're not voting till
[1:01:41] September. Take another hard look at
this. Now, look, there's services that
[1:01:46] you have to have. There services that
are really good to have. There services
[1:01:52] that are really nice to have. Plutter's
here.
[1:01:57] Don't cut that. Don't Don't raise that.
Don't make that harder to get. Figure
[1:02:01] out what's out here, even in here. Just
take another look. I know you work hard
[1:02:07] at it, but maybe get a citizen council
to help you on this or to give input.
[1:02:13] Maybe somebody from Northbrook, somebody
from Symphony Village, somebody from in
[1:02:16] town to at large. That'd be a great
start. I don't know. I don't know how
[1:02:20] the rules work, but you know what what's
[clears throat] been proposed
[1:02:27] isn't is is isn't
what your people want.
[1:02:33] So, I'm just simple ask just take
another look, take a harder look, see if
[1:02:37] we can maybe come come up with something
different and maybe a little bit better.
[1:02:41] Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[1:02:44] » All right. Anyone else wish to address
the council?
[1:02:51] Hey, like I said, we will keep public
comment open. It will not close this
[1:02:55] evening. And and we truly do appreciate
when we get comments. You know, I
[1:03:00] received many many emails over the last
couple of days, more probably the last
[1:03:05] couple of days than the entire last
year. And so I appreciate when the
[1:03:10] citizens get involved. I
I know several of us probably want to
[1:03:15] address several comments. We as a
council rule and as a practice do not
[1:03:20] get into a back and forth with citizens.
We never want to do anything that would
[1:03:24] prevent citizens from wanting to come
here and speak in front of the council.
[1:03:27] And so we're going to go ahead and close
the public hearing, but that doesn't
[1:03:31] close the discussion and we'll continue
to have discussion like I said this
[1:03:33] evening on this issue. I'm personally
happy to meet individually with with
[1:03:38] anyone frankly and and I'm happy to meet
at town hall and have further discussion
[1:03:41] about this. And then just know that for
the next several weeks, this is going to
[1:03:45] be front of mind for all of us up here
and the town staff um as we work through
[1:03:50] it. So, got more that I want to say and
I know others do too, but we'll go ahead
[1:03:53] and take a motion to um adjourn the
hearing and then we can go from there.
[1:03:57] Is there a motion?
>> Make a motion to adjurnn the hearing.
[1:03:59] » Is there a second?
>> All right. All in favor?
[1:04:01] » I.
>> All right. The hearing is adjourned. So,
[1:04:05] I'll start out. So, just a couple of
things. um currently baked into the town
[1:04:11] code from several years ago is that 5%
increase and so this is not on top of
[1:04:16] this is instead of. So I want to say
that um also we are continuing to look
[1:04:22] for money from other sources and
continuing to have those conversations
[1:04:26] the price tag on the plant in my five
years on the council has gone up so
[1:04:30] radically it's insane how much frankly
the price tag on building the new plant
[1:04:35] has gone up. Um, but we continue to look
for other sources. We've received
[1:04:40] federal earmark money that will pay for
certain parts of it. We have allocated a
[1:04:44] lot of ARPA funds from during COVID
towards parts of it. We have received
[1:04:48] state grants, not just the small grant
this year, but another um multi-million
[1:04:52] dollar grant from Bay Restoration a
couple of years ago. We continue to
[1:04:56] apply for things and have strategic
conversations with agencies in the
[1:05:00] governor's office and doing all of the
things that we can to not have this
[1:05:03] become a total burden on the rateayer.
So, I do want to say that also, this is,
[1:05:10] you know, small comfort, but that it is
through 2031,
[1:05:15] » not 2032 in the ordinance. That's a typo
and that will be fixed on what's
[1:05:19] publicly available.
>> I don't have an answer for the pools and
[1:05:22] lawns thing, but I do want you all to
know that before I got on the council, I
[1:05:26] called town hall because I just assumed
I could call and say, "I'm filling my
[1:05:29] pool right now. I shouldn't pay sewer on
these gallons." So, I completely
[1:05:33] sympathize with you all. And if you've
ever driven by my house, grass is very
[1:05:36] very dead because it's just simply not
where I choose to allocate my personal
[1:05:40] water use. So I understand the decisions
that families have to make and I
[1:05:44] personally pay a rather high water bill
for my household of four people with a
[1:05:48] swimming pool and I don't I also don't
want an 8% increase. I just we're facing
[1:05:55] the reality of the need to upgrade not
only
[1:05:59] the size of the plant but the science of
the plant. And so right now the
[1:06:04] technology that we have does not clean
the sewer output to the extent that is
[1:06:11] required moving forward. I think we've
probably all read a lot more news about
[1:06:17] sewer effluent in the last week than
ever in our lives before given the
[1:06:22] current parasite outbreak that is
related in some ways to sewer effluent.
[1:06:26] And so we are facing the reality of the
need to improve the science, the need to
[1:06:31] expand the size. You all heard the Main
Street study and what people want to
[1:06:34] have here. We couldn't allow the
businesses that people want to have here
[1:06:41] until we expand the plant. So it's a
real chicken and an egg sit an egg
[1:06:44] situation, too. So just know that we're
we've had a lot of conversations about
[1:06:49] this. We're going to continue to have
conversations about it. I would love any
[1:06:54] and all of your ideas that you have, any
and all of your lobbying skills, any and
[1:06:59] all of your willingness to write to your
county commissioners and your state
[1:07:02] legislators and your governor and your
federal representatives to ask for them
[1:07:06] to weigh in here with some funding and
some support of our grant asks. We are a
[1:07:11] citizen council. That's what this is.
And we are citizens that live all across
[1:07:15] town, the five of us. But we can't and
the town staff can't do everything. And
[1:07:19] not every good idea that exists is up
here. So, we need you all to provide
[1:07:24] your input and to give us your ideas.
And this is what we've come up with in
[1:07:29] its current proposal, but nothing's done
until it's done. And we, like I said, we
[1:07:34] would love to hear more from all of you
on on this and on other issues. So,
[1:07:39] that's just what I wanted to say, but
I'll we'll just go down the line if
[1:07:41] folks have things they want to say. So,
council member Bu.
[1:07:44] » No, I mean,
>> we're gonna go down the line.
[1:07:45] » Okay. Council
member view
[1:07:50] [laughter]
>> I appreciate your comments president. Um
[1:07:55] this is something that we've been
weighing very heavily and we've been
[1:07:58] looking at all kinds of alternatives for
expansion of the water and the sewage
[1:08:02] treatment facilities. Uh it is something
that uh unfortunately did not take
[1:08:08] effect several years ago when the need
was first identified. And as she
[1:08:13] mentioned, the rate and the cost of
everything is going up exponentially.
[1:08:18] And but as someone else in the audience
said, we are where we are and we don't
[1:08:23] have any choice but to make improvements
and and there's regulations that we have
[1:08:28] to adhere to uh in terms of how the
sewage is being treated. So uh one way
[1:08:34] or another, we have to go forward with
the expansion of these facilities. and
[1:08:38] we're looking at every alternative on
how to either and we've looked at ways
[1:08:42] to scale back the size of the plant and
what that cost would be or any savings
[1:08:47] associated with that. We've looked at
different technologies
[1:08:51] uh and we'll continue to do that uh as
we go through this process. But it it's
[1:08:57] it's something that is weighed very
heavily on all of us and will continue
[1:09:01] to and I really genuinely appreciate the
openness and the courage it takes for
[1:09:07] people in the community to come forward
and to make your statements. We do need
[1:09:11] your advice and your suggestions. uh we
are looking at all kinds of alternative
[1:09:16] funding, grants, uh long-term financing,
uh that we're not trying to create
[1:09:21] additional debt for the town, but we're
also trying to diminish the uh immediate
[1:09:26] impact on us. Uh so I don't want to
speak too long but you know this is
[1:09:32] something we've taken very seriously.
We'll continue to and um uh we're open
[1:09:37] to other ideas and suggestions and your
assistance as uh the president suggested
[1:09:44] in writing to uh the the county the
state in helping us. Uh we've already
[1:09:50] gotten millions of dollars in grants
that we've been working on but we need
[1:09:53] more.
>> So
[1:09:56] » thank you. No. Um, yeah. I think not to
repeat what people have said um already,
[1:10:02] but we're in a very tough spot. We're
here because a ball has been kicked down
[1:10:06] the road for several years. And that's
our issue. And if we just do that again,
[1:10:15] it's going to be a for future
generations of what people are going to
[1:10:18] have to do or future town council. it
hasn't been our wastewater treatment
[1:10:23] plant has not been funded at the level
it should have over many many years um
[1:10:30] because it just hasn't and so we are in
a position where we were having to do
[1:10:35] something that's reasonable because
actually in the study the study said to
[1:10:40] actually increase the rates even more
and we said no we can't do that I mean
[1:10:45] they were actually higher than what's in
this proposal um and This is just
[1:10:51] relating to because our current plant is
over 25 going to be 30 years by the time
[1:10:56] our new plant opens. It's ancient and it
costs more to run an older plant. Um so
[1:11:04] we are wanting to do this in a
financially prudent way and we are in a
[1:11:10] very difficult situation to figure out
what we should do in order to do this.
[1:11:16] Um and it's not again it's not in these
rates everything's being paid for the
[1:11:21] new plant. The plant itself has not been
funded appropriately for years um from
[1:11:27] that perspective. So we're trying to
balance this and I agree we are open to
[1:11:33] your con you know your comments. I
appreciate everybody coming here because
[1:11:38] it's important. This is one of the
biggest um I think decisions we've had
[1:11:42] to make as a town council and this will
continue relating to this new plant.
[1:11:47] It's a large infrastructure
capital expense this town. It's not like
[1:11:53] it can't do it. It has to do it. So how
do we go about doing it now that we're
[1:11:57] in this difficult situation to do it? Um
so and we are currently our debt service
[1:12:03] associated with this plant has never
been funded at the level it should and
[1:12:08] that's a difficult situation. This
council is looking at something that
[1:12:13] they have to do the right thing for a
longterm process not a short term to say
[1:12:19] okay leave the rates alone because this
is going to happen. It's about it's not
[1:12:24] if it's when. And so we have to be
prudent about what is it that we can do
[1:12:30] and the plan itself is not all going to
come online day one. Um it's going to be
[1:12:36] phased in. I think someone said can you
phase this in? Believe me we're doing
[1:12:40] everything we can associated with the
pond relating to um the wastewater
[1:12:46] treatment plan increasing that with
grant dollars ARPA dollars to fund that.
[1:12:52] So we are doing everything we can to
delay costs associated with this and
[1:12:56] getting them from third parties, feds,
state, etc. So it's not just through
[1:13:02] your rates that this plant is being
funded. It's the it's to fund the
[1:13:07] current plant
>> and the cost of that plant and the
[1:13:10] current operations and then also looking
about the future to say what do we need
[1:13:14] to do associated with it. Um, so not to
repeat what others, but um, please
[1:13:20] continue your comments and um, this is a
this is a heavy load on this council to
[1:13:25] determine what the right thing is to do.
>> Thank you, Council Vice President Gil.
[1:13:30] » I want to repeat Council Person Huffer's
comments.
[1:13:36] The can has been kicked down the road so
long. This is where we ended up. It's
[1:13:41] been future council didn't want to spend
any money on anything. past council had
[1:13:46] didn't want to spend money on anything.
They wanted to save money, save money,
[1:13:50] save money. They didn't want to spend
any money. And I can tell you,
[1:13:56] people think that we're going to burden
the taxpayers with the cost of a new
[1:14:01] sewer plant. That we are not going to do
that. If it was up to me, I'd put it on
[1:14:06] the backs of the developers of
developers that want to come to the town
[1:14:09] and build build new subdivision. I say
they pay for it. if they want to build
[1:14:13] so bad in the town of Centerville, they
can come up with money for our
[1:14:16] wastewater treatment plant because since
we started this project, the wastewater
[1:14:21] treatment plant, it has almost it's
probably doubled in price. Doubled in
[1:14:25] price. And I'm talking about it's a lot
of money right now to build a wastewater
[1:14:29] treatment plant with the outfall into
the Corsa River between another farm we
[1:14:35] have to buy. And
believe me, this s this water rate
[1:14:40] increase, water and sewer rate increase
is a a hard pill for me to swallow
[1:14:44] because I live in town just like
everybody else does. And I I I'm against
[1:14:48] it, but I think it's needed, but I'm
still against it. But I don't think we
[1:14:55] should put it in the economic times we
live in. We're putting the burden on the
[1:14:58] on the the tech the the residents of the
town of Centerville. We just increased
[1:15:04] their the the trash rate. Not by much,
but we still had to increase it. But
[1:15:10] everything's going up and I
>> I just don't want to do it. But I think
[1:15:15] it's needed, but I'm still against it.
But I'm just one vote.
[1:15:18] » It's a tough situation.
>> Yes, it's a tough situation.
[1:15:22] » Yes. First of all, thank you. You know,
we learn from you all and we represent
[1:15:27] you all. All right. There's five of us.
There's 4,700 of us in the town. And if
[1:15:32] we work together, we're going to come up
with some solutions. What's an old
[1:15:35] saying? God gave you two ears and one
mouth. So certainly the priority is
[1:15:39] listening and we listen to you tonight.
We really appreciate that. You know, I'm
[1:15:43] on a fixed income just like many of you
are. We get a retirement check and it's
[1:15:47] only it's going up 2%. But my wife
reminds me, Fred, when you go to the
[1:15:52] grocery store, what cost you a hundred
bucks last week cost you 125 this week.
[1:15:57] Your gas, think of your gas costs, what
have they been like in the last year?
[1:16:02] Electric costs. McNeels almost went
broke between our heat pump and our oil.
[1:16:07] Our costs were unbelievable. We went
from a,000 to $2,000. I'm bringing this
[1:16:11] up. To run a small town, to run a
business, to run a families going to
[1:16:16] cost us more money is going to take
sacrifices. I like what Ted said. The
[1:16:21] things we've got to have Ted in my arms
were probably wrong. Things we have to
[1:16:25] have, things we'd like to have, and
things a little frivolous. We got to
[1:16:29] have water
and we might have to pay for it. And I
[1:16:34] spent the morning with Karen, our CFO,
and I got an education. We were in the
[1:16:39] front porch talking. And I learned about
this going to be tough, but thank you
[1:16:44] for being here. We listened to you, and
like the president said, it's not a
[1:16:49] closed door yet. We're still listening.
But please remember, when you go to the
[1:16:53] grocery store, you're paying 25% more.
When you go to the gas station, how much
[1:16:57] more you paying your electric bill costs
are going up and everything and
[1:17:02] unfortunately running small town America
becoming more and more expensive. Thank
[1:17:07] you.
>> Thank you.
[1:17:09] » I say one last thing. I also encourage
if anybody ever wants to talk to me
[1:17:12] about it, I'm open. You can email me,
call me on my cell phone. I will talk.
[1:17:17] » This is an incredibly accessible
council. Um I think we're all very
[1:17:21] willing to meet with and talk to
residents and so please do
[1:17:24] [clears throat] just reach out. anytime.
There are several of you here that I
[1:17:27] talk to on a somewhat regular basis and
so like please do just let us know if
[1:17:31] you have ideas or suggestions. We
certainly want to hear them.
[1:17:36] So we will move on to the next item on
our agenda which is the consideration of
[1:17:41] the short-term rentals moratorum. Is
there any discussion or a motion related
[1:17:45] to the moratorum?
>> Need a motion to accept it.
[1:17:50] » Motion.
>> I'll make a motion to accept ordinance
[1:17:52] 6-206.
>> Is there a second? Second. As always
[1:17:55] with ordinances, we're going to take a
roll call vote. Council member Bu.
[1:17:59] » Yes.
>> Council member Huffer.
[1:18:01] » Yes. Council Vice President.
Okay.
[1:18:05] » Pete, you've got your moratorum.
[laughter]
[1:18:08] » All right. Next.
>> Next up on the agenda, and I've already
[1:18:12] said what I would like the council to do
here, but because it's on the agenda, I
[1:18:15] want us to follow the agenda that we
approved was the consideration of the
[1:18:19] rate increase. I would like as we said
as I said to have further discussion
[1:18:23] with our public works team and the
public at the August meeting with
[1:18:26] consideration at the September meeting
to give us all time
[1:18:29] » to to continue to have conversations
around this. Is there any um opposition
[1:18:33] to that plan?
>> Could I just make uh two statements? Um
[1:18:38] one I actually just received a message
from Betty Gene Hall. I don't know if
[1:18:41] anybody's ever talked to her. She um
does our utility billing. So she's the
[1:18:46] one who mails you guys all your water
sewer bills. She is happy to go over
[1:18:50] anybody's billing structure if you call
or email her. Um, and then I also wanted
[1:18:57] to you can actually go on I don't know
who it was who said it.
[1:19:01] » She left, but yes, you can go online and
track your usage. You can also set it up
[1:19:05] to email you when you go over a certain
amount, which I have set up to email me.
[1:19:09] And so I was out of town this whole week
for work and I got a text from my
[1:19:13] husband that was like, "When you get
that email, just know I've been doing
[1:19:15] laundry all day." So like the the
emails, you set the trigger point for
[1:19:20] when it tells you you've gone over. So I
have it for my family's average daily
[1:19:24] use and I only get the email if it's
extreme. But that can help you identify
[1:19:27] a leak early,
>> too. Um yeah, the system is great. And
[1:19:31] if you're not techsavvy, you can call
you can call town hall and your current
[1:19:36] usage set up.
>> You can also pay your bill in as many
[1:19:39] increments as you want to. So if you if
the quarterly bill because when I get
[1:19:43] that quarterly bill I'm like oh man
that's a lot at once. You can go to town
[1:19:47] hall every day if you want to and make a
payment on whatever your current usage
[1:19:50] is. So there are I'm not saying it's a
solve for what the total bill is but
[1:19:54] there are ways to hopefully um make
things more manageable for folks because
[1:19:58] like council member McNeel said
absolutely everything costs more. Your
[1:20:02] kids daycare probably costs more. I know
mine does. Like absolutely everything is
[1:20:05] costing more right now and we're
sympathetic to that. The reality is we
[1:20:10] don't have sources of revenue beyond
businesses and residents in town and we
[1:20:16] all want to turn on our sinks and water
come out and we all want to flush the
[1:20:19] toilet and at work and so that's the
reality we're up against.
[1:20:24] » Good there.
>> Good.
[1:20:25] » All right. So, we'll delay consideration
and we'll have further conversation
[1:20:28] about it.
>> Can we consider specific date so we
[1:20:31] don't
>> Yes. So we don't run into that. We'll
[1:20:32] delay what what is the first Thursday in
September?
[1:20:37] September
>> 3rd
[1:20:39] » 3rd.
>> Okay. We'll delay until September 3rd.
[1:20:42] So that per our charter, we're delaying
till a time certain.
[1:20:47] » Okay. Thank you for reminding us to do
that. Otherwise, we have to start
[1:20:51] counting days.
>> All right.
[1:20:55] And find where we are.
>> Next up is under new business. We have
[1:20:59] ordinance 08 2026. This is a zoning text
amendment related to fences. This is
[1:21:04] just a first reading.
This will then, right, this is the first
[1:21:08] reading.
>> This will then get referred to the
[1:21:10] planning commission or no because it
came from them.
[1:21:12] » Came from them.
>> Came from them. So it'll be scheduled
[1:21:14] for public hearing.
>> And this is just to update our fence
[1:21:18] code.
Do you want to say anything tonight or
[1:21:21] you want to wait till the hearing?
>> Whatever you want.
[1:21:23] » Take your poison. Um,
this does things like not allow chain
[1:21:29] link fences in residential communities.
Correct.
[1:21:32] » Yes. [clears throat]
not allow chain link fences in
[1:21:34] residential communities. Um there is
some caveats for
[1:21:40] uh industrial uh the PBD district. Um
there's height limits. Um we are
[1:21:48] proposing to uh go back to the times
where you're allowed to build a fence in
[1:21:53] your front yard. There's some additional
restrictions with the front yard
[1:21:57] fencing. um a height limit and uh
transparency of 50% transparency.
[1:22:03] [snorts]
Um
[1:22:05] » okay.
>> Yeah,
[1:22:06] » we'll have a public hearing about this.
>> When was that set for?
[1:22:11] » Um it will be September. It'll probably
be the first
[1:22:14] » advertise September 3rd, right?
>> We don't have time for August.
[1:22:18] » Okay. Next up is resolution 12-2026.
This is a resolution of the town council
[1:22:24] of Centerville to authorize the
execution of a public works agreement
[1:22:26] with the county commissioners of Queen
Ans County. This is for wastewater
[1:22:32] service that we are running out to White
Marsh Park for the county's back. Yeah,
[1:22:35] the county is installing bathrooms at
White Marsh Park and they will be
[1:22:39] running the the um lines from our
connection at at the town boundaries out
[1:22:45] to the
>> Just to be clear, the county is bearing
[1:22:47] the cost.
>> County is the pipe to White Mar paying
[1:22:51] allocation fee.
>> They just to be very clear, county,
[1:22:54] we're not this is not
>> No, we are not. Yes. No, no. They they
[1:22:59] are paying for the um and they they're
also paying an allocation
[1:23:02] » and they'll pay the service as well.
>> Yes.
[1:23:04] Okay. So, we can act on a resolution and
this is the county would like to move
[1:23:09] forward. We've been talking about this
for I mean the whole time I've been on
[1:23:12] the council.
>> Well, be honest when it was first
[1:23:14] proposed
>> and in September the council approved
[1:23:17] the two allocation those two
allocations.
[1:23:20] » Does a member of the council want to
make a motion related to this
[1:23:25] resolution?
[1:23:30] I make a motion to approve resolution
1226,
[1:23:34] the resolution to authorize the
execution of the public works agreement
[1:23:37] with the county commissioners of Queen
Ans County.
[1:23:40] » Is there a second?
>> Second.
[1:23:42] » Okay. And we're going to do a roll call
vote. Council member Bu approve.
[1:23:46] » Council member Huffer.
>> Yes. Council member McNeel. Okay.
[1:23:52] » There will be bathrooms at White Marsh
Park.
[1:23:55] Okay, next.
>> Never again.
[1:23:57] » Next up is an allocation request from
Lacrosse Homes for four
[1:24:02] single family homes proposed on Spring
Street, 116, 118, 122, and 126 Spring
[1:24:08] Street. These are vacant lots that have
no current allocations. They are
[1:24:11] requesting one water allocation and one
sewer allocation for each lot. Staff is
[1:24:16] recommending approval of four sewer
allocations and four water allocations
[1:24:20] for that owner and they would be paying
allocation fee. just clear.
[1:24:24] » And so this is just to allow that
allocation that we would execute similar
[1:24:27] to what we just did later. Correct. Or
they would just come by their
[1:24:30] allocation.
>> No, they're actually waiting. They'll be
[1:24:33] in tomorrow morning to pay their
allocation fees. Yes. They were waiting
[1:24:36] for the council's approval.
>> Do we have a motion on these
[1:24:38] allocations?
>> I make a motion to approve four water
[1:24:41] allocations and four sew allocations for
116, 118, 122, and 126 Spring Street.
[1:24:49] Just to clarify, remember we uh adopted
that allocation distribution plan. These
[1:24:54] would be coming out of the infill
bucket.
[1:24:55] » Infilled bucket. Okay. Yes. So for those
curious, we have a water and sewer
[1:25:00] allocation plan that spreads our limited
remaining allocation until such a time
[1:25:05] we get a new plant amongst different
uses in different areas of town. So
[1:25:08] residential and business to make sure
that we still have some if a business
[1:25:12] wants to come that's going to you know
we have CEDA like Fred said doing a ton
[1:25:15] of work to attract businesses to town.
We don't want to get to a point where we
[1:25:18] have zero allocation to give them
because we've used it all for, you know,
[1:25:21] one house at a time. So, there are
different buckets that the allocation
[1:25:25] come from just to make sure that we can
have different uses in town during this
[1:25:28] few years until we hopefully have a new
plant.
[1:25:31] » All right, we have a motion and a
second.
[1:25:34] » Yes.
>> Second. Okay. All in favor? I. Any
[1:25:38] opposed? Okay. Next up, council, you
were sent this. This is a letter um a
[1:25:44] proposed letter for us to send our
congressional congressional delegation
[1:25:48] via Senator Van Golland related to the
potential for increasing the maximum
[1:25:54] truck weight. So, this is about, you
know, impact on roads. Um, and there's a
[1:25:59] proposal to permit vehicles weighing up
to 91,000 pounds. And a lot of
[1:26:04] municipalities are sending letters um
expressing some concerns about the
[1:26:11] infrastructure costs that that would
create by having even heavier trucks on
[1:26:14] our roads. And as you all know, we've
been doing enforcement related to trucks
[1:26:18] because we've had it's a lot of wear and
tear on our roads when overweight trucks
[1:26:22] are on the roads. So, council, we need
either approval or not to sign and send
[1:26:28] this letter and then we would sign it
this evening. Does anyone have any
[1:26:31] opposition to sending this letter to our
congressional delegation? No opposition.
[1:26:35] » Okay. Do we have a copy to sign tonight?
>> Awesome. All right. Next up is reports
[1:26:41] of boards and commissions. And so, first
is Maryland Municipal League. I have
[1:26:45] nothing related to Maryland Municipal
League, but I do think Yeah, we should
[1:26:50] listen to the symposium on funding.
>> Yeah. No, I am um uh already already
[1:26:56] signed up. Yeah,
>> I will be at the National Governor's
[1:26:59] Association that day for my day job, but
I will always take an opportunity to ask
[1:27:05] for money for our sewer plant when I'm
anywhere that our governor is. So, next
[1:27:10] up is the Council of Governments.
>> No meeting. Next meeting is August 12th.
[1:27:16] » Okay. Economic development. I know
you've had an absolute ton of activity.
[1:27:20] Uh we have uh the next CEDA meeting uh
for the total group is July 21st. Uh we
[1:27:27] have monthly meetings but we also have
uh now three operating subcommittees
[1:27:32] within CEDA that are looking on working
on specific projects. So we have interim
[1:27:37] meetings for those throughout the month.
Uh what one of the subcommittees is
[1:27:43] looking at development opportunities for
the Pennsylvania Avenue uh street across
[1:27:48] from where there's current development.
That's where the parking lot is now. So
[1:27:52] we're looking at, you know, possible
opportunities for there. We're also have
[1:27:57] another subcommittee uh that is looking
at different things that the town can do
[1:28:03] and planning and zoning can do. But we
as a total community uh that would uh
[1:28:09] help provide incentives or a more
welcoming approach to appropriate
[1:28:14] businesses to come into town. uh you
know to help increase our our our rates
[1:28:20] and our tax base uh but also to attract
the appropriate kind of business uh and
[1:28:26] employers uh that we think will be well
accepted and uh invited into the
[1:28:33] community. So we're looking for ways to
uh be more welcoming to a business
[1:28:38] coming into town.
>> Awesome.
[1:28:43] » That's thank you Park Advisory Board.
>> Much to the in a lot of people. We did
[1:28:48] not meet this month. Therefore, no
slides. All right. So, some type of
[1:28:51] applause, please. But we do want to say,
water your trees and plants, please. And
[1:28:56] senior citizens, right?
>> Salt in the wound for real. [laughter]
[1:29:00] » All right. Planning commission.
>> Yes. Um there was a couple meetings.
[1:29:04] There was one on June 17th. There was
improved of two houses on uh North
[1:29:09] Liberty Street at 220 North Liberty and
um
[1:29:15] and right next door, but it's right near
the uh parking garage which is on
[1:29:18] Liberty. It's a vacant lot. It's your
smaller homes. Um they're going to be
[1:29:23] great. It's infill which is what we
want. It's in our town. It's um more
[1:29:28] affordable housing. So that was approved
which is great and it's going on for
[1:29:32] approval by because it's a unusual lot.
So special exception associated with
[1:29:37] that. So it will be heard there. Um
there was also
[1:29:45] Draper's Liquor that was this last night
as far as an extension. It is coming. Um
[1:29:50] that's something to be doing a new
building, but they are they've gotten
[1:29:54] their um I think their architectural
done, but they need some more time. They
[1:29:58] asked for an extension of another 12
months. you don't see needing that but
[1:30:02] in order to start construction on the
new um Drapers um liquor store. Um so it
[1:30:08] is coming. It's just they need more time
which is to be un understood. The ADU
[1:30:14] ordinance accessory dwelling units um
that ordinance I think we finally put um
[1:30:19] a bow on that last night where we've
been looking at that for a couple three
[1:30:23] meetings. Um, so I think that again it'
be a good thing for our town as it
[1:30:28] relates to having some affordable
housing or granny flats that are behind
[1:30:31] homes that have the ability to do that.
Giving giving our residents that
[1:30:36] opportunity to do it and it's going to
be in compliance with the state of
[1:30:39] Maryland. So we need to make certain we
have that correct the first time. So
[1:30:44] that'll be coming to um town council for
review and approval. Um we also as far
[1:30:50] as the approval of the bylaws was a
seven member committee. will now be
[1:30:54] five. Um, seven was hard as far as
getting enough enough members. So, and
[1:31:00] the five with one uh two alternates
actually two alternates. So, um I think
[1:31:04] it's going to work out really well
associated with that and it's gone very
[1:31:08] smoothly since um since that has gone
down to five. Um
[1:31:14] there's there's the highlights.
>> All right. Thank you. Next up, we'll do
[1:31:19] um reports of department heads, town
manager. Just a couple quick things. Um,
[1:31:23] the farmers market, if you remember when
they were here the last time, they spoke
[1:31:27] about doing an extra day of the market,
but they didn't have their dates yet.
[1:31:31] So, they are asking for the use of its
parking spaces. They won't be shutting
[1:31:36] down lawyers row um
uh on a on Thursdays beginning next
[1:31:42] Thursday the 23rd
um from 3:00 to 5:00 for about 10 to 12
[1:31:46] weeks. So, they would like the council's
um consideration to And they just use
[1:31:51] like the last several parking spots on
lawyers.
[1:31:54] » And the police have no problem getting
those blocked off.
[1:31:56] » No chief anymore.
>> I don't know where chief is. But
[1:32:00] » is there a motion to approve the request
of the farmers market?
[1:32:04] » I make a motion to approve.
>> Second.
[1:32:06] » That's good.
>> Okay. All in favor?
[1:32:09] » All right.
>> Um the other just two more quick things.
[1:32:12] Um the council usually approves during
the budget process a list of grants. We
[1:32:17] were speaking with a um property owner
of a property on Water Street that we
[1:32:24] would like to um
uh submit the strategic demolition grant
[1:32:29] for. It would be a pass through grant.
Um only municipality or government
[1:32:34] agencies or um nonprofit um development
organizations are allowed to apply. Um
[1:32:40] and this would help with the um um
structural intent of their building. So,
[1:32:47] um, and that application is due August
6th.
[1:32:50] » Oh, wow.
>> Um, which is our next meeting. So, yeah,
[1:32:54] soon.
>> And so, just for the public, we ask that
[1:32:56] the staff brings grant opportunities
before the council to the extent that
[1:33:00] money is policy to make sure that we're
all on one page before we just because
[1:33:04] it's grant money doesn't mean it's free.
And so, just making sure we're all on
[1:33:07] the same page. I'm in favor of the
strategic demolition grant. Are there is
[1:33:10] there any opposition to it?
>> No, I'm all in favor.
[1:33:13] » Okay. And last um thing real quick is um
most people know that um Gay, our
[1:33:20] current town clerk, was um has moved to
our full-time economic development
[1:33:25] manager. Uh so we had a town clerk role
to fill. Um we had two internal
[1:33:31] applicants that apply that were
interviewed. Um we chose um uh Jackie
[1:33:37] Payne who is currently in our public
works department as an administrative
[1:33:41] assistant. She's been with the town uh
over four years. Um will be moving into
[1:33:46] that role. So, we're really excited for
her. Really excited to have her. Public
[1:33:50] works is a little sad, but um I told
them they come see her any day at town
[1:33:56] hall. They can come see Gary's mad.
>> Yeah. Well,
[1:33:59] » get it.
>> That's all I have.
[1:34:01] » Okay.
>> Thank you.
[1:34:02] » Did the chief leave?
>> No. This is his turn.
[1:34:06] » He's up. [laughter]
>> You're You're up for your report.
[1:34:10] Understanding
[1:34:13] that we can all read.
>> Understand.
[1:34:19] » Are there copies out in the hall if
people want them?
[1:34:21] » There were. I think they might have.
>> I think people took them. Great. And we
[1:34:23] put them on the website.
>> Absolutely. Absolutely. So, thank you
[1:34:27] for the opportunity to address the
council tonight. I do have to get caught
[1:34:29] up on a couple of department reviews uh
for the month of May and month of June.
[1:34:34] So, if I could direct the council's
attention to the May report.
[1:34:38] Nothing really substantial on the
numbers as far as any of the the
[1:34:41] activities go. Uh but I would just like
to indicate to the council some of the
[1:34:45] uh assignments and events that the
police department had attended or was a
[1:34:48] part of. We had the 2026 police unity
tour come through the town of
[1:34:52] Centerville which we always try to
participate or you make sure they have
[1:34:54] safe travels to their destination as
they come through Centerville.
[1:34:59] uh the Rotary Club presentation they we
had one of our officers nominated for
[1:35:04] the officer of the year for the Rotary
Club in which our officer actually uh
[1:35:09] received the officer of the year award.
So it was a great honor for not only the
[1:35:14] officer but our department in the town.
Greens County High School obviously they
[1:35:18] had the graduation in the month of May.
We were honored to be in attendance
[1:35:21] there as well and participate in their
graduation ceremony.
[1:35:25] They have a strengthening justice
through communications uh I don't really
[1:35:30] want to know if we call it a committee.
It's a it's a group through the Queen
[1:35:32] and County Circuit Court. It's about
providing resources to victims etc. And
[1:35:37] we were uh invited to attend that which
we were more than honored to be a part
[1:35:41] of.
So that is the month of May unless the
[1:35:46] council has any questions on anything
that was on the May report.
[1:35:50] So, looking at June,
uh, we had Centerville Elementary School
[1:35:55] Field Day. Uh, we were invited out
there. We typically bring one of our K9
[1:35:59] units and they either do one of a couple
of things. They either will do a K9
[1:36:02] demonstration or they will do what they
call like a cash dash, which our K9's
[1:36:05] name is Cash and they'll run with the
kids and they have relay races and such.
[1:36:08] And usually kids kids love to interact
with the K9 units. Um, we also had the
[1:36:13] Junth parade and celebration out at
Canord. We usually typically do traffic
[1:36:18] control and help guide the parade to
make sure they have safe travels to
[1:36:20] their destination which is the Canard
Elementary. Uh it's grown every year and
[1:36:25] substantially. It's always, you know,
getting better and better. I'm glad to
[1:36:28] see that.
And as council knows, we had Maryland
[1:36:31] crafted event which, you know, we
typically try to assist with traffic
[1:36:34] control when we can and you know, safe
traversing whether it be pedestrians or
[1:36:38] the traffic to come through the area
since it's in the center of town.
[1:36:43] They had a touch a truck event at White
Marsh Park. uh that was uh we were
[1:36:47] invited to attend uh I think it was
maybe their first annual uh attempt at
[1:36:52] that and you know they had they had okay
attendance and I think it'll get bigger
[1:36:56] and bigger every year and
>> wasn't there some sort of competition
[1:36:58] too for that
>> there there was a competition
[1:37:01] » or something
>> yeah it was it was uh the police versus
[1:37:04] the fire department as far as uh who
could raise the most money and I think
[1:37:07] the fire department lost if I remember
correctly. Oh,
[1:37:11] » you get expecting that.
>> Did you heard that
[1:37:14] » to put the pie in the chief's face?
>> I I have not had the opportunity yet,
[1:37:18] but I am so looking forward to it.
>> Okay, cool.
[1:37:20] » That's if he shows up.
>> Let me know if you need help.
[1:37:22] » Yeah, maybe you can help with that.
Maybe we'll do video, photos, etc.
[1:37:27] » Reals.
>> Yes. [laughter]
[1:37:30] » So, we we were happy to be in attendance
there and we're looking forward to that
[1:37:33] growing as well and being, you know, a
better event for the community. uh the
[1:37:37] American Legion Veterans Group. Uh they
meet um several times throughout the
[1:37:42] year. Typically, we'll be in attendance
in their meeting groups. Kind of give
[1:37:45] them the state of the state of what's
going on with the police department and
[1:37:47] what we can with the town. Uh there's a
lot of questions and Q&A sessions, which
[1:37:52] we love to have because I mean, we we
want the, you know, to give them the
[1:37:55] answers they're looking for. So, um it's
always a good time, good turnout. Uh we
[1:38:01] certainly uh appreciative of getting the
invite.
[1:38:04] And also at the American Legion, they
had what they call the Gold Star
[1:38:07] Memorial motorcycle ride. Uh they have
several motorcycles from the American
[1:38:11] Legion riders come from all over the
area to attend this event. So we
[1:38:17] provided traffic control and uh try to
assist them in and out of the Legion
[1:38:20] safely uh so they can get on their way
to other locations. Uh pretty pretty
[1:38:24] large turnout. So we were more than
honored to be a part of that as well. So
[1:38:28] that's just a brief synopsis of some of
the things and events that we had taken
[1:38:32] part in May and
>> June.
[1:38:34] Thank you so much.
>> Yep.
[1:38:35] » All right.
>> No problem.
[1:38:36] » Town attorney.
>> I have nothing.
[1:38:38] » Great.
>> Um,
[1:38:42] come back to you, Gay.
Administrator, do you have anything?
[1:38:47] » It's a first time for everything.
>> This is like the third time.
[1:38:52] » I have talked to some of you
individually. Um, I'm working on the
[1:38:56] vacant property registry
and kind of the one thing that we still
[1:39:02] need to uh hash out on that is in the
ordinance there's reference to the fee
[1:39:06] schedule. So, um I I guess I'll just
kind of come tell you. So, we kind of
[1:39:13] modeled it after Denton. Denton's fees
are very aggressive. Um I think it goes
[1:39:17] up to like $3,000 in year four. Um, so I
kind of wanted to get your feedback on
[1:39:24] some fees. I'm I'm proposing uh a a
four-year tier with with that. Um, in
[1:39:32] year one, $150 and that fee would be
waved if you fill out the uh if you fill
[1:39:38] out all the required information within
90 days. Um, and then 300 and year two.
[1:39:46] Year three is 600 and then year four
would be 1,500. And if you remember the
[1:39:50] vacant property ordinance, you know, if
you have an active building permit and
[1:39:54] you are, [snorts] you know, actively um
restoring your building to occupancy
[1:39:58] conditions, you're not subject to that.
So, it's it's more meant for the
[1:40:03] historically uh vacant, right things.
So,
[1:40:06] » chronically vacant.
>> Okay. Um we will do the fee schedule by
[1:40:11] resolution, I assume.
>> Yes. Yep.
[1:40:13] » So,
>> I'm comfort I mean, I like the idea of
[1:40:16] waving the first year. I've been saying
that since the beginning of the vacant
[1:40:19] property process. I think
>> a big part of it is just collecting the
[1:40:23] information right now. So we know
problems that are out there.
[1:40:28] » Um
>> so so repeat again the fees on uh year
[1:40:34] two, three and four.
>> So I have it doubling in year so year
[1:40:38] one 150 or waved within 90 days. Um,
year two would would go to 300, year
[1:40:46] three would go to 600, and then year
four. So, your building would have to be
[1:40:49] vacant with no action for four
continuous years essentially. Um,
[1:40:54] » because the clock would start over if it
had a use in it.
[1:40:57] » Yeah.
>> It would cease to be vacant and so then
[1:40:59] the next time it became vacant.
>> Fair.
[1:41:01] » Yeah. That's half of Denton's fee.
>> Yeah, it's half. And the thing I want to
[1:41:05] make certain of is just And we can
always adjust it, right? I mean, if
[1:41:09] things don't like this is this isn't
taking traction because back to what we
[1:41:13] just heard relating to our marketing
study and our citizens as far as vacant
[1:41:18] buildings, it was very important to the
council to do something about that. So,
[1:41:22] I just want to make certain that, you
know, things aren't going in the
[1:41:25] direction that should be going that
okay, well, maybe we need to get the fee
[1:41:29] up higher so people can take notice
relating to their vacant buildings.
[1:41:33] That's my only comment. I mean, I'm fine
to do this initially, but rely on you to
[1:41:38] say, "We're having some issues here.
People aren't complying the way they
[1:41:42] should be, and maybe we should do
something different and come to us."
[1:41:45] » Yeah. And so that's kind of why I chose
instead of just a flat zero in year one
[1:41:49] with the waiver within a certain amount
of time, like uh kind of giving people
[1:41:53] an incentive to when they're notified
that they need to fill out the forms. Um
[1:41:57] you know, there's some stuff involved in
that. If they don't live within one of
[1:42:00] the contiguous counties, they have to
provide a local property manager that
[1:42:05] does live within one of the contiguous
counties. So there's some kind of
[1:42:08] backend stuff that
>> Right. And the idea is to disincentivize
[1:42:12] keeping properties vacant.
>> Right. Exactly.
[1:42:14] » This is commercial and residential or
just commercial.
[1:42:18] » Okay. I think prepare the resolution
with those fees and we can have further
[1:42:21] discussion when we hear the resolution.
>> Thank you.
[1:42:25] » All right. Gay town clerk slash economic
development manager.
[1:42:29] » Yes. I have a couple things. Well, first
of all, thank you. This is my last.
[1:42:34] » You think? [laughter]
last meeting up here taking the notes
[1:42:40] she
>> and doing the agendas and the packets.
[1:42:44] » So, and Jackie Jackie is going to do
great. So, thank you for letting me
[1:42:48] serve. I didn't think I would get
emotional.
[1:42:50] » I know you're getting emotional.
[laughter] Don't worry, you're still
[1:42:55] » Yeah, I'll be here a lot more.
>> Yes. Yes. And um thanks to Carol
[1:42:59] Dagustinino
um the mainstream market study was
[1:43:03] great. So, we're gonna have a great
transformational strategy to run with. I
[1:43:06] look forward to, um, meeting those
goals. A little intimidating, the
[1:43:11] reporting every month. So, um, great.
>> I look forward to being accountable to
[1:43:15] you all and the town. So, I can't wait.
Um, first off, um, some of the things
[1:43:20] that happened this month, of course, we
had our fireworks. Turned out to be a
[1:43:24] great event. Um, that was a good time in
July. We also did the Maryland crafted
[1:43:28] event, which was great. Um, great
attendance. In September, I'll have a
[1:43:32] report on the sip and saver trail and
that event. Um I did complete for one of
[1:43:38] my goals as the town clerk the academy
for excellence. So I will get my um
[1:43:43] certificate for that program in
September. I think it's September 27th.
[1:43:48] » Um we are inches away from the approval
of the wayfinding signs. We had a
[1:43:53] meeting yesterday. Um, we all we have to
do I know all we have to do with MD dot
[1:43:59] is get some clarification on some of
their comments. Um, we should have that
[1:44:03] all completed before the end of the
month.
[1:44:05] » Amazing.
>> That's great.
[1:44:06] » Now we just have to figure out where
they how we can attach them and then
[1:44:10] we're probably going to put in a lot of
ourselves. Um,
[1:44:14] » because that's some of the issue, right?
Correct.
[1:44:16] » Can't do it on Demarra Power unless we
have a contact if someone wants to help
[1:44:19] me reach out to them. always happy to
help um to let us put it on their their
[1:44:24] polls.
>> Guys just aren't annoying enough. That's
[1:44:26] the key. [laughter]
>> Um our website, we um are update in the
[1:44:31] process of updating our website due to
the transition. It is slow for us to
[1:44:35] make that live. We still need to review
it and I still need to train on it. Um
[1:44:40] but it will happen. Um, and we're going
to try to get input from everyone on how
[1:44:45] we want it to to be because I want it to
be resident facing
[1:44:49] » um, so they can find things easier. Um,
and then to that we're going to have a
[1:44:54] commercial
frontacing side. So it'll list all our
[1:44:58] commercial properties available in the
town.
[1:45:00] » Awesome.
>> That's fantastic.
[1:45:01] » So that's going to be um just right on
our website. You can go there and click
[1:45:05] on the property and get all the
information. So we'll have that on
[1:45:08] there.
>> Very cool.
[1:45:10] um July 27th through the 31st I will be
unavailable. I'll be in a Maryland
[1:45:15] economic development basic economic
development course and it's 9 to5 um
[1:45:21] those five week five days um and once I
complete that that can go to
[1:45:25] certification to get my economic
development s
[1:45:29] um we are once again a 20 26 accredited
designated main street. So, we received
[1:45:35] our accreditation. Again, with that,
what we talked about today comes with
[1:45:39] those facade grants and some other great
things, M.Y.I.P. and some of the other
[1:45:42] things that come. I can't really talk
about that yet until it's announced from
[1:45:46] the governor's office, but soon as I
that happens, I'll tell you the number.
[1:45:50] Um, and then August 12th through the
15th, I will be attending Mako. It'll be
[1:45:55] my first Mako conference. Um, I'm
coordinating with the county and we're
[1:46:00] um heading into a lot of u meetings and
networking opportunities for me to meet
[1:46:04] the players that actually will help us
uh with the goals that Main Street has
[1:46:08] set forth and CEDA that's for and I look
forward to stepping into that role full
[1:46:14] time
>> uh instead of halftime. So um more to
[1:46:18] come. Well, we're so excited and
>> you know, I I do want to thank Carol for
[1:46:23] all the work that she put in, not just
the Main Street study, but to Main
[1:46:26] Street over the years. And I think she
created something that was so big that
[1:46:30] we needed full-time attention on our
main street and economic development.
[1:46:34] And so, just really grateful that you're
stepping into the role because we know
[1:46:38] you're going to be so so good at it.
>> And we're here to help. That's
[1:46:43] important, too, as it relates to
communicating. Fred's a great We all
[1:46:49] want to be partners to help them be
successful on their main street over the
[1:46:54] next few years. So, we're here for you.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
[1:46:59] » All right. Next up, we have our final
citizens forum of the evening. Citizens
[1:47:04] are requested to keep their comments to
three minutes, but if anyone wishes to
[1:47:07] address the council, you can just come
on up to the mic and state your name for
[1:47:09] the record.
[1:47:13] [laughter]
>> Curious about the project.
[1:47:17] got a letter that Belvadier was going to
be worked on early spring
[1:47:21] » and we've heard nothing since.
>> So, everybody wants to know what's
[1:47:25] happening on Belvadier.
>> So, we got grant funding to do that. Um
[1:47:30] the federal earmark funding, it requires
a preliminary engineering report to be
[1:47:34] completed and that's what we're waiting
for the completion of so that we can
[1:47:38] move forward with the actual project. Um
but that's that was a requirement of the
[1:47:44] federal government for the funds. We had
to do the preliminary engineering report
[1:47:48] for Belvadier and we're and Tilman.
>> They're still in the queue.
[1:47:51] » It's still in the queue. Yes, it's
coming. We just have to wait for this
[1:47:54] engineering report to get done.
>> Um I have to check with public works. I
[1:48:00] know
um I think it was last week we had a
[1:48:04] meeting that they were reaching out to
the um engineer who was completing it
[1:48:08] just to get his timeline. So I'll I'll
follow up with with Kip and I'll get
[1:48:12] back with you on that. Yeah. any other
citizens that wish to address the
[1:48:16] council?
Well, we thank you so much for hanging
[1:48:20] in um for the whole meeting and we
really do value citizen engagement and
[1:48:25] hope that you'll continue to reach out
to us. Um now, the last thing on our
[1:48:30] agenda is council round table. Council
vice president Ke.
[1:48:33] » First, I want to thank Gay for awesome
work you did with the fireworks. I want
[1:48:38] to thank everybody said they loved it
was awesome. The show was awesome. Um, I
[1:48:43] also want to thank the police department
for their help, public works department
[1:48:47] for their all their help, too.
>> Yes, it was awesome show. A lot of
[1:48:52] people turned out for it.
>> So, that's the only thing I have.
[1:48:55] » That's all you've got. All right.
>> And hopefully get money for next year.
[1:48:59] » Oh my gosh.
>> Council member fundraising.
[1:49:03] » Yeah.
>> Right.
[1:49:04] » Right.
>> I've had enough to say one.
[1:49:09] » Council member McNeel.
>> Thank you. I'd never have enough to say.
[1:49:12] Couple thank yous. First to Kip. Got a
phone call 700 a.m. Wednesday. The town
[1:49:17] hadn't cut grass. Uh of citizens grass.
Rode my bike down to see Kip at 8. The
[1:49:23] town cut the grass. At night,
>> not a citizen's grass.
[1:49:27] » I'm sorry.
>> Not a citizen.
[1:49:28] » A citizen's grass.
>> Yes. The citizen's property that is
[1:49:32] right in the town property.
>> The town's grass. Town had to cut it
[1:49:36] grass. Uh thank the town staff. the
first round of the new company's trash
[1:49:41] pickup. The new company made some
mistakes. They recall me. I'd refer to
[1:49:46] the town office. Bingo was taken care
of. So, I appreciate that. Uh Karen, if
[1:49:50] you're still here, she's not hanging in
here. Karen and Carolyn, thank you for
[1:49:55] this morning's meeting. Very
enlightening. And for everyone that
[1:49:57] knows the mill project,
the Porsche is gone.
[1:50:02] » There's progress going on. There's a lot
of good things. It's slow progress, but
[1:50:06] it's going on. Thank you very much. And
the last thing, uh,
[1:50:10] » farmers market 9 to 12 on Sundays. Come
on. We have a great time, great food.
[1:50:14] That's a great place to be.
>> 9 to1.
[1:50:16] » 9 to1.
>> No, she changed at 9 to 12.
[1:50:19] » Only during heat advisories.
>> Okay.
[1:50:21] » Yeah.
>> 9 to1 if it's not hot,
[1:50:24] » right? Okay.
>> Council member Huffer.
[1:50:27] » Great. So, real quick. So, um, myself
and others here went to the MML summer
[1:50:32] conference in June, June 15th. It was
excellent. Good. A good conference. a
[1:50:38] lot of good sessions, a lot on
governance that I uh participated in
[1:50:41] this year and um so that was good.
Another one was an access to capital
[1:50:45] workshop June 30th that was um actually
by the county um which again some other
[1:50:52] [snorts] members here um also with
Queens County Economic and Tourism
[1:50:55] Department did it. So we learned some
stuff and actually took some stuff in
[1:50:59] action after that meeting. So I was
happy about going to that. That was
[1:51:02] great and finding opportunities for
local businesses. Um, one of the others,
[1:51:06] um, trees. So, last year we planted
trees. There's a grant with the Shore
[1:51:10] Rivers, um, where communities can get
replantings of trees in their in their
[1:51:16] towns. And I kind of spearheaded that
last year. We did about 25 trees. And
[1:51:21] we're going to do about 25 trees this
year in our town. And trees are
[1:51:25] important for shade, especially now.
It's really hot. And we really need to
[1:51:30] have tree canopy in our town to to get
the heat down in our town. So it'll be,
[1:51:36] you know, on Liberty Commerce, the
trail, Milstream Park, and a couple on
[1:51:41] Lawyers Row. So I look forward to that.
They will be planted in the fall by
[1:51:45] 12:31 so they can survive. Um you don't
want to plant them now. So um those are
[1:51:51] just a few things.
>> Okay. And I just have a couple things.
[1:51:55] One, just a reminder that first Friday
is August 7th and we hope the community
[1:51:59] will come out. And um then just another,
this is a little bit random and I'll be
[1:52:05] quick because it's been a somewhat long
meeting, but I this week was in DC with
[1:52:09] 350 teenagers from all over the country
for my day job and it was exhausting,
[1:52:13] but also really encouraging. And one of
the things the teens have to do to be
[1:52:17] able to come on the trip is an advocacy
project that they do in small groups. It
[1:52:20] has to have an impact on their community
at some level. So, some of them do, you
[1:52:24] know, beach cleanups in Miami or mental
health things or just different things
[1:52:28] depending on what they are. And one of
these groups of teens in a small town,
[1:52:31] and I don't remember what state, had a
beautifification project that they did
[1:52:35] where they as a group of teenagers
helped senior citizens cut their grass
[1:52:39] and pull weeds and plant plants. And
then they award a lawn of the week and a
[1:52:45] neighborhood of the month. And they've
seen like market improvement in
[1:52:48] community pride. And so just when I
think about the things that we can do as
[1:52:52] a town and as a council, there's
certainly a lot and a lot that we try to
[1:52:57] do, but there's also a ton that
residents can do even if you're the
[1:53:00] majority of the kids in this group were
like 14 years old. So, I just found it
[1:53:04] so encouraging and I, you know, I said
to them like, I'm uh on the town council
[1:53:08] in a small town and I wish there was a a
group of teenagers who, you know, wanted
[1:53:12] to take that up. And so, I just, I was,
I left this week so like I said,
[1:53:16] exhausted, but also just wildly
encouraged. And I don't think when I was
[1:53:19] a teenager, I would have thought like,
how can I at that micro level do
[1:53:24] something to improve my town? So, I just
share that to say there's tons of
[1:53:27] opportunities whether it's, you know,
running for town council or doing public
[1:53:31] service in some other way that there's
plenty of ways that everybody, no matter
[1:53:33] how old you are, can pitch in. So, that
is all I have. Do we have a motion to
[1:53:39] adjurnn?
>> Motion to adjurnn.
[1:53:40] » All right.