[0:02] This guy's always coming to these
meetings.
[0:05] » He's like stalking us.
>> Now that you're Now that you're here, we
[0:08] can get started. [laughter]
[0:22] » Time is 5:30. This meeting of the city
of Frostber is called to order. Please
[0:25] stand for the pledge to the flag.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:31] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
[0:36] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
[0:42] » We are thankful for the special
community, for the time we share
[0:44] together in the bounty of our nation.
We're thankful for the commitment of our
[0:48] people who volunteer their time and
talents to make our community a better
[0:51] place to live, work, and raise a family.
We know that we alone cannot meet the
[0:56] challenges or provide sufficient
inspiration without community
[0:58] involvement and the dedication of all
concerns to the greater good of the city
[1:01] and all who reside in it. We are
thankful for the beauty, the time and
[1:05] the place that is prosper. Amen.
>> You may be seated.
[1:09] » Mr. Brian, if you call the role, please.
>> Mayor Log,
[1:13] » present.
>> Commissioner Coburn
[1:14] » here.
>> Mr. Foresight
[1:16] » here.
>> Commissioner Grove
[1:17] » here.
>> Commissioner Stouse
[1:19] » here.
>> Okay.
[1:21] Next is the uh approval of the agenda
for tonight. Do I hear a motion to that
[1:25] effect?
>> I move we approve the agenda.
[1:27] » Second.
>> Duly moved and seconded to approve the
[1:29] agenda for tonight's meeting. As many as
in favor say I.
[1:32] » Oppos? No.
>> Agenda is approved. Next is the approval
[1:36] of the minutes from July 21st. Do I hear
a motion to that effect?
[1:39] » I make a motion to approve uh the
minutes of July council meeting.
[1:43] » I second.
>> Duly moved and seconded to approve the
[1:46] minutes of the council meeting of July
21st. Any discussion on that? Hearing
[1:49] none. As many in favor say I.
>> I. I
[1:51] » opposed. No. Uh minutes of July 21st are
approved.
[1:56] Uh we have nothing under uh special
presentations or requests for tonight.
[2:00] So we'll move right into reports of the
various city departments. Call first on
[2:04] community development. Mr. Miller was
not able to join us tonight. So Mr.
[2:14] So, um development uh permits there are
uh seven building permits, five use and
[2:19] occupancy permits, uh one dumpster
permit, one grading permit. Uh we have
[2:23] two solicitors doortodoor um permits,
one for subway, one for Edward Jones, uh
[2:28] two fence permits, and one um
certificate of appropriateness from the
[2:32] historical um commission. um uh rental
housing um uh had uh 70 res uh
[2:41] residential housing inspections um and
those are continuing to to uh move on
[2:45] and and notify the the next round of
individuals. Um as far as um other
[2:51] things with rental housing, um rental
housing giving out information to um uh
[2:56] new individuals in the rental program.
Um so information um for landlords as
[3:00] well as giving out information uh in the
list that we keep of all the landlords
[3:03] to individual looking for um somewhere
to live somewhere.
[3:07] » Are there any as far as we know
unregistered uh places I know June 30th
[3:11] is usually the deadline to register your
property?
[3:14] » Um so all the registrations uh are
either in and uh I think all of them are
[3:19] in now and the ones that we cited for
being late or having a late fee are paid
[3:24] as well.
>> Um there may be one or two that are
[3:27] still we're still waiting for payment
but I believe everything's in. Okay.
[3:30] Now, as far as unregistered goes, not
that we're aware of, but there's always
[3:33] a chance that somebody's running
something short. Um,
[3:39] uh, code enforcement. Um, we had 25 code
enforcement cases. Um, uh, and we Jay's
[3:44] been doing a really good job of keeping
on top of, um, some of the repeat
[3:48] offenders um, as well as going to court
when needed to. Um, uh, you know, our
[3:53] goal is never to find anybody. It's for
compliance. So the goal is if you get a
[3:58] a warning, whatever it is, it's taken
care of, we're just going to move on.
[4:02] The ideal situation, unfortunately,
that's not always the case.
[4:06] Um, and then as far as um uh boards, um
the planning commission did meet to go
[4:11] over um Pritchard Farms phase 1A. Um as
well as um talk about the accessory
[4:18] dwelling unit um uh law that was passed
by the state of Maryland that's going to
[4:22] have some effect on us and how we're
going to change our code to be in
[4:24] compliance with that. Uh I don't think
it was this one. It may have been the
[4:28] one before that they're also talking
about sheets is doing some renovations.
[4:31] Um and they have a temporary plan so far
like a draft plan, but the I think
[4:35] either the next planning commission
meeting or the one after they should
[4:38] have a finalizer.
>> They should present um
[4:40] » in the most recent one.
>> Yes. And the planning commission asked
[4:43] for a couple changes to present.
>> Um uh and then uh board of zoning
[4:50] appeals didn't need to meet and the
green team didn't meet um either. Um uh
[4:55] but they held a work uh work day at the
arburitum. Um and then more recently,
[4:59] not in July, but we met about a
sustainability tour which I'm sure
[5:02] commission for
>> Yeah, I've been um I've been emailing
[5:05] the green team about it because uh we
need to this week get kind of an outline
[5:10] to Mike Cunning of Sustainable Maryland.
>> Um and uh getting some responses from
[5:17] green team members. So I think uh by the
end of the week I can get him an outline
[5:21] for the tour.
And the tour I just for yall the tour
[5:25] would be in October
>> and it's something that the that they do
[5:29] around the state. So
>> um uh and then as far as um current
[5:34] projects um for development um the
comprehensive plan rewrite um has just
[5:40] about all the chapters redone. Eight or
finalized uh eight out of 10 or draft
[5:45] chapters are ready for review. Um once
that's done we'll do a final review of
[5:49] it before it's finalized. Um uh the
stabilization grant program is wrapping
[5:54] up. We did put in a grant for $250,000
with DHC um for uh renovation,
[6:02] stabilization, and safety upgrades for
um uh buildings in the what would be
[6:08] considered the downtown area. So, Main
Street, Broadway, Water, uh depot,
[6:13] things like that. um uh that would allow
us uh if we give the grant, we'd have
[6:16] $250,000 to give out in um grants to
those uh uh businesses and property
[6:22] owners. Um there is a match to it. Um so
it's not just free money. Uh it's meant
[6:26] to kind of help encourage everybody to
reinvest in our property and improve
[6:29] some things. Um uh then we're also
working on the North Water Street
[6:33] project. Uh uh we're going to be putting
out an RFP uh to get someone to do the
[6:38] historical um documentation that's
needed done for that in order for us to
[6:42] move forward and RFP for demolition. Um,
and uh, we're looking at our abatement
[6:48] process. Um, we were originally going to
try and have something a little bit
[6:50] quicker, realized it was a bigger
conversation. So, still working on that
[6:54] as well.
>> Those are the big things.
[6:56] » Um, just so that's on the record, I know
that we ended up not choosing to pursue
[7:00] the grant this year, but if you talk a
little bit about the grant that we chose
[7:04] not to pursue, but maybe next year for
the
[7:07] » Grant Street area.
>> So, so that was this grant. Um, so it it
[7:12] was this grant just we didn't go after
everything we wanted to do. Um, for the
[7:17] Grant Street area
>> for the the old corner market property.
[7:21] » Oh yeah. So
>> just so that's on
[7:22] » DHCD. One of the things that you can uh
write funding for um uh is uh money for
[7:29] uh acquisition and if need be demolition
of properties. Um so we were looking at
[7:34] that and starting to look at a couple of
different properties in town that may
[7:37] need that kind of support. Um uh
buildings that are getting to a point
[7:41] where they're dilapidated um and people
that own them in a weird position of
[7:45] wanting to get rid of them but they're
not being the right kind of money for it
[7:48] and things like that or things that have
been abandoned completely and that kind
[7:51] of thing. So we were looking at
potentially um applying for the
[7:55] demolition one for upwards of 600 or
$700,000 to do some of that work. Um uh
[8:01] we weren't ready to dive into it that
quick this year. So it's something we're
[8:04] going to continue to work on in the
future
[8:05] » for that particular property.
>> Uh that was one of the properties. Is it
[8:09] at Are we ready for that? Because I mean
the current owners were they were
[8:14] arguing amongst themselves
>> and they still are. So they um John,
[8:18] correct me if I'm wrong, John found this
grant as a potential solution for that
[8:22] » so that they might come to an agreement.
>> So that they might come to an agreement,
[8:24] but it was a very short time period from
the time he found it till it was due was
[8:28] only like three weeks.
>> So we I think we're in a better position
[8:31] than we were in the past. It sounds like
we just it was too quick.
[8:33] » So it's something we could probably look
at for next year. We just didn't have
[8:36] time together. I would be great to get
that resolved.
[8:40] » Yeah.
>> Okay. Anything else under uh or for
[8:44] community development?
>> Next is the finance department, Mrs.
[8:47] Phillips.
[8:55] » Um good evening. Finance doesn't have a
whole lot to report. Uh
[9:01] as I mentioned last time, uh June 30th
was our fiscal year end. And uh you will
[9:06] note that our reports have our lovely
little note on them again that the audit
[9:10] adjustments and year end acroals aren't
complete yet. Um and that'll stay with
[9:15] us till we get done the audit which
should be in October this year. That's
[9:18] what we're shooting for. Um as I also
mentioned last time, July tax bills went
[9:23] out well the 2627 tax bills went out in
July. Um total billings came to nearly
[9:31] 3.3 million compared to 3.1 million last
year and that was due to a nearly 29
[9:36] million increase in assessment values.
Um of that 3.3 million by the end of
[9:42] July we collected 428,000 or 13% which
is pretty good since bills went out I
[9:48] think the 12th. So in in about two weeks
we collected quite a bit. Um, just a
[9:54] reminder that for non-owner occupied
properties, taxes are due in full by
[9:58] September 30th. Um, and for owner
occupied properties, there are two
[10:02] installments due September 30th and
December 31st.
[10:07] Um, and I think that's pretty much all I
have other than the uh usual please sign
[10:12] up for e billilling and pay your bill
online.
[10:15] » All right,
>> any questions?
[10:17] » One question which I already told you
about before. So, what was the projected
[10:21] use of fund balance for the last fiscal
year? I know we didn't use it, but
[10:25] » we did not use it. Let me get to the
right page here.
[10:28] [snorts]
>> Um,
[10:30] we had projected to use in the general
fund. Our original projection was
[10:37] 268,000. With the January amendments, we
knocked that down to 239 and then we
[10:42] ended up not using any of it. Okay. But
there was also um we'd estimated 180,000
[10:47] to use for the water fund
and 120,000 for the water searchcharge
[10:53] fund and none of that got used.
>> So we're going to put all that back in
[10:56] the back. Yep. Great.
>> Yep.
[10:58] » Anything else under finance? Anything
else for you?
[11:01] » Sounds good.
>> Thank you, ma'am.
[11:02] » All right. Thank you.
>> Public works. Mr. Lindsay, are you okay?
[11:06] » Yeah. [laughter]
>> Thank you all for waiting on me. I pride
[11:11] myself on my punctuality. You got here
just in time.
[11:14] » Yeah,
>> I uh got some chemical degreaser in my
[11:18] eye earlier today and I ran I was going
to run to urgent care, but I got it
[11:21] washed out. So, now we're here. [snorts]
Um public works overview for the past
[11:25] month. Uh in parks and recreation, of
course, this time of year is all in
[11:31] outdoor facilities, maintenance, grass
cutting, um keeping up with those
[11:34] facilities. Uh, of course the upcoming
things for us, we do have the block
[11:39] party as FSU comes back into town, uh,
and getting ready for the cruise and
[11:43] main street. Actually, not necessarily
parks and wreck item, but more of a
[11:46] citywide item that we help with. Uh, in
the street department land, most of what
[11:50] we're doing this time of year is uh,
summer construction projects like catch
[11:55] basins and then of course pothole
patching and then helping with the
[12:00] paving project for the year, which Lil
Brothers Asphalt is doing. Uh they are
[12:06] about 75% of the way done. Uh they will
finish with the food pantry and water
[12:12] street around the armory building
probably later this week and then do
[12:15] some final touch-ups early next week and
then be back out of town. Uh in the
[12:19] water department, we did just extend an
offer to uh our fifth position, so our
[12:25] newest hire. Um he accepted the position
today and he should start in about three
[12:30] weeks. That was what texted you about
today. Yep. Excited to get him in and be
[12:35] back at full staff. He'll be a very
[clears throat] entry- level position,
[12:39] of course, to train him up and make him
one of our own. Uh within the water
[12:42] department, actually has been a fairly
tame uh month leakwise. Uh
[12:47] unfortunately, it seems like those
things always get offset with other
[12:50] items. Of course, the big issue uh in
the water realm for Frostber this past
[12:55] month has been the elevated levels of
iron and magnes in Pine Mountain
[12:59] Reservoir. As some of you might have
seen, we did make a Facebook post about
[13:03] it as well that with the elevated levels
of iron and maganesees at Piney
[13:07] Reservoir, uh it did affect the
aesthetic value of the water. Um the
[13:12] criterion for the water that we were
putting out, the quality of the water
[13:15] that we were putting out um was
absolutely the same as it's always been.
[13:19] Safe to drink, safe to use. I just would
not recommend you use it do a load of
[13:23] white laundry at the time um as the
water had been stained um due to the
[13:28] higher levels of iron. Um
>> but that's been resolved since then.
[13:32] » Correct. We spent a good bit of time
retrofitting our intake structure um in
[13:36] order to pull water from a different
level in the reservoir and that seems to
[13:39] have done the trick. So we think we're
on the downhill slope for that. uh
[13:43] within public works itself of course our
CSO jobs are underway which we'll touch
[13:47] base on and then we are prepping for the
roundabout project um and of course our
[13:53] water resiliency projects that we have
the governor Moore funding for uh which
[13:57] we will talk about with some items later
on that of which are the four BFD
[14:02] projects at Pine Reservoir the new
expansion well the redundancy well at
[14:07] Savage Springs to put that second well
pump back in and then of course the
[14:11] geodessic dome leak at the water
treatment plant. Um the water treatment
[14:15] plant leak we will start probably within
the next two weeks. Uh we want to get
[14:19] that one started right away now that we
know that we can work with the funding.
[14:22] And then the VFD projects we will
probably start within the next month,
[14:25] month and a half. Uh other than that, I
know there have been some questions
[14:29] about the marks on Main Street. That is
a state highway project. They are
[14:34] actually going to come through Monday
night next week and Tuesday night next
[14:38] week and mill and pave those areas of
Main Street. uh that are marked out.
[14:43] Those are some of the areas that have
gotten pretty rough. That is not their
[14:47] extensive uh main street upheaval and
paving program that they have talked
[14:52] about. That happens in 2028. This is
simply just a surfacing project to get
[14:56] everything smoothed back out.
>> They're going to be redoing crosswalks
[14:59] and correct.
>> Correct. Where they go up.
[15:01] » Y that I think is everything. Uh if
there are any questions, happy to go
[15:07] into it.
>> Two things both related to signs. Sure.
[15:10] So that I guess this would fall under
the street department. One I spoke with
[15:13] Chief Costello about before. I wasn't
sure if it was a police issue or a
[15:15] street department issue at the uh
intersection of of
[15:20] Southwater Street and Maine.
>> Um where there's a
[15:24] » we have a sign that says no parking from
here to corner and right under it's a
[15:27] sign that says two-hour parking.
>> Yes,
[15:29] » there's a car park there right now and
there there frequently is. So I think
[15:32] it's extremely confusing for people. I
think the 2hour sign needs to come down
[15:36] for
>> No, I mean I think I think just the the
[15:39] twohour thing just needs to come off
there. Just leave it. No parking here at
[15:42] corner because I think that's what it's
it's supposed to be.
[15:45] » Got it.
>> It's on the same page two hours past
[15:47] this and no parking before it but
because they're on the same p.
[15:51] » Got it. We talked about the other day.
>> So there I guess that's a street
[15:54] department issue that they could get to
that. And then another thing that's also
[15:57] related to signs, um, a week or so ago,
whenever it was, I, um, I had gotten
[16:03] with you about talking to the fire
department. They need, they wanted some
[16:07] assistance from the street department to
mount a sign over there. Were we able to
[16:10] do that?
>> Um, I actually don't I'll have to follow
[16:13] up. Emily was tackling that one. That
was when all the water stuff was going
[16:16] on. Yeah.
>> Um, and to my knowledge, they were going
[16:18] to set
>> They may have. I'm I'm just asking.
[16:21] » I'll double check.
>> Double check and see if they have. If
[16:23] not, I'll get in touch with the chief
over there. Kendon,
[16:26] » I have one question. Something that came
up with the plating commission in
[16:29] regards to the new sidewalks that the
state's putting in on um Middle Road
[16:34] there. Is that right?
>> Mid Oh, yes. Yes. Brad.
[16:38] » Yep. 7 Maryland 736 Bradock Road.
[laughter]
[16:42] » Yeah. Um there were some concerns about
the design of it and whether it's going
[16:48] to interfere with the turning lanes
there. Wonder know if you had any
[16:52] information on that or
>> as far as at Bradic Estates or
[16:56] » closer to the university they were
thinking it was going to remove those
[17:00] turning lanes.
>> The turning lanes will stay the parking
[17:04] lanes will go away. All that parking
that where people park up on the street.
[17:08] Yeah.
>> Um so where they don't have to pay that
[17:10] all goes away.
>> Okay.
[17:11] » Yeah. They were concerned so they were
going to cut that out and there'll be
[17:14] more traffic and stuff.
>> Turning lanes themselves will stay but
[17:18] the parking on those sides will go away.
Okay. Y
[17:22] » uh one thing just to add because this
does seem like it was six months ago at
[17:24] this point. Um these are the the July
reports. Um so I'd like to add uh for
[17:29] the 4th of July and Derby Day street
department did not say anything job with
[17:33] day all day long. Same thing parks and
rec crew was all around town.
[17:37] » That was a long day for those guys.
>> They did um uh there's an event that
[17:40] evening at Hoff Park and all that kind
of stuff. I'd like to thank the Boy
[17:44] Scouts as well, particularly uh Kevin
Peterson and I believe his sons and
[17:50] maybe some of the rest of his troop I
guess it would be called. Uh they did it
[17:54] they were not asked to. They just did it
out of their own goodwill. They picked
[17:57] up they took bags out of the cans all
day, tied them up and sat them next to
[18:01] the the cans themselves. That way our
guys could just come and take the bags
[18:05] and throw them
>> bags in it so they
[18:07] » So very much very much appreciated from
those guys. Cool.
[18:12] » Okay.
>> Thank you.
[18:13] » Anything else? Thanks, sir. And uh
finally, the police department chief.
[18:25] » Good evening, mayor, commissioners. I
have the report for the police
[18:29] department for July 2026.
Uh, as you can see, we had 460, excuse
[18:35] me, 457 incidents, very similar to July
of 2025 where we logged 437 incidents.
[18:42] Uh, four arrests were made during the
month of July. two cases referred or
[18:46] handled by C3I, four documented
community policing events, 22 well-being
[18:51] checks, one emergency petition, 23
assist other agency incidents, 25
[18:55] requests for a police officer, two
follow-ups, 17 disturbances of various
[19:00] sorts, eight motor vehicle crashes, one
DWI arrest, and 87 traffic stops. Uh, as
[19:07] always, you know, I always try to talk
about some of the community events and
[19:10] positive things we've been doing in
addition to our daily duties. Um,
[19:15] we uh recently visited Kids Corner down
in Mountain Ridge, which is essentially
[19:19] the preschool at Mountain Ridge. They
invited us. Sergeant Beaman and I went
[19:22] down there. He actually led the
presentation. Did a fantastic job. We
[19:25] also had the Frostber summer day camp
come and do a tour of the police station
[19:29] and our vehicles. Uh, that was led by
uh, Corporal Fman and Corporal Delaney.
[19:33] Uh, I was there as well. They led the
program. They did a fantastic job with
[19:37] the tours and they gave us both entities
gave us some nice recognition on
[19:40] Facebook. So, it's not why we do it
obviously, but we appreciate seeing that
[19:44] and like being a part of those things.
Um, [clears throat]
[19:48] just the other night, uh, Sergeant Cook
represented our department in an escort,
[19:52] which many of you may have heard about
or seen on social media. A few of you
[19:56] told me about it in advance. That was
the, uh, remains of a World War II
[19:59] veteran uh, who was brought to his
hometown of Westernport. So, thanks to
[20:03] the mayor for, uh, authorizing us and
encouraging us to be a part of that, and
[20:07] we appreciate Sergeant Cook representing
us there that evening. Uh just some
[20:11] additional noteworthy uh police
activities. We've had uh specialized
[20:15] enforcement for DWI lately under the one
of the Maryland State Highway uh grants.
[20:20] And I'm sure you saw the media release.
We had a motor vehicle crash with a
[20:24] pedestrian uh down at the uh essentially
near Dollar General in Frostber um
[20:29] Village Shopping Center Plaza. So there
was a little elevated risk because the
[20:32] lady who was struck was 88 years old.
Initially, we weren't sure what her
[20:36] condition would be. We had the uh crash
reconstruction team from the sheriff's
[20:40] office come out. They did a fantastic
job. They brought up a large utility
[20:43] vehicle. They did they used the drones
to uh essentially analyze the area. They
[20:48] checked out the vehicle. They checked
out video surveillance footage. They did
[20:51] a very very nice job and we appreciated
the specialized work there. So that
[20:55] would conclude my report. Certainly glad
to elaborate further or answer any
[20:58] questions you may have.
>> Um given the schools are public schools
[21:02] are going back into session next week.
if there's anything maybe you want to
[21:04] mention about yes
>> pedestrian safety or kind of what how
[21:07] your department's involved with that.
>> Sure. Yes, absolutely. And things have
[21:10] changed a little bit over the last few
years, but uh for many years we did uh
[21:15] designated uh traffic control duties at
Mountain Ridge High School uh typically
[21:19] at arrival and dismissal time and then
at Bell Elementary. Bell Elementary
[21:23] changed their traffic pattern. They did
a really nice job so they don't need as
[21:27] much assistance from us. So often we'll
have an officer there anyway. Uh but
[21:32] typically at Mountain Ridge, we're there
for traffic control in the morning and
[21:34] afternoon. Obviously, the schools also
have their own uh school police officer
[21:38] through the Alageney County Public
School System. Uh we do tend to see an
[21:42] increase in speeding complaints through
our neighborhoods every every uh time
[21:47] school the school year comes around
early in the season. It's an influx of
[21:50] traffic, but there really is some
speeding issues. So, we encourage
[21:54] everybody to slow down, leave leave home
a little bit early so you don't have to
[21:58] speed down the road to get to school on
time or drop your kid off and get to
[22:02] work. So, we will have officers out on
patrol to uh deter and enforce traffic
[22:06] issues as well, especially uh when we
see that influx of traffic here over the
[22:10] next few weeks. I should also mention
that we'll uh we anticipate approval for
[22:15] the uh school resource officer grant
again which essentially allows one or
[22:19] more of our officers on their offduty
time to work overtime to do specifically
[22:24] uh walkthroughs of the schools to
investigate activities of the schools
[22:28] essentially to supplement the school
resource officer program. So that's been
[22:31] a great program that we've had for maybe
seven or so years now if not longer all
[22:36] paid for
almost almost entirely paid for by the
[22:40] state. There may be some nominal cost to
the city, but it's it's a great program
[22:44] funded by the state.
>> Sure.
[22:46] » One more thing, and we talked about this
last week at work session. Obviously,
[22:48] we're not ready to take action on it
yet, but if you could just for the
[22:51] record so that the public's aware, talk
about what laws or ordinances are
[22:56] currently in effect as relate to ebikes
and if a citizen has an issue or
[23:00] complaint or something, what steps they
need to take.
[23:02] » Yes, absolutely. Yep. Uh very generally
speaking, uh the default state statute
[23:06] changed only within the last two years
or so by by laws passed by the Maryland
[23:11] General Assembly. The default is that
bicycles are allowed to ride on a public
[23:16] sidewalk unless a local municipality
passes their own law saying that it's
[23:20] illegal. U aside from that, there are
general laws that would apply uh
[23:26] independent of those regulatory things.
So, for example, if somebody's driving
[23:30] recklessly down the sidewalk on an ebike
or some kind of dirt bike and they're
[23:35] almost hitting people, that would
probably constitute the crime of
[23:38] reckless endangerment, if not something
more. There would certainly be grounds
[23:41] for the police to stop those people and
investigate further at the scene. And uh
[23:46] I mentioned last time, we always
appreciate when people call us with
[23:49] concerns, especially uh immediately
because, you know, it's a relatively
[23:53] small community. There are not that many
places to go. So if somebody calls us
[23:57] quickly and says, "Look, I was just
almost knocked down by these people,
[24:00] flying down the sidewalk, we can
probably get there, find the find the
[24:04] people on the bikes, and at least talk
to everybody, investigate at the scene,
[24:08] and go from there." So there is
definitely a factual component that is
[24:11] instrumental in being able to enforce
existing laws. And as with any crime,
[24:16] you know, uh policing is really uh um a
shared responsibility kind of in
[24:22] policing theory. You know, sometimes I
nerd out from studying policing and
[24:26] going to school to study policing
academically. I mean, theoretically, the
[24:29] police are paid uh full-time to enforce
the laws and patrol, but they can't be
[24:34] fully effective without information from
the community. It's a shared
[24:37] responsibility. If people have concerns,
call us. We appreciate it. We'll be
[24:41] right there and we can take action. So,
encourage that sharing and we'll
[24:44] certainly be proactive on our part and
observe for those things and initiate
[24:48] anything that we can do to help.
>> Anything else for Chief? I have one more
[24:53] sort of related to the the bike policy.
Absolutely. Um and your resource
[24:56] officers. Um has it been thought of to,
you know, we already have these officers
[25:01] in the building,
>> maybe do a little bit of outreach in
[25:03] regard to, you know, the students on
ebikes because there's a lot of kids
[25:07] that ride them and they recklessly, you
know,
[25:10] » I think that's a great idea. Yeah,
definitely. I love the educational
[25:13] component. Um yeah, I'm going to talk to
our school resource officer. Maybe we
[25:18] can do maybe when he talks with classes.
so much is focused on like delinquency
[25:23] and drug and alcohol and tobacco usage.
I think that would be a good topic to
[25:27] incorporate in there.
>> Yeah, it might be good just to let them
[25:29] know.
>> Yeah. You know,
[25:31] » yeah,
>> to abide by these rules, you know, what
[25:33] whatever gets sent.
>> Absolutely. That's a great idea.
[25:37] » Okay.
>> And the uh the chief and I had discussed
[25:40] uh once we get all this through,
especially for the regular bicycles, to
[25:44] have a bicycle safety course put on by
our officers. We did this for several
[25:50] years and we gave out free helmets
>> to the kids that that participated in it
[25:56] so that that the younger children will
know where to ride their bikes and where
[26:00] not to ride the bikes and we could
actually include an ebike session in
[26:04] that. I know, correct me if I'm wrong,
years ago, I mean many years ago, it
[26:08] used to be a requirement that you had to
come and get your bike registered with,
[26:11] and I'm not saying that we do that or
that we go back to that, but that
[26:14] » well, and that was that was an
educational component
[26:16] » that was done particularly if if we
found a bike on the road, which we still
[26:21] do this, and they end up back in the
back of the police station and set for
[26:25] two years and then we give them away.
That that that was done so that we knew
[26:29] who owned the bike, we could get it back
to them, [snorts]
[26:33] » sir. Anything else for Chief Costello?
>> Thank you, sir. Thank you, mayor. Thank
[26:38] you, commissioners.
That concludes the city departments.
[26:41] Before we entertain a motion, um Mr.
Lindsay, I have one more question. Sure.
[26:46] » Um is the the paving parking situation
at Coug at Cougarfield. Is that done?
[26:52] » Yes, we have we've actually been
dropping off a few piles of millings
[26:55] from this current paving program there
just in case we need more throughout the
[27:00] process. get sloppy during the season,
>> but it's open and they can use it now.
[27:03] » Great.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[27:05] » One last uh also on Derby Day, uh police
officers did a great job. I chief there
[27:10] all day. Um uh but they also responded
to our banner um coming down and taking
[27:15] care of that. So yeah, they were they
were on the ball that
[27:19] » All right, that is all the reports of
the city departments. Do I hear a motion
[27:23] to accept?
>> I accept.
[27:26] » You what?
>> I accept.
[27:27] » You move to
>> I move to accept.
[27:31] Second.
>> There's a motion and a second to uh
[27:34] approve the reports of the various city
departments. Any further discussion on
[27:36] that? Hearing? None. All in favor say I.
>> I.
[27:39] » Post. No.
>> Reports of the city departments are
[27:42] approved. Moving on to item nine. This
is the required monthly hearing for Cso.
[27:51] So again, this is the monthly public
hearing for the city of Frostber consent
[27:56] decree um combined sewer overflow
projects that are going on within the
[28:00] city of Frostber. Um at the moment we
are underway with phase 10B and phase 10
[28:05] C. Uh we are approximately
I would say 18 to 20% of the way through
[28:12] those projects um on both of them. Uh
curbing went in on 10C for McCulla
[28:19] Street last week and then sidewalks
actually began to go down today uh for
[28:23] McCulla Street on 10C. So the portion
from Cemetery towards Mountain Ridge.
[28:30] And then for 10B uh if anybody was in
the area last week, I believe it would
[28:36] have been Wednesday, uh we did set our
our really big structure. We have an
[28:41] 84inch manhole on that job. Um, we
actually used a couple large pieces of
[28:45] equipment to set it. Um, so that was
kind of a a small town spectacle, so to
[28:50] speak. It went really well. Um, then
they they've been blowing through ever
[28:54] since then. Um, again, with these
projects, you guys are going to think
[28:59] I'm a broken record, but I'd just like
to stress the fact that uh sidewalks are
[29:03] a part of these projects. If anyone has
any questions, I'm happy to talk about
[29:07] them.
If not,
[29:11] » and I would have to say where some
people complain about the work that's
[29:15] being done on Mclla Street since I live
there, my wife has come to appreciate
[29:19] the fact, especially the days that that
she babysits, that it keeps the two
[29:24] children very busy watching all the
time. [laughter]
[29:28] Especially, you know, uh EA, right close
to where you're at, they have some brand
[29:34] new, uh nice looking equipment, so it's
fun for fun to watch. Wow.
[29:39] » Entertainment value.
>> Yep.
[29:42] » There. Any other questions?
>> Thank you.
[29:45] » All right. This concludes the required
monthly hearing for the CSO project.
[29:48] Moving on. Item 10. There's nothing
under old business. Moving into item 11.
[29:52] This will be the first reading of
proposed ordinance 2026-06.
[29:58] » Yes. So, I'm taking the position of John
this evening. Um, so ordinance 2026-06,
[30:05] uh, an ordinance of the mayor city
council of the city of Frost, Maryland,
[30:08] entitled an ordinance to repeal and
reenact sections 3.01 of appendix D of
[30:13] the city code, rental housing code
pertaining to the registration of
[30:16] dwelling units as rental housing units
for the purpose of clarifying those
[30:20] terms. So in section one, um, uh, the
changes would include, uh, reg uh,
[30:27] section 501 registration occupancy would
now A no dwelling unit may be rented or
[30:33] otherwise occupied unless it is
registered and has passed inspection in
[30:37] accordance with this ordinance subject
to following exceptions. Uh uh I a
[30:42] dwelling unit occupied by the owners and
members of their immediate family who
[30:45] reside there rentree is not subject to
the registration and inspection
[30:49] requirements. Uh two, a dwelling unit uh
owned uh by a trust and occupied by the
[30:55] trust beneficiaries or members of their
immediate family all of whom reside
[30:59] there rent free is not subject to the
registration and inspection requirement.
[31:03] And then B occupancy limit shall be
determined by the zoning ordinance
[31:06] subject to reasonable accommodations
present to the fair housing amendments
[31:09] act of 1988.
Um and then be further that this
[31:14] ordinance should become effective uh on
the 21st day after it passage. Um so if
[31:20] you are interested I did pull this up
the current um
[31:26] section D uh 3 uh 01 languages there um
uh so one of uh one of the
[31:35] clarifications this does is so uh it
says in this it says if the unit is
[31:39] owned by a trust the trust beneficiary
and that individual's immediate family
[31:43] unless it's owned by uh unless the
dwelling uh unit is occupied rentree and
[31:48] is registered. So, we have had some
people trying to skirt our rental
[31:52] housing program by setting up uh things
as a trust
[31:57] » and having somebody that is a part of
the trust live there paying rent to
[32:00] them, but they're not like a family
member. They tend to change over year to
[32:05] year. Um uh so to make sure that we're
making uh ensuring everybody's getting
[32:10] the proper certifications and
inspections,
[32:13] » this will clarify that language.
>> Gotcha. Okay.
[32:17] So then just to clarify, so subb doesn't
change. It's just sub A. So we're
[32:22] deleting the se deleting what's
currently in sub A, replacing with this
[32:25] with the two subsections.
>> Yes. Replacing with this A and the two
[32:30] subsection
>> one point.
[32:32] » And it's mainly just for clarification
on the intent of what it was.
[32:35] » Right. Got it.
So, if there's no questions, um, uh, I'd
[32:42] ask for a motion second to approve
ordinance 2026-06
[32:45] on first reading, uh, and set the, uh,
September 15th, 2026 council meeting,
[32:51] uh, as the advertised public hearing,
um, and move forward from that,
[32:56] » right?
>> And we approve Go ahead. I have to
[32:59] approve ordinance 2026-06.
[33:04] » Duly moved and seconded to approve
resolution 2026-06 on the first reading
[33:08] and we will set September 15th as the uh
advertised public hearing date and
[33:13] potential second reading. That is the
motion. Is there any further discussion
[33:17] or comment among council on this?
>> Any discussion or comment among the
[33:21] public on this ordinance before we move
hearing? None. As many as in favor say
[33:26] I.
>> I post. No. Ordinance 26-06 is approved
[33:30] on the first reading and the advertised
public hearing date will be September
[33:33] 15th. That concludes that. Moving to
resolution 26-31.
[33:42] Excellent. So, uh, resolution 2026-31
um is to reappoint a member of the Frost
[33:48] Planning Commission. Um, Mr. Ray Race um
has um indicated his willingness to
[33:54] serve another [snorts] 5year term. um
and is being um suggested for such from
[34:00] uh the community development office done
job. See no reason not to.
[34:06] » Okay. I move we approve resolution
2026-31.
[34:11] » Second.
>> Duly moved and seconded to approve
[34:13] resolution 26-31. Is there any comment
or discussion among members of council
[34:17] on this?
>> Were there any other applications
[34:20] besides Mr. Rice?
>> I don't.
[34:22] » Thank you. Any comment or discussion
among members of the public?
[34:25] » Hearing none. Not as many in favor say
I. I
[34:27] » post. No. Resolution 26-31 is approved.
>> Next is resolution 26-32.
[34:35] This is also community development.
>> Yes. Um so uh this resolution uh is to
[34:41] approve a contract with gov um for
community development software. So
[34:45] software that would cover um permitting,
rental housing, and code enforcement. Uh
[34:50] we've been working um with looked at a
handful of different um software uh for
[34:56] this uh process. Go well seems to be um
one of the best price and one of the
[35:01] best uh kind of forward facing
interfaces for for our residents. Um so
[35:07] uh
it has a $16,000 annual cost and a
[35:11] onetime uh setup fee of $5,400 a
contract. Um we did work with them. Um
[35:18] the goal is has implemented um after the
rental housing um kind of season in in
[35:25] the early bit of the year, but before
summer starts to make sure everything
[35:29] transfers over correctly. Um mainly
because the summer's a big time for uh
[35:34] inspection and then code enforcement,
that type of thing. So there will be a
[35:37] little bit of overlap. Um but they also
uh did give us an extra 3 months free of
[35:42] charge so we can get that set up. So you
would enter into the contract pretty
[35:46] much immediately. Um, but instead of 12
months for the first year, we have 15 to
[35:50] help out with that. So there we have
four.
[35:53] » When does our contract expire with our
current vendor?
[35:56] » Believe it's either middle of July or
very beginning of August. So we would
[36:00] have the summer essentially we would
have both available to us with the goal
[36:04] of using this, making sure everything's
working out. The biggest concern is we
[36:07] have had software implementation issues
in the past with different companies. We
[36:11] want to make sure that this is up and
running because if it's not when we go
[36:14] to transfer we've caused a lot of
problems. We want to give ourselves more
[36:18] period and this was budgeted to have
that overlap this year if we needed to.
[36:23] [snorts]
>> My understanding is that this software
[36:26] is more user friendly. [laughter]
>> Yes. Uh they we've looked at a lot of
[36:33] different things and and what this can
do compared to uh our current system. Um
[36:38] all developers are excited about And
it's compatible with other things we're
[36:43] already doing.
>> Yeah.
[36:44] » Yeah. For for the most part. Like it's
not part of another software we have.
[36:48] One of the ones we did actually look at
was one of the softwares that is the
[36:51] same software as our financial system.
>> Um but the cost of it for setup was much
[36:57] more expensive. It would take an entire
year to set up. So we
[37:01] » we pay almost 25 20 $25,000 to have that
system while we had the current system
[37:07] and all that kind of stuff. And it was
um a bit Yeah, that's not a good
[37:15] » I move we approve resolution 2026-32.
>> Second.
[37:19] » Duly moved and seconded to approve
resolution 26-32. Is there any further
[37:23] comment or discussion on council on
this? Is there any comment or discussion
[37:27] among members of the public on this
resolution? Seeing none, as many as in
[37:31] favor say I. I.
>> Oppos? No. Resolution 26-32 is present.
[37:36] Looks like there's one more for
community development resolution 33.
[37:42] » So, this is a small correction for our
um uh permitting uh fees uh that are in
[37:49] the uh fee schedule. So, when we did the
budget ordinance um after it was passed,
[37:54] we realized there was one uh a couple of
small little errors. So, uh I'll bring
[37:59] it up for you.
The uh and so everything's getting
[38:02] cheaper, which is good. [laughter]
So, uh the when we transferred when John
[38:07] was transferring over some cost um the
the cost listed uh under residential
[38:12] commercial accessory structures is
actually for inspections the cost of
[38:16] inspections not the permits so we're
just reducing them down to what the
[38:19] permit cost is so uh instead of 105 it's
those numbers there on the right uh and
[38:26] then while we were clarifying that we
did give one other small clarification
[38:30] um this instead of being 5,000 kilowatt
um it should be 5 kVa
[38:36] which is kiler I think. Um uh and then
this one should also be KBA. So
[38:42] » um uh that's just a clarification. So
resolution 2026-33
[38:47] uh is to um uh correct uh those uh
numbers in the FY27 budget fee schedule.
[38:55] Uh and um
>> we'll change that in the system.
[39:00] Nobody's been charged $105 by the way.
>> Okay. this right away. Just to do a
[39:05] resolution.
>> Got it.
[39:07] » I move to approve resolution 2026-33.
>> Second.
[39:12] » Moved and seconded to approve resolution
26-33.
[39:16] Is there any comment or discussion among
council on this?
[39:19] Is there any comment or discussion among
those present in the public on this
[39:24] hearing? None. All those in favor say I.
>> I.
[39:27] » Oppose. No. Resolution 26-33 is
approved. Moving on to public works
[39:33] resolutions. Next is resolution 34.
>> Okay. So resolution 2026-34
[39:41] is a change order to combine sewer
overflow cso project 10C. Uh we spoke
[39:47] about this in our work session. Um but
this was an error in the initial spec
[39:52] package put together by the engineer. Um
whereas in the initial spec pack package
[39:59] it called for 30 feet of 8 in uh HDP PVC
pipe uh and it should in fact have been
[40:07] 300 ft of pipe. So the contractor bid on
30 ft of pipe um instead of it being 300
[40:14] ft of pipe. Of course that additional
pipe that we need for the project comes
[40:18] with a cost associated with it uh to the
tune of $27,000.
[40:22] Uh this would come from the contingency
budget for the project which of course
[40:27] is already budgeted.
Are there any questions?
[40:32] » We need the pipe. We need the pipe.
>> And to clarify too, uh this would not
[40:37] have affected the bidding. Um, for
instance, if this contractor had bid it
[40:43] for 30 and the next contractor had bid
it for 300 or vice versa, uh, that
[40:48] wouldn't have happened because each
contractor got the initial 30 ft spec
[40:53] pack package that they all bid on. So,
all contractors bid on 30 ft as opposed
[40:57] to 300.
>> Um, with that being said, I would ask
[41:00] for a motion and a second for resolution
2026-34.
[41:05] » I'd like to make a motion to approve
resolution 2026-34.
[41:09] Second.
>> Do the move and second to approve
[41:11] resolution 26-34. Is there any further
discussion or comment among members of
[41:16] council? Okay. Uh comment or discussion
among those present on resolution 26-34.
[41:24] » Hearing none. All those in favor say I.
I.
[41:25] » Post. No. Resolution 26-34 is approved.
>> Next is resolution 26-35.
[41:32] » Yes. So resolution 226-35.
Again, this applies to the um
[41:39] The fiscal budget money that we received
from the governor's office um and again
[41:44] it is for the water treatment plant. One
of the four phases of our water
[41:48] resiliency project is the um
troubleshooting and repair of the geopic
[41:53] dome leak at the water treatment plant.
Uh this is basically greenlighting us to
[41:58] start spending a little bit of money um
to start repairing that issue. I want to
[42:02] be clear that we don't know the exact
value um of what the repairs will cost
[42:06] because we don't know the extent of the
leak under the tank. It's not one that
[42:10] we can just inspect. Um but we
anticipate it being approximately 20 to
[42:15] $25,000 with the worst case being around
65,000. We asked the governor for 65,000
[42:21] for that project. Um we are hoping we
can come in significantly under that.
[42:25] And of course it will be a a competitive
bid and quoting process to find a
[42:28] contractor. So the mayor and council
will get to approve the amount before we
[42:33] actually move forward because it will be
a bid process.
[42:36] » The amount for the
initial investigation as to how the
[42:41] extent of the leak or
>> the this here was to cut us loose to
[42:46] start the investigation process. We
anticipate that being 5 to$10,000 um so
[42:52] we can just go with the contractor get a
couple quotes off of our trusted
[42:55] contractors and then get going
>> just to start the process rolling.
[42:58] » Correct. because we can't with the water
leaking out of the tank. We don't want
[43:01] to keep letting it leak out.
>> Can you remind us how many gallons
[43:04] again?
>> We think about 75,000
[43:07] » of finished water.
>> Um this this money would also then be
[43:13] utilized for um paying the contract if
we don't have the governor's money yet,
[43:18] but we could approve to spend money
before um all the paperwork's done.
[43:22] That's been allocated to us as of July
one. It's just a process to get
[43:26] everything together
>> and you get re reimbured afterwards.
[43:29] » Yes. And we don't want to wait until
winter comes around and not be able to
[43:31] do this project as
>> So if there are no other questions, I
[43:36] would ask for a motion and second on
resolution 26-35.
[43:40] » I move we approve resolution 2026-35.
>> Second.
[43:44] » Duly moved and seconded to approve
resolution 26-35.
[43:48] Is there any further comment or
discussion among members of council on
[43:50] this?
>> I know we've been talking about this for
[43:53] a while. That can get started. who are
wasting a lot of money but also a lot of
[43:57] water.
>> All right. Uh any comment or discussion
[44:00] among those present on resolution 26-35?
Seeing none as many as in favor say I.
[44:05] » I post. No.
>> Resolution 26-35 is approved. That
[44:09] concludes public works and the water
department. Next one under finance
[44:12] resolution 26-36.
[44:18] » Um
resolution 26-36
[44:23] is for the final fiscal 2526 budget
amendment that we discussed at work
[44:28] session. Um major changes are um moving
several capital projects from the 2026
[44:36] budget. They've been picked up in the
2027 budget. Uh both the funding for
[44:41] them as well as the actual expenditures.
Um, we also incorporated
[44:47] uh some repairs and other items that
were not budgeted, specifically the HBAC
[44:52] repairs for this building. Um, couple
other minor things. Um,
[44:57] the last major item that we've changed,
as we discussed a little bit earlier,
[45:01] was removing the proceeds from fund
balance that were not needed, which is a
[45:06] good thing.
Um, so unless there's any questions, I
[45:10] would ask for a motion and a second to
approve resolution 2026-36.
[45:16] » I move to approve resolution 2026-36.
>> Second.
[45:20] » Duly moved and seconded to approve
resolution 26-36.
[45:24] Is there any further discussion or
comment among members of council on this
[45:29] » comment or discussion among those
present on this resolution?
[45:33] » Seeing none, as many users are in favor
say I.
[45:35] » I. I oppose. No. Resolution 26-36 is
approved. Thank you, ma'am. Next is
[45:42] resolution 26-37,
Mr. O'Brien.
[45:48] » Uh, so resolution uh 2036-37
um uh is to uh essentially appoint the
[45:55] ex official member of the Frostber Plan
Commission. So, according to their
[45:59] bylaws, Mayor Logston um is the ex
official uh member unless appoint
[46:05] someone else. We had discussion and uh
Commissioner Coburn um uh showed
[46:10] interest in doing that and Mayor Lawson
agreed. So, this is just a resolution um
[46:16] stating that we will be appointing uh
Commissioner Coburn uh to that position
[46:21] um for the length of his service or
until another individual is identified
[46:26] as the exit.
[46:30] » I move to approve resolution 2026-37.
>> Second. Duly moved and seconded to
[46:35] approve resolution 26-37. Is there any
further comment or discussion among
[46:39] council on this?
>> You're sure you want to do this?
[46:43] » I'm positive.
>> I made it after MMO the other night.
[46:46] » Oh, so very dedicated.
>> Yeah.
[46:49] » All right. Is there any comment or
discussion among those present on
[46:51] resolution 26-37?
>> Seeing none, as many as in favor say I.
[46:56] » I.
>> Oppos? No.
[46:57] » Resolution 26-37 is approved.
[47:02] believe there's one more
>> under new business. This is resolution
[47:06] 26-38.
>> Um so as we discussed we are doing some
[47:10] uh renovations at the damkeeper house uh
up by piny. Um uh our most recent keeper
[47:17] has moved out after being there 20 plus
years.
[47:20] » 22
>> 22 years. Um so it's time to do some uh
[47:23] upgrades and and some work in there. Uh
one of the big things we noticed was uh
[47:26] the electrical system needing some
upgrades. So, um,
[47:30] » some upgrades, [snorts]
>> some major. [laughter] Um, uh, so, uh,
[47:35] Hayden, uh, was nice enough to to put,
um, three quotes together, uh, for me.
[47:39] Um, since Hayden is going to eventually
be living there, I'm taking care of this
[47:42] aspect of it. Um, so, uh, after looking
at the quotes, um, uh, that came in,
[47:49] Stevens Electrical, um, is expected to
be the lowest cost. Um, uh, we did have,
[47:54] if you look at the quotes, there's one
that averages out a little bit lower,
[47:58] but includes an apprentice quote or or
apprentice cost which is significantly
[48:03] lower um and that individual would be
there to assist probably the actual
[48:07] electrician. So we didn't include that
in the average because we were worried
[48:10] it kind of brought it down. So uh this
um
[48:16] um PA power solutions uh their average
uh was uh 8550 uh Stevens electrical was
[48:22] 85 and then the other one was 90
something. So, um, one of the other
[48:28] things is Stevens Electrical, um, is
going to be using Turnin for this
[48:32] project. So, we know exactly what it's
going to cost people. We know that,
[48:35] right? So, um, [snorts] so we're, uh,
suggesting Stevens Electric for that
[48:39] work. Um, uh, not to exceed $20,000 is
what we talked about. We're hoping it'll
[48:44] come in under that, but there is a lot
of work to be done there. Uh, they're
[48:47] going to be completely changing out a
couple of panels, um, rerunning a lot of
[48:51] wires because some of the wiring in that
building is pretty old. And we've had
[48:55] Steven's Electric work with us before,
so
[48:59] » Isn't it like the whole house that needs
redone?
[49:01] » Just about.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
[49:03] » Um uh and they can start pretty much as
soon as we're done signing uh this
[49:08] resolution. So
>> yeah, we need to cut them loose as soon
[49:10] as possible.
>> Yeah, I think they're going to be able
[49:12] to start [snorts]
Monday. They can start last week. Well,
[49:15] council hasn't even approved you yet, so
you might want to wait. But yes, they
[49:19] can start. [laughter]
I move we approve resolution 2026-38.
[49:25] » Second.
>> Duly moved and seconded to approve
[49:27] resolution 26-38. Is there any further
comment or discussion among council on
[49:31] this?
>> See how eager I was to get that.
[49:33] [laughter]
[49:35] » Uh do they do they have an estimate on
how long it's going to take?
[49:39] » They thought about a week.
>> Okay.
[49:41] » Yeah.
>> Fortunately with the basement being open
[49:45] and the ad being pretty easy access all
their runs pretty quick.
[49:48] » Okay. Very good. Anything further among
council on this comment or discussion
[49:52] among those present on this resolution?
>> Seeing none, as managers are in favor
[49:55] say I. I
>> oppose. No. Resolution 26-38 is
[49:59] approved. That concludes new business.
Moving on to item 12 on the agenda,
[50:04] which is open public comment. This is a
chance for anyone who has something to
[50:07] bring to Mayor Council to please uh feel
free to do so. If you would like uh come
[50:11] up to the podium, just please state your
name and address for the record and
[50:14] we'll be happy to talk about anything
you like. Ma'am, please do.
[50:30] Well, I apologize. I'm a little bit
nervous.
[50:33] » Oh, please don't be. And um um my name
is Becky Dwit and I've lived in Frostber
[50:39] for 20 years and we've had problems with
our water and our trash. And um I came
[50:46] tonight um to ask you that um if you
could um let us know ahead of time
[50:51] before you shut our water off. We we
needed uh more time, but
[50:56] » as the situation turned out, our
landlord did pay the water bill.
[51:00] » Okay.
>> So we're okay on that. But what happened
[51:03] was we just had this big green sticker
on our back door and all of a sudden I
[51:07] was like what? And I'd been working with
Jay Hovatter to try and rectify our
[51:12] trash situation
>> in the absence of our landlord.
[51:16] » And um all of a sudden we got a big
green sticker that we're going to shut
[51:19] the water off in two weeks. So um
Patrick I talked to Patrick and we get
[51:24] we got 30 extra days but still 46 days
we had nowhere to go. We could not find
[51:30] anywhere to go and we could not come up
with enough money to pay the bill
[51:34] ourselves. So, I am very scared and I'm
still scared because we're not we're not
[51:41] it's not completely over yet because the
trash has to be rectified
[51:45] » and I I'm was told that by the landlord
that the water bill was paid in full.
[51:50] So, I'm hoping that is true and um I
just we don't want to be in this
[51:55] situation again. Is there any way you
can let us know at day one that the
[51:59] water is not paid?
>> So, sort of. Um, so my my understanding
[52:04] is that you, the tenants of the
building, were having a lot of trouble
[52:08] getting a hold of your landlord for a
long time.
[52:10] » Yeah, we actually called the police
department and did a wellness
[52:12] [clears throat] check on him
>> and they called us back and said he was
[52:17] okay. And then that that very day, that
evening, we called him again and he he
[52:21] did answer us. So, but still after that
we [clears throat] had no contact with
[52:26] him. But, but I just talked to him on
texting yesterday. So, he is around and
[52:33] he has apologized very much for
everything and I accepted his apology
[52:37] and he wants to rectify everything. You
know, he wants to pay the bills and get
[52:43] the a place back going again.
>> So, I can tell you that I know for a
[52:48] fact that he was here and did pay his
bill. I don't know if it's paid all the
[52:50] way to current, but he was here and made
a significant payment because I just
[52:53] happened to be in the building whenever
he showed up that day. So,
[52:56] » I'm very thankful of that, too.
>> Yes. So, that's been taken care of. As
[52:59] far as the trash, I don't know if
there's been an arrangement made with
[53:01] that.
>> Uh he he's been working with uh Jay
[53:03] Hovet on that, our our code enforcement
officer. Um uh they have an agreement
[53:08] that he's going to work on some things
and we're going to hold off on any sort
[53:11] of additional fines and stuff like that
worked out so that things can get worked
[53:15] out. Um but we'll follow up about that.
>> Okay. So tech being a commercial
[53:19] property where technically it's a
commercial property so you're not
[53:22] eligible for municipal for regular city
trash pickup. As far as the water bill
[53:26] goes, I'm not sure what the legality of
that is with I mean technically your
[53:30] landlord is the customer. So I'm not
sure legally if we're able to disclose
[53:34] that information to anybody other than
your landlord. We may be able we'll have
[53:38] to look at
>> maybe not when it's initially late, but
[53:41] when it gets into the delinquent phase,
we may be able to notify you then. Well,
[53:45] I've been talking to him and working
with him and if anything I can do for
[53:49] him, I will
>> and um because I like living here in
[53:52] Frostber, but it was quite a scare and I
don't want to be homeless again. So, or
[53:58] I mean I don't want to be homeless here
or I don't want that risk. We weren't
[54:03] homeless. I don't want the risk of being
homeless.
[54:05] » Absolutely. We don't want that.
>> So, but we called around and there's no
[54:08] there's nowhere for us to go. it was the
problem too just as in in in case things
[54:14] really did fell through
>> and um but um anyway that's all I have
[54:19] to say let me look at my notes here um
but we'll continue to work with Jay
[54:24] Hovatter
>> and then um like I said if there's any
[54:27] way you can give us a heads up you know
if there's any problems coming our way
[54:31] um we did apply for a loan but we were
turned down for it to try and play the
[54:35] water pay the water bill we don't have
access to that much money right away
[54:40] So, um,
>> yeah,
[54:41] » but anyway, we I like living here and we
want to stay.
[54:44] » We appreciate that. We like having
>> Yes, we like him to stay.
[54:47] » But Luke has been very apologetic and he
is very concerned and he wants to get
[54:53] back on track.
>> So, um, I would say hopefully you'll
[54:58] work with
>> Oh, yeah. We'll continue to work with
[55:00] anybody. We said, I'm not sure that the
two of you were here at the beginning of
[55:03] the meeting, but earlier we talked about
another issue, and we said with any
[55:07] anything that is involved with code
enforcement or any of that kind of
[55:10] stuff, we're we're not here to be
punitive. We're not here to punish
[55:15] people. What we really want is
compliance. So, whatever property
[55:18] owners, whether that be landlords or or
or you know, single homes or whatever,
[55:23] whenever there are problems, we we do
our best to work with anybody, okay? As
[55:26] much as we can because we don't want to
punish people. I mean, if we will if we
[55:30] have to, but we don't,
>> especially people who are not
[55:31] responsible,
>> right? [laughter]
[55:34] » I mean, it's not your fault.
>> Well, I just wanted to show up and let
[55:37] you know that that there are tenants,
you know, there and Luke is working to
[55:42] get back on his feet again.
>> Okay.
[55:43] » And um thank you for your time.
>> Yes, ma'am. Thank you.
[55:46] » You're welcome.
>> Thanks.
[55:48] » One thing that we can do is so the state
of Maryland says that we have to give a
[55:52] two notice, which is why that happened.
Um but we did actually wait until water
[55:58] set to be shut off to do the two week
notice instead of doing it two weeks
[56:01] ahead of time and shutting it off on
that date
[56:03] » because residents live there. So we
should be able to do at least a
[56:05] four-week notice do it two weeks earlier
and then two weeks pass off. So at the
[56:10] very least we should be able to do that.
I will look into it.
[56:12] » Yeah, that would be great. Okay.
>> And I believe that with the notice
[56:17] tenants get a list of measures that they
can take.
[56:22] » We did and I know um we didn't get that
with the notice.
[56:28] gave me his card and wanted me to give
his card to all the tenants and I did
[56:33] » and he wrote down this Maryland state
attorney general's number on it.
[56:36] » Okay.
>> So, we called them
[56:38] » and we did file a complaint. They have a
landlord tenant section. Yeah. So, we
[56:44] filed with the Maryland State Attorney
General's Office and they had sent me a
[56:49] copy of the correspondence they sent to
my landlord
[56:54] » and they requested that he resolved the
trash issue and they also I filed again
[57:01] for the water and they requested that he
pay the water bill. He did pay [snorts]
[57:06] the water bill. So,
>> but we're still I don't know. I I don't
[57:11] know what to do about the trash. It's
either going to be a dumpster.
[57:14] you know what I mean or something
>> eventually I'm assuming the contractor
[57:18] will take over
>> subcontractor
[57:21] » unless the city will the city continue
to pick that up
[57:25] » so we are doing that as part of an
abatement process so he's getting cited
[57:29] anytime we pick up
>> so it costs much more than a
[57:33] » contractor
>> it would be much more cost effective for
[57:35] him to hire a contractor if he's going
to do it with us it's going to cost a
[57:38] lot more
>> okay
[57:41] » it's cost only $85 in overhead every
time I have to pick one up.
[57:46] » Is that right?
>> So, it's it's that every week plus a
[57:49] $500 citation.
>> Yeah.
[57:50] » Um and that's weekly.
>> I just don't want to keep going.
[57:55] » Y
>> and we just have some heads up. You're
[57:57] like I cannot come up with a lot of
money right away
[58:01] » to help him.
>> We'll we'll continue with Jay. We'll
[58:03] we'll continue to monitor it
>> to work with.
[58:06] » Absolutely. Yes, ma'am.
[58:10] » Thank you.
>> Anything further? Anyone else? present
[58:13] that would wish us to speak.
Commissioner Gats,
[58:16] » ex commissioner.
>> Okay. Former commissioner.
[58:17] » Former commissioner [laughter]
that
[58:23] » have five commissioners.
>> Once you're a commissioner, you know,
[58:26] » you're always a commission.
[snorts]
[58:30] » It's kind of like being a jet.
[58:39] » Good evening, Mayor Commissioner. Um,
I'm Woody Gats. I'm a resident of Bradic
[58:45] Heights, a former commissioner of public
works and founder of the city's green
[58:50] team. So, last week at your work session
when I heard about sustainability and
[58:55] such, my ears kind of perked up and I'm
volunteering to be on whatever effort
[59:01] the city is taking on that. I hope it
actually gets opened up to anybody in
[59:06] the city who's a resident and has some
background, interest, whatever. Uh
[59:11] sustainability is no small effort and it
doesn't like happen and then it's over.
[59:16] So uh if if that's going to happen, I'd
be very willing, desirous to be part of
[59:22] that. Do you have plans right now for
how that not specifics, but in general
[59:29] [snorts] might be addressed by the city?
>> I'm not sure which sustainability
[59:34] initiative you're referring to because
we have several.
[59:37] » Well, it was on last week's agenda.
It said micro grid and sustainability
[59:44] » and that's the first that I had heard of
it since I had not been attending
[59:48] meetings too much.
>> Um
[59:52] [snorts]
>> so it has to do with our micro grid
[59:55] project.
>> It was item
[59:56] » the resiliency project.
>> It's item G says micro grid and
[1:00:00] sustainability update.
Um
[1:00:03] » yeah, there were there were several
grants that we were dealing with, two
[1:00:06] grants and what one of which
>> we have applied for um in amended form
[1:00:13] and another one that we have turned down
with the um prospect of applying for a
[1:00:23] replacement for that one um that will
open up in September.
[1:00:30] » There's a lot of work to be done on
that.
[1:00:32] Right. [snorts] Uh, and I looked online.
I actually saw some things online, but
[1:00:37] different ones were open and not in
terms of having the number to pull plug
[1:00:42] in to to get access and all those kinds
of things. So, uh, yeah, if there's a
[1:00:47] meeting coming up, please, please let me
know. We're announcing to the, you know,
[1:00:51] at these meetings so that people can
know. Some of the articles that I've
[1:00:55] been reading recently where talk about
the whole idea of the more people you
[1:00:59] get involved before there's an
emergency,
[1:01:02] » the smoother it all all goes. You know,
you can almost have like neighborhood
[1:01:07] » mini groups or something like that. Of
course, the not
[1:01:11] » such that it's got so many resources
building wise that, you know, you can
[1:01:16] have it all over the place, but you
know, get some good buildings identified
[1:01:20] and people identified, organizations
[cough]
[1:01:23] » [clears throat]
>> So sir, let me know.
[1:01:25] » Thank you, sir.
>> Thank you.
[1:01:28] » I have a question. I don't need to even
go up there.
[1:01:31] » Okay.
>> What happened to our very cool large
[1:01:35] flag?
>> So on July 24 on it. I remember because
[1:01:41] it was the day of our July council
meeting. So last month when we were here
[1:01:44] and if you remember because you were
here.
[1:01:46] » Oh, it was terrible.
>> We had a terrible rainstorm.
[1:01:48] » I stayed home because of
>> Yes. So we had So we had a terrible
[1:01:51] rainstorm that day and a combination of
the rain and the wind and I guess the
[1:01:55] flag was it's big so it was very heavy
and wet. It um broke the pulley at the
[1:02:01] top of the pole that help holds it up
and it fell.
[1:02:03] » So the city does not own that flag pole
or the land there that that little park
[1:02:09] » belongs to the um American Legion. So
we've been in contact with them and
[1:02:14] offered our assistance whenever they're
whenever they have a plan for how
[1:02:17] they're going to fix it or what they're
going to do. We've offered our
[1:02:19] assistance, but they're they're not
ready yet or they they don't have to
[1:02:22] what they need yet.
>> Okay.
[1:02:23] » Yeah. It broke the rope and the pulley
and everything.
[1:02:26] » So, for the 250 celebration, we had
actually ordered a a replacement big
[1:02:31] flag because the flag that was up there
was a bit older.
[1:02:33] » Um that didn't come in on time. They're
backward because it's the 250 stuff. So,
[1:02:37] the Legion put that flag up. Um because
it's older, it may be made of like a
[1:02:41] thicker material.
>> So, with the rain and the wind, it may
[1:02:44] have soaked up with their water and just
became extra heavy.
[1:02:48] Luckily, I think the the new flag is in.
So, we do have a a new one as well, but
[1:02:52] right now the pole in the room.
>> Is it going to be big?
[1:02:56] » Yeah, I think we got one as big as the
one that was on
[1:02:58] » because that one was just older and was
starting to get a little
[1:03:04] » anything else members of the public
wishing to come forward.
[1:03:08] » Commissioner Coburn, do you have
anything you'd like to say?
[1:03:10] » Um, I just want to thank everybody for
coming out tonight. Um, and I also want
[1:03:14] to thank the great staff who's been
working, especially Mr. Lindsay, um, who
[1:03:19] put in a pretty hard week last week and
I believe the week before.
[1:03:23] » Um,
water situation.
[1:03:27] » Thank you. [snorts]
[1:03:30] » Thank you, sir. Commissioner, one more
thing, too. Um, Commissioner Forsight
[1:03:34] and I attended the ribbon cutting um for
Midland.
[1:03:37] » Yeah. Their multi-purpose building.
Yeah.
[1:03:39] » Um, it was very nice. Nicely attended.
Um, Yeah, they had a good program.
[1:03:44] » Yes, it was very nice.
>> Very good.
[1:03:47] » Commissioner Forsight,
>> just want to announce some things coming
[1:03:50] up. Uh though maybe you were planning on
[laughter]
[1:03:53] » um on September 3rd, uh Thursday, the
Cruise and Main Street takes place from
[1:03:58] 5 to 10. On Sunday, September 6, we have
the very popular Western Maryland Craft
[1:04:04] Beverage Festival up at Havlin Park from
noon to 6. On Wednesday, September 9th
[1:04:09] is the block party from 6:00 to 9. And
then on Saturday and Sunday, September
[1:04:15] 12th and 13th, marking the end of the
pool season, is the dog splash. So, all
[1:04:21] the pups are all ready getting all
excited.
[1:04:24] » When is the last day for the pool for
human beings?
[1:04:26] » For human beings. Uh, well, there's just
weekends from the start of school. So,
[1:04:32] then right before then, I didn't write
down
[1:04:37] » Labor Day.
>> Yeah.
[1:04:40] Aren't they also open weekends?
>> Yeah, it's weekends until Labor Day.
[1:04:44] Yeah.
>> Okay.
[1:04:47] » Thank you, Commissioner Grove.
>> Yeah. Just another comment about the
[1:04:50] construction work on Mccala Street. Uh
obviously, it's a difficult time for
[1:04:55] people who live on Mclla Street, but uh
I'd like to thank EA Construction
[1:05:00] because after every day they work, they
clean up completely and make that road
[1:05:06] that that people can get get through.
They're very professional with what
[1:05:09] they're doing.
>> Nice to hear.
[1:05:11] » It's worth saying as well that if you
live in that area and you need to get to
[1:05:14] your home that they are they will let
you get to your home. You just might
[1:05:19] have to flag it out and ask.
>> Very good. Commissioner Smouse,
[1:05:23] » just want to remind everyone just like
um Chief said earlier, just remember
[1:05:27] school's coming back. There's going to
be buses. There's going to be little
[1:05:30] kids. Just be careful and cautious.
>> Very good. Only thing I would add to
[1:05:34] that is just welcoming back the students
on behalf of this council, everyone at
[1:05:37] this table, and everyone in town,
welcoming back not only our public
[1:05:40] school students, but the folks at FSU.
Glad to have them back. And just a
[1:05:44] reminder that on Monday, uh, September
7th, all city offices, with the
[1:05:47] exception of the police department, will
be closed for Labor Day. Anything else?
[1:05:52] » 6:35 meetings adjourned.