[0:03] Okay, the date is October 5,

[0:05] 2026. The time is 7:15.

[0:08] I am now announcing a

[0:09] public hearing

[0:10] on Ordinance 2026-24

[0:12] to transfer the

[0:12] real property, or

[0:14] Stroh property, to the

[0:15] beginning. Is there

[0:16] anyone in the audience who would

[0:17] like to speak?

[0:21] Since there is

[0:21] no one present, we are closing the

[0:23] public hearing

[0:24] on Ordinance 2026-24 and

[0:25] we will see everyone in

[0:26] about 15

[0:27] minutes at

[0:28] our council meeting. Thank you. On the 5th,

[0:50] I am calling the

[0:53] October 2026 City Council meeting

[0:54] to order.

[0:55] Please stand and

[0:56] take the Pledge of

[0:57] Allegiance.

[1:01] Pledge allegiance to the

[1:02] flag of the United

[1:03] States of America and to

[1:04] the republic it

[1:05] represents, one

[1:06] nation under God,

[1:07] indivisible, with

[1:08] liberty and

[1:09] justice for

[1:10] all.

[1:15] Okay, first of all, we,

[1:16] uh, didn't have any

[1:17] presentations on the

[1:18] agenda, but

[1:19] we do have one

[1:20] presentation, uh,

[1:21] tonight,

[1:22] so I'm going to go to the

[1:23] podium. Okay, sir, would

[1:37] you like to

[1:38] come over?

[1:39] How are you doing?

[1:40] Nice

[1:41] to meet you. Okay,

[1:45] so we have a

[1:46] proclamation for Carroll

[1:47] Community Media, uh, Carroll County

[1:48] Community Media Center, who

[1:49] do a lot of

[1:50] good work, uh, not

[1:51] just for our

[1:52] municipality, but

[1:53] for every

[1:54] municipality in the

[1:55] county. Uh, we just

[1:56] wanted to thank them with

[1:57] this proclamation.

[1:58] Because the Carroll County Community Media Center

[1:59] provides

[2:01] community members,

[2:02] nonprofits, schools,

[2:04] and government

[2:04] agencies with resources

[2:06] to create and

[2:07] distribute

[2:07] digital

[2:08] media content

[2:09] important to their

[2:10] local communities. And

[2:11] because the Community Media Center

[2:13] plays a

[2:14] vital role in

[2:15] citizen participation,

[2:15] providing

[2:16] coverage of

[2:17] municipal meetings

[2:18] , local elections, and

[2:19] community events.

[2:21] And because the Community Media

[2:22] Center celebrates our

[2:23] student-

[2:24] athletes

[2:25] with CM CMS Sports Net

[2:26] and live streaming of

[2:27] every game from every

[2:31] Carroll County Public High School stadium and gym. And

[2:32] because the Community Media Center

[2:34] works to

[2:34] preserve our

[2:35] local history,

[2:36] honor our

[2:37] local veterans,

[2:38] provide

[2:39] diverse

[2:40] communities with the means to

[2:41] tell their

[2:42] stories, and empower

[2:43] people

[2:44] to create content

[2:45] to inform,

[2:46] connect, and improve

[2:47] the quality of life in our

[2:48] region. Now, therefore, it

[2:50] is hereby decreed that

[2:52] October 20, 2026, be

[2:53] proclaimed

[2:54] Community Media Day in the

[2:56] City of Mount Airy. And

[2:58] all residents are

[2:58] encouraged

[2:59] to promote

[3:00] the importance of

[3:00] community media,

[3:02] services and training

[3:03] available at the

[3:05] Carroll County Community Media Center. As

[3:07] well as programs

[3:08] available on

[3:10] cable channels 18,

[3:12] 19, 23 and HD 1072, as well as

[3:14] online at carolmediacenter.org.

[3:17] Thank you very much.

[3:22] Well, it's definitely an honor for me to be

[3:24] here tonight.

[3:25] I want to thank

[3:26] the leadership here at

[3:27] Mount Airy. Mount

[3:28] Airy, as you've heard

[3:29] from me before, has

[3:30] really been at the

[3:31] forefront of

[3:31] implementing

[3:32] innovative

[3:33] ways to

[3:34] use

[3:34] technology and

[3:35] ensuring that

[3:36] community residents

[3:37] have the opportunity

[3:38] to see

[3:39] your government in action. We

[3:40] use this as the

[3:42] model we

[3:42] used. That's what

[3:43] allowed us to

[3:44] do the kind of

[3:45] coverage we

[3:46] do in sports, where we

[3:47] 're in every gym

[3:48] and on every field. These are

[3:49] cameras that can be

[3:50] controlled remotely

[3:52] . We have

[3:53] great teams at the facility. You

[3:54] don't see them. As

[3:56] a result, you

[3:57] only see camera movement. But it

[3:58] really matters in

[3:59] terms of our

[4:00] ability to increase

[4:01] the amount of coverage

[4:04] our residents can get.

[4:05] We also want to encourage

[4:06] residents

[4:07] to read our

[4:08] election guide.

[4:09] We provide a great

[4:10] opportunity for

[4:11] candidates

[4:12] running for

[4:13] elected office

[4:14] to come, or we go

[4:15] to them in the case of

[4:16] election forums,

[4:17] where we have the

[4:18] opportunity

[4:18] to share what

[4:19] our candidates

[4:20] running for

[4:21] elected office

[4:22] want to say to our

[4:23] residents. So this is a

[4:24] great opportunity

[4:25] for them

[4:26] to learn about it as well. So

[4:27] we appreciate that.

[4:29] Thank you very much.

[4:29] Yes, thank you very much.

[4:31] Of course. Oh,

[4:32] go on. Perfectly.

[4:42] Okay, thank you very much.

[5:00] Okay, but now

[5:00] let's move on to the part of

[5:01] our

[5:02] agenda dedicated to

[5:03] public

[5:03] discussion. Does anyone

[5:04] from the audience wish

[5:05] to speak? Yes, ma'am.

[5:06] Please come over

[5:08] . Of course. Please

[5:09] just provide your

[5:10] name and address for the

[5:11] record.

[5:12] Of course. My name is

[5:15] Jen McCoy. I live at

[5:18] 605 South Main Street. Way up the

[5:19] hill, of course.

[5:21] Good evening,

[5:22] council members and

[5:23] acting mayor.

[5:24] Thank you for

[5:25] the opportunity to speak

[5:26] to you this

[5:27] evening. My name is

[5:28] Jen McCoy. I've

[5:30] told you about it before, and I

[5:31] live on South Main

[5:32] Street, about

[5:33] halfway up the hill.

[5:34] My family moved into

[5:35] this house in April,

[5:36] but it's also

[5:37] my childhood home. I'm not

[5:38] used to using the

[5:40] loudspeaker. Hmm, which

[5:42] was also my

[5:43] childhood home.

[5:44] Hmm, I've lived in

[5:46] or

[5:47] around Mount Airy my whole

[5:48] life. So I guess I'm a

[5:49] real

[5:51] Mount Airy fan. I'm here

[5:52] because my neighbors and I

[5:53] witness

[5:54] constant

[5:55] speeding and

[5:56] aggressive driving on

[5:57] South Main Street every day. Hmm,

[5:59] every day, and we

[6:01] need your

[6:02] help. When I

[6:04] returned to this

[6:05] house, I was

[6:06] shocked by how

[6:07] fast the vehicles were moving

[6:09] in front of my house.

[6:11] I also began to

[6:12] notice the

[6:12] speed limit sign

[6:13] on Calvary, which

[6:14] showed

[6:15] cars regularly

[6:16] traveling

[6:17] between 40 and 55

[6:18] miles per hour. And you'll

[6:19] realize it's

[6:20] right before the

[6:20] crosswalk

[6:21] , right before you

[6:22] exit into our

[6:23] historic,

[6:24] beautiful

[6:25] downtown Mount Airy. Um,

[6:28] I realized I thought

[6:30] 20th Street was

[6:32] Route 27. Um, our

[6:33] town has probably fallen

[6:35] victim to Waze and

[6:37] Google Maps. In early

[6:40] May, I contacted the

[6:42] Mount Airy Police Department.

[6:44] They agreed that

[6:45] the road was dangerous,

[6:46] with no shoulders,

[6:47] limited visibility, and

[6:51] heavy traffic of both pedestrians and cars. These

[6:54] conditions make it

[6:55] dangerous for drivers to stop

[6:56] drivers. So they

[6:58] usually go further

[6:59] north and south,

[7:01] which I completely understand

[7:02] . I can barely cross

[7:04] the road to get

[7:05] the mail. In fact,

[7:07] most of my

[7:08] neighbors have

[7:09] mailboxes

[7:10] because they can't

[7:11] safely cross

[7:12] Main Street. In

[7:14] early May, um,

[7:15] when I asked

[7:16] a police officer what

[7:18] speed reduction measures

[7:20] the city was considering, I was told that since

[7:21] it was a state highway

[7:22] ,

[7:23] speed reduction measures

[7:24] would require

[7:25] state approval and

[7:26] willingness to implement them,

[7:28] depending on the budget.

[7:30] The city does not control

[7:31] public roads and does not

[7:33] have the authority

[7:34] to make any

[7:35] changes. I was advised

[7:36] to contact the

[7:38] Mount

[7:38] Airy Department of Transportation for

[7:39] more

[7:40] information. So I

[7:42] thought I would reach out

[7:43] to the mayor to

[7:44] see if

[7:45] perhaps the city already has

[7:46] some

[7:47] speed reduction measures in place

[7:48] that are requested by

[7:49] the state. He

[7:51] treated me with

[7:53] compassion. He

[7:54] said he would get back

[7:55] to me after talking

[7:56] to the boss because

[7:57] they do have some

[8:00] speed reduction measures they are

[8:01] trying to

[8:02] implement. But I was

[8:05] assured that in the meantime

[8:06] we had to

[8:07] do something. I was

[8:09] full of hope. A

[8:10] few weeks later I

[8:11] found out that he

[8:12] had resigned.

[8:14] So I decided

[8:15] to contact the

[8:16] state directly, as

[8:17] the police advised. I contacted

[8:22] MDOT. After several

[8:24] weeks of no response,

[8:25] I decided to reach out

[8:26] to the office of Justin

[8:28] Redding, the

[8:29] state senator, and also the

[8:30] governor's office. I

[8:32] shared what my

[8:33] neighbors and I had seen,

[8:34] and I also provided

[8:35] photos

[8:36] showing the hill on Main

[8:37] Street

[8:38] descending straight into the

[8:39] historic

[8:40] downtown area, and I provided them with

[8:41] several photos of

[8:42] cars traveling at least 45 mph as they

[8:45] passed the

[8:46] sign entering the

[8:47] city. Both offices

[8:50] were extremely

[8:51] helpful. And

[8:52] Senator Redding's office

[8:53] put me in touch with

[8:54] state officials

[8:55] who were eager to help.

[8:58] MDOT also informed

[8:59] me that rectangular

[9:00] speed flashing

[9:01] lights have already been

[9:02] approved at two

[9:04] locations, at the

[9:04] train station

[9:05] and on Hood Street

[9:06] , and are currently being

[9:08] developed. Although

[9:10] given the high

[9:11] speed of

[9:12] traffic, many

[9:13] drivers also

[9:14] use

[9:14] cell

[9:15] phones, I wasn't

[9:16] sure. I responded

[9:17] and said I wasn't

[9:18] sure if this would

[9:19] really solve our

[9:20] problem. They also

[9:22] stated that the existing

[9:23] beacon sign on Park

[9:25] Avenue would remain.

[9:26] Although I'm following this

[9:27] issue as it

[9:28] appears that this sign has been

[9:29] removed. This is important

[9:31] because a recent

[9:33] speeding study I

[9:34] read on Park

[9:35] Avenue showed that

[9:37] in just 2 weeks, 2,420

[9:38] vehicles

[9:39] were

[9:40] speeding. 340 of them

[9:42] exceeded 10 miles

[9:43] per hour. Eight

[9:45] drivers

[9:46] whose speed was considered

[9:46] aggressive or

[9:47] reckless were considered

[9:49] speeding.

[9:51] State Highway Department officials

[9:52] told me

[9:53] they are evaluating

[9:54] additional improvements

[9:55] to

[9:55] crosswalks and that speed cameras

[9:57] near the school would be

[9:58] approved if

[9:59] the city

[10:00] requests them. The state also

[10:01] agreed to conduct a 48-

[10:03] hour

[10:04] speed study on blind

[10:05] hills to better

[10:06] understand

[10:08] traffic volumes and speeds. From

[10:11] my conversation,

[10:12] it's clear that the state is

[10:13] ready to help.

[10:15] But many events

[10:16] require an official

[10:17] request from the city.

[10:18] I

[10:19] looked at the

[10:20] Mount Airy Police Department's

[10:21] traffic data last night.

[10:22] The number of

[10:24] speeding stops on North

[10:26] Main Street

[10:27] has already surpassed

[10:28] last year's

[10:29] tally, with a total of

[10:30] 78 in 2026,

[10:31] compared to 70 for all of

[10:33] 2025. The report

[10:34] notes that

[10:35] speeding is most

[10:36] prevalent on North Main

[10:37] Street, where the

[10:38] schools are located. Which is

[10:39] actually a bit

[10:41] alarming if

[10:42] you've been sitting outside

[10:43] my house on the porch for an hour

[10:44] . I appreciate your

[10:46] increased presence

[10:48] over the past few

[10:49] weeks. Really. But

[10:51] control alone

[10:52] cannot solve this

[10:53] problem. Just

[10:55] yesterday, around

[10:56] noon, I was coming down the

[10:57] hill. I

[10:58] stopped on the hill.

[10:59] I turned on the

[11:00] turn signal so my

[11:01] daughter could pull out of the

[11:02] driveway and I

[11:04] could pull in. The driver

[11:05] aggressively overtook

[11:07] me, almost hitting

[11:08] us both. Then he followed

[11:10] my daughter

[11:11] all over town. This is not an

[11:14] isolated incident.

[11:17] Delivery drivers

[11:18] tell me

[11:19] stories like this all the time,

[11:21] and I see it with my own

[11:22] eyes. We need

[11:28] speed reduction measures. And the state

[11:30] seems ready to

[11:31] support the city.

[11:33] As Route 27 becomes

[11:35] busier,

[11:36] this problem

[11:37] will only increase. I believe the

[11:40] city can take a

[11:41] few steps.

[11:42] Strategically

[11:43] place

[11:44] crosswalks with

[11:45] stop signs, similar to the one

[11:48] on Park Avenue and

[11:49] Marydale, on these

[11:50] known problem

[11:51] streets. The same

[11:52] design should be

[11:53] considered at Main

[11:54] Street and Flower Avenue

[11:55] , where a recent accident

[11:57] forced police

[11:58] to close the road. On

[12:01] Main Street and Sunset,

[12:02] where there

[12:04] are

[12:05] frequent accidents every day on the left turn because

[12:06] someone stops and

[12:07] someone goes down the

[12:08] hill at high

[12:09] speed. So,

[12:12] residents, um, this will also

[12:13] slow down

[12:14] traffic into the city.

[12:17] At Prospect Avenue and

[12:18] Hill Street, residents

[12:19] will be able to safely

[12:20] cross the road

[12:21] to reach the

[12:22] new Rails and Trails track

[12:23] from downtown. I don't

[12:25] know if anyone has ever

[12:26] done this. If you were walking

[12:27] on Prospect Avenue,

[12:28] you need to walk on the

[12:29] right side of

[12:30] the road, you will come to a

[12:31] point where you

[12:32] need to cross

[12:33] the road to get

[12:34] to the railroad tracks. Good

[12:36] luck. There's no way you

[12:38] can

[12:39] do this if you don't

[12:40] know how to run, because

[12:41] it's unsettling. Park

[12:43] Avenue and Wildwood

[12:44] Park, where a recent

[12:46] speed study shows

[12:47] high

[12:48] traffic volume and

[12:49] speeding. Speed camera

[12:52] in front of an elementary

[12:53] school. The state has already

[12:55] said it will approve

[12:56] it. Reducing the

[12:58] speed limit

[12:59] on Main Street to 25

[13:00] miles per hour. We

[13:03] are at a

[13:04] turning point in the

[13:05] history of our city.

[13:07] Either Main Street becomes a

[13:08] bypass for

[13:10] Route 27, or we can

[13:11] take steps to

[13:12] make Mount Airy a pedestrian-

[13:13] safe

[13:14] community

[13:16] where

[13:17] small businesses can thrive. I am asking

[13:19] the city council to

[13:20] help solve

[13:21] this ongoing

[13:22] safety problem. Support the

[13:24] city's cooperation with

[13:25] government

[13:26] agencies that are

[13:27] ready to help. And to

[13:28] the residents who

[13:30] live there, I respectfully

[13:31] ask you to outline

[13:32] your plan for solving

[13:33] this serious

[13:34] problem. Because it's

[13:36] not me. It's not just the

[13:37] people who live on

[13:38] this street. This is, if

[13:39] you read social

[13:41] media, if you

[13:41] talk to

[13:42] residents, if you

[13:43] talk to

[13:44] your neighbors, everyone is

[13:45] concerned. I can

[13:46] assure you that,

[13:48] speaking with

[13:48] neighbors, this is one of the

[13:50] main issues that

[13:51] concern residents

[13:52] living within the

[13:53] city limits. Thank you for your

[13:56] time tonight.

[13:57] Thank you. Does anyone else in

[14:04] the audience wish to

[14:04] speak for

[14:05] public

[14:06] discussion? Okay,

[14:10] thank you. We are moving

[14:11] on. We have

[14:13] no speakers today.

[14:14] Next, we will have

[14:15] approval

[14:15] of the minutes of the

[14:16] council meetings and closed

[14:17] minutes. Uh,

[14:18] first we have the

[14:18] minutes of the

[14:19] city council meeting for

[14:20] September 2026. Uh, do

[14:21] we have a suggestion?

[14:22] I will make a motion

[14:23] for approval. Do

[14:24] we have a friend?

[14:25] I will support.

[14:26] Good. Uh, is there any

[14:28] discussion?

[14:29] Yes, I would like to, uh,

[14:30] ask, I would like to

[14:32] make a suggestion

[14:33] to add, uh, a

[14:35] note. Uh, item 10,

[14:38] resolutions and decisions,

[14:43] be specific

[14:45] here. Uh, I would say that

[14:47] according to city

[14:48] code, the council president

[14:49] and

[14:50] acting mayor

[14:51] Washiba did not vote

[14:52] for any ordinance.

[15:02] Got it, Holly?

[15:08] We mention this at

[15:09] number four. Did you

[15:10] also mean

[15:12] number 10?

[15:13] This was my

[15:14] preference, just "

[15:15] completely in favor".

[15:16] Good.

[15:17] Just to be

[15:18] extremely precise.

[15:21] I agree with that, Ed. With

[15:24] this With this, Mr.

[15:25] Councilor. So, I think

[15:32] I'll amend the

[15:34] motion to

[15:35] accept, Tom.

[15:37] Amend the

[15:38] motion to

[15:39] accept, uh,

[15:40] clarification from, uh,

[15:42] Councilmember Kelly.

[15:49] Can I support you? I

[15:51] will support.

[15:52] Oh, yes. Yes.

[15:59] Okay, everything's fine.

[16:01] Yes.

[16:01] Okay, so everyone who

[16:02] supports

[16:03] approving the

[16:04] Council meeting minutes as

[16:05] amended, please

[16:06] confirm by

[16:07] saying "yes."

[16:08] Yes.

[16:08] Closed. Okay, thank you.

[16:12] Next, we have the minutes of the

[16:13] closed meeting

[16:14] for September 2026

[16:16] regarding, uh, the loan and the

[16:17] lawsuit. Do we have

[16:18] an offer?

[16:20] Submit a proposal

[16:21] for approval. Do

[16:23] you have a suggestion?

[16:25] I will support.

[16:26] Okay, is there any

[16:27] discussion on this

[16:28] ? I don't hear

[16:28] any, everyone who

[16:29] supports

[16:30] approving the

[16:32] September 2026 closed meeting minutes regarding the

[16:33] , uh, loan and lawsuit

[16:34] , please

[16:35] affirm by

[16:35] saying "yes."

[16:36] Yes.

[16:36] Closed. Okay, thank you.

[16:39] Okay, now we have a

[16:40] report from our

[16:42] Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company. I see

[16:43] Hall of

[16:45] Famer Matt Gerd in the audience.

[16:46] Welcome

[16:47] back, sir.

[16:48] Thank you. Thank you. Good

[16:50] evening everyone. Uh,

[16:53] 234 calls for

[16:55] help in September. 189 in

[16:57] Carroll, 33 in

[16:58] Frederick, eight in

[17:00] Howard and four in

[17:01] Montgomery. We

[17:03] had 182

[17:04] ambulance calls,

[17:05] six

[17:06] fire calls, and then another 46.

[17:08] So that's, um, a lot of

[17:09] non-medical calls,

[17:10] canceled responses

[17:12] , citizen assistance

[17:13] , false alarms,

[17:14] good intentions. So

[17:16] we've

[17:17] been a little busy this past month,

[17:18] but, um,

[17:19] anyway,

[17:20] we're having

[17:21] our 100th

[17:22] anniversary gathering at the carnival grounds on November 7th

[17:23] .

[17:24] It will start at 10:00 and

[17:25] end at 14:00.

[17:27] Come over and

[17:28] see if

[17:28] I have any different

[17:29] equipment. All of our

[17:30] equipment will be there,

[17:31] as will our first piece of

[17:32] equipment, engine

[17:33] number one. And then

[17:34] other neighboring

[17:35] companies and other people

[17:36] will bring their,

[17:37] ahem, old fire

[17:38] engines there to

[17:39] show off. So

[17:40] come and

[17:40] look at us. This is

[17:41] open to the public.

[17:43] Are there

[17:43] any questions?

[17:44] Um, just a quick

[17:45] question. It sounds like you

[17:46] were able to handle the

[17:47] challenges with the

[17:48] staff

[17:49] you have, or you were just

[17:50] able to...

[17:50] Absolutely. Yeah, I

[17:51] mean, it's nice that

[17:52] we have

[17:53] mutual aid if

[17:54] we need

[17:54] help, you know. It

[17:55] always seems like

[17:56] sometimes when we have

[17:59] four medical

[17:59] calls coming in at the same time, it's always like

[18:01] that. Uh, sometimes, but

[18:02] we have, you know, other

[18:03] neighboring counties that

[18:04] come and

[18:05] help us. So that's

[18:06] good.

[18:07] Steeply. Thank you.

[18:08] Yes, indeed.

[18:09] Okay, thank you.

[18:11] Next we will have a report from the

[18:13] Mount Airy Police Department with

[18:14] Chief Geneva.

[18:17] Good evening, Mayor, er

[18:19] , interim mayor,

[18:20] Mr. Washburn, members of the

[18:21] city council, and the

[18:22] community of Mount Airy.

[18:26] Service calls, 772

[18:28] service calls for

[18:30] September 2026.

[18:31] An increase of 40.36

[18:33] compared to September

[18:34] 2025 when it was 550.

[18:36] Again, just

[18:37] a reminder that those

[18:39] who participated were

[18:41] self-

[18:42] challenged, uh. As for

[18:44] the officers, uh, who

[18:45] were in sight. Regarding

[18:46] fines – 56.

[18:47] Warnings–189.

[18:48] Repair orders –

[18:49] 18. Arrests for

[18:52] drunk driving –

[18:53] two. Five arrests for

[18:55] traffic violations

[18:55] . The total

[18:57] number of

[18:58] transport stops is 129. Of these

[19:00] 129 traffic stops

[19:02] , I know I said

[19:04] 56 fines, that's

[19:06] 43.4 more than 129

[19:08] traffic stops.

[19:10] Regarding criminal arrests

[19:11] , we

[19:13] had 10. Regarding

[19:14] recruitment, we have

[19:15] one candidate

[19:16] awaiting recertification

[19:17] . One candidate

[19:18] is being interviewed

[19:19] for the position of

[19:20] academy officer, this is ongoing. And

[19:22] two candidates

[19:23] applied for the academy's initial

[19:24] officer position

[19:25] . Regarding Ms.

[19:28] McCoy, Ms. McCoy, I

[19:29] know I received

[19:30] follow-up

[19:31] communications

[19:32] dating back to August

[19:33] regarding your

[19:34] concerns about

[19:35] Main Street. At

[19:38] last year's

[19:38] September

[19:40] City Council meeting, I

[19:41] addressed

[19:42] a memorandum to the City Council

[19:43] regarding your

[19:43] concerns along with

[19:45] other

[19:45] City Council members on

[19:46] Main Street. The

[19:48] Mount

[19:49] Airy Police Department recommends

[19:50] the following to

[19:51] coordinate

[19:52] your

[19:54] Main Street problem

[19:55] with others. This

[19:58] will be targeted

[19:59] enforcement,

[20:00] periodic enforcement

[20:01] of increased

[20:02] visibility, uh, will

[20:03] focus on

[20:05] speeding,

[20:06] aggressive or

[20:07] reckless driving

[20:08] , failure to follow

[20:09] traffic rules,

[20:10] inattentive driving,

[20:11] failure to yield to

[20:12] pedestrians, and other

[20:14] violations that

[20:14] contribute to safety on

[20:16] Main Street.

[20:18] Also, regarding the collection of

[20:19] speed data,

[20:21] I also contacted the

[20:22] State Road

[20:23] Service. I'm still

[20:24] waiting for

[20:25] some of this data to be verified.

[20:27] Again, you are

[20:28] correct, they should have

[20:29] done a 24-48 hour

[20:31] study in the

[20:32] Main

[20:33] Street corridor. Radar

[20:35] display of

[20:36] speeds, which ones

[20:37] are permanently

[20:38] there and which ones can be

[20:39] moved,

[20:40] directional

[20:41] control details and high

[20:42] visibility of

[20:43] police presence.

[20:45] In our report,

[20:46] Sergeant Brooks provided

[20:47] some data on accidents

[20:49] on North and

[20:50] South Main

[20:51] Streets and

[20:52] traffic, which I know

[20:53] Councilman DeMott

[20:54] requested some

[20:55] information on. Again

[20:56] , this is on the

[20:57] agenda for

[20:59] tonight for my

[21:00] reading. And that

[21:01] includes crashes from

[21:02] 2025 to 2026 that

[21:03] involved North and

[21:05] South Main Street,

[21:06] non-

[21:07] reportable,

[21:09] code 89 crashes, and

[21:10] information sharing, traffic stop data

[21:14] including tickets,

[21:15] warnings and CRVs,

[21:16] which are

[21:18] safety repair orders, as well as

[21:21] speeding misdemeanors. And again

[21:22] , I'm waiting for the data

[21:24] collection from the State

[21:25] Highway Patrol.

[21:26] As of today, I have

[21:27] not received any of

[21:28] this data. I

[21:30] will continue to

[21:31] gather information

[21:32] with Sergeant

[21:33] Brooks and the

[21:33] Deputy

[21:34] Chief to

[21:35] address all

[21:36] issues, not just the

[21:37] Main

[21:38] Street corridor, which is always a

[21:39] top priority

[21:41] when we conduct

[21:42] our monthly

[21:43] initiatives. This also

[21:44] includes

[21:46] any other complaints

[21:47] we receive for the

[21:48] city. So I

[21:49] will continue to

[21:50] receive this

[21:51] updated information as well.

[21:53] I have nothing more

[21:54] to add, sir.

[21:55] Good. Um, how

[21:57] can we coordinate

[21:58] with the streets,

[21:59] roads, and

[22:00] city staff, as well as the Department of

[22:03] Defense Police Department, and let's

[22:04] get in touch with the state.

[22:06] If they are willing

[22:07] to help and there is something

[22:08] we can do.

[22:09] Chairman of the Council,

[22:10] one minute.

[22:12] Yes.

[22:12] Come on, Jared, what do

[22:13] you think about this

[22:14] ?

[22:16] Yes. Can I steal this

[22:17] ? Uh, yeah, I definitely

[22:19] think we can

[22:20] do some

[22:21] coordination. I know,

[22:22] um, some council members have

[22:24] already reached out to MDOT,

[22:26] um, and SHA on this

[22:27] issue, and I think there's a

[22:29] potential plan,

[22:30] um, from them. But I

[22:32] think we

[22:33] should also get more,

[22:34] ahem, internal

[22:35] coordination from

[22:36] our streets and roads,

[22:37] staff, and

[22:38] meetings with the police.

[22:39] So I can

[22:40] coordinate this at

[22:41] our level.

[22:42] Good.

[22:43] Yes.

[22:43] Good, because I know Karl

[22:44] , of course, with the streets

[22:45] and roads. I know

[22:46] that Councilman Demott was

[22:48] also invited

[22:49] through Mdot. Uh, those are two

[22:50] separate things. I

[22:51] mean, the

[22:52] Streets and Roads Department

[22:53] will be dealing with the city

[22:54] , while Councilman

[22:55] Demott will be dealing more with

[22:57] state matters. But if we

[22:58] can go through the

[22:59] Department of Streets and Highways

[23:00] , which is usually the

[23:01] quickest way, I

[23:02] think, to get

[23:04] things done, as far as that's

[23:05] concerned. And then

[23:08] coordinate with the

[23:09] state.

[23:09] Yes.

[23:10] Whatever they can, whatever

[23:11] they think is

[23:12] right. Maybe

[23:14] we can do it

[23:15] sooner rather than later.

[23:17] Yes, Rado. Yes, I

[23:20] sent an

[23:20] email and

[23:21] that I was going to bring to

[23:23] the attention of the lady and her

[23:24] family during my

[23:25] report that they are

[23:26] looking into some

[23:27] things. I

[23:29] requested a few

[23:31] things that you did.

[23:32] It just, you know,

[23:33] takes a little bit of time,

[23:34] but I can...I'll say it

[23:35] during my report, what

[23:37] they're willing to do,

[23:38] proposals and other

[23:39] things of that

[23:40] nature. So, it's

[23:41] like they agreed to

[23:43] do something or

[23:43] consider it. And

[23:47] just if you

[23:48] could leave

[23:51] your listed

[23:52] suggestions and such in my mailbox for the Council. I

[23:54] tried to write

[23:55] them down while you were talking

[23:58] about it, but you went

[23:59] too fast. So

[24:00] thank you.

[24:01] No problem.

[24:02] Yes. Yes, we

[24:02] will look into it and

[24:03] try to do

[24:04] as much as

[24:05] possible.

[24:07] Okay, thank you. No, it

[24:08] looks like you've already

[24:09] done that, but we'd be

[24:10] happy

[24:11] to help. Thank you.

[24:13] Mr.

[24:13] Councilor.

[24:15] Yes, I'm going to

[24:16] talk about this

[24:17] during my report, but

[24:18] again, there's a

[24:19] high-

[24:21] level initiative called the

[24:22] Coalition for a

[24:22] Safer Maryland

[24:24] , and I was invited to

[24:25] participate in that

[24:26] initiative. This is a

[24:28] very

[24:29] high-level initiative with the vice

[24:30] governor. So I'm

[24:34] going to talk

[24:35] more about that, and also

[24:36] about the importance and

[24:37] necessity of

[24:38] coordination within the

[24:40] city; and then,

[24:40] hopefully, as

[24:42] part of this

[24:43] high-

[24:44] level initiative, I can bring a

[24:45] prioritized list of

[24:47] issues and needs to

[24:48] the office of the governor and the

[24:49] secretary of the

[24:50] Maryland Department of Transportation

[24:52] , with whom I work on

[24:53] this coalition. I'll

[24:56] talk more about that

[24:57] later.

[24:59] Okay, thank you. And then,

[25:01] if possible, just

[25:02] send me a copy,

[25:03] you know, of

[25:04] the information that

[25:05] comes with it.

[25:06] Yes.

[25:06] So if we can

[25:07] speed it up, we will

[25:09] . And if

[25:10] possible, any

[25:10] information about

[25:11] any communication with MDOT

[25:13] where they expressed

[25:14] their willingness

[25:14] to help, please

[25:16] forward it to us.

[25:17] Yes.

[25:17] Hmm, make sure

[25:18] Jerry can get

[25:19] your

[25:20] email, as well as mine and the

[25:21] board's email, and that way we

[25:22] can just

[25:23] reconcile all this

[25:24] information. So if

[25:25] they tell us

[25:25] something different than what they

[25:26] told her, I just

[25:27] want to make sure

[25:28] we have everything

[25:29] on record and then

[25:30] we can reach out

[25:30] to them. Uh, thank you.

[25:32] Okay, thank you very much,

[25:33] boss.

[25:34] Chairman, do you have

[25:35] a few questions about the

[25:36] data he

[25:36] presented?

[25:37] Can we ask

[25:38] ? Yes, yes, of course.

[25:39] Good. So,

[25:40] boss, thank you.

[25:41] In particular, regarding

[25:44] accident data and

[25:47] speeding stop data, it's great.

[25:48] Hmm, I've been looking for this kind of data

[25:50] since 2021, and you've

[25:51] provided some of it

[25:53] sporadically, but I'm

[25:54] glad to see it. I

[25:56] want to encourage you to

[25:57] continue

[25:58] doing this. I have a

[26:00] few quick

[26:01] questions. So, um, on the

[26:04] second page

[26:05] of your data, there's a

[26:06] distribution of

[26:08] speeding along 25th and 26th

[26:09] Streets on North Main

[26:10] compared to

[26:11] South Main. Do

[26:15] you have data

[26:16] showing the

[26:17] speed limit at which

[26:18] these vehicles were stopped

[26:19] ? In

[26:22] other words,

[26:23] for example, 2025 North

[26:25] Main Street, 70 stops.

[26:27] Were they stopped in

[26:28] zones with a

[26:30] 25 mph

[26:31] or 30 mph speed limit?

[26:32] That, sir, I

[26:33] don't have before my eyes, and

[26:34] again, I would

[26:35] coordinate it with

[26:36] Sergeant Brooks

[26:37] to get that

[26:38] information. It will take

[26:39] a little

[26:40] more digging into the

[26:41] details to

[26:42] try to

[26:42] pull this out. Hmm, when you

[26:44] look for the distribution, there are

[26:45] no exact

[26:46] velocities. You will

[26:47] have to search for

[26:48] each officer

[26:49] individually, each day

[26:50] separately for a year.

[26:51] Good. Would you be, uh

[26:52] , willing to at least,

[26:54] since you're

[26:54] going to

[26:55] continue to

[26:56] do this, if I have

[26:57] any specific

[26:58] requests for data, can

[27:00] I at least

[27:01] ask you about it, and

[27:02] then you can

[27:03] decide whether it's

[27:04] too time-consuming

[27:05] or not, or maybe it's

[27:06] not valuable, but I

[27:08] want to at least ask,

[27:09] okay? Secondly, I

[27:11] would like to get

[27:12] feedback on your

[27:13] comment regarding

[27:15] accident data. Uh,

[27:18] about 2 years ago I

[27:20] requested a

[27:21] study of crashes

[27:22] just in the city center and

[27:23] you, Sergeant Brooks, did a

[27:24] really good

[27:25] job of

[27:26] pulling out all the

[27:27] crash data and

[27:28] most of it

[27:29] boils down to

[27:30] mirror slaps and

[27:31] such. But the conclusion in the

[27:36] report you provided

[27:37] says, and I quote, that

[27:38] there is a significant

[27:39] safety problem

[27:40] due to the narrowness of

[27:44] the road and the

[27:45] parking situation in the

[27:46] city center. And that's something

[27:48] I think we'll have to

[27:49] continue to think about

[27:50] in the future. So

[27:51] thank you.

[27:52] Yes, sir.

[27:54] Something else? Okay, without

[27:57] hearing anything, we'll

[27:58] move on to the reports from the

[27:59] mayor's council and

[28:00] staff. A brief

[28:01] report from the mayor. The participant in the

[28:05] department heads meeting on the 17th

[28:06] was very

[28:06] informative. I was

[28:08] here for a few hours,

[28:09] learned a lot.

[28:10] Just trying to get

[28:11] my bearings to

[28:12] make sure everything

[28:13] stays afloat

[28:15] until the

[28:16] next elected

[28:17] mayor comes along and, thankfully,

[28:18] takes it from me. So,

[28:20] you know, I'm just

[28:21] hanging in here as best I can

[28:22] until then.

[28:24] We have had

[28:25] some great

[28:26] events over the past month, including the

[28:28] Rotary Club Duck Race. I know

[28:29] they went through it without a hitch

[28:30] .

[28:31] I hope they

[28:32] raised a lot of

[28:33] money. And this is a wonderful

[28:34] event that, in my

[28:35] opinion, brings

[28:35] a lot of people together.

[28:36] Councilman Evans, I know

[28:38] you were present, I

[28:38] think. I

[28:40] was actually unwell after

[28:41] spending the whole day in the rain the day

[28:42] before

[28:43] training, so I

[28:44] couldn't get there.

[28:45] But, um, and then, Mamso

[28:46] , it's Oktoberfest. I

[28:47] want to thank everyone

[28:49] who had any

[28:49] connection to this

[28:51] event. Uh, boss, to

[28:52] your entire team, um,

[28:53] Mamso volunteers,

[28:54] Jared,

[28:55] city staff

[28:56] . Uh, talked to

[28:57] a lot of people. I

[28:58] think everyone had a great

[28:59] time. Everything

[29:00] went smoothly

[29:01] , and, uh, you know,

[29:02] it's one of the best

[29:03] events, in my opinion,

[29:04] in the city of Mount Airy.

[29:05] So I want to

[29:06] thank everyone for that. And

[29:07] then, uh, that's

[29:08] pretty much the end of my

[29:08] report, if you don't have

[29:09] anything special. I

[29:10] feel like you're

[29:11] more of an acting

[29:12] mayor than I am right now.

[29:13] So,

[29:13] uh, we appreciate you

[29:14] coming to the, uh

[29:15] , staff meeting.

[29:17] You see, you know, it's...it's

[29:18] in ten minutes,

[29:19] you know, we're there for a

[29:20] while discussing everything

[29:21] that's going on. So

[29:22] we are grateful to you. Uh, I'd

[29:23] like to

[29:25] thank Grace, who

[29:26] was a big, uh,

[29:27] part of the city, uh,

[29:28] kind of liaison

[29:30] for the Mamsas event

[29:31] . So, uh, a big

[29:32] thank you to her for that. She did a

[29:34] great job.

[29:35] Yes, and still recovering, I

[29:37] know. So it was a

[29:38] long day and a great

[29:39] event.

[29:39] You recover until

[29:40] next year.

[29:41] Yes. We will start

[29:43] planning this

[29:43] next week. Uh,

[29:46] we'll move on to, uh, the

[29:48] Water and

[29:49] Sewer Commission, the

[29:50] Improvement Commission, the

[29:52] Severe

[29:54] Weather Task Force, the 250th

[29:55] Fifty Committee, and the Coalition

[29:56] for a Safer

[29:57] Maryland with Councilman

[29:59] Demmitt.

[30:00] Okay, thank you. Uh,

[30:01] first the

[30:03] Improvement Commission. Uh,

[30:04] the commission didn't meet

[30:06] in September, and the next

[30:08] commission meeting

[30:09] will be on October 20th

[30:11] at 7:00 p.m. I want to

[30:11] emphasize, both I and I

[30:13] asked the

[30:13] acting

[30:14] mayor and the

[30:15] council president to put this

[30:16] issue on the

[30:17] agenda, and I'm glad

[30:18] we did. I want to

[30:19] reach out to

[30:20] the Coalition for a

[30:21] Safer Maryland

[30:22] . So, the Coalition for a

[30:24] Safer Maryland

[30:25] is a very

[30:26] high-level initiative

[30:27] led by the Lieutenant

[30:28] Governor and the

[30:29] Secretary of the

[30:31] Maryland Department of Transportation

[30:32] . The goal is to

[30:34] reduce

[30:36] traffic fatalities and

[30:36] move Maryland

[30:37] toward zero

[30:38] traffic fatalities.

[30:40] So the focus is on

[30:41] what

[30:43] else we can do

[30:44] across the state to

[30:45] reduce

[30:47] traffic fatalities,

[30:48] pedestrian fatalities, and so on. Hmm, I'm

[30:51] very grateful. I am very

[30:53] grateful to have been

[30:54] invited to

[30:55] participate in this

[30:56] high-

[30:57] level initiative. It was by

[30:59] invitation only, and not

[31:00] every city was

[31:01] invited. Only

[31:03] about 12

[31:04] municipalities

[31:05] participate by

[31:06] invitation, and I was

[31:07] invited to

[31:08] participate. So it's a

[31:11] great honor for me to be in the

[31:12] coalition. Hmm, we

[31:15] had a kick-off

[31:16] meeting on September 1st. Hmm,

[31:19] as soon as I was invited,

[31:21] I coordinated with the

[31:22] mayor. Hmm, and I

[31:23] coordinated every

[31:25] step. I reached out to the

[31:27] Minneapolis Police Department to

[31:28] get information from them

[31:29] . Hmm, I

[31:33] talked about this at the

[31:35] Streets and

[31:36] Highways Commission meeting last week,

[31:38] and part of what I asked was to

[31:39] ask the

[31:41] Streets and Highways Commission for their

[31:42] list of ongoing

[31:43] issues and points of

[31:44] coordination with the

[31:45] state and others,

[31:46] because I think

[31:47] part of it is

[31:48] because there are a

[31:49] lot of people

[31:50] talking to

[31:51] a lot of

[31:52] different people, and it's

[31:53] not all coordinated.

[31:57] So, within the framework of this

[31:58] coalition

[31:59] activity,

[32:00] two

[32:01] things are happening. This is an opportunity

[32:03] for me to

[32:04] collaborate with the

[32:05] other 12

[32:05] municipalities to

[32:06] develop

[32:07] statewide

[32:08] solutions for Vision

[32:09] Zero. It is also an

[32:13] opportunity to obtain

[32:14] and implement

[32:15] solutions adapted

[32:17] to the needs of each

[32:18] community. So this is a

[32:22] great opportunity

[32:23] for us

[32:29] to discuss our

[32:30] problems at a very high level and solve

[32:31] some of them.

[32:33] For example, after the

[32:34] kick-off meeting on

[32:36] September 1, I was very

[32:38] straightforward. I

[32:39] said, “I’m happy

[32:40] to help with this

[32:41] statewide

[32:42] initiative, but I

[32:43] need help

[32:44] from the state. "That's what I

[32:46] need." And 3

[32:49] days later I

[32:50] got a call from Mdot in

[32:51] Frederick's 7th District

[32:53] and we discussed some

[32:54] of the issues. Two things

[33:00] I informed them about

[33:00] from scratch, I

[33:02] first agreed with

[33:03] the police, first, is

[33:05] our long-standing desire

[33:06] to reduce the

[33:07] speed limit to 25 on

[33:08] Main Street. And my

[33:13] comment to them was: "

[33:14] If not now, then when

[33:15] ?" So I got a

[33:18] commitment from them.

[33:19] They are going to

[33:20] conduct a

[33:21] speed study. They

[33:22] look at these

[33:23] issues a little differently

[33:25] than in the past. It's not

[33:28] just a matter of

[33:29] quantifying

[33:30] speed, but also other

[33:31] factors such as

[33:33] changes in the community, etc.

[33:36] Another issue was the

[33:38] rapid flashing

[33:39] beacons, which we had

[33:40] been requesting for

[33:41] about 2 years to be installed in

[33:42] our downtown

[33:43] area. So this is just the

[33:44] beginning. But my goal

[33:50] in this is to be

[33:51] able to

[33:52] reach out to this

[33:53] coalition and convey

[33:54] the needs and issues

[33:56] that I see in our

[33:57] city as an elected

[33:58] official and do

[33:59] everything I can to

[34:00] address them. So I think this is a

[34:04] great

[34:05] opportunity. I want to

[34:08] coordinate with the

[34:09] city

[34:09] administration,

[34:10] continue to

[34:11] coordinate with the

[34:12] police chief,

[34:14] coordinate with the

[34:15] mayor, because I think

[34:16] we need a

[34:17] single center of

[34:18] coordination that

[34:19] I can then bring

[34:20] to us this

[34:22] high-level opportunity. So,

[34:26] this is updated

[34:26] information on this

[34:28] matter. I would like to

[34:30] take the time to do this.

[34:33] Okay,

[34:34] water and

[34:35] sewer commission, I'll be

[34:36] brief

[34:37] on this. We last

[34:39] met on

[34:40] September 2nd. We

[34:41] will meet again on October 7th

[34:43] . We continue to, um,

[34:46] look at the issue of

[34:48] water distribution and use.

[34:53] For example, to what extent

[34:54] should

[34:55] previously approved

[34:56] equivalent housing

[34:57] units be taken into account when

[34:58] considering a

[34:59] development or

[35:00] renovation project that

[35:01] constitutes a change in the

[35:02] character of the property.

[35:07] We also consider

[35:08] lessons learned as

[35:09] a result of the

[35:12] city's actual water consumption

[35:12] exceeding

[35:13] the estimated and

[35:14] approved

[35:15] water consumption. And we are

[35:17] looking at lessons

[35:19] learned in another

[35:20] municipality that is

[35:21] adopting an ordinance on

[35:22] this issue. Severe Weather Working

[35:25] Group

[35:27] . Uh, we last

[35:29] met on August 27th to

[35:30] discuss and come to a

[35:32] formal

[35:32] recommendation on the

[35:34] desired weather

[35:35] alert siren system to

[35:37] purchase. Uh

[35:39] , sure, at the

[35:40] September

[35:41] meeting, the council

[35:42] approved the purchase of an

[35:45] American Signal weather alert siren system. I

[35:47] want to inform you that

[35:48] the city has issued a

[35:50] purchase order.

[35:51] The supplier mentioned

[35:53] that the lead time for

[35:55] equipment delivery is

[35:56] 12 to 16 weeks.

[35:57] Therefore, installation

[35:58] may only take place

[36:00] in early, um, 2027

[36:01] ,

[36:03] weather permitting. So this is a little

[36:04] different than what

[36:05] you heard from the

[36:06] city engineer. I

[36:07] think the estimate was

[36:09] the end of December. This

[36:10] won't happen until the end of

[36:11] December. I also want to

[36:14] thank

[36:15] Mr. Josh Marks again for his

[36:16] efforts. Josh raised,

[36:19] um, a lot of money, um,

[36:20] from private

[36:21] businesses to go towards a

[36:24] weather warning siren system. I also want

[36:28] to let you know that

[36:29] he has raised another

[36:30] thousand dollars since September. This

[36:34] brings the total

[36:36] contributions to

[36:37] $21,500, which will

[36:39] come from

[36:43] any funding

[36:45] the city has to provide.

[36:47] We will meet again on

[36:49] October 8th to

[36:50] discuss next

[36:51] steps in

[36:52] system implementation, education, and

[36:53] outreach

[36:55] . Uh,

[36:58] America 250 Task Force, the

[37:02] America

[37:03] 250 celebration is coming to an end

[37:04] as we

[37:05] move into

[37:06] late fall and the

[37:07] holiday season here.

[37:08] I remind you that you need to

[37:10] click on the

[37:11] "America 250" logo on the

[37:12] city's website to

[37:13] see upcoming

[37:14] events. Uh, I'm also

[37:17] working with Ashley Collier

[37:19] from the city staff,

[37:21] um, on the whole

[37:21] America 250 program

[37:23] , and specifically the

[37:25] Time Capsule event. I think it

[37:28] was very well

[37:29] done, and I think

[37:30] Ashley played a

[37:31] leading role in it,

[37:32] along with many

[37:33] other

[37:35] city staff. So, again

[37:36] , coordinating

[37:37] through the mayor, I wanted to

[37:38] recognize the

[37:39] city's employees

[37:40] . And so I'm working with

[37:44] them to put together an

[37:45] application for the

[37:50] Maryland Municipal League's Municipal Achievement Awards program. So, this is a

[37:54] program that you

[37:55] can apply for to have

[37:57] your, um, efforts

[37:58] recognized by MML. And we're

[38:01] going to file this

[38:02] under the

[38:03] community engagement category. I

[38:05] think it's good

[38:06] to recognize our

[38:07] city employees

[38:08] when they do a

[38:09] good job, and it's

[38:10] good visibility for the

[38:11] city. And I think those are

[38:15] all my areas, and I

[38:16] thank you for your time.

[38:19] Okay, next we have

[38:20] our planning commission report

[38:21] with

[38:22] Councilor Kelly.

[38:24] Thank you, council chairman and

[38:25] mayor. Uh, let's

[38:27] see, the

[38:28] Planning Commission met on

[38:29] September 29th. Uh, a few

[38:31] points. Uh, during the

[38:32] public discussion portion of

[38:33] the meeting, Chairman

[38:34] Gant echoed

[38:34] Councilor

[38:35] DeMotor's comments that

[38:36] we should collectively

[38:37] review the

[38:38] implementation strategies

[38:39] detailed in the

[38:40] 2023 Master Plan. Noting

[38:42] that we will owe the

[38:43] state updated

[38:44] information in 2028,

[38:45] which is

[38:45] coming soon. The commission

[38:47] requests that the council

[38:48] set a date for a

[38:49] workshop and/or

[38:50] convene a meeting of

[38:51] members of all commissions

[38:52] to update the

[38:53] implementation strategy. I'll

[38:56] come back to that in a

[38:57] minute.

[38:59] The commission also expressed

[39:00] our desire that

[39:01] the police station

[39:02] go through the normal

[39:04] site planning process when the

[39:05] time comes. I told them that I would

[39:06] forward this request

[39:07] with my full

[39:08] support and agreement.

[39:10] After further

[39:11] discussion, the

[39:12] final

[39:13] site plan was re

[39:15] -approved for the

[39:16] Twin Arts Business Park Lot 15C for

[39:18] King Sports Construction.

[39:21] Resolution

[39:23] 2026-25 regarding accessory

[39:25] living spaces was also introduced and discussed. And

[39:27] there were further

[39:28] discussions regarding

[39:29] recommendations for

[39:30] amendments to the

[39:31] city's

[39:32] signage code. The next

[39:34] Planning Commission meeting will

[39:35] be held on October 26th

[39:37] at 7:00 p.m. Uh,

[39:39] going back to my

[39:40] first point, so I'm

[39:42] like, um, and this is in

[39:43] my notes, uh,

[39:44] a few months ago,

[39:46] uh, regarding the desire, uh,

[39:48] and obviously this has

[39:49] happened in

[39:50] the past, uh, for, uh,

[39:51] members of all the commissions,

[39:53] uh, to get together with the

[39:54] city, staff. Uh, really,

[39:58] to discuss uh

[39:59] initiatives in the

[40:00] master plan, uh

[40:01] , gather updates,

[40:02] agree on strategies. Uh

[40:04] , something like that. So, I

[40:07] think my

[40:08] request here is, uh, from the

[40:10] mayor, uh, city

[40:11] administration, uh, and

[40:12] I would imagine that the

[40:13] next mayor, uh,

[40:15] would start planning uh

[40:16] this joint meeting/

[40:17] workshop for the first

[40:19] quarter, early

[40:20] second quarter, no

[40:21] later. I think the

[40:26] planning commission, in

[40:27] particular,

[40:29] has expressed several times that it's

[40:30] time to do this

[40:31] , and it's been a long time

[40:32] , probably someone in

[40:34] the room might have known that,

[40:35] but it's been a long

[40:36] time since it

[40:37] actually happened.

[40:41] So, I'm asking for this

[40:42] now, and I'm also

[40:46] volunteering

[40:47] to be a

[40:48] quasi-liaison

[40:49] person if you

[40:50] propose this

[40:51] event, if there's anything I can

[40:52] help with, I'll

[40:53] definitely do it

[40:55] .

[40:56] Why don't we

[40:57] work with the

[40:58] liaisons

[40:59] internally, and as we

[41:00] get closer to

[41:01] our next

[41:02] meetings with our

[41:03] specific

[41:04] committees, let's

[41:05] find out about

[41:06] available dates. And then

[41:07] let's report

[41:08] them to Sean; let's see

[41:09] if any

[41:10] of these dates coincide with the

[41:11] Conservative Council

[41:12] and with the city

[41:12] staff, and then we

[41:14] can choose one.

[41:15] But let's just

[41:16] put it on ourselves

[41:17] as liaisons.

[46:58] I'm glad we came out on the

[46:59] right side.

[47:01] So I want to congratulate

[47:03] everyone for

[47:04] doing something that does

[47:04] n't happen very

[47:06] often, which is making a

[47:07] decision for or against

[47:08] development, especially in the

[47:09] state of Maryland. So I'm

[47:12] happy for our

[47:13] citizens. I'm happy for

[47:15] everyone who didn't want to

[47:16] see rapid

[47:17] growth within the

[47:18] city limits, because that

[47:19] was probably the main

[47:21] reason I

[47:22] ran for

[47:23] office back then. So thank you,

[47:25] Tom, and everyone who

[47:27] played a role in this

[47:28] process. Uh,

[47:29] we all have copies of the

[47:30] city administrator's report

[47:31] , the

[47:32] code compliance report,

[47:33] and the

[47:34] zoning administrator's report. Anything

[47:35] to add, guys, before

[47:36] we continue?

[47:38] Good. Regarding the new

[47:39] case, first

[47:40] we have a

[47:41] road closure to

[47:42] approve to

[47:42] ensure safety

[47:43] in the Nottingham fields.

[47:44] This is for Halloween. Um,

[47:46] from 601 Longbow Road

[47:49] to 811 Longbow Road on

[47:51] Saturday, October 31st, from 5:45 p.m.

[47:54] to 8:30 p.m. Do we have

[47:55] an offer?

[47:56] I will make a motion

[47:57] to approve the "

[47:59] Keep Safe"

[48:00] as described by the

[48:01] council chairman, the closure of

[48:02] Longbow Road.

[48:03] Okay, do we have a second

[48:05] ?

[48:05] I will support.

[48:06] Okay, is there any

[48:07] discussion? I guess the

[48:09] only question

[48:10] I have is, Chief, did

[48:11] they coordinate

[48:12] with you on this

[48:13] and do what

[48:14] they're doing? It

[48:16] seems like

[48:17] every year they

[48:18] come to us. I

[48:20] sent an

[48:21] officer there. They do a great job

[48:22] of

[48:23] covering the

[48:24] Nottingham area, so we have

[48:25] never had

[48:26] any complaints since

[48:27] they have been

[48:27] running.

[48:28] Good.

[48:29] So, I have no problem

[48:30] allowing

[48:31] this as a long period,

[48:32] following your

[48:32] example. And we'll

[48:33] make sure the

[48:34] officer is there

[48:35] that evening too.

[48:36] Okay, thank you.

[48:37] Yes, sir.

[48:38] Okay, we have

[48:39] a proposal and a

[48:39] second for approval.

[48:40] Anyone who supports

[48:42] approving the

[48:43] road closure from

[48:44] 601 Longbow Road to

[48:45] 811 Longbow Road on Saturday,

[48:47] October 31, from 5:45 to 8:30 p.m.

[48:48] Please

[48:48] confirm by

[48:49] saying "yes".

[48:50] Yes.

[48:50] Against? Good. Next up,

[48:53] we have a

[48:54] road closure on Wednesday,

[48:55] November 11th from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

[48:57] at VFW Post 10076. This is a

[49:00] Veterans Day ceremony on the

[49:01] plaza next to

[49:03] City Hall. It

[49:04] will run from Main

[49:05] Street between Center Street

[49:06] and Hood Street. Do we have

[49:08] an offer?

[49:09] I will be submitting a proposal

[49:10] for a

[49:11] road closure related to the

[49:13] Veterans Day ceremony at

[49:14] VFW Post 10076 as

[49:15] described in the application.

[49:16] Okay, do we have a second

[49:18] to approve?

[49:18] Second.

[49:19] Are there any discussions?

[49:22] Okay, all in favor of a

[49:23] road closure on

[49:24] Wednesday, November 11th from

[49:26] 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at VFW Post

[49:27] 10076. This

[49:28] will cover

[49:29] Main Street between

[49:30] Center Street

[49:32] and Hood Street.

[49:33] Please confirm this by

[49:34] saying "yes".

[49:35] Yes.

[49:35] Against? Good. And

[49:39] we have another road closure on Saturday,

[49:40] December 5, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM -

[49:41] Christmas and

[49:42] holiday parade on

[49:44] Main Street. This is

[49:50] Main Street from

[49:51] West Water Street Road

[49:52] to Cottonwood Avenue and

[49:53] Paradise Avenue. Are we?

[50:01] Will you...Will I make a

[50:02] motion to

[50:03] close

[50:09] Main Street for the

[50:10] Christmas celebration

[50:11] and...It will be on Main

[50:12] Street from West

[50:13] Waterville Road to

[50:14] Cottonwood Avenue and

[50:15] Paradise Avenue.

[50:16] Please confirm by

[50:17] saying "yes".

[50:18] Yes.

[50:20] Good. Next, we have

[50:21] approval for the purchase of a

[50:24] budgeted dump truck for the

[50:25] Streets

[50:26] and Roads Department. Do we have

[50:27] an offer?

[50:28] I will make a motion

[50:29] to approve

[50:29] the purchase of a budgeted dump truck

[50:31] for

[50:32] the Streets

[50:33] and Highways Department, just to

[50:33] start the conversation

[50:34] if there is any movement. Do

[50:36] you have a second?

[50:37] I will support.

[50:38] Good. We're, uh,

[50:39] discussing. Do we have

[50:40] any discussions?

[50:41] Yes, I have one or

[50:43] two questions. Um...

[50:45] So, I'm looking at the

[50:46] bottom of the

[50:47] recommendation

[50:48] note under the net

[50:49] purchase price, and

[50:51] then there's a question: "

[50:58] So, the budget was

[50:59] passed in May.

[51:01] It went into effect in

[51:03] July." When did the staff

[51:06] begin to investigate

[51:07] the need to

[51:08] purchase a dump truck?

[51:12] I mean, uh, I

[51:13] know Brian has

[51:15] needed it for quite some

[51:16] time. The dump truck

[51:18] he has now is

[51:19] not in good

[51:20] working order right now, uh, uh

[51:21] . I don't know how many

[51:23] years it's been since

[51:24] he started looking,

[51:25] but I know it's been a

[51:26] long time since

[51:27] I've been here because

[51:28] he mentioned it to me

[51:29] pretty early on when I was

[51:30] starting.

[51:30] Good. My question is

[51:32] basic, because the text

[51:34] says: "We

[51:34] considered an

[51:35] additional

[51:36] dump truck option before

[51:41] recommending the RAM 5500."

[51:43] Public Works recommends RAM

[51:44] primarily because of

[51:46] its immediate

[51:47] availability, which

[51:48] will allow the truck to be delivered,

[51:49] equipped and put into

[51:50] service

[51:51] by the end of

[51:52] December. So I guess

[51:55] my question is

[51:57] , did you

[51:58] prefer another

[52:00] dump truck option

[52:01] over the RAM 5500?

[52:02] No, he didn't

[52:03] prefer one

[52:05] or the other, but he

[52:06] liked two things.

[52:07] First, he

[52:08] liked the diesel

[52:09] version, which was

[52:10] diesel, and the other one was

[52:11] not. And the main goal is

[52:14] its accessibility. We

[52:15] want him to be able to

[52:17] use it

[52:18] this winter for snow.

[52:19] Good. I

[52:34] We

[52:35] will start researching

[52:36] and making a purchase

[52:37] as soon as possible.

[52:39] We will not wait until the

[52:39] last minute.

[52:40] So I'm not saying you

[52:41] need to

[52:42] find these

[52:43] vehicles any

[52:43] more than you might

[52:44] think.

[52:45] Good.

[52:45] Um, most of them,

[52:46] one of the reasons we have

[52:47] n't been able to find one

[52:48] for this winter is

[52:49] because most of

[52:50] them have to be

[52:50] built from scratch. We didn't

[52:52] want that

[52:52] option. Therefore, it is very

[52:54] difficult to find already

[52:54] assembled options of the

[52:56] size we need in our

[52:57] price range.

[52:58] So, those are the two best

[52:59] options we

[53:00] could find, and he

[53:02] preferred RAM for

[53:03] those two reasons.

[53:04] Very good. Thank you.

[53:09] Sir, yes, and I don't believe

[53:11] the city has ever

[53:12] waited for a routine

[53:13] purchase that was

[53:14] budgeted

[53:15] at the beginning of the year to do a

[53:17] month-long

[53:22] study of

[53:23] anything we buy,

[53:24] unless it's an emergency

[53:25] purchase. So I'm a little

[53:27] offended by that

[53:28] comment,

[53:29] Councilwoman Demers.

[53:31] Secondly, I believe it is

[53:33] necessary. I know there are

[53:36] some questions about

[53:37] some of the costs and

[53:38] things related to

[53:40] that. And since I

[53:41] ended up there, I think I

[53:43] visited them

[53:44] one week on the

[53:45] weekend, they had

[53:49] been working on it for a long time

[53:50] because of the body rust and

[53:51] everything else to

[53:52] keep it in

[53:53] working order. And

[53:56] while further

[54:00] research has shown

[54:02] that the

[54:03] vehicles may have

[54:04] low mileage,

[54:05] around 15-16 years, they are

[54:06] probably mainly

[54:08] used for

[54:09] snow removal, which

[54:11] results in

[54:12] salt and everything else

[54:13] . So the frames are probably pretty much

[54:17] worn out now.

[54:19] So this puts

[54:20] our

[54:21] employees and the

[54:22] residents of our

[54:23] city at risk. So while there may

[54:29] be some flexibility

[54:30] in exchange rates and

[54:32] things like that

[54:32] related to certain

[54:34] things, I'm pretty

[54:35] sure they've been

[54:36] looking into this for a while

[54:37] . Public Works is

[54:43] convincing, I

[54:47] mean, in the quality and

[54:48] condition of our

[54:49] equipment, and all over the

[54:50] city they've

[54:51] kept it in

[54:52] working order for

[54:53] much longer than is

[54:55] reasonable, and everything else.

[54:58] So I think that's

[54:59] my

[55:01] comment for now, Chairman

[55:02] .

[55:03] Something else?

[55:08] I think my only

[55:09] question is about the

[55:10] cost of the exchange. Um,

[55:12] 3500-4500, I mean, are

[55:14] these trucks

[55:16] even

[55:17] usable?

[55:18] I'm just wondering

[55:20] if even if they're

[55:21] just backups, are

[55:22] they worth more,

[55:23] staying in the

[55:24] fleet as a

[55:24] potential

[55:25] backup, as a potential

[55:27] use, you know,

[55:28] for whatever. I

[55:29] mean, 3500-4500

[55:31] is not that much

[55:32] money.

[55:33] Um, if

[55:34] vehicles can still

[55:35] be used for

[55:37] any purpose.

[55:38] I mean, I

[55:38] think they're still

[55:39] going, if that's the case, I

[55:40] think they're still

[55:41] going, but

[55:42] how

[55:43] useful are they really

[55:44] for what

[55:45] public

[55:46] works needs them for. I don't think

[55:47] they have

[55:48] much

[55:48] relevance to this. I

[55:49] mean, if they

[55:50] work, you can

[55:51] use them

[55:52] if you need to.

[55:53] Again, yes, it's not that

[55:54] my mileage isn't

[55:55] very high, but the age

[55:56] and wear and tear of these

[55:57] vehicles

[55:58] ...you can't

[55:59] deviate much from the

[56:00] mileage. And we

[56:03] told Councilmember

[56:04] Kelly that we have

[56:04] tried to sell

[56:06] such

[56:07] vehicles privately in the

[56:08] past. It just

[56:11] doesn't work very well.

[56:12] So, you know, it

[56:13] seems like a low

[56:14] price, but we thought

[56:16] it was

[56:16] fair. Good.

[56:18] For what we give.

[56:19] Good. Okay, I appreciate

[56:21] that. Okay, so, um,

[56:24] we have a motion and a

[56:26] second one. This is approval

[56:27] for the purchase of a

[56:28] dump truck for streets

[56:29] and roads. Uh, the total

[56:32] cost or net

[56:34] purchase price

[56:35] would be

[56:37] $124,758. So, everyone

[56:40] who supports the

[56:41] purchase approval, uh

[56:42] , what's this? 2026 Ram 5500

[56:46] regular cab,

[56:48] please mark as

[56:50] "Me". "I". "

[56:52] Closed".

[56:52] Okay, thank you. Okay,

[56:56] now we move on to the

[56:57] ordinances and

[56:58] resolutions. First,

[57:00] we have Resolution 2026-22.

[57:02] Mobile food

[57:03] stations, food

[57:04] vans. This is for

[57:05] acceptance. Do we have

[57:06] an offer?

[57:07] I would like to make a

[57:08] suggestion.

[57:08] Good.

[57:10] I would like to make a

[57:11] motion to

[57:13] reject Ordinance

[57:14] 2026-22, mobile

[57:15] food stands

[57:17] ,

[57:19] food

[57:19] trucks. Okay, do we

[57:21] have a second opinion?

[57:22] I will support.

[57:23] Okay, we're discussing

[57:24] . Are there any

[57:25] discussions?

[57:28] Uh, yeah, I'd

[57:30] just like to understand

[57:31] why you...what's your

[57:32] logic and reasoning

[57:34] for rejecting

[57:35] Resolution 2026-22 in its

[57:37] current form?

[57:43] I have a few

[57:43] comments I

[57:44] can make if it's

[57:46] appropriate, or if

[57:46] anyone else wants to...

[57:48] No. I'll hear

[57:49] you out first. Sorry. Okay,

[57:50] sorry, sir. Sorry.

[57:52] Excuse me, sir.

[57:53] Yes, you...I will answer the

[57:55] question through the

[57:56] council chairman.

[57:56] Yes, it's fine

[57:58] if you...if you

[57:59] think...

[58:00] So, uh...I think

[58:08] this regulation is

[58:09] overly

[58:09] restrictive and

[58:11] economically

[58:11] stifling. I think

[58:15] she's confused.

[58:16] It duplicates in places.

[58:19] She provides

[58:20] recommendations in places

[58:21] . This imposes

[58:26] unreasonable

[58:27] requirements that I

[58:28] think our current

[58:29] traditional restaurants

[58:30] , ahem, may not even be able

[58:32] to meet, and from

[58:33] my initial

[58:34] reading, some of

[58:35] our existing

[58:36] restaurants don't even

[58:37] meet some

[58:39] of these requirements. Hmm, if

[58:45] we're going to move

[58:46] forward with any

[58:48] food truck ordinance, I think we

[58:50] need to take a

[58:51] phased approach. We

[58:53] cannot have

[58:54] protectionist

[58:55] provisions. We must

[58:56] keep the market

[58:57] open and

[58:57] fair. We

[58:58] need to eliminate

[58:59] duplication of

[59:00] regulations.

[59:02] We need clear and

[59:04] simple requirements with

[59:05] minimal

[59:05] interpretation by

[59:06] staff and

[59:07] low

[59:07] administrative

[59:08] costs without the

[59:09] need for

[59:09] additional

[59:10] staff. If we

[59:12] are going to move

[59:13] forward, we need

[59:14] something much more

[59:16] simplistic. And then we

[59:17] can learn from the

[59:18] first two years of

[59:19] implementation. And if

[59:21] we think we

[59:22] need something more

[59:23] reliable, then we

[59:24] can do that. And

[59:26] I have one

[59:27] specific example.

[59:31] Hmm, that's just a small

[59:33] example. So, the

[59:36] seating ordinance

[59:39] states

[59:43] that a mobile

[59:44] food service establishment that

[59:46] intends to

[59:46] use

[59:47] public sidewalks

[59:49] and seating areas

[59:50] must comply with the

[59:53] sidewalk seating requirements

[59:54] set forth in

[59:55] City Code 112

[59:56] 37.1 B 1 D and must

[59:57] comply with those

[59:58] requirements. If

[1:00:02] you look at the current

[1:00:03] code, this

[1:00:04] section states that

[1:00:05] dining at

[1:00:06] sidewalk tables must be

[1:00:07] carried out in

[1:00:08] compliance with the

[1:00:09] following provisions.

[1:00:12] Dining tables must

[1:00:14] be located on

[1:00:15] private property

[1:00:16] adjacent to

[1:00:17] the sidewalk, the

[1:00:17] public right-of-way

[1:00:18] in front of

[1:00:19] the building, and facing the

[1:00:21] road. It further

[1:00:23] states that the

[1:00:24] dining area at tables

[1:00:25] must be

[1:00:26] separated from the

[1:00:27] public right-of-way by an

[1:00:28] appropriate barrier.

[1:00:31] Then it says that

[1:00:33] service hours should

[1:00:34] be limited to 10:00 a.m. to

[1:00:36] 9:00 p.m. Here are some

[1:00:38] examples. So

[1:00:40] now we have this

[1:00:41] other restriction on

[1:00:42] hours that's kind of

[1:00:43] hidden in the code that

[1:00:45] you wouldn't know about

[1:00:46] if you just read

[1:00:47] the ordinance, because

[1:00:48] the ordinance gives a broader

[1:00:50] set of requirements on

[1:00:51] hours of operation, and it

[1:00:52] says here that if you

[1:00:53] want to sit in, you can't

[1:00:54] open

[1:00:56] until 10:00. And then, I

[1:00:58] always think it's

[1:00:59] important to just

[1:01:00] walk down the street. You

[1:01:02] write a resolution, you

[1:01:04] need to walk around

[1:01:05] the district and

[1:01:05] justify

[1:01:06] the resolution. And again

[1:01:11] , I'm going to

[1:01:13] make a caveat

[1:01:14] to this, but

[1:01:15] from what I've

[1:01:16] seen, we have, I

[1:01:18] think, two

[1:01:19] restaurants, one, I

[1:01:20] believe, has

[1:01:21] sidewalk tables. They are not

[1:01:26] separated by a barrier.

[1:01:28] Hmm, it's a public

[1:01:29] facility, it's

[1:01:30] on a

[1:01:31] public

[1:01:31] sidewalk. You can

[1:01:34] only walk around it for about a

[1:01:35] few feet. And

[1:01:38] the hours listed say

[1:01:39] they

[1:01:40] open at 9:00

[1:01:42] AM. The code here

[1:01:43] says you

[1:01:44] shouldn't open

[1:01:46] before 10:00 AM. Plus you

[1:01:47] must have the right of

[1:01:48] way. You should

[1:01:50] have a barrier

[1:01:51] separating your

[1:01:52] tables. I just

[1:01:53] want to say. This

[1:01:56] resolution contains requirements

[1:01:57] that, in my opinion, are

[1:01:59] excessive. And some of

[1:02:01] our traditional

[1:02:03] restaurants, I think,

[1:02:04] don't even

[1:02:04] follow some

[1:02:06] of them. So, if you have

[1:02:09] requirements in

[1:02:10] the code, you must

[1:02:11] comply with them. If

[1:02:12] you don't like what's

[1:02:13] in the code, then

[1:02:15] change it. But,

[1:02:17] going back to the circle,

[1:02:19] it's just too

[1:02:20] burdensome. And I think

[1:02:22] we need to

[1:02:23] start from scratch. I

[1:02:24] suggest maybe

[1:02:26] holding a seminar,

[1:02:27] something like that. Hmm, these are

[1:02:29] my thoughts. Thank you.

[1:02:32] Good. Gus, I can

[1:02:34] speak.

[1:02:35] What about you?

[1:02:37] So, um, my main

[1:02:38] problem with this

[1:02:40] version is that

[1:02:41] I agree with

[1:02:42] Councilman

[1:02:43] DeMotor on

[1:02:44] a few of these

[1:02:45] points. Some of them

[1:02:47] have been changed. Which

[1:02:49] brings me to

[1:02:50] my main point: the

[1:02:52] original version

[1:02:53] was changed,

[1:02:54] corrected, and

[1:02:55] revised so many

[1:02:56] times. Hmm, we don't

[1:02:58] know what's what. It

[1:03:00] got confusing. Hmm,

[1:03:04] so I think we

[1:03:05] need to look at

[1:03:07] this together as a council and

[1:03:08] write down what we

[1:03:09] really need and

[1:03:10] put it into the system, and

[1:03:12] stop putting

[1:03:13] it off and making so many

[1:03:14] changes. Let's

[1:03:19] implement something that

[1:03:20] works for us, that

[1:03:21] protects us, and then

[1:03:23] we can change it

[1:03:24] . Regarding Mr.

[1:03:25] Demuro's point, you know, we

[1:03:26] can implement it,

[1:03:27] and then if we

[1:03:28] need to change

[1:03:29] something that's not working

[1:03:30] properly, we

[1:03:31] can do that too.

[1:03:32] So, my main

[1:03:33] point is that there are

[1:03:35] too many versions.

[1:03:36] We got confused in many of them

[1:03:37] . There are a lot of

[1:03:39] different additions,

[1:03:40] red lines,

[1:03:41] amendments, conclusions,

[1:03:42] everything else, and I

[1:03:43] think it's

[1:03:44] lost in my head.

[1:03:45] So, I

[1:03:46] feel like we

[1:03:47] need to start from

[1:03:48] scratch and get what

[1:03:49] we need in

[1:03:50] books. I'm fine. Are you

[1:03:56] okay? Of course. Hmm,

[1:04:09] just a quick one, I

[1:04:10] generally agree with

[1:04:11] all the comments so

[1:04:12] far. Hmm, I would

[1:04:21] add the word "er,

[1:04:22] targeted." I felt like

[1:04:26] there was some

[1:04:27] targeted...

[1:04:39] Because more than I

[1:04:40] understand the basic

[1:04:41] concepts, some

[1:04:43] implementation issues still

[1:04:44] exist, which may

[1:04:45] cause heartburn for

[1:04:46] residents more than

[1:04:48] businesses. We

[1:04:50] need to find a

[1:04:51] balance. Additionally,

[1:04:54] some of the

[1:04:55] implementation shortcomings on the part of

[1:04:56] staff will be

[1:04:57] compounded by

[1:04:58] some of the requirements that

[1:04:59] even minor

[1:05:00] wording changes

[1:05:01] will be better than

[1:05:02] saying any

[1:05:05] Maryland County Health Department for one

[1:05:06] permit. This

[1:05:09] opens it up to

[1:05:11] everyone, not just

[1:05:12] keeps

[1:05:13] Carroll County. We need to

[1:05:16] use

[1:05:17] existing government

[1:05:18] resources rather than

[1:05:19] create new

[1:05:20] responsibilities for

[1:05:21] staff because

[1:05:22] some of the

[1:05:23] proposed

[1:05:24] timelines were

[1:05:24] terribly short

[1:05:25] to be able to

[1:05:26] obtain the information

[1:05:28] needed for an application,

[1:05:29] especially when it

[1:05:30] was proposed: if

[1:05:31] it is not done

[1:05:32] within a very

[1:05:33] short period of

[1:05:34] time, it is automatically

[1:05:35] approved.

[1:05:40] Thus, in my opinion,

[1:05:41] we are creating certain

[1:05:42] problems in the

[1:05:43] future. I can't

[1:05:44] disagree that

[1:05:45] we need to

[1:05:46] look at this

[1:05:47] issue, and we can

[1:05:48] change it, but

[1:05:49] let's try to

[1:05:50] minimize changes

[1:05:51] later by allowing

[1:05:53] some potential

[1:05:54] flexibility with city

[1:05:55] staff and other

[1:05:56] things. And there were some

[1:05:58] concerns that

[1:05:59] the application was

[1:06:00] too rigid, which

[1:06:01] included that if

[1:06:02] we needed to

[1:06:04] change it, we would have to

[1:06:06] reopen the ordinance

[1:06:07] just to simply

[1:06:08] change one word.

[1:06:09] Good things of this

[1:06:10] nature, just

[1:06:11] little things to

[1:06:12] implement for

[1:06:13] greater implementation.

[1:06:15] Um, but I can agree with many of the most

[1:06:16] basic

[1:06:17] concepts that were

[1:06:19] added to it

[1:06:20] .

[1:06:21] Maybe just sit down

[1:06:23] together and work out

[1:06:24] some minor

[1:06:25] flexibilities. I

[1:06:27] mean, I, I, I'm flexible.

[1:06:29] I agree with

[1:06:29] nonpartisanship in

[1:06:30] economics and things of

[1:06:32] that nature, but

[1:06:33] we can't lose

[1:06:34] sight of the

[1:06:35] potential

[1:06:36] problems or

[1:06:39] regulations that

[1:06:40] people can drive through,

[1:06:42] excuse me, in a

[1:06:43] food truck to, uh,

[1:06:45] get ahead quickly or

[1:06:46] something. There is a good remedy

[1:06:48] for this. I think

[1:06:51] we're 90-90% on it. And

[1:06:55] thank you to Councilor Evans,

[1:06:56] Kelly, and Demuda for

[1:06:57] adding their

[1:06:58] suggestions to this.

[1:07:01] It brought us closer. And

[1:07:02] thank you, Tom, for

[1:07:03] handling all the

[1:07:04] spelling changes.

[1:07:06] You know, Tom, I

[1:07:07] actually think that's how it's going to go

[1:07:09] ,

[1:07:10] judging from what I

[1:07:11] see. Um, for me, this

[1:07:12] process was just

[1:07:13] messy. Hmm, that's

[1:07:15] too messy. This is

[1:07:16] unclean, and this is not the

[1:07:17] way I

[1:07:18] think this council

[1:07:19] has been operating. At least

[1:07:21] for the past

[1:07:22] few years. Um,

[1:07:23] unfortunately, I'm going to

[1:07:24] do this, uh, because of the

[1:07:25] actual, uh, creation of

[1:07:27] legislation, I don't

[1:07:28] have a say in the

[1:07:29] process. But, uh

[1:07:31] , I'll give you some advice,

[1:07:32] mostly because as the

[1:07:33] chairman of the council, right now I

[1:07:35] feel like there are

[1:07:36] too many chiefs and

[1:07:37] not enough

[1:07:38] Indians. Each of

[1:07:39] you worked

[1:07:40] in isolation, coming up with

[1:07:41] ideas, and then just

[1:07:42] crossing something out and

[1:07:44] adding, and this, and that. And

[1:07:48] whoever manages it

[1:07:50] gets feedback from the

[1:07:51] board, puts it into a

[1:07:52] form, and then submits it.

[1:07:55] But now it looks like

[1:07:56] you, it looks like you, and I

[1:07:57] thought it was you.

[1:08:00] Work together.

[1:08:03] Because it was the

[1:08:03] longest process

[1:08:04] for what was supposed to

[1:08:06] be a simple

[1:08:06] resolution that I have ever

[1:08:08] seen.

[1:08:10] So stop

[1:08:11] working on your own

[1:08:12] . Stop

[1:08:13] trying to manage

[1:08:14] everything yourself.

[1:08:16] Work together without a

[1:08:17] quorum in the back

[1:08:18] . You know, and

[1:08:21] then bring

[1:08:22] something

[1:08:22] suitable to the meeting that we

[1:08:23] can send to the

[1:08:25] planning commission,

[1:08:26] get feedback, and

[1:08:27] then vote on

[1:08:28] and move on. It

[1:08:29] 's been almost a year, and

[1:08:31] honestly, I'm

[1:08:32] tired of talking about it

[1:08:33] . So I don't

[1:08:34] know if it's you, or

[1:08:36] all of you, deal with

[1:08:37] it. But it's too much,

[1:08:40] and it's messy, so I'm

[1:08:41] glad that, you know,

[1:08:42] Councilor DeMotor, I'm

[1:08:44] glad that you

[1:08:44] came forward with this,

[1:08:46] because, I'll be honest with

[1:08:47] you, if it had gone

[1:08:48] any other way, I would

[1:08:50] n't have signed it.

[1:08:51] Because it's a mess.

[1:08:52] I'll put it there. I

[1:08:54] can lead

[1:08:54] the rewrite, and

[1:08:55] I'm going to put

[1:08:56] it out there for you

[1:08:57] guys to figure out on your

[1:08:58] own.

[1:08:59] Of course.

[1:08:59] And then, and then we will

[1:09:01] understand, sir.

[1:09:02] So

[1:09:04] there is no further discussion now.

[1:09:05] We have a motion

[1:09:06] to reject or not

[1:09:08] adopt Ordinance

[1:09:10] 2026-22 regarding MFUs and

[1:09:11] food trucks. Hmm,

[1:09:13] everyone who supports

[1:09:15] the rejection of

[1:09:16] Resolution 2026-22,

[1:09:17] please mark it with

[1:09:19] "I do." "I". "

[1:09:21] Against"? Okay, thanks,

[1:09:22] guys. I think this is the

[1:09:23] right decision.

[1:09:25] Next, we have Resolution

[1:09:27] 2026-24. This is a transfer of

[1:09:28] real estate,

[1:09:29] i.e.,

[1:09:30] Straw's property. She is up for

[1:09:31] adoption. Do you

[1:09:32] want to make

[1:09:33] a suggestion?

[1:09:34] I will make a motion

[1:09:35] to approve the

[1:09:36] transfer of

[1:09:37] real estate,

[1:09:38] i.e. the

[1:09:39] Straw property, for the years 2026-24.

[1:09:40] Okay, we have a second

[1:09:41] .

[1:09:41] I will support.

[1:09:42] Okay, is there any

[1:09:43] discussion?

[1:09:45] Uh, I could say

[1:09:47] it's related to the

[1:09:47] ring road,

[1:09:49] but it's more of a

[1:09:49] clarification

[1:09:50] ordinance issued to

[1:09:51] Straw by the owners of the

[1:09:52] Straw property.

[1:09:56] Maybe Barney can,

[1:09:57] in order not to pressure you,

[1:09:58] explain it a little

[1:09:59] better, because I know it has

[1:10:01] more to do with

[1:10:02] mutual setbacks

[1:10:03] and aligning

[1:10:05] their property boundaries

[1:10:06] and so on. I think you

[1:10:07] could probably

[1:10:08] explain it better

[1:10:09] than I could.

[1:10:11] Of course. So, it's an

[1:10:13] exchange. When you

[1:10:17] look at the

[1:10:18] real estate, you'll

[1:10:19] see that, um, the way

[1:10:20] Rising

[1:10:21] Ridge Road was relocated,

[1:10:23] um, for the loop, created a

[1:10:24] narrow strip that

[1:10:25] the city would have to

[1:10:26] service.

[1:10:30] At the same time, Straw

[1:10:31] also has a very long,

[1:10:32] narrow section that is

[1:10:34] now behind a,

[1:10:35] um, depression that would be harder for them

[1:10:37] to maintain. So it makes

[1:10:40] sense

[1:10:41] to reconcile things somehow. The exchange,

[1:10:44] ahem, is not an equal

[1:10:45] distribution of, ahem,

[1:10:46] square feet.

[1:10:50] So, I think that's the

[1:10:51] main reason for the, um,

[1:10:52] difference in cost.

[1:10:54] Good.

[1:10:55] And thank you, Barney.

[1:10:59] And just to

[1:11:00] clarify, there's, um, a

[1:11:01] cash exchange for

[1:11:02] this of about or

[1:11:03] within six thousand

[1:11:05] dollars, correct,

[1:11:06] Tom?

[1:11:09] For the purchase of part of the

[1:11:11] Straw property.

[1:11:13] The reason you

[1:11:14] need this

[1:11:15] ordinance is

[1:11:16] because the city is also

[1:11:17] transferring property. It's

[1:11:19] an exchange, if you will. Both the

[1:11:20] state code and

[1:11:22] therefore our statute

[1:11:23] require that this be

[1:11:24] done by ordinance

[1:11:25] with public

[1:11:26] hearings, which

[1:11:27] apparently took place

[1:11:28] today.

[1:11:29] Yes. Good. Perfectly.

[1:11:31] Thank you. That's all for now.

[1:11:32] Chairman, thank you. Is there

[1:11:34] anyone else?

[1:11:35] I have a question.

[1:11:36] Of course.

[1:11:37] So, there are two questions.

[1:11:38] First, is this on

[1:11:43] equal terms, caring

[1:11:44] for our citizens,

[1:11:45] or is this what the

[1:11:47] Straws want? This is what

[1:11:49] they asked for.

[1:11:50] Yes. Yes, yes. They are

[1:11:52] very interested in

[1:11:53] this. Yes.

[1:11:53] Good. And then, and I'm

[1:11:55] just asking

[1:11:56] questions because I'm a

[1:11:57] council member and I'm here to

[1:11:58] represent my

[1:11:59] constituents, so I have the

[1:12:00] right to ask

[1:12:01] questions. Um, was this

[1:12:04] something that could have been

[1:12:05] foreseen before

[1:12:06] we built the

[1:12:08] roundabout,

[1:12:09] or did it only become apparent

[1:12:10] after the fact?

[1:12:13] Like, is this something

[1:12:14] we should have

[1:12:16] known before

[1:12:17] construction started in

[1:12:18] terms of what

[1:12:19] parts of the pie and

[1:12:20] property would be

[1:12:21] cut and what parts wouldn't,

[1:12:22] or, you know, that's my

[1:12:23] question.

[1:12:26] Should it have been

[1:12:27] done in advance?

[1:12:29] This is what the Straws

[1:12:30] expressed, uh, as

[1:12:31] their preference. Hmm,

[1:12:33] should this have been done

[1:12:35] ? Not necessarily, uh,

[1:12:36] but it makes sense. So

[1:12:38] they brought it to

[1:12:39] our attention and we

[1:12:41] agreed that it made

[1:12:42] sense. So, this is the path

[1:12:44] we took.

[1:12:46] Good. And a little

[1:12:49] remark, uh,

[1:12:50] you know, well, I'll make a

[1:12:52] remark because I

[1:12:53] see it. The third

[1:12:54] statement "

[1:12:55] given that", where it

[1:12:56] says: "Given the

[1:12:57] proposed

[1:12:58] roundabout",

[1:12:59] in my opinion, should have been

[1:13:00] written "

[1:13:01] built roundabout",

[1:13:02] because it has already

[1:13:03] been built. But this

[1:13:06] statement is "

[1:13:06] given", therefore.

[1:13:11] Everywhere you say "

[1:13:12] built". Good.

[1:13:17] Any further

[1:13:18] discussions? We have a

[1:13:21] second proposal, uh

[1:13:22] , regarding the acceptance of

[1:13:23] the transfer of real

[1:13:24] estate, uh, the

[1:13:26] Straw property. Uh, everyone who is "in favor

[1:13:27] ", please

[1:13:28] mark yourself by saying

[1:13:30] "I do." "

[1:13:30] I". "

[1:13:31] Against"? Okay, and the

[1:13:32] last resolution, uh

[1:13:34] , resolution 2026-27.

[1:13:36] It aims to

[1:13:37] clarify that

[1:13:37] private parks in the

[1:13:38] R1 zone should be a

[1:13:39] special exception

[1:13:40] , not an exercise of

[1:13:41] right. This is for

[1:13:42] presentation and

[1:13:43] referral to the

[1:13:43] planning commission. Do

[1:13:45] we have a proposal

[1:13:46] to present?

[1:13:47] I would like to propose

[1:13:49] that

[1:13:50] Ordinance

[1:13:52] 2026-27 be enacted to

[1:13:53] amend the articles and

[1:13:55] sections of Chapter 112 entitled

[1:13:56] "Zoning",

[1:13:58] Article 4 entitled "

[1:13:59] Regulations

[1:14:01] Governing Residential

[1:14:02] Districts", and Section 112-23

[1:14:04] entitled "R1 District".

[1:14:07] Okay, do we have a second

[1:14:09] ?

[1:14:09] I will support.

[1:14:10] Okay, this will be

[1:14:11] forwarded to the

[1:14:12] planning commission. Uh, we have

[1:14:13] no unfinished

[1:14:14] business, and we don't have a

[1:14:16] closed session.

[1:14:17] So, for now, uh, I'll

[1:14:18] consider the motion

[1:14:20] to postpone.

[1:14:21] I will make a motion

[1:14:22] to postpone

[1:14:23] earlier than usual

[1:14:24] . Thank you, Mr.

[1:14:25] Chairman. Do

[1:14:27] we have a second?

[1:14:28] I will support.

[1:14:29] Okay, everyone who

[1:14:29] supports

[1:14:30] the transfer,

[1:14:31] please mark it by

[1:14:32] saying "Me,

[1:14:32] Me."

[1:14:33] Nobody is in favor.

Mount Airy Town Council Meeting 10-5-2026

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