Town Of Dewey Beach Minutes of May 8, :00 AM Town Council Meeting

Transcription

1 Town Of Dewey Beach Minutes of May 8, :00 AM Town Council Meeting Present: Mayor Richard Solloway, Commissioners Marc Appelbaum, Diane Hanson, James Pryzgocki and Martin Seitz. Town Attorney Glenn Mandalas, Police Chief Samuel Mackert, and Town Manager Diana Smith were also present. Commissioner Hanson made a motion to convene the May 8, 2010 Town Council meeting, seconded by Commissioner Przygocki. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Litigation Commissioner Seitz made a motion in public session, seconded by Commissioner Hanson to convene the meeting for Executive Session regarding Litigation. The motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Seitz made a motion in public session to adjourn Executive Session, seconded by Commissioner Hanson. No action was taken related to the Executive Session Commissioner Hanson made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Seitz to reconvene the meeting. Mayor Solloway called meeting to order. Commissioner Hanson led the Pledge. PRESENTATION / ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Solloway announced that the Lion s Club Appreciation Day Event would be held on June 12, He stated that there would be music, food, and other activities occurring during the event, including a Dunk-Tank in which the Mayor would be participating. Commissioner Appelbaum stated that the agendas for Town Council Meetings are being time-blocked in an attempt to improve the efficiency of the meetings. He added that other than amendments to the agenda which are approved by council, the order of the items will remain the same. He explained that this is being done in an effort to provide the public an idea of when to expect a certain agenda item to be discussed during the meeting. Commissioner Appelbaum added that public comments will also be taken at the end of each monthly Town Council Meeting except in extraordinary circumstances. Mayor Solloway stated that he attempted to time-block all agenda items in an attempt to provide a more effective meeting.

2 AGENDA AMENDMENTS Removal of Item 10 Request by Elections Committee to amend the Town Charter to increase the time between the candidate filing deadline and Election Day from thirty (30) days to forty-five (45) days. Removal of Item 12 Discuss Guidelines/Procedures for Town Council Meetings. (This item was addressed under Presentations/Announcements) Commissioner Hanson made a motion to accept the agenda as amended. Commissioner Pryzgocki seconded the motion. APPROVAL OF APRIL 10, 2010 MEETING MINUTES Town Attorney Mandalas stated that on agenda Item 17, The Motion to Censure Commissioner Pryzgocki, he has since found that the Town was not in violation of the Town Charter for making the motion. Commissioner Hanson suggested removing the Board of Ethics from the Website since they are inactive. Commissioner suggested making it a possible agenda item at a future meeting. Also, on Item 17, Fran Gdowski was misspelled. Commissioner Hanson made a motion to accept the April 10, 2010 minutes into record with the spelling of Fran Gdowski s name corrected. Commissioner Appelbaum seconded. POLICE REPORT Chief Samuel Mackert read from the Police report. He expressed that the officers are doing well in the Summer Police Academy. He report that there was incident involving a scam in which the call was place to a resident stating that their grandson was incarcerated on the D.U.I. violation in Quebec City in Canada and then asked the person for money for a bail. Chief Mackert stated that if anyone receives such a call that they should contact the police department immediately. Chief Mackert also reported that the police department received a donation from the Seabreeze Homeowners Association of $ in appreciation of their assistance during the winter season. During his report he also reminded the public that census workers would be in the area and attempting to get census information from residents who did not send in their questionnaire. He stated that these workers would have identification and showed the public what the identification would look like. The report also indicated that the department was awarded $8,000 by the government to update a patrol car to a new model. He also thanked Jim Bauerle for allowing the Police Department use their Baycenter free of charge for training of the seasonal officers when the Lifesaving Station was unavailable. Chief Mackert also explained that due to the growing popularity of Dewey

3 Beach during the Memorial Day weekend, three businesses owners, Regan Derrickson, Jim Bauerle, and Steve Montgomery, have decided to treat this weekend as an event and are providing the Town with the resources to hire 10 off duty police officers during the evening and late night hours of the weekend. Mayor Solloway presented the checks from Regan Derrickson, Jim Bauerle, and Steve Montgomery to Police Chief Mackert. Chief Mackert stated that this is a test to see if this plan works out and hopes it that could be used more in the future. REGULAR AGENDA 1. Consideration and Approval of Gratis Seasonal parking permit list: Town Manager, Diana Smith read the recommended policy regarding Gratis Parking Permits. She stated that currently the Town does not have a policy in place regarding who should receive gratis parking permits. She stated that it was her recommendation to grandfather those elected officials currently in place and those who have preceded them to receive one (1) non-transferrable gratis parking permit per season for life. Those receiving a gratis permit would only be permitted to purchase one (1) additional permit at ½ off as allowed in the parking permit fee ordinance. Beginning with the September 2010 elections, newly elected officials will receive one (1) non-transferrable gratis seasonal parking permit while on actively sitting on council. Active members of the Board of Adjustment and Planning & Zoning and the Town Attorney, who are appointed by council, shall receive one (1) non-transferrable gratis seasonal parking permit. State and Federal agencies will be provided a windshield placard for display when working in Dewey Beach. Two gratis permits will be provided for DE undercover officers. Employees will receive a non-transferrable parking permit. Commissioner Hanson agreed on the recommendation related to former commissioners as it will not be a big impact on revenue. Commissioner Appelbaum said that it s good to finally this policy written down. Mayor Solloway stated he did receive calls from past Commissioners and thanked Diana Smith for taking on this issue. Commissioner Hanson made a motion to accept the Gratis Season Paring Permit Policy. Commissioner Appelbaum seconded the motion. 2. Consideration and possible approval of parking in lieu of business license fees at Pier Point Marina for seasonal Parking: Town Manager Smith read an from Charles McKinney regarding providing town employees parking at Pier Point Marina in the evening hours. Ms. Smith stated that the indicated that the spaces should be available and asked Mr. McKinney if the spaces would definitely be available during the hours indicated. Mr. McKinney stated that places would be available for employees from 6:30 p.m. 8:30 a.m. Commissioner Hanson asked that the phrase a minimum of ten, and a maximum of twelve be added be a added to the agreement to be precise.

4 Commissioner Hanson made a motion to approve the additional parking for employees at Pier Point Marina in lieu of Business License fees. Commissioner Pryzgocki seconded the motion. 3. Consideration and possible approval of designation of additional employee parking: was bypassed due to the motion in the previous agenda item. 4. Discuss the procedure for committees to recommend budgetary expenditures and commissioners roles on committees: Commissioner Appelbaum wanted clarification on the committees roles regarding policy change and what their authority is on spending money. He stated he is under the assumption that the committee can only make a recommendation and it is up to the Town Manager or Council can make the final decision. He stated that Resolution 36 defined the processes and limitations of committees on how they spend monies. Additionally, he stated that he believes citizens should be chairs of committees instead of Council members due to advocating issues twice once as a committee member and then again as a commissioner. Mayor Solloway stated that our Town Charter currently has it so the each Council member takes up a certain charge or department. Commissioner Hanson suggested that Commissioners could act as liaisons instead being a chairperson on a committee. Dewey Beach resident, Ellen Danaher stated she really hated seeing the good consensus wasted by not agreeing to take some kind of action. She recommends that the Council take a month to consider it and that it be placed on June s agenda and put their ideas together in resolution form. Commissioner Hanson suggested making a formal policy on committee expenditures. Commissioner Seitz stated he sees value in Commissioners working with departments. Dewey Beach resident Anna Legates asked what the dollar amount threshold is for the Town Manager to approve an expenditure. She stated that she believed Resolution 36 provided that the amount was $2,000. The commissioner indicated that they would look into the details of the Resolution 36 and that it would be discussed next month. 5. Discuss and possibly approve the preparation of an amendment to Chapter 185, Article V [General Sign Regulation] to be considered at the June, 2010 Town Council Meeting: Town Attorney Mandalas stated this is intended to tighten up the language with the display ordinance. Diana Smith stated that the current ordinance language allows displays in a manner which was not the intent of council. She stated that the amendments would resolve this issue. Town Attorney Mandalas stated that he would work on a draft for this issue. Consensus of council was to prepare a draft amendment to

5 Chapter 185, Article V (General Sign Regulation) to present at the June 11, 2010 meeting. 6. Consideration and Approval of an Ordinance to Amend Chapter 93, Section 93-5 Subsections B, C, D, and E of the Municipal Code of the Town of Dewey Beach, Delaware to provide for revised parking permit rates and hours: Town Manager Diana Smith stated that this Ordinance simply puts into effect the changes to the rates and hours of the parking permits that were approved at the previous meeting. Commissioner Seitz made to approval of an ordinance to amend Chapter 93, Section 93-5 Subsections B, C, D, and E of the Municipal Code of the Town of Dewey Beach, Delaware to provide for revised parking permit rates and hours. Commissioner Przygocki seconded the motion. 7. Consideration and possible appointment of member to Planning and Zoning Committee due to term expiration of Faith Duncan: Town Manager Smith stated that Harry Wilson would need to be reappointed as his term expires in May Commissioner Seitz made to reappoint Harry Wilson as Chair of the Planning and Zoning Committee. Commissioner Hanson seconded. The appointment of a new member will be placed on the June 11, 2010 agenda in order to allow for time to seek volunteers. 8. Consideration and possible approval of changing the September Town Council Meeting as it conflicts with the last day of Rosh Hashanah: Commissioner Hanson stated that she found that the currently scheduled Town Council meeting of September 10, 2010 conflicts with the last day of the Jewish High Holy Day of Rosh Hashanah. She expressed that for this reason the Town Council should consider rescheduling the September meeting. Commissioner Appelbaum suggested moving it to Lion s Club if did not conflict with their schedules. Dewey Beach resident Anna Legates stated that the reason the date was moved from Saturday to Friday during the summer time was the Business Communities said they could not make it to the Saturday meetings. Commissioner Hanson made a motion to move the September Town Council meeting to 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at the Lion s Club. Commissioner Seitz seconded the motion.

6 9. Discuss and possibly approve the preparation of an Ordinance regarding charitable gaming to be considered at the June, 2010 Town Council meeting: Commissioner Hanson stated this is unfinished business from the referendum prohibiting gambling, because there is loophole where charitable gambling is concerned. After the Charter change in 2008, the Commissioners looked into putting a limit on the number of nonprofit gaming events that could take place during the year. Since then, the State has enacted a law which allows charitable gaming year round at Gaming Operations. Public comments included: Allen Winton stated he is glad that Commissioner Hanson brought this issue up and said he does not want places like the one in the Rehoboth Beach Outlet, where the have a gaudy sign and blackened windows which makes it look shady, showing up in our town. Harry Wilson stated that the place Mr. Winton was speaking of is Poker at the Beach. He stated that Poker at the Beach has done a lot fine of work donating money to SkimUSA and other non-profit organizations including, Rehoboth Little League, Pop Warner Football, and others. He stated that he does not want to see general gambling in Dewey Beach however, he has no problems charitable gambling. Ellen Danaher thinks that the people have made it clear, that if they allow charitable gambling, they should be able to set limits. Anna Legates suggested considering a moratorium until research is done. Betsy Damos stated that they re a lot of activities already in the town that don t involve gambling. Commissioner Pryzgocki stated he agrees with Commissioner Hanson s plan of limiting charitable gambling and doesn t recall any of those events occurring in town in the past. Commissioner Pryzgocki made a motion to approve the drafting of an ordinance regarding charitable gambling to be considered for the June 11, 2010 agenda. Commissioner Seitz seconded the motion. 10. Consideration and Approval of Proclamation declaring the month of May as Melanoma Awareness Month: Town Manager Smith read the proclamation to the assembly. Commissioner Seitz made a motion to accept the Proclamation. Commissioner Hanson seconded the motion. PUBLIC COMMENTS Bill Lowher with Harvey Hanna: Would greatly appreciate keeping the summer Town Council Meetings on Friday night. Marcia Schiek: Thought that if they were going to change the meetings, the town should reach out to the voters to see what their preferences and thoughts are when

7 deciding about the dates. She questioned if the Council was in negotiations with Dewey Beach Enterprise and if the commissioners have met with them individually without having legal counsel present. She thinks that the details of discussions, such as offers and negations, among others should be public knowledge. She also wants Public Hearings before negations are put on the table. Commissioner Seitz stated that it was not appropriate for Ms. Schiek to expect a response from the commissioners on any issue such as this. Attorney Mandalas stated that he would address Ms. Schiek s question during his report. Anna Legates: Didn t want to put any Commissioners on the spot, so she asked the Town Attorney for status of the litigation against the Town. Town Attorney Mandalas said would be giving an update during his report. REPORTS Planning and Zoning: Harry Wilson stated there would be a meeting at 6:00 that day to go over certain issues such as an ordinance to bolster the 35ft height. He added that the committee has taken steps to prioritize the assignments given to them by the commissioners. Mr. Wilson also stated that public hearings regarding the right-of-way issue would begin in June. Infrastructure: David King stated that Envirotech updated the permit process and stated we are on schedule and have the support of all governmental agencies. The wetland delineation has been completed and approved by the Army Corps. Permits will be applied for when the engineering is complete and we have received the necessary easement from Cajun Cove. Permit time is anticipated to be 30 to 45 days from application. Application is anticipated to be made in June He also conveyed that Melanie Thymes of DNREC explained the process of diffusing the storm waters back into the marsh and gave the wetland departments support of the project. She also introduced completing the project by incorporating the storm drains of Sunset Park and reclaiming the sandbar that has intruded into the head of the bay by Bayard Ave and Bay Resort Hotel. The committee is recommending to council to approve an engineering cost not to exceed $750 to see if this is feasible. The Town of Dewey Beach has been notified that the Bayard Ave project has been accepted by the DNREC low interest revolving loan in the amount of $685,000 at a 2% interest. The formal application must be submitted by June 14, 2010 and we should be able to close the funding well before construction in the early fall of Once the design phase is completed, grant funding will be applied for to reduce and possibly eliminate the loan.

8 Policy Commissioner Seitz stated that the next meeting would be in June. Marketing Commissioner Hanson stated that the committee had been meeting every two weeks. She stated that they were working on establishing a kiosk for additional Parking Permit sales during the weekends and Holidays. She stated that an RFP going for landscaping would be going out soon. Budget and Finance Commissioner Appelbaum stated the town just completed its fiscal year on March 31, 2010 and the town showing a positive cash follow of approximately $266,000. The projection for Fiscal Year 2010/2011 is approximately a $155,000 positive cash follow. Commissioner Appelbaum also stated that the Budget and Finance Committee approved the Profit and Loss statement for March. He stated that they hope to in the next year to establish and maintain safeguards for the budget. Also, they will be looking into the different constituent groups in Dewey Beach and determining how each of them is contributing to the town versus what services are provided for them. Town Manager Town manager Diana Smith stated that the parking permits are in and the reason they were delayed. She thanked everyone who volunteered their time to participate in the Beatification Day event. She also reminded the assembly that the Town is sponsoring the movies on the beach this year and to sign up for the distribution list which will provide information regarding town meetings and events. Ms. Smith stated that she spoke with Carol Everhart of the Chamber of Commerce who indicated that there was interest by bands to perform during June Bug week. Finally, she indicated that the Accounting/Finance Manager position is posted online and should be going to the papers within the week. Town Attorney Town Attorney Mandalas explained that he informed the council to remain silent on the litigation process. He states the council is being very responsible in the handling the litigation process. COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS M. Appelbaum: He believed the having the agenda time-blocked helped keep the meeting on track. D. Hanson: The Indian River Casino has withdrawn his application for development. The newsletter would be delayed due to lack of articles submitted at this time.

9 J. Pryzgocki: Had a good time during Beautification Day and was able to work side by side with people who openly opposed him during the recent censure incident and there were able to move forward together. He then wished a Happy Mothers Day. M. Seitz: Thought time marking worked out well and appreciated the public comments. Mayor Solloway: Thanked everyone who put on the Melanoma Awareness Event. He also thanked Marie Hutton, the Cleavelands, and everyone who attended the Beautification Day Event as well as Kelly Renier and her students for helping clean up Sunset Park that day. He also expressed his gratitude to the individual who donated money for the beach camera, Seabreeze Homeowners Association for their donations to the Police and Lifeguards, Jim Bauerle, Steve Montgomery, and Regan Derrickson for their donations which will provide more officers during Memorial Day weekend. Wished former mayor Jim Lovell well for a good recovery after his stroke and fall. Finally, Mayor Solloway read a letter that he received from a resident praising Diana Smith for the help she provided him and the work she is doing for the Town. He also wished everyone a Happy Mothers Day. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: SATURDAY, JUNE 11TH 2010 AT 6 PM. Commissioner Hanson made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 12:47 p.m. Commissioner Pryzgocki seconded the motion.