Town of Cheswold State of De State of Delaware 1856 2287 Delaware Town of Cheswold Minutes of the Monthly Town Council Workshop Meeting Wednesday February 22, 2012 6:30 p.m. Cheswold Town Hall The following persons were in attendance: Mayor Jeannette Williams Secretary/Treasurer & Councilperson Theon Callender Councilperson Kenneth Brown Councilperson Sonia Gassaway Excused: Vice-Mayor Linda Perry Councilperson Mildred Johnson Town Employees: None # of Cheswold Residents Present = 2 # of Visitors = 0 NOTICE: Notice of this meeting has been made in accordance with the Delaware Open Meetings Act, by properly posting on February 7, 2012, and revised on February 15, 2012. Copies of the agenda were posted on the Official Bulletin Board outside the Cheswold Town Hall, in the local Post Office and a meeting notice on the Official Web Site for the Town of Cheswold, at www.cheswoldde.com ; and was filed with the Clerk of the Town of Cheswold. In addition, copies of the agenda were available for pick-up in the Town Hall. MEETING: The meeting was called to order by Mayor Jeannette Williams at 6:33 pm and was immediately followed with the Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence. ROLL CALL: At the request of the Mayor, Secretary/Treasurer Callender called the roll of the Council members and attendance was confirmed as noted above. A quorum of members was presented to the Mayor and the meeting continued. Page 1 of 5
AGENDA REVIEW: The agenda was reviewed by the Council for amendments and revisions, as requested by the Mayor and a motion was made by Councilperson Brown with a second from Councilperson Gassaway to accept the agenda as presented. The votes on the motion were as follows: Councilperson Ken Brown Yes Councilperson Theon Callender Yes Councilperson Sonia Gassaway Yes The motion carried with a unanimous vote. DISCUSSION ITEMS: a. Park Sale Status Secretary/Treasurer Theon Callender Mr. Joe Coleman attended the Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, February 9, 2012, and requested the Commission to determine the maximum number of units that can be placed on the property, whether zoned R2 or R4. He was instructed by the Commission and the Town Engineer Tom Wilkes to continue developing his plot plan using the directions and restrictions of the Land Use Ordinance, because the Commission cannot make decisions based on plans that haven t seen for property that has not been purchased. Land Use Administrator Callender encouraged Mr. Coleman to complete the bid submission process by sending it to the Town Attorney for review. b. Pros and Cons of Task Force Brain Storming Session - Secretary/Treasurer Theon Callender Mrs. Callender stated that she had mixed feelings about the attention being given to the financial situation of the Town by the Town Council. She explained that the Council needs to view the current situation as if the sheriff had placed a lien on their personal homes and that every minute would be spent trying to develop means and ideas of correcting and eliminating the situation. She suggested that more effort needs to be exerted in developing and following through with potential solutions. The list of brainstorming ideas created at the first Task Force meeting were reviewed by the Council, to determine the pros and cons of each idea and a decision was made as to pursue the idea; table it for additional information or to totally eliminate it. The decisions were as follows: IDEA PURSUE TABLE ELIMINATE 1. Impose KATZ tax X 2. Declare bankruptcy X 3. Move Town Hall to Park Location X 4. Sell Town Hall Property as a Commercial Property X 5. Negotiate Terms of Park Sale X 6. Explore Potential of Industrial Park Development X 7. Kent County View of Surrender of Town Charter X 8. Post Tax Deliquencies X 9. Lease Park Property X Page 2 of 5
DISCUSSION ITEMS continued : b. Pros and Cons of Task Force Brain Storming Session continued IDEA PURSUE TABLE ELIMINATE 10. Obtain Bond from County or State X 11. Sponsor Fire Hall Fund Raising Events X (a) Beef & Beer Councilperson Ken Brown (b) Semi-Pro Wrestling Councilperson Sam Callender (c) Cities & Towns Dinner Councilperson Mildred Johnson (d) Restaurant Night Councilperson Sonia Gassaway 12. Create Fund Raising Web Page X 13. Contract Police Services to Another Town/s X 14. Create Ordinance for Rental Inspection Fees X 15. Create Other Fee Based Ordinances X 16. Walk -a-thons X 17. Sell Advertising Space on Town Hall Property X 18. Buy Lottery Tickets X 19. Save Cheswold Engraved Brick Project X Mrs. Callender also stated that contact with and guidance from the Town Attorney would be necessary to determine if special accounting procedures will be required to satisfy the attorneys of the Town complainant. c. Finances Secretary/Treasurer Theon Callender Discussion was eliminated due to the intense financial components of Item b above d. Charter Review Mayor Williams & Town Council It was agreed to forego the review of the Charter at this meeting, due to the urgency of other business. 8. OTHER BUSINESS a. School Lane/Fulton Street Traffic Secretary/Treasurer Callender reported that complaints continue to be received in the Town Hall about the speed of the traffic down School Lane and specifically Fulton Street. The most recent complainant suggested the installation of a jersey wall either at the Kent County/Cheswold town lines or at the end of Fulton Street on the Cheswold side. Page 3 of 5
OTHER BUSINESS continued : a. School Lane/Fulton Street Traffic - continued After discussion, the Council decided to follow-u[ with investigating the feasibility of placing a jersey wall at the entrance to the Fox Pointe development on the School Lane side of the development, at the mailboxes. This process will require the following: (1) Obtain a jersey wall Mrs. Callender to follow-up with Captain Donophan (2) Notify the residents of Fox Pointe and School Lane of intent to place jersey wall. Mrs. Callender subsequently notified Mrs. Martha Scott-Property Manager for Fox Pointe of intent and asked her to notify Fox Pointe owners. (3) Hold a Public Hearing about placement of jersey wall (4) Obtain a NO OUTLET sign from DelDOT (5) Place the jersey wall Public Works Director Brown & Captain Donophan (6) Place the NO OUTLET sign at the entrance to School Lane Public Works Director Brown b. DelDOT Annexation - Secretary/Treasurer Theon Callender The resolution for the annexation of the DelDOT Storage Yard was submitted to the Mayor and Council for a final review and for approval at the next Town Council meeting, scheduled for Monday, March 5, 2012. c. Injury to Officer Louis Simms - Secretary/Treasurer Theon Callender Mrs. Callender reported that Officer Simms injured his neck while on duty, February 21, 2012, by reaching into the back seat of his patrol car to obtain his flashlight, after a routine traffic stop. The initial report was that he had a herniated disc in his neck, but a subsequent report indicated that he had a cervical strain and sprain in his neck and should be out of work on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 and then on light duty until Wednesday, February 29, 2012, at which time he could return to full duty. The initial report was also that the injury was sustained while Officer Simms was sitting in the front seat of his police car. The subsequent and submitted report was that the incident occurred while Officer Simms was standing outside the police vehicle and reached into the back of the car to retrieve his flashlight from the floor. The incident was reported to the Town Insurance Company on, as required. Officer Simms was instructed by Captain Donophan, his reporting officer, to remain at home on Thursday, February 23, 2012 and to visit his personal physician and obtain a release before returning to work full time. After Mayoral and Council discussion it was decided that Captain Donophan would be contacted by the Mayor and instructed to have Officer Simms report for light duty, as directed by the hospital doctor and to be given the opportunity to contact his personal physician as previously directed by Captain Donophan but on Town time. Page 4 of 5
OTHER BUSINESS continued : d. Contacts with Town Attorney Mayor Jeannette Williams The Mayor informed the Council that contacts may have been made with the Town Attorney by Town employees, without Council approval, and the Town may be held financially responsible for the contact. The Council specified that contacts with the Town Attorney are to be made by Council members only and employees contacting the Town Attorney for any reason without Council approval, will be financially responsible the consultation. 9. COUNCILPERSON COMMENTS Councilperson Brown Nothing to Report Councilperson Callender Nothing to Report Councilperson Gassaway This meeting was very productive 10. MAYOR S COMMENTS Nothing to Report 11. MOTION TO ADJOURN Councilperson Callender made a motion to adjourn t 8:37 pm and a second was provided by Councilperson Gassaway. With a unanimous vote, the meeting adjourned at 8:38 pm. Page 5 of 5