Denton, Maryland

The regularly scheduled meeting of the County Commissioners of Caroline County, Maryland, convened at 9:30 AM in the Commissioners Hearing Room, Courthouse.

Margaret R. Myers, President

John S. LeGates, Vice President

John W. Cole, Member

Charles C. Cawley, County Administrator

The Commissioners agreed to defer approval of the minutes of the previous regular meeting pending consensus on the wording. Vouchers #40951 - #41057 were approved for payment. The biweekly direct payroll was approved.

The Commissioners conducted the following advertised bid openings, which were publicly opened, read aloud, recorded, and referred to staff for evaluation:

Bidder Bid

Upper Shore Aging, Inc. General - $.89 per passenger mile

Wheelchair - $1.50 per passenger mile

Maryland Rural Development General - $1.25 per passenger mile

Corporation Wheelchair - (No Bid Submitted)

Bidder Bid

Delmarva Ambulance Service, Inc. $12,000 flat fee annual cost

Upon the individual motions indicated, the Commissioners unanimously approved and President Myers signed the following purchase orders:

On recommendation of staff, and on request of the health department, the Commissioners, on motion by Mr. Cole, unanimously accepted the low bid of CE Computers, Salisbury, in the amount of $21,807.29 for project #CC-MH-52698, computers and software for the mental health division; and rejected all other bids received. The purchase order will be signed next week.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously authorized purchase via the lease-purchase program of a used vehicle for the sum of $13,830 to enable the County’s additional drug task force deputy to begin work.

The Commissioners reviewed Mr. Cawley’s proposed surplus vehicle disposal policy. He assured the Commissioners that the policy provides flexibility to use various options for disposal, including sale to municipalities. The policy will be prepared in resolution form and presented for final consideration.

At 10 AM, as previously announced, the Commissioners undertook setting of the FY 1998-99 Caroline County property tax rates. There being no further discussion, the Commissioners, on motion by Mr. Cole, set the tax rates per $100 assessed valuation as follows, which are the same as the rates appearing in the Constant Yield advertisement. President Myers called for a voice vote. Commissioners LeGates and Cole voted in favor of the rates. President Myers voted against the rates, stating that "reducing revenues with as few revenue sources as we have is not the direction we need to go."

Unincorporated areas of the county - $2.38

Towns without water/sewer - - $2.28

(Henderson, Hillsboro, Goldsboro,

Marydel, Templeville)

Towns with water/sewer - $2.08

(Denton, Federalsburg, Greensboro,

Preston, Ridgely)

Dr. John Grant, health officer, and staff appeared before the Commissioners to convey their concern that, without their knowledge, the design of the windows in the new health and public services building was changed before the contract was signed from operable to fixed. They became aware of this problem last week on a tour of the building. The Commissioners were unaware of this change, which took place last July. Most of the fixed windows have been installed and the remainder have been fabricated. Lester Coble, environmental health director, said unless the building’s HVAC system has a sufficient fresh air exchange, the potential for developing the "sick building syndrome," is very real. Dr. Grant related his knowledge of and experiences with sick buildings, stating that they are very expensive to correct. Chuck Emerson, public works director, said that the architect’s design was reviewed by a mechanical engineer of the County’s choosing, and found satisfactory. Dr. Grant and Mr. Coble stated that air exchange design is an imperfect science and that many buildings have problems because of this, and requested an evaluation of the HVAC system by someone who is a specialist in that field. County planner Betsey Krempasky also expressed her concerns, stating that the design needs to be checked for air quality sufficiency, not HVAC efficiency. By unanimous consent, the Commissioners authorized Dr. Grant and Mr. Coble to recommend someone to perform the evaluation.

The Commissioners discussed the education study commission requested last week by Mr. Cole. Janice Davison said she had an opportunity to look into it, and cautioned that the term "performance audit" is encompassing, and that depending on the direction the study takes, it could well constitute an audit even if the Commissioners say that is not what it is. If the Commissioners request a performance audit and the Board of Education does not agree, the state will hire a consultant to do the audit and will bill the County and the Board of Education equally. If the County and the Board agree on what is to be done, the state does not need to be involved. Mr. Cole clarified that he has the following in mind at this point, not a performance audit:

Initial Mission of the Education Study Commission

Within ninety days of its creation, the panel will return answers to the following three questions:

1. Should a performance audit of the Caroline County Public Schools be conducted?
2. Should Caroline County have an elected school board?
3. Should Caroline County continue its financial support of Chesapeake College?

Mr. Cole stated that the commission should be comprised of people with substantial experience in the field of education and parents/laypeople. He requested that the matter be further discussed at next week’s meeting, which was agreed upon. Ms. Davison said this mission should be acceptable as long as the advisory body is clear on its limits, but that there is no obligation on the part of the school system to participate in this type of inquiry, and that she would have to look at the legal basis for the relationship with Chesapeake College. When the Commissioners are clear and specific about what they would like the body to do, then she can do the legal research. President Myers said this is the first she has heard of the questions, that the Commissioners need time to determine if there should be others, that the County needs to look at the law, and that there would need to be an appointing resolution.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners, as owners, unanimously approved and President Myers signed letters to Hertzbach & Company, P.A. engaging them for the FY 1997-98 audit of Dayspring I and Dayspring II Townhomes in the total amount of $6,000, the cost of which is paid for by Interfaith Housing Development Corporation.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed Lease Addendum between the County, lessee, and James R. and Dorothy V. McConnell, lessor, for renewal of rental of 2,328 of space at 606 Sunnyside Avenue, Denton, for the mental health division of the health department, for the period July 1, 1998 – June 30, 1999, at a rental cost of $2,070.32 per month.

Following presentation by Lester Coble, environmental health director, the Commissioners, on motion of Mr. Cole, unanimously approved and signed the required land application of sewage sludge monitoring report for the last half of FY 1997-98 prepared by Mr. Coble for submittal to the Maryland Department of the Environment; and furthermore approved and signed Agreement Between the County Commissioners of Caroline County, Maryland and the Maryland Department of the Environment for supplemental monitoring and testing of sludge and sludge sites with a state allocation of $1,000 toward costs.

President Myers reported on the Governor’s award of $4 million to the region for Rural Legacy land preservation.

On motion by Mr. Cole, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed a letter to the Maryland Department of the Environment expressing concern about the existing cones of depression in the Piney Point aquifer, and recent use of this confined, limited, and slow to recharge aquifer for agricultural irrigation; requesting that the state’s proposed study be comprehensive and precise, and requesting advance information about the study, and public education.

On motion by Mr. Cole, the Commissioners unanimously approved and President Myers signed a letter of appreciation to the Choptank Ruritan Club for their volunteer work in reroofing the 4-H and Youth Park livestock barn.

On motion by Mr. Cole, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed a letter to the chairman/CEO of Delmarva Power expressing concern about recent power outages and requesting a meeting with Bryan Ebling, emergency management director.

Mr. Cawley discussed the possibility of locating the tourism/EDC office in the Courthouse, albeit temporarily, although other locations are being looked into as well. The Commissioners have no problem with the Courthouse location.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners, in response to requests from retirees, unanimously granted a monthly cost-of-living increase to retirees in the amount of $.50 for every year served, effective July 8, 1998, at a cost of $5,000 to the County. The last adjustment was made in 1992.

Mr. Cole requested the following:

1. A Dover Bridge Awareness Day proclamation for next Tuesday;
2. A request to staff to look into public landing ramp use fees, since adjoining counties have them, and Caroline gets out-of-county traffic. Ms. Davison suggested that the miscellaneous civil infraction law should also be looked at in conjunction with that.
3. Look into either buying better recording equipment for auditorium-sized rooms or contracting out this service, due to the number of skips and "inaudibles" in the transcripts.
4. Look into the payroll information the Board of Education said they would provide to the Commissioners, which hasn’t been received.

There being no further business, on motion of Mr. LeGates, the meeting was adjourned.

Leigh Sands

Executive Assistant