Town Council Meeting

Mount Airy may become the third Carroll County town to establish a home page on the World Wide Web.Mayor Gerald R. Johnson has reported that the format for the town's home page has been designed. He hopes to introduce it at the Feb. 3 Town Council meeting.Westminster has a home page that lists events, biographies of the mayor and council and descriptions of departments. Manchester's home page describes town government functions.Pub Date: 1/13/97

A resolution proposed by Mount Airy Mayor Frank Johnson to endorse a national climate-protection pledge died at a Town Council meeting last night. Council member John Woodhull made a motion to support Johnson's resolution, but it was not seconded by any of the three other council members present. As mayor, Johnson can introduce legislation and resolutions but does not vote. Sykesville is the only one of Carroll County's eight municipalities to endorse the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, which promotes energy conservation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mayor Earl A. J. "Tim" Warehime Jr. proclaimed the white oak the official tree of the town of Manchester during Wednesday's Town Council meeting."We have probably the second oldest white oak in the state," he said.That oak appears on the town seal.Manchester has a second connection with the white oak. The late Earl L. Yingling, a longtime town resident, was chief caretaker of the Wye Oak on the Eastern Shore.Councilwoman Charlotte Collett said yesterday the town may plant white oak seedlings as part of its Arbor Day celebrations this spring.

After two terms that saw Carroll's once-smallest town double in size, Jack A. Gullo Jr., New Windsor's mayor, will not seek re-election. Gullo, 32, ended Wednesday's Town Council meeting with what he called a bittersweet announcement. He will not seek a third term. "I have spent eight years ... doing this job, and saying good-bye to something I have really enjoyed is difficult," Gullo said. "I know that I have made a difference, but now is the time to pursue other options. I came to make a difference, not to stay."

A resolution proposed by Mount Airy Mayor Frank Johnson to endorse a national climate-protection pledge died at a Town Council meeting last night. Council member John Woodhull made a motion to support Johnson's resolution, but it was not seconded by any of the three other council members present. As mayor, Johnson can introduce legislation and resolutions but does not vote. Sykesville is the only one of Carroll County's eight municipalities to endorse the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, which promotes energy conservation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sykesville police officers issued 55 citations and 13 warnings last month to motorists who failed to obey stop signs.Mayor Kenneth W. Clark had asked for increased monitoring in response to residents' complaints about drivers speeding through neighborhood intersections posted with signs.The mayor said 42 visitors and 26 residents were ticketed in July."I would like the campaign to continue for a few more months," the mayor said at the Town Council meeting Monday. "If we write enough tickets, people who come to Sykesville will know they have to obey our traffic laws."

The developers of a business complex on Raincliffe Road at Route 32 met in closed session with the Town Council and mayor Tuesday to workout additional details of financing.At the Feb. 25 Town Council meeting, the council split, 3-3, on a vote to introduce an ordinance accepting Security Enterprises Inc.'s proposal to finance the Mount Etna Business Center with $1.5 million in state and county loans.David W. Moxley, representing the developer, then requested de-annexation from the town for the center but said that the firm still hoped to work out financing with the town.

Carroll Commissioner Donald I. Dell and several county staffers will attend Monday's Sykesville Town Council meeting to discuss water and sewer rate increases and repairs to Spout Hill Road.The town asked the commissioner to attend the meeting to answer questions about the issues.Yesterday, Mr. Dell met with staff members to discuss the meeting.He and Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman will discuss why the county increased water, sewer and area connection fees in the Freedom District last August.

The proposed relocation of part of Bachman Road in Manchester will be the subject of a public hearing tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall, before the regular Town Council meeting.The developers of the Blevins Claim subdivision propose relocating the section of Bachman Road that extends from the sharp turn one block south of Augusta Road to the intersection with Holland Drive.The existing section of road would become a dead-end street. It would end in a cul-de-sac at the place where the sharp curve south of Augusta Road now exists.

Preliminary work on the town's fiscal 1992 budget has begun, as the project administrator and town staff try to assess the impact of state, federal and county budget cuts.While no numbers have been released, the town's budget is expected to total close to $900,000 for the year beginning July 1.It is not known if the town will change its tax rate of 42 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, one of the lowest in the Baltimore metropolitan region. For the current budget year, the tax rate was lowered from 46 cents per $100.

After two terms that saw Carroll's once-smallest town double in size, Jack A. Gullo Jr., New Windsor's mayor, will not seek re-election. Gullo, 32, ended Wednesday's Town Council meeting with what he called a bittersweet announcement. He will not seek a third term. "I have spent eight years, 25 percent of my life, doing this job and saying good-bye to something I have really enjoyed is difficult," Gullo said. "I know that I have made a difference but now is the time to pursue other options.

Manchester officials plan to tear down a town-owned apartment building next to town offices in the Memorial Building for much-needed parking. The council voted Tuesday night to again seek bids for the demolition of the building at 3206 York St., with ample notice to tenants who have been renting month to month. The town had looked into tearing down the building before and had a bid then that was thousands of dollars less than the others. If that price is available, the council agreed to accept it without rebidding the project.

For want of a quorum at a Town Council meeting Monday, Sykesville has no cable TV contract, no new dump truck and vacancies on several key committees. All official business must wait for the next council session July 10, provided that at least four members of the six-member council are in attendance. Mayor Jonathan S. Herman had his gavel ready, but even if he could have opened the meeting, he could not make a motion to adjourn. Herman broke his record for brevity, chairing a council session that never was. Illness and conflicts with work and vacation schedules kept four council members from the meeting, the only session scheduled for this month.

Officials have changed the location of tonight's Town Council meeting on Main Street changes to accommodate the large number of residents expected to attend. The session begins at 7 p.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 7538 Main St. First on the agenda is a discussion with State Highway Administration on Route 851, the town's major thoroughfare. The town is considering making the highway, which is both Main Street and Springfield Avenue, a municipal road. Officials are seeking public comment.

The first public discussion of a neighborhood conservation project for New Windsor's Main Street drew more than 35 people last night. State Highway Administration engineers and planners made a presentation that took the place of the regular monthly Town Council meeting. The discussion represented the first step in the project to improve the area of Route 31 -- the town's Main Street -- from Coe Drive to Church Street. "This is really the beginning," said Ken Goon, of Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, a Baltimore engineering firm.

Though $80,000 higher than this year, the Union Bridge budget for fiscal 2000 "is still pretty tight" because the town needs to set aside money for sorely needed water and sewer improvements, Mayor Perry Jones Jr. said.Approved at Monday night's Town Council meeting, the operating budget for the town of 1,000 totals $556,688, up from $476,770 this year. The increase is based on higher water and sewer rates, which will go into effect July 1, Jones said. The rates vary according to usage.The property tax rate, 75 cents per $100 of assessed value, will not change.

Sykesville town officials expect to have a rough draft of the fiscal 1996 budget ready for the April 10 Town Council meeting."We are waiting for information from a few more sources so that we can make revenue projections," said Matthew H. Candland, the town manager. "We should hear from those this week."From April 11 to 30, the council will schedule work sessions on line items in the proposed budget. A public hearing could be scheduled as early as May 8.The town adopted a 2-cent tax-rate increase last year, to 84 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The accountants who regularly audit Union Bridge's financial records have been asked to examine the town's water bill accounts, at the request of the criminal investigation division of the state police Westminster barracks.Water customers voiced anger at a Town Council meeting last month after learning that some customers with broken meters have been receiving estimated bills for years. Veteran Town Clerk Kathleen D. Kreimer went on a mutually agreed-upon leave of absence Oct. 26.State police asked for the audit "because people had made complaints that there could be criminal activity" in the billing practices, said Tfc. John N. Reininger of the criminal investigation division.

So far, there are no contests in the Sykesville municipal election on May 4. All four incumbents are running and no challengers have emerged.It all could change tomorrow at the Town Council meeting when anyone can nominate a candidate."

Mount Airy may become the third Carroll County town to establish a home page on the World Wide Web.Mayor Gerald R. Johnson has reported that the format for the town's home page has been designed. He hopes to introduce it at the Feb. 3 Town Council meeting.Westminster has a home page that lists events, biographies of the mayor and council and descriptions of departments. Manchester's home page describes town government functions.Pub Date: 1/13/97