Frederick City Council Public Meeting - September 7, 2023
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Frederick City Council Public Meeting - September 7, 2023
The Frederick Mayor and Board of Aldermen held a public meeting on September 7, 2023, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included a proclamation for Aortic Disease Awareness Day, approval of minutes, consent agenda items, four public hearing items (budget amendment, traffic signal contract, pension plan revisions, and Parks and Recreation Master Plan), an appointment, and public comments on various topics including rent increases, environmental concerns, and accessibility.
Consent Calendar
- Release of Sureties: Approved a motion to release the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company bond ($21,671.28) for the Spring Bank – Temporary Stockpile project. (4-0)
- Special Ordinances: Approved a special ordinance to amend the budget for police grant revenue and a special ordinance to amend the FY2024 budget with an increase of $449,526 for a grant partnership with the Asian Center of Frederick and the University of Maryland. (4-0)
- Grant Agreements: Approved the MOU and Sponsored Research Agreement extending the grant partnership with the Asian American Center of Frederick and the University of Maryland with $449,526 from the Department of Health and Human Services (OASH). (4-0)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jeanette Bartelt (citizen): Questioned the legality of rent increases exceeding 5% in Frederick County, expressed concern that landlords are forcing out tenants to raise rents. Argued that the environment is in collapse (citing drought, dead grass, fire risk), criticized the lack of action on West Side Regional Park, opposed the removal of trees on Route 40 for a car wash, and suggested alternative uses for the barn and other buildings (library, senior center, IBM site). Also raised issues about handicapped parking accessibility at City Hall.
- Renee Joyner Pitts (citizen): First time attending; sought to understand how citizens can propose initiatives to the Aldermen. Was directed to leave contact information with the city clerk for follow-up.
- Unnamed speaker (public comment during Parks Master Plan): Opposed pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide application in parks, citing health risks to children and pets. Also opposed any privatization of parks.
Discussion Items
- Public Hearing Item 1 – Budget Amendment for Signal Traffic Design: Nicole Harshman (Project Manager, DPW) presented a special ordinance to amend the CIP budget by an additional $300,000 for Yellow Springs Road/Tuscany Drive intersection improvements, transferring funds from the general CIP project. Approved 4-0.
- Public Hearing Item 2 – Contract with Pleasants Construction for Traffic Signal: Nicole Harshman presented a not-to-exceed contract of $1,659,611.90 and a purchase order of $1,800,000 for construction of a traffic signal, sidewalk improvements, roadway widening, and storm drain improvements at Yellow Springs Road and Tuscanney Drive. Construction expected mid-to-late fall 2023, completion by early summer 2024. Approved 4-0.
- Public Hearing Item 3 – Pension Plan Revisions: Karen Paulson (Director of HR) requested approval of two resolutions to amend the 25-year and 30-year pension plans, removing the “rule of 90” provision for employees hired on/after July 1, 2012. The provision had been a source of confusion and dissatisfaction. The change aligns with the city’s strategic goal of competitive employment and is projected to increase annual city-funded pension contributions by approximately $128,000 (combined plans). Staff were notified and will see changes on annual statements in October. Approved separately: 25-year plan (4-0) and 30-year plan (4-0).
- Public Hearing Item 4 – Parks and Recreation Master Plan:
- Bob Smith (Parks and Recreation) and Tom Deal (Barry Dunn consulting) presented the updated plan with a detailed implementation plan, addressing 78 individual parks and specific amenities. The plan includes six major goals, objectives, action items, capital costs, operational budget impact, and time frames.
- Aldermanic concerns: Alderwoman Zemchak questioned the selection process for focus groups (deemed invitation-only and lacking non-user input), the demographic representativeness of surveys, the recommendation to install air dryers (citing hygiene concerns), volunteer use for maintenance, privatization suggestions, and the omission of pesticide use. She expressed lack of faith in the plan. Alderwoman Nash echoed concerns about the plan’s usability for budget prioritization, noting that many recommendations require staff time without clear cost estimates. She took issue with the absence of a recommendation to stop harmful pesticide use. Alderwoman Shackelford thanked the consultants for noting public art, ADA accessibility, and trail needs, but could not support the plan due to specific objections. Alderwoman Russell appreciated the demographic analysis and acknowledged the need for additional staff.
- Staff response: The consultants explained that recommendations are not mandates, that focus groups were supplemented by public meetings and statistically valid surveys, and that the plan includes a suggestion to consider studies on maintenance costs. They acknowledged the pesticide omission and offered to revisit it.
- Vote: Motion to adopt the resolution passed 3-0 (Alderman Shackelford, Alderwoman Nash, Alderman Russell in favor; Alderwoman Zemchak opposed; Alderman McShane absent).
Appointments
- NAC 6 Coordinator: Appointed Barry Thoma as Neighborhood Advisory Council 6 coordinator for a two-year term from September 8, 2023 to September 7, 2025. Approved 4-0.
Aldermanic Business/New Business
- Alderwoman Nash: Shared two constituent complaints about rent increases (one: $300 increase on a townhome now $2,700/month; another: 12% increase at Willowdale apartments, base rent from $1,229 to $1,379). Announced intention to bring forward a conversation about rent control/regulation in the coming months.
- Alderwoman Ash: Notified the public about upcoming FCPS redistricting meetings (Sept. 7 at Frederick High, Sept. 11 at Thomas Johnson). Announced intention to introduce an ordinance for a review of the parkland dedication fee in lieu program, with a suggested six-month review period and a temporary suspension of waivers during that time. Requested that the ordinance be introduced for first reading as early as the next meeting.
- Alderman Shackelford: Reminded of Saturday’s “Streets” event and opened the NFL football season.
- Alderman Russell: Suggested that for future public comments, the city should offer to bring a microphone to individuals who have difficulty reaching the podium.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Minutes of August 3, 2023 (4-0).
- Approved: Consent calendar items (release of sureties, special ordinances, grant agreements) all 4-0.
- Approved: Special ordinance to amend budget for signal traffic design (4-0).
- Approved: Contract with Pleasants Construction for traffic signal at Yellow Springs Road and Tuscanney Drive (4-0).
- Approved: Resolutions to amend 25-year and 30-year pension plans (each 4-0).
- Approved: Resolution to adopt the Parks and Recreation Master Plan (3-0, one opposed).
- Approved: Appointment of Barry Thoma as NAC 6 coordinator (4-0).
- Announced: Alderwoman Nash will bring forward a rent control discussion; Alderwoman Ash will introduce an ordinance for parkland dedication fee review.
- Suggestion: Alderman Russell’s proposal to provide microphone access for disabled speakers during public comments.
Meeting Transcript
Pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all. So we are calling an audible this evening. Tonight we are proclaiming Aortic Disease Awareness Day. And so if you are here this evening to join us for that proclamation, I'd ask you to come down to the front. The board can join me on the floor. Proclaiming this aortic disease awareness day is not the audible. The audible is that usually I have a nice piece of paper that I can read from where I read a whole bunch of facts about aortic awareness disease. And then we formally proclaim it and hand that piece of paper to you. But that doesn't stop me. I don't need a piece of paper to proclaim this aortic disease awareness. That's just the formality of having you here to talk about aortic disease is really the more important part about the proclamation. So at this point, what I'm going to do is turn the microphone over to you and let you talk a little bit about who you are, who's with you, and why we're doing this proclamation. Well, thank you so much, and thank you so much for having me. Many of you might not even know what an aorta is, but that is the light line, the highway of all of the blood that flows from your heart to the rest of your entire body. Now, a lot of you probably have heard of John Ritter, beloved community doctor. He unfortunately passed away due to a misdiagnosis. And I am someone that was fortunate enough to survive. So many years ago, seeing that there was a lot missing from within the community, I decided to create along with a couple other people a nonprofit organization that specializes in providing support and resources to patients, survivors, and caregivers during the recovery and management of aortic disease. And so we do that. We do that in a variety of ways. So we're we're finding a lot of followers, and we're really able to provide a lot of resources. And with me here today is another one of my board members, Terry Cook. She's also a survivor, as well as our IT producers with us today, too. Josh Hernandez. But there's just way too much information to try to basically educate the community on one day. So we take the entire month of September to do that. So this is known as Aortic Disease Awareness Day, and our goal is really just to provide that support and help save lives. So thank you again so much. Well, thank you. We very much appreciate you helping us to understand more, to educate us and for doing what you do. We thank you for working with others for being a survivor and for taking that experience and doing what you can do to help so many other people. We're appreciative of it and happy to help make this proclamation to assist you in your efforts. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Thank you. And and we will get that fancy piece of paper and get it to you because that's important also. That's wonderful. Thank you very much. We have minutes to approve August 3rd, 2023 public meeting. So move for approval. Second. Motion by Alderman Shackelford, second by Alderman McZemC. All those in favor, that is 4-0. Alderman McShane is absent, having notified us that he would not be present for this evening's meeting. Mayor's comments, none at this time. Aldermanic business and comments. Alderman Russell.
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