Frederick Mayor and Board of Aldermen Public Meeting - January 18, 2024
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Frederick Mayor and Board of Aldermen Public Meeting - January 18, 2024
The Mayor and Board of Aldermen held a regular public meeting on January 18, 2024, at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, consent agenda items, public hearings on several contracts and tax credit ordinances, and public comments from residents regarding police conduct. All actions were taken with a 4-0 vote unless otherwise noted.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from December 7, 2023 and December 21, 2023 regular public meetings.
- Release of Sureties: Approved release of a $92,762.93 cash surety for Prospect Investors, LLC (Dutch's Daughter Parking Lot) and a $51,060.00 bond for Land Bay A, LLC (Kellerton Land Bay A, Phase 1 afforestation).
- Grants: Approved grant agreements with the Community Foundation of Frederick County for behavioral health services – substance use response and veteran support.
- Special Ordinances: Approved two budget amendments to incorporate grant funds for substance use disorder support services and veteran behavioral health support services.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jacob Pugh (resident) described being pulled over on December 29, 2023 by Frederick City Police, charged with five counts including DUI of marijuana, despite blowing 0.00 on alcohol, failing a field sobriety test, and not taking a drug recognition test. He alleged the officer committed perjury on citations and argued there was no probable cause. He expressed concern about losing his livelihood.
- Levi Trumble spoke in support of Mr. Pugh, noting he himself was pulled over three days earlier (December 26) and experienced a similar routine with three deputies. He stated he refused the field sobriety test and was not arrested, suggesting possible police quota issues. He offered body camera footage from his incident.
Public Hearing Items
- Approval of Agreement with Flyleaf Creative, Inc. for Weinberg Center for the Arts Website (RFP 24-G): Barbara Hiller, marketing manager, presented. The current website (launched 2018) needs updating. Bid was $50,000, within the $40,000 budget plus $15,000 grant from Visit Frederick. Flyleaf has experience with Spectrix ticketing platform. Approved 4-0.
- Approval of Amendment to Master Services Agreement with AXON Enterprises for AXON VR Training Platform: Aaron Lapp (police department) presented. A grant covers the first year (equipment plus four months service) and the city would fund the next three years (amounts in requested budget). The VR platform is mobile, provides immersive training, and can be used for community outreach. Approved 4-0.
- Approval of Contract with Capital Electric Supply for Replacement of Variable Frequency Drives at Wastewater Treatment Facility (IFB 24-4): Tim Moffat (superintendent) presented. The contract is for $421,428, $20,217 over the budgeted $401,211 due to inflation, but current operating budget can cover the excess. The drives are obsolete and failing. Alderman Kelly abstained due to prior work with a parent company (Schneider Electric). Approved 3-0-1.
- Approval of Two Ordinances for Property Tax Credits (Items 4 & 5): Katie Barkell (Budget Director) presented three credits mirroring Frederick County programs:
- Elderly Individuals and Uniform Service Members Property Tax Credit: Available to individuals 65+ who are retired uniform service members, or to active/retired/honorably discharged with service-connected disability; also for elderly residents (65+) with income ≤$80,000 and 30 consecutive years of ownership. Each credit is 20% of net property tax on up to $400,000 assessed value.
- Partially Disabled Veterans Property Tax Credit: For honorably discharged veterans with at least 50% permanent service-connected disability. Credit equals 50% of net tax for 75-99% disability, or 25% for 50-74% disability.
- Public comment: Lance English (resident) thanked Alderman Russell and noted that currently only 11 city homeowners receive the disabled veteran credit, 38 receive the uniform services credit, and 3 receive the elderly credit. He urged advertising on Veterans Day. Both ordinances approved 4-0.
Key Outcomes
- All consent items approved unanimously (4-0).
- Weinberg Center website contract with Flyleaf Creative approved 4-0.
- AXON VR training platform amendment approved 4-0.
- Capital Electric Supply contract approved 3-0-1 (Alderman Kelly abstained).
- Property tax credit ordinances (Items 4 and 5) approved 4-0 each.
- The Board expressed appreciation to DPW and police staff for managing foul weather conditions and to agencies serving homeless individuals.
- Introduction of Devin Pert, new local government relations associate from Frederick County.
- No further public comments or new business; meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the January 18th Mayor and Board Board of Otterman regular public meeting. We will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. We have minutes to approve uh December 7th, 2023. So move. Second, thank you. We have a first and second. All in favor. That's four zero. Thank you very much. December 21st, 2023, regular public meeting. So move. Second. Thank you. First and second. All in favor. That's four zero. Thank you very much. Automatic comments. Autorome exemption. Do you want to start us off? Anything that's nice? Sure. I don't know if he intends to introduce himself, but I'm gonna introduce him. Uh anyway, uh we have a new uh local government relations associate from Frederick County here, uh, Mr. Devin Pert. Yeah. Um so we'd just like to say welcome uh to your to your first mayor and board meeting for the city of Frederick, and we look forward to having you uh involved with all the municipalities and liaisoning with the county. So it's terrific to have you. Maybe sort of dovetailing into that. I was just gonna talk about very quickly the Sustainable Monocracy Commission, which is a county commission, but which the mayor has appointed. He appoints all of us, but I happen to draw the the good straw on this one. So um they have a new video out that's gonna be featured um monocussy footage and all the great things about the monocase. They're trying to raise awareness about this amazing resource in our backyard. So I just wanted to highlight that work. Um it should be uh on the county channel uh and their social media. Thank you very much. No comments, thank you. All right. It does not have to be on the agenda. Um please note that speakers will be asked to give your first name. We have a list. Awesome. Okay, and on our list we have Jacob Pugh. We'll ask you to limit your comments to five minutes, and you'll see a timer start right here when you're ready. Yes, so make sure. Uh good evening, good members of the council. My name is uh Jacob Hugh, and uh my livelihoods are sick at the moment. I'm currently employed at Sheets out there uh off of Route 85 and 270. Um I stocked the back room and put away all of the product on the shelves. Um on December 29th, 2023.
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