Frederick City Council Public Meeting Summary - September 5, 2024
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Frederick City Council Public Meeting Summary - September 5, 2024
The Mayor and Board of Aldermen met on September 5, 2024, at 7:00 PM in City Hall for a public meeting with a lengthy agenda. The meeting included presentations, public comments on multiple issues, approvals of grants, contracts, and ordinances, two annexations, and a quasi-judicial rezoning hearing. The meeting adjourned after over three hours of deliberation.
Consent Calendar
- Grants: Approved a Capital Grant Agreement with the State of Maryland Board of Public Works for Weinberg Center Improvements. (Motion by Alderwoman Kazemchak, second by Alderman Shackelford; vote 5-0.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ceasefire Resolution: Multiple residents (Tina Meadows O'Rear, Grady O'Rear, Daniel Maluly, Willie Mahone of Frederick County NAACP, Hanaida Hamad) urged the Council to pass a ceasefire resolution regarding the Gaza conflict. Speakers emphasized humanitarian concerns and called for local action on global human rights.
- Non-Citizen Voting: Yowande Oladeinde (president of Association of Nigerians in Frederick and chair of Frederick County Immigrant Affairs Commission) and Lakshmi Darbha (Aveni nonprofit) advocated for extending voting rights to all city residents regardless of immigration status, urging charter-level inclusion.
- Ranked Choice Voting: Daniel Maluly (Frederick DSA) also supported ranked choice voting, citing a recent League of Women Voters forum and canvassing success.
- Wormans Mill Court Rezoning: Public comment included Paul Gorgle (property owner) opposing the project due to traffic and walkability concerns, and Heather Goddard (East Frederick Rising) supporting the project for providing affordable housing near schools and trails.
- Christoff Annexation: Leslie Powell (Meadowbrook resident) argued the annexation was premature per the comprehensive plan and requested a larger buffer; Catherine Plaskett and Laura Steele echoed concerns about buffers, density, and traffic on Opossumtown Pike.
- Winpenny Annexation: David Matlik (Tuscarora Creek resident) raised concerns about road connectivity through Lake and Drive, a narrow residential street, and requested that townhomes be relocated away from his property.
Discussion Items
- Security Services Contract (MTAC Inc.): Nathan Hupp (City Emergency Manager) presented a $240,000 agreement for security services at City Hall and other locations, including executive protection (at $39.60/hour). Discussion revealed limited transparency on specifics. The motion passed 3-2 (Aldermen Russell, Shackelford, McShane in favor; Alderwomen Nash, Kazemchak opposed).
- Police Headquarters Equipment: Mark DeCampo (Director of Strategic Planning) presented three purchase orders totaling approximately $1.03 million for 911 electronic equipment, dispatch stations, and interview room recording equipment. Funding comes from the approved CIP budget. The city is working with the county to seek reimbursement from the state 911 board for over half the costs. Approved unanimously (5-0).
- School Mitigation Fees: Guy Samson (Chief of Staff) and Dr. Paul Lebo (FCPS COO) presented a Special Ordinance S-24-24 and an MOU to allocate $2.25 million each to Whittier and Hillcrest Elementary Schools. Discussion noted that the city collects fees from developers but FCPS is responsible for school facilities. Both items passed unanimously (5-0).
- Employee Handbook Revisions: Matt Bowman (IT Manager) presented Resolution 24-12 to update the city's employee policies on communications and computer systems, aligning with recent IT security initiatives. Approved unanimously (5-0).
- Imitation/Replica Weapons Ordinance (G-24-14): Sergeant Mike Murphy (FPD) presented a new chapter in city code prohibiting possession, sale to minors, and discharge of replica firearms (BB guns, air guns). Penalties include a $1,000 fine and up to 90 days incarceration. Approved unanimously (5-0).
- Wormans Mill Court Rezoning (Conditions): This quasi-judicial matter included staff, applicant, and public testimony. The Planning Department recommended denial, citing incompatibility with the mixed-use floating zone criteria, lack of walkability, and environmental sensitivity. The applicant (Standard Communities) proposed a 100% affordable workforce housing project (315 units at 60% AMI) with a 5,000 sq ft commercial component. After several motions, the board approved a set of four conditions (motion by Alderman Shackleford, second by Alderwoman Kazemchak) by a 3-2 vote: (1) applicant to construct or fund the shared-use path (at the required grade for future bridge crossing) from the southern limits north to the ramp of the future Route 15/MD 26 bridge; (2) all costs for design, permitting, and construction of future access points across the Rails with Trails project; (3) site afforestation/reforestation requirements; (4) vehicle access from Hum Lane to North Market Street limited to emergency access only. Following the vote, applicant Bruce Dean requested 90 days to decide on acceptance. The board voted to table the ordinance and master plan items 4-1 (Alderman Russell opposed) pending the applicant's response.
- Christoff Annexation (57 acres): Staff and applicant presented the three components of the annexation (plan, agreement, resolution). The property, zoned R-4 (low density residential), will yield up to 228 units with a PND cluster design, including a 15-acre park dedication and an $8,000 per unit regional infrastructure fee. Approved unanimously (5-0) on all three votes.
- Winpenny Annexation (79 acres): Similar to Christoff, zoned R-4 (up to 316 units), with an $8,000 per unit regional infrastructure fee, a $2,000 per unit contribution to a new water tank, and a requirement to connect Winpenny Drive to the road network. A 100-foot stream buffer was agreed. Approved unanimously (5-0) on all three votes.
Key Outcomes
- Security Contract Approved (3-2) – for $240,000 with MTAC Inc.
- Police HQ Equipment Purchase Orders Approved ($1.03 million) – unanimously.
- School Mitigation Fees: Special Ordinance and MOU approved (5-0 each) – directing $4.5 million total to Whittier and Hillcrest Elementary.
- Employee Policies Handbook Revised (5-0).
- Replica Weapons Ordinance Enacted (5-0), effective immediately.
- Wormans Mill Rezoning Conditions Approved (3-2); the rezoning and master plan items tabled (4-1) pending applicant's response within 90 days.
- Christoff and Winpenny Annexations Approved (all 5-0) – enlarging the city boundary by a total of ~136 acres for low-density residential development.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, and welcome to the Mayor and Board of Alderman Public Meeting for the Fifth of September. We begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. One nation individual justice. Second. Motion by Alderwoman Kazemchak, second by Alderman Shackleford. All those in favor. That is five zero. Alderman McShane is joining us from an undisclosed remote location. We have several appointments this evening. First is our public art commission appointment of Sumner Crenshaw for a three-year term, September sixth, twenty twenty-four to September fifth, twenty twenty-seven. Move for approval. Second. Motion by Altwood McZemC, seconded by Alderman Shackleford. All those in favor. We this evening anticipate having a somewhat lengthy agenda. And so in order to accommodate as best we can all of the items that we have here this evening, we are going to modify our procedures just a little bit for this evening. And this will be true for every item that's on the agenda plus the public comment that we do. Typically, we allow five minutes for public comment because of the agenda. We are going to reduce that this evening to three minutes per individual for public comment. We did get one request in advance of the meeting for someone speaking on behalf of a group of individual, and we've already negotiated an amount of time for that individual to present on behalf of that group. But what that means is that that individual is speaking on behalf of the group and the other members of the group have to allow the individual that they've designated to speak on behalf of them to be the person that speaks for uh all of them. Uh we also uh have a sign-up process for the public comment. Um, and anyone who's been to our meetings before knows that uh we'll always take the public comment for the people that sign up this evening. Uh we are only going to take the comments at the beginning of the meeting for those who have signed up for public comment at the beginning of the meeting. We will hear from everyone as we get to the end of the agenda, so we'll take everyone's public comment on whatever item they want to talk about at the end of the meeting. We have those two opportunities for public comment, but again, trying to keep uh some uh uh efficiency to our agenda this evening because we expect it to be lengthy. We will do public comment uh our first public comment from those individuals who came into the room and signed up this evening. So those are just a couple little modifications tonight to accommodate the length of our agenda. Aldermanic uh comments, uh Alderman McShane. I I think you said no comments, but I didn't hear it. Uh Alder Woman Kazemchek. Alderman Shackelford. No comments, thank you. Alderman Russell, Alderwoman Nash. I'll just say thank you very much for that approach, Mayor. Uh, very dense agenda, very um heavy or you know, very um detail-oriented things that we're considering tonight, and I think for the betterment of the city, I really appreciate your approach. Thank you very much. Thank you. So now we are on to that first opportunity for public comment. So again, I'm gonna take the individuals who did sign up for public comment at the beginning of the meeting, and it will be three minutes per individual. We have Yowande Ola Dayende. Okay. Thank you very much. Um Tina Meadows O'Rear. Good evening. My name is Tina Meadows Rear, and I'm from 1726, Shookstown Road. I'm here to testify on behalf of a ceasefire resolution, which has been submitted to all of you. Um, I'm not gonna read it tonight, but I am going to emphasize that Frederick Cease Fire now stands alongside many U.S. Jews, united in our call to end violence and oppression. If you question the impact of a local resolution on a global issue, hear these profound 1958 words from Eleanor Roosevelt, who spoke as chair of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
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