The Mayor and Board of Aldermen (City Council) held a public meeting on September 19, 2024, at 7:00 PM. The meeting covered routine approvals, public comments on global and local issues, and a comprehensive series of charter amendment resolutions. Key decisions included adopting a five-district, two at-large council structure; enacting term limits; and allowing non-citizen residents to vote in city elections.
Good evening and welcome to the Mayor Board of Alderman public meeting for the nineteenth of September. We begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. It's on already, so you just have to make sure you talk into it because you know two or three inches away is what we need. Gracias. So I will not personal. No. Okay. In the meantime, do you mind if I can sit with there? If there's someone else that comes, then I'd like to use the device if that's okay. Yeah. Thank you. Let me grab my vote. We have minutes to approve August 15th, 2024. So move. Motion by Alderman Shackleford, second by Alderman McZemC. All those in favor. That is 5-0. Thank you very much. We have one appointment this evening, appointment of Lee Hand to complete a term expiring September 21st, 2026 to the Zoning Board of Appeals. So move. Motion by Alderman Shackleford, second by Alderman Kazemchek. All those in favor. That is 5-0. Thank you very much. Great Southern Investment LLC, a Maryland limited liability company, Marvin Oshman Revocable Trust, Faith Reformed Presbyterian Church. For those contiguous parcels of land containing 71.76 acres, more or less, being generally known as the High Glen Annexation, located on the north side of Christopher's Crossing, west of its intersection with Yellow Springs Road. We uh, as we did at the last meeting, have a pretty extensive agenda ahead of us this evening. And so in order to be as efficient as we possibly can, um, I'm gonna ask the clerk to uh pull the sign-up sheet now. Um you can finish signing up, absolutely. We are going to uh take public comment from anyone who signed up for public comment this evening in the in the general public comment. We of course take public comment on any specific agenda item as well. Uh but again, given the length of the agenda this evening, we are going to limit public comment this evening to three minutes per uh individual who has signed up. So when we get to public comments, we will go off of this list. Uh if anyone else who did not sign up wishes to make public comment, we will take public comment at the end of the meeting as we do at all of our public meetings. Aldermanic business and comments. Alderwoman Ash. No, thank you. Alderman Russell. Yes, actually, first uh just to remind everybody that Monday is car free day. You can register at Carfree Metro DC.org and uh experience being car free, car light and taking less uh single vehicle, single occupant vehicle trips. Um secondly, later we'll be discussing several charter amendments, so I'd like to speak to one now. There is a resolution to change the eligibility of voters in the city elections. It essentially says that anyone who resides in the city of Frederick can vote in our elections. It creates a separate registry for those persons who cannot register or have not or have chosen not to register with the state of Maryland. This has been a controversial issue from the start, and my position has always been that this should be a decision made by the voters. Unfortunately, we do not have the authority to place this question on a ballot for the voters who actually make that decision. However, we do have the ability to place the question on the ballot of a special election or the next general election as an advisory referendum. In other words, we can hold off on that change tonight, place the question for the public to voice their preference, and then proceed with a fully informed decision of the voters. We do need an ordinance that would enable that action according to our rules of procedure. If an ordinance is introduced less than 21 days before an agenda is published, a majority of the board has to approve its addition to the agenda.