Frederick City Council Public Meeting – September 19, 2024: Charter Amendments on Districts, Term Limits, Non-Citizen Voting Approved
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Frederick City Council Public Meeting – September 19, 2024
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.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from August 15, 2024 (5-0).
- Appointed Lee Hand to the Zoning Board of Appeals through September 21, 2026 (5-0).
- Approved four grant agreements: $138,645 for Supportive Services in Permanent Supportive Housing (HUD), $64,000 for the Maryland Housing Counseling Fund, a Maryland Community Action Partnership grant for 2-G services, and a Maryland Department of Emergency Management flood mitigation grant.
- Accepted 11.698 acres of parkland at West Park Village Parcel A and 1.668 acres at Kellerton Land Bay B Parcel B (both 5-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ceasefire Resolution: Multiple residents (Haya Morrar, Tina Meadows O'Reilly, Grady O'Rear, Eric Clements, Rachel Rice, Kelly Esslinger, Willie Mahone, Seth, Tasneem) urged the council to adopt a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, citing humanitarian crisis and aligning with over 150 U.S. jurisdictions. Speakers emphasized moral duty and local government's role in advocating for peace.
- Non-Citizen Voting: Eric Clements, Rachel Rice, Kelly Esslinger, Viviana Westbrook, Maggie Currier, Jessica Douglas, and others supported extending voting rights to all residents regardless of citizenship status, arguing for inclusivity, community involvement, and public safety benefits. Opponents (e.g., Shelley Alloy, Kurt Bossler) urged guardrails or respect for naturalization process.
- Ranked Choice Voting: Eric Clements and Rachel Rice advocated for ranked choice voting, citing examples from Takoma Park.
Discussion Items
- Reconsideration of Rezoning Conditions (11.54 acres near Wormans Mill Court): The board voted 4-1 to reconsider conditions applied to a rezoning from GC/M1 to MU-2. The underlying rezoning and master plan were untabled and continued to October 3, 2024, by a 3-2 vote (Russell, Kazemchak opposed).
- Charter Amendment Resolutions (24-18 through 24-25): Extensive deliberation on eight resolutions to revise the city charter. Key highlights:
- Resolution A (Charter Consolidation): Changed name from Board of Aldermen to City Council; added minimum age 18 for office; established compensation commission with March 1 deadline; removed requirement for chief administrative officer; revised quorum to majority; added residency and ethics provisions. Passed 5-0 after amendments.
- Resolution B (Structure & Council President): Created a City Council President and Vice President elected by council; clarified vacancy succession. Passed 5-0 with amendments.
- Resolution C (Districts): Establishes 5 districts and 2 at-large seats; requires district council members to reside in their district (with one-year residency requirement starting 2029). Passed 4-1 (Russell opposed).
- Resolution D (Term Limits): Council members limited to three consecutive terms; mayor limited to two consecutive terms; individuals may run again after a full term out of office. Passed 3-2 (Shackelford, Russell opposed).
- Resolution E (Open Primaries): Motion to reject semi-open primaries passed 5-0 based on legal concerns from staff.
- Resolution F (Administration): Mayor to appoint directors for core functions (budget, economic development, finance, housing, legal, planning, police, public works); removed specific chief administrative officer, city attorney, and chief of police requirements from charter. Passed 5-0.
- Resolution G (Voter Qualifications): Allows all city residents, regardless of citizenship status, to register and vote in city elections; city clerk maintains supplemental registry. Amended to add “regardless of citizenship status” in Section 2.2b. Passed 4-1 (Russell opposed).
- Resolution H (Legislative Process): Allows ordinances to be introduced by one or more council members; provides for public notice and approval; sets five votes to override mayor’s veto (assuming seven-member council). Passed 5-0.
Key Outcomes
- Votes on Charter Amendments: All eight resolutions passed with majority support. Notable split votes on districts (4-1), term limits (3-2), and non-citizen voting (4-1).
- Deferrals and Continuations: Rezoning reconsideration continued to October 3, 2024. Related ordinances (G-24-16 to G-24-19) postponed to next agenda.
- Purchases Approved: $335,000 for airport apron design (Delta Airport Consultants) and $63,562 for server hardware (Tan Consulting) – both 5-0.
- Youth Center Agreements: Approved four items for the Scotty's Bus Lane Youth Center: property acquisition (donation), MOU with Ausherman Family Foundation, property management, and lease – all 5-0.
- CIP Deferral: Approved deferral agreement with Amerco (U-Haul) for $98,000 towards front improvements – 5-0.
- Mitigation Agreement: Approved water mitigation agreement for Bloomfields development – 5-0.
Meeting Transcript
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.
openpublica.com