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Record of Proceedings

Frederick City Council Public Meeting - October 6, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, October 6, 2026
BodyFrederick, Maryland
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 6, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 46:19

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

1:27

All

Speaker 1

1:27

right, we're going to call this uh city council meeting to order.

1:31

Um we're gonna start with the Pledge of Algiance.

Unassigned speaker

1:59

All right,

Speaker 1

1:59

I want to thank everyone for uh joining us, and I apologize for the late start.

2:04

Um my fault, but we'll get moving.

2:07

Uh first up is approval of the September 17th, 2026 regular public meeting minutes.

Speaker 2

2:16

So moved.

2:17

Second.

Speaker 1

2:18

Move by Councilmember Brem, second by Council Vice President Nash.

2:22

All in favor.

Unassigned speaker

2:23

One,

Speaker 1

2:23

two, three, four.

2:24

I forget how many people we have now.

2:25

One, two, three, four, five.

2:27

There we

Unassigned speaker

2:27

go.

Speaker 1

2:28

All right.

2:29

Moving on to some appointments.

2:33

First up appointment of Melissa Cooper for a three-year term to the Fair Housing Commission, sorry.

2:39

Um, for a three-year term of October twelfth, twenty twenty-six to October first, twenty twenty-nine.

2:46

So

Speaker 2

2:47

moved.

Speaker 3

2:48

Second.

Speaker 1

2:49

Move by Councilmember Brem, second by Councilmember Atkins.

2:53

All in favor.

2:54

One, two, three, four, five, six.

3:13

So moved.

3:15

Second.

3:16

Move by Councilmember Brem, second by Councilmember Atkins.

3:20

All in favor.

3:22

One, two, three, four, five, six.

3:28

Uh appointment to the planning commission of Catherine Stewart to complete an unexpired term ending on September 4th, 2030.

Unassigned speaker

3:38

So

Speaker 2

3:38

moved and to add to that.

3:40

I I met with Ms.

3:41

Stewart today,

Speaker 1

3:41

and she's a very impressive person.

3:44

Awesome.

3:44

Thank

Unassigned speaker

3:45

you.

Speaker 3

3:46

Second.

Speaker 1

3:47

Move by Councilmember Brem, second by Council Member Atkins.

3:51

All in favor.

3:52

One, two, three, four, five, six, zero.

3:56

Reappointment to the Parks and Recreation Commission of Rob Fox for a three-year term of October second, twenty twenty-six to October first, twenty twenty-nine.

4:06

So move.

4:07

Second.

4:08

Move by Councilmember Shackleford, second by Councilmember Bram.

4:11

All in favor.

4:12

One, two, three, four, five, six.

4:14

Thank you.

4:16

Reappointment of Phil Bowers to the Ethics Commission for a three-year term of October 2nd, 2026 to October 1st, 2029.

Speaker 4

4:25

I do have some questions about this appointment.

Speaker 5

4:32

If you have questions, I'll try to answer them.

Speaker 4

4:35

So we have in addition to this reappointment, we have another uh vacancy on the ethics commission.

4:41

Usually the code calls for five, right?

4:44

Yes, ma'am.

4:45

Okay.

4:45

But we're only being asked to reappoint the one tonight.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Ethics Complaints██████████████████████████26%
Board Appointments████████████████16%
Public Engagement██████████████14%
Affordable Housing█████████████13%
Procedural████████8%
Land Use Planning████████8%
Zoning And Land Use██████6%
Forest Conservation█████5%
Annexation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Frederick City Council Public Meeting - October 6, 2026

The Frederick City Council held a public meeting on October 6, 2026, addressing appointments, consent agenda items, a resolution on housing action, announcements of annexation petitions, introductions of ordinances, and public comments. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance and approval of the September 17, 2026 minutes.

Consent Calendar

  • Release of Surety: Approved release of $21,000 cash surety posted by FCSCTF, Inc. for the 109 West 13th Street project.
  • Request to Serve Alcohol on City Property: Approved alcohol consumption on the City Market Square Lot adjacent to the Church St. Parking Garage on October 10, 2026, for the White Rabbit Oktoberfest event.

Appointments and Reappointments

  • Fair Housing Commission: Melissa Cooper appointed for a three-year term (October 2, 2026 to October 1, 2029). Approved 6-0.
  • Planning Commission: Kathryn Stewart appointed to complete an unexpired term ending September 4, 2030. Approved 6-0.
  • Parks and Recreation Commission: Rob Fox reappointed for a three-year term (October 2, 2026 to October 1, 2029). Approved 6-0.
  • Ethics Commission: The reappointment of Phil Bowers was tabled after Council Vice President Nash raised concerns about Bowers' residency, citing evidence that Bowers is registered to vote in Florida and may not meet the city residency requirement. The motion to table passed 6-0, with the item rescheduled for the next council meeting on October 15, 2026.
  • Neighborhood Advisory Council 3: John Cetrone reappointed for a two-year term (October 2, 2026 to October 1, 2028). Approved 6-0.
  • Weinberg Center for the Arts Board: Marlene Barge, Shuan Butcher, and Chris Parsell appointed to three-year terms (October 2, 2026 to June 30, 2029), each approved 6-0.

Discussion Items

  • Resolution 26-15 Concerning Housing Action: Council President presented an amended resolution that formally accepts the city's housing task force conclusions. Amendments included a section calling on Frederick County to develop policies to incentivize housing growth, a section addressing infrastructure needs, and a request to develop a Frederick County AMI that better reflects city residents' income. After brief discussion, the resolution was approved 6-0.
  • Announcements of Annexation Petitions: The city announced two petitions: (1) annexation of approximately 156.446 acres west of US Route 15 north of Sundays Lane, requesting Medium Density Residential (R8) zoning; (2) annexation of approximately 200.011 acres north of Winpenny Drive and Yellow Springs Road, requesting Low Density Residential (R4) zoning. These will be subject to future public hearings.
  • Introduction of Ordinances: Three ordinances were introduced for first reading (no discussion or public comment at this time):
    • Ordinance G-26-12: Amending home occupation standards and definitions.
    • Ordinance G-26-13: Amending forest conservation standards to align with state code.
    • Ordinance G-26-14: Amending the FY2027 fee schedule to include a fee in lieu of afforestation. Public hearings will be scheduled later.

Council Business and Comments

  • Councilmember Hempel Rani celebrated the dedication of Yellow Springs Elementary School, noting the previous school was 140% over capacity and now students can walk or bike to school.
  • Councilmember Atkins highlighted a city open house on North Market Street bike lane planning, gathering public input.
  • Councilmember Brem invited the public to the Weinberg Center's 100th anniversary open house on October 10, 2026, featuring free entertainment, crafts, and tours.
  • Council Vice President Nash addressed a past incident where he intervened about illegal signs on Route 40, leading to a police call but no charges, reiterating his commitment to neighborhood issues.
  • Councilmember Shackelford discussed the United Way's latest ALICE report, noting that over 40% of city households (about 1,400) cannot afford basics, with child care now the leading expense. He announced plans to bring forward an affordability agenda addressing rent, fees, water bills, child care, and housing.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Kathy Anderson: Urged ethics reform, detailing 26 failures in the current process, including lack of transparency, no appeals, and conflicts of interest. She asked the council to pause the current process to fix it openly and fairly. She also noted that her records request showed other applicants for the Ethics Commission that were never presented.
  • Adam Apposoli: Raised concerns about the Highland Trail development (100 townhomes with only two garage parking spaces per unit and 16 on-street spots, insufficient for 3-4 bedroom homes). He also alleged a discrepancy between city staff statements and residents' claims about police reports regarding noise complaints at a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, urging the council to investigate.
  • Jonathan Pembroke (Frederick County Builders Association Land Use Council): Expressed continued concern about the proposed forest conservation ordinance, stating that while the association supports tree preservation, the city's draft is more restrictive than the state's model ordinance in several areas, adding unnecessary time and cost to housing projects and contradicting affordability goals.

Key Outcomes

  • Phil Bowers reappointment tabled (6-0) pending residency verification.
  • Resolution 26-15 approved (6-0) to advance housing action priorities, including county coordination and infrastructure considerations.
  • Consent agenda items approved as routine.
  • All announced annexation petitions and ordinance introductions will proceed to future public hearings.

Meeting Transcript

All right, we're going to call this uh city council meeting to order. Um we're gonna start with the Pledge of Algiance. All right, I want to thank everyone for uh joining us, and I apologize for the late start. Um my fault, but we'll get moving. Uh first up is approval of the September 17th, 2026 regular public meeting minutes. So moved. Second. Move by Councilmember Brem, second by Council Vice President Nash. All in favor. One, two, three, four. I forget how many people we have now. One, two, three, four, five. There we go. All right. Moving on to some appointments. First up appointment of Melissa Cooper for a three-year term to the Fair Housing Commission, sorry. Um, for a three-year term of October twelfth, twenty twenty-six to October first, twenty twenty-nine. So moved. Second. Move by Councilmember Brem, second by Councilmember Atkins. All in favor. One, two, three, four, five, six. So moved. Second. Move by Councilmember Brem, second by Councilmember Atkins. All in favor. One, two, three, four, five, six. Uh appointment to the planning commission of Catherine Stewart to complete an unexpired term ending on September 4th, 2030. So moved and to add to that. I I met with Ms. Stewart today, and she's a very impressive person. Awesome. Thank you. Second. Move by Councilmember Brem, second by Council Member Atkins. All in favor. One, two, three, four, five, six, zero. Reappointment to the Parks and Recreation Commission of Rob Fox for a three-year term of October second, twenty twenty-six to October first, twenty twenty-nine. So move. Second. Move by Councilmember Shackleford, second by Councilmember Bram. All in favor.

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