All right.

Thank you.

Welcome everyone to the January 20th Boards and Commission subcommittee meeting.

Call the meeting to order.

My name is Dee Durham.

And recording in progress.

I'll go through roll call real quick.

I think Kevin Keneco is online.

We've got Councilman Smiley and Councilman Cartier, Councilwoman Kilpatrick in Chamber, as well as Councilman Carter, Councilwoman George, Councilman Hollins, Council President Monique Williams Johns is online, and Councilman Tackett and Councilman Street are all online.

So take care of everyone I see.

And first we have a can I have a motion to approve the minutes of November 18th?

Motion to approve is posted.

Second.

Okay.

All in favor?

All right.

Any opposed?

Any abstentions?

All right.

The minutes are approved.

We have a few new appointments on the agenda today.

The first being uh Kent St.

Pierre to the Newcastle County Audit Committee in Ms.

George's district.

I don't know if uh if he's with us online or here today.

I don't know if I don't know who's managing the Zoom, if there's anyone in the waiting room.

Um okay, hold on one moment.

But anyway, I'll turn the floor over to you.

Thank you.

Uh I will say while we're while we're waiting for that.

I did speak with uh Mr.

Wasserbach, and he assured me that uh Mr.

St.

Pierre was fully qualified for this position, and he had spoken to him, and he feels like he will be a uh a beneficial addition to the board.

Excellent.

And so uh as far as we know, Mr.

Saint Pierre is not up, there's Mr.

Wasserbach, but uh can everyone hear me?

This is Bob Wasserbach.

Yes.

Okay.

I have Kent on the phone.

He's having trouble getting in via the Zoom link.

And I I thought and he just called me.

So I've got him on I've got him on the phone here.

So I think the best thing to do is probably interview him just on the phone.

You won't be able to see his face, but he's here via the phone.

Um give it a try if he can hear us and we can hear him if he'd like to say any, say a few words about being nominated to the committee.

Kent, do you want to say a few words about being nominated to the committee?

Yes, I I apologize.

I was ready to get on, and um I don't know what happened here, the typical technology issue.

Um my name is Ken St.

Pierre.

Um uh glad to speak to you all if you have some questions.

I hope you have a resume, something along those lines.

Again, I apologize.

Um I don't know what the the problem was.

Um if you want me to go over background, whatever you guys want or need, I'll be glad to try to supply.

Uh your your resume is part of our package, so we do have that.

And are there any questions or comments from anyone?

Anyone on council.

I did just want to thank uh Mr.

St.

Pierre for his willingness to serve.

Okay, can you hear can you hear us?

Kent.

Thank you for making the effort to be be online today with us.

We appreciate your willingness to join that committee.

And uh all of these appointments today will be voted on by council next week.

So you don't have to attend then, but just so you know uh we aren't voting on them today.

But thank you again for um for making the effort to to be here through through Bob.

And just real quick, uh I did have my own personal meeting with uh with Kent and explain the role of the audit committee members that talked about state code and county code and so we did have a productive meeting, the two of us, and he asked a lot of good questions.

Excellent, thank you so much.

Anything else for this appointment?

Okay.

All right, thank you.

Thank you, Bob.

Um next is the appointment of Julianne Brewer to the Newcastle County Library Advisory Board in District 2.

And I don't know if Julie's here today.

I don't know who I can't see who's over on the participant side of things.

Assuming I don't see that name in the list, but if she could raise her hand if she is here.

Okay, thanks, Tara.

Okay, thanks, Tara.

I fully support uh Julie's nomination to the Library Advisory Board, and uh I don't have any questions for her at this time.

Any other questions or comments from council?

Okay.

Um the next one, uh the next appointment is Caitlin Britwin to the Newcastle County Library Advisory Board in Mr.

Tool's district, who uh Mr.

Toole uh is not with us today.

But is Caitlin here?

Yes, I'm here.

There you go.

But thank you for joining us, appreciate it.

And um on behalf of Mr.

Toole, we appreciate your nomination to the board and um give you the floor for a few minutes.

Sure, thank you everyone.

Um I'm excited for this opportunity.

I currently serve as a board member of the Friends of Kirkwood Library, and um my understanding is I'll be joining as part of representation of that library.

Lived in Delaware now for um a few years and have experience in the nonprofit space doing program work.

I've also previously worked in a library and regularly visit Newcastle County libraries with my family.

So thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you for your willingness to serve on that committee.

Are there any comments, questions from members of council?

Okay.

Seeing none, just again, you probably heard me earlier, but the votes on all of these will be next week.

And um assuming all goes well, someone will get in touch with you after that.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you for being with us today.

Next on the list is the appointment of Matthew Morris to the Newcastle County Claymont Design Review Committee in Mr.

Cartier's district.

Thank you, uh Madam Chair.

I I'm completely uh thrilled to see this nomination come forward.

Uh Matt Morris is here with us today.

If you would like to say a few things, you know, we will entertain that.

And uh I uh I could tell you personally, I a long experience with Matt Morrison is he's truly of uh a vested person in Claymont and it's future.

Uh and in fact he runs our our Facebook video feed for the uh Claymont Community Update, which is a monthly meeting where we update the Claymont community.

Uh have been doing that well over a decade.

So I'm thrilled that he's interested in the design review advisory committee.

I know that he will bring a lot of uh detailed uh perspective on the uh all of the land use proposals that come out of the Claymont hometown overlay, which is the mission of the Claymont Design Reviewed Advisory Committee.

So I completely support this.

Uh and if Mr.

Morris would like to make some comments, you know.

You're welcome to come up.

We'll definitely entertain those.

And uh just for the record as well, uh, you know, of the hometown overlaid districts with their with their compliment complimentary uh design review advisory committees.

Claymont's has been the most successful.

I call Claymont uh Newcastle County's most important unincorporated town, and this program that the county developed suits it very well, recognizing its you know, hometown identity and and uh this really has been a good way to facilitate you know further revitalization of of the Claymont community and uh so uh the fact that Mr.

Morris wants to participate in this, I think is a great a great thing, and I look forward to his testimony.

Thank you.

Uh first and foremost, I would like to thank County Council for having me here.

Um for the past nine years I have dedicated a lot of my free time to the future development of Claymont in 2018.

I started town hall meetings that was encompassed around the opioid epidemic.

Through my advocacy, chairing these town hall meetings, we were able to accomplish a lot of things.

Executive Matt Meyer uh proposed an executive order that was able to make some really big changes with the the landlord tenant codes.

Um that was one of one of my biggest accomplishments in Claymont.

So I really look forward to serving the people of Claymont.

Thank you for your willingness to serve and um as as John captured it well.

It is uh I'd say our most engaged DRAC and most active DRAC of all the ones throughout the county.

So I look forward to serving the people of Claymont.

Awesome.

Well thank you so much for being here and joining us today.

Appreciate it.

Again, the vote won't be till next week.

Assuming that goes forward, someone will be in touch with you after that to get you started for whenever their next meeting is.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming in today.

Next on the agenda is the appointment of Neta Mokta Dari to the Newcastle County Hokes and Design Review Advisory Committee.

And there's Netta online.

I'll turn things over to Janet Kilpatrick.

Thank you.

Yes, she is online, and I think you've known over the past couple of months that we're in the process of completing the board members for the DRAC that is uh has been vacant for many, many years.

But we do have issues um coming up, and I know that we want this board filled and we want the community people to be involved.

So I totally support her nomination.

And Ned and I have known each other for years, and I know she'll be a great addition to the uh the DRAC out in Hokes, and so I I support her nomination fully.

And Neta, if you'd like to say a few words about being nominated to the DRAC, I turn the floor over to you.

Okay.

Thank you.

Um and thank you, everybody, for having me here.

My name is Netta Moctedari.

Um I am a more than 10-year resident of Hokes Improper, though I've spent almost my entire life living in Delaware nearby in the Pike Creek area.

Um my children have been in school in Hokasin for uh more than 13 years at this point between the two of them.

I am excited for the opportunity to serve on the DRAC.

It's something I learned about when I first moved into Hokas Improper.

Um really looking forward to becoming a member of the committee.

My background um professionally is that I am a historian and an archivist.

Um I have been involved in historic preservation, museums, um, and a variety of different things in the history space.

I am an active volunteer in a number of community organizations, and I'm I'm really excited about the opportunity to have a voice in making Hokessin a great place to live.

Um so I'd be happy to answer any questions if needed.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Netta.

And are there any I have no questions if anybody else knows otherwise?

Thank you so much for volunteering.

And we are working through the Department of Land Use to get this meeting, the meetings routinely.

We had one introductory meeting a month or so ago, um, maybe a little longer, but we will soon be out there and setting up meetings and looking at all the possible developments that is coming to the Hokessen area or would like to come.

Any further questions, comments?

All right.

Netta, thank you so much for being with us today and your willingness to serve.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Okay.

Uh next on the list is uh Tracy Chomblee to the Newcastle County Planning Board in uh Mr.

Carter's district.

Well, don't have an okay.

Um I have not met Tracy, she would recommend it by the administration, but I have spoken with the administration.

Um she's done very highly recommended.

Um you looked at her resume, she uh oh you need your mic on, Dave, sorry.

If you uh had a chance to review her resume, she has um over 25 years of ex executive experience um in business.

Um currently a vice president of marketing for a large firm here in Newcastle County.

Um she is a Middletown area resident.

Um she is in the newest area of her growth film um over in the Bat Creek area, which will I think uh uh for him, he is um did a uh add us to us the benefit of both the business background as well as um some of the struggles and challenges that we have in the uh growth zone in uh Southern Newcastle County.

So I think it's a good fit.

I know um I think the planning department is very comfortable with it.

I know the administration is very comfortable with it.

Um so um I'm um in support of it.

Thank you so much.

Tracy.

I think Tracy's on now.

Yeah.

I'm on now.

All right.

Well, uh welcome.

Thank you for being here today.

And um would you like to say a few words about not being nominated to this committee?

I sure would.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon to the council.

My name is Tracy Shamley.

It's a distinct honor to be here with the board today.

I'm excited to uh have been nominated to serve on the planning board.

I'm currently a Southern Newcastle representative on the PAC committee.

I lived in Delaware for eight years now.

Love the state, love the community, love to be involved, as I am in a couple of different uh capacities, and I'm looking forward uh to serving the county in this capacity.

And I'm very excited uh to have Tracy come on board.

We've got a lot of transportation we're dealing with, and we're in the middle of a pretty major review of all of our uh infrastructure.

Um so it'll be uh it'll be a nice mix and really nice to have someone who lives, drives the roads, knows what our community needs are, knows what our um both social services and infrastructure needs are.

So uh I'm very pleased, very pleased to have somebody, particularly somebody who lives in the growth zone.

Yep, I know you've been hoping to get someone from your area for a long time.

Well, it's um it it gives a uh an important perspective.

And I think Tracy's perspective is important as well because we have the whole um disconnect with uh business and jobs and matching our employment base and other things down there as well.

So we have the benefit of both the unique understanding of the area, having lived there, that lived experience, as well as the business experience as we figure out how we grow and and how we develop, you know, which has largely been a bedroom community to have more of a mixed use of of what options we have left.

There aren't a lot of what we have left.

All right.

Mr.

Chamley, thank you for being with us today.

Appreciate it.

Are there any other comments or questions from council?

Council and Durham.

Yes.

I I just have my hand up if I may.

Oh, I'm sorry, couldn't see your hand.

No, I understood.

Uh Mr.

Chamberly, thank you.

Uh I I truly appreciate uh you know your your willingness to serve.

I just have a couple questions, if that's if that's okay.

Um Mr.

Chamberley, do you feel that overdevelopment is a problem in Southern Newcastle County?

Well, uh it is starting to become that.

I don't know if it's over development or the opportunity for us to do better planning.

Okay.

And I I guess you would you agree with me that you know we need more infrastructure improvements within South of the Canal to ensure that we have proper development moving forward.

Uh absolutely.

I think that's a component of it.

Uh it was one of the reasons why when the opportunity was extended to join the planning board after reading all of the opportunities and what the mission is of the board.

Um I think it's uh a great opportunity to have some impact there.

Not just on the infrastructure, but how the infrastructure impacts things like schools, hospitals, access to all of those different types of things.

I think that's super, super important.

Okay.

Awesome.

I appreciate it.

Thank you, Mr.

Chambelly.

Uh I look forward to uh your service on the planning board and look forward to working with you.

Thank you very much.

Fantastic, and thank you for the questions.

Okay.

Thank you again for being with us today.

Ms.

Chair.

Yes.

Okay.

Hello, how are you?

Wanted to thank uh Mr.

Tracy.

This is Council President for taking on this huge, huge responsibility.

Um and I want to thank you personally for volunteering to do this.

Um as you know, as our councilman Geneckel was just talking about the expansions that we are experiencing in our MOT area.

But I'm also excited that to see a person of color um to be on the board, uh, which has been a challenge for many, many years.

But we thank you so much for your commitment.

Thank you.

You're very welcome, Madam President.

Thank you for your calm words.

Um I want to thank you as well, Tracy, and to reach out if you wanted to um be briefed on you know the work that is underway, particularly in Southern Newcastle County, but in planning otherwise.

Um I'm sure Dave Culver will do that, and I'm more than happy to sit down with and have coffee and go over where we are with uh Will Matco contract as well as the JMT contract for the other infrastructure.

Um you could talk to Dave Culver whether or not um you want to participate in those community meetings that we just started.

Um but that that uh opportunity is always available to you.

Um I think it's a wonderful opportunity for us to to fix um some of the infrastructure problems we're struggling with, particularly in the growth zone.

We're not doing Middletown in the area south.

We have the whole other issue with what we do in the rural area is different.

So this is just a gross zone where we run sewer.

Um and as you know, that pipe just came very close to you, the um to the Carter Farm.

So uh that's just literally in your backyard.

Um so you'll uh understand that, and I'm sure you'll hear from some of your own community members about some of the things going on with the uh aerial pipe and other stuff that's that's got to be run through that area.

So any time you feel free to contact me, and of course, I'm sure Dave Culver would be happy to bring up the speed on all of that as well.

Absolutely.

All right, thank you again for being with us tonight uh or today, and uh for your willingness to serve on the planning board.

Look forward to um your approval to and getting you on there.

Next on the agenda is the appointment of Lissa Brutus to the Newcastle County Planning Board as well in from Mr.

Holland's district.

I'm I'm not familiar, I don't have any uh background on it.

Anyone on the council have any any information you have to share with me?

This lit is uh Lisa with us today.

Any board, yeah.

Good to get those good to get the seats filled.

I'm sorry, I do not have the information uh at all.

I would thank Councilman Smiley for bringing this over to me.

Normally the administration would contact you, uh contact me, but I haven't seen this at all.

I'm sorry, Mr.

Brutus.

Uh, give me a chance to look this over.

I don't know if she's here.

Uh Ms.

Bruce, I'm sorry.

I do not see her online.

So she's on now on the okay, I'm sorry.

So um do you want to put it on?

But this is what it's like.

Uh yes.

And we don't vote on it until next week.

Right.

So it's not a problem.

I support it.

Okay.

Any do you have any comment Lisa you want to like to make?

I don't think she's online.

Is she not online?

Okay.

Or here.

I'm good with it.

I just see that.

Any questions, comments?

Everyone okay.

Um, we'll move on to the next uh item on the agenda, which is a reappointment in my district for Jean Hirschner to the Newcastle County Historic Review Board.

And um I know Jean Wells, she's actually the executive director at Namores, and so we're lucky to have her serving on the HRB and um very much appreciate her being willing to be reappointed.

I don't think she's here today, but um that is the reappointment on our agenda for next week.

So any other business?

Mr.

Smiley.

Yes, madam chair.

In order to move our process forward, I'd like to make a motion.

And following our council rules 4.5.7.1.

New appointees are required to be interviewed before council before moving forward.

So I would like to make a motion in light of the support of the district council person and the resumes of the two individuals, and I had them on my list here.

Let me go of Ms.

Julianne Brewer.

And Ms.

Lisa Brutus.

I would make a motion that we suspend the rule and allow those two appointments to move forward at the regularly scheduled council meeting.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Thank you.

Is that it?

That's it.

Any other new business for this committee?

Any public comment?

Motion to adjourn.

Yeah, no public comment.

Okay, thank you.

Motion to adjourn.

Motion to adjourn.

All right.

Meeting adjourned personnel at three o'clock.

Yep.

Three o'clock.