26 March 2012 | Approved: 9 April 2012
Mayor Cole called the special meeting of the Town Council and the Budget Work Session to order in McCathran Hall at 7:35 p.m. In attendance were Councilors Joe Clark, Sylvie Favret, Audrey Maskery, Joli McCathran, Alice Negin and Bill Robertson. Also present were Treasurer Mary Challstrom, Planning Commission Chairman Charlie Challstrom, Ken Shumaker from Montgomery County Sanitation & Recycling, Jerald Boyd from Unity Disposal & Recycling and approximately ten Town residents.
Approval of Agenda
Joe Clark moved, Bill Robertson seconded that the agenda be approved. Vote: 6-0.
Planning Commission Draft Recommendations on the Towne Crest Rezoning Proposal
Joe Clark moved to accept the Planning Commission’s document called, Evaluation of the Towne Crest Apartments Redevelopment Proposal dated 26 March 2012. Audrey Maskery seconded the motion. Vote: 6-0.
Report and Town Action re: Towne Crest Proposal
Mayor Cole reviewed the proposed zoning change and referenced the following issues;
- Height of the proposed buildings
- Density of proposed development
- Current density
- Proposed PD60 zoning; Urban High
- Forest Conservation Plan and impact on Town trees
- Poorly calculated parking spaces
She went on to say that after reviewing the Planning Commission’s draft comments and recommendations, the decision was made at the meeting on March 12th to allocate up to $5,000 to retain legal counsel for help with this issue. There was more discussion about the County process and the current zoning around the proposed development.
Awarding of the Refuse & Recycling Contract FY13 – 15
The three bids are as follows;
- Potomac Disposal » $1,125 (Refuse) $ 675 (Recycling) per month
- Mont. Co. Sanitation » $2,562.75 (Refuse) $1,593 (Recycling) per month
- Unity Disposal » $1,670 (Refuse) $2,090 (Recycling) per month
Joe Clark moved to accept the bid from Potomac Disposal. Bill Robertson seconded the motion. A discussion ensued. It was noted that residents are happy with the current contractor, Montgomery County Sanitation & Recycling, but the difference in price was just too great to keep them on. The references for Potomac Disposal were very good and the Council felt that they had the fiduciary responsibility to accept the low bid. The Treasurer noted that the dwelling tax would be reduced from $224.00 to $96.00 per household.
Vote: the bid was accepted 5 – 1 (Negin).
Budget Work Session
The Treasurer handed out a document that related to the Town reserves. A discussion ensued. Adjustments were made to the first draft of the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2013. The Town Council will adopt a recommended budget at the regular meeting of the Town Council on 9 April 2012.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:41 p.m.