Mayor & Council of Sharpsburg Meeting Minutes Monday,July: 10, 2023 6PM  Call meeting to order and pledge-Washington County Commissioner led the pledge, there was a moment of silence for two Sharpsburg residents who recently passed away, (Dallas Churchey and Peg McGraw) Ina attendance: Cody Swope, Jeff Cline, Eric. Jacobs, Perry. Jamieson, Tracey Peyton, Dakoda Watkins, Chris Vincent, Jen Bruni, Mia Parsons, Joe Kudla, Jacob Martz, Russ Weaver, Robbie Waters, Ed Beeler and Carrie Minutes and. June expenses approval-June meeting minutes were approved; Robbie motioned and Ed: se- conded, all were in favor. There was some confusion of the. June's financial report-the report was reviewed Sharpsburg Appreciates. Jeff Cline-Russ presented. Jeff Cline with a citation, shirt and lapel pin in recognition Tracey Peyton & new deputy -Deputy Peyton will be retiring at the end of the month and Russ acknowledged his service with a card of appreciation. Deputy Peyton introduced his replacement, Deputy Watkins. D. Wat- kins introduced himself and looks forward to getting to know the town'sresidents and council.  Estell  and will be voted on at the next mayor and council meeting in August. of this commitment and support for everything Sharpsburg.  Public Comments-none Emergency Discussion Panel  Councilman Kudla summarized the council's need to know what needs to happen when a potential emergen- cyoccurs. Joe specifically discussed the local response of some white powder/pollen looking substance that Representative from Washington County Emergency Services-Eric Jacobs-Mr. Jacobs highlighted his organi- zation's services with specifics regarding the procedures of a 911 dispatch call. Questions the operator asks, and their protocols to designate which agency is to be part of the response team. Sharpsburg Fire Depart- menti is almost the first agency to address any issues in the town; the county's hazmat department has units that can detect many substances and Mr.. Jacobs praised the County Commissioners for they assisted with this unit's detection system. Calling 911 was the best solution to any issue. As far as sharing with the public anyi information, the county's PR department sends out information on social media and part of an email system. The town's fire department captain and the duty officer are the point people. Emergency Management Specialist Cody Swope-Mr. Swope shared that the Emergency! Management De- partment is similar to FEMA but on the local level. His agency emails weather hazards, air quality updates, heating/cooling center information and any type of disaster is shared with on the state level to the governor. They preplan for the known and unknown and try tol be proactive. Their programs include public education, emergency kits and he also discussed the county's Hazardous Mitigation Plan. At this time, the plan was sent to the state andi the next step is to FEMA and then municipalities can be granted funding based on the needs  came from the sky months ago.  12    of a particular area's hazards.  Tim Lung, Zoning Administrator (via ZOOM-critical items only)  BZA held a public hearing June 271 for the Short-Term Rental Special Exception request for the property at 204 E. Main! Street. Citizens testified both in opposition and support of the request. The Planning Commission rec- ommended denial oft the request because the owner does not reside int the dwelling. The BZA found that the owner did not sufficiently prove she "resides in the dwelling" and denied the request. The BZA also ruled that the owner may re-apply once she provides adequate proof of residency and would waive the application fee. Had a pre-application phone meeting with MDE to discuss permitting requirements for the Big Spring wall restoration project. An MDE waterway construction permit will be required. Iwill be preparing the applica- tion. There may be restrictions on what time of year the work may occur based on the review by MDE. The review process, generally takes 30-45 days depending on the extent of agency review required. My goali is to have the application filed before the end oft the month. County and soil conservation confirmed there was no need for permitting. MDE requires a permit and there are specific times of the year to work on waterways. The end of summer/fall projected date for this project is ideal. Due to the historic nature of this town owned property, the fix of the wall/spring will move forward, grant money is still expected to come through.  Followed up on several tall grass/weed complaints.  The trees have been trimmed on the property at 120 Church St. to improve sight distance at the intersection The Planning Commission meet to discuss and approved the 2022 annual report required by the Md. Dept of Permits have been issued for a new business at 100 E. Main st. Candlelight Soap Company, and a permit fora First permit wasi issued for a temporary container (roll-off dumpster) for a property on E. Main Street  of Church and Chaplin.  Planning. The report has been sent to MDP. pool on property on E. Antietam St.  Mayor's Report-organizational mnouncemeny/dlscusion  Projects  Wells6/10/2023 - Agreement signed by County and Town. MDE requirements gathered and bid package be- Town Hall6/10/2023 - Still having serious plumbing issues. Solution on hold pending recommendationsi from  ing prepared. Look to go to bid later this month.  John  Community Park6/10/2023 - New equipment expected this month. Seeking confirmation.  Historic/Pocket Park6/10/2023- -r received for word from POS 4400K project was approved. FSA is told to fin- ish engineering work and the Wayside exhibit workshop will be scheduled. Develop a "Wayside Exhibit Pro- posal" which identifies for each wayside display the topic, theme, location, base style, direction of view, and  preliminary list of proposed graphics, images, artwork, or maps.  Big Spring 6/10/2023- - Waiting funding announcement on July 13. Fencing is completed  13    Boyer House 6/10/2023 - Expect County funding to be approved. July 25th. MHCD grant application in for Streets & General Maintenance 6/10/2023 - List of projects for rest of FY2022 provided by. Joe to be worked Planning 6/10/2023 Time to kick off comprehensive. Looking for a resource to help. Be actively integrated into and critiquing the County comprehensive plan. Hold session to improve working knowledge of County Council reports (written reports, need for: financial approval, council input or for council to know) Ed Beeler-Attendance for June: 97, two new members of SMH, Museum is now a Blue Star Museum. Dona- tions: two plastic bags of pictures and papers from the Boyer House, Founder's Day- had 32 people with one Chapline Descendent. We will be open Friday and Saturday of Battlefield Anniversary weekend in September. Robbie Waters-Stump removal at the Big Spring for fence install was done, while the grinder was rented, we got rid of some stumps at the pond as well. Playground prep for equipment that is slated for delivery end of Jacob Martz-Attended the grand opening of the Ritchie History Museum at Historic Fort Ritchie in Cascade, Conducted an interview with a reporter from the Herald Mail regarding Jack Myers' 100th birthday. Gave a tour of Boyer house to representatives from Preservation MD & the Department of Housing and  funds to clean up lot and provide stabilization maintenance to property submitted.  off (see. Joes report)  GIS tools.  July. MD  Community Development (DHCD)  Initiated application process with Suzanne Grobbel for $250,000 grant from DHC  Joe Kuda-Culvertownership 104 Church  Signs for the trucks in town-wording and editing will be done to make it easier to understand Contact Linda Puffenberger about the cleaning of walls and placement of the fireman sign MOU with Butch to address ownership and responsibility of culverts, bridges and such in town The wall that was recently repaired was damaged again, this occurred at 216 East Main, Carrie will reach out tol Deputy Peyton to request a police report to help with getting repairs done correctly by the driver's insur- Joe shared with council a speed monitor and council agreed that this would be a good deterrent to speeding. The cost is around 8k and there's an option for recording that would be very useful. Joe will reach out to the company' to check for pricing of this unit. Mia asked about possible theft oft the unit; utilizing a chain could be as solution. Joe will have the price for the unit with recording option ready to present to council for Au-  Drawings for the intersection/update on the bridge by spring  ance company.  gust's meeting.  14    Mia Parsons-  Replacement of Main St. tree hit and removed byt tractor-this should be replaced by the person responsible for the accident. Russ mentioned that the fence was already fixed and that the tree will be replaced as well; planting of a new tree similar to size and variety can be done this fall. Amber maple was the tree that was damaged; there was on police report but Rick and Melody Canfield will do the right thing and once the Recognition of citizens volunteering to water trees-Mia wanted to thank the volunteers for their efforts in wa- tering the new trees, this will be an ongoing task; Mia has a great group of folks and will reward their efforts. Update from Planning-Planning Commission will begin meeting monthly as the comprehensive plan needs re- vision/update. The monthly meeting will start in September and other issues can be addressed/discussed as Discussion of potential development of approx. 17 acres oni farm adjacent to town andi implications (stormwater etc.). Tim emailed the deeds and he was confident that development would not occur aftera brief read of the document, he stated that the area of land in question is one oft the most in protected in the county. Portions of the larger land is a priority preservation area, there are several large lots and there are no provisions to divide into lots. Carrie shared this document with Mia and she, int turn, will share some of her findings with Tim. There was lots of discussion on zoning and the rural business zoning area, Green Hills Farms was also discussed and. Jeff Cline mentioned that the county's proposed 10-year comprehensive plans  planting gets closer, someone will reach out to the Canfields.  Carrie will purchase gift cards and there will be a mention in the Town Crier.  well.  will be open for public review/comment soon.  Community Partners  Officer Tracey Peyton-checks- Antietam Station-7, Park-12, school-7, little league-11. Six hrs. foot patrol 1trespassing comp, road hazard found, assisted WVSP with driver contact, assisted WCSO w/intoxication test  & assisted WCSO w/911 call just outside of town  Chris Vincent-Antietam Advisory board- Battlefield Advisory Committee, met on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Members of the committee introduced themselves to Acting Superintendent Corey Wolfersberger. Corey will serve as the acting Superintendent until a new one is selected. The position has not yet been announced on The focus of this quarterly meeting was to tour the Visitor Center as it is reaching renovation completion. En- tering the lobby through the larger vestibule, the large windows provide natural light, and the overhead lights automatically adjust based on the natural light. The visitor contact station has two point-of-sale fee stations and twoi flat screen monitors for daily park activities and events displayed. A security camera monitor is based at the station to observe all the security cameras that have been installed inside and outside the building. The restrooms are only accessible from the inside with an additional family restroom added. The large lobby in-  USA. Jobs.  15    cludes access to the stairs to the observation room, stairs tot the exhibit area, the bookstore and an elevator that provides access to all three floors. A display wall of nine flat screen monitors will project pictures of the battlefield and interpretive scenes of the battle. There is also a temporary exhibit display case int the lobby The bookstore has merchandise shelving areas and cabinets throughout the space with reference to the five The observation room has a compass rose on thei floor and a 3D circular map of the area of operations dur- ing the Maryland Campaign. There will be an Indigenous people interpretive area int the room as well. The staff area includes a small conference room, two offices, office space for rangers on duty and al break The exhibit area leads visitors through the five universal themes of conflict, terror, survival, memory, and freedom with a goal oft telling al bigger story than just the details of the battle. This will include display pan- The final phases of the project include the walks and the parking area. The walkway and curbs are currently being laid. The walks leading up to the Visitor Center will include, granite insert stones with the key events of the Civil War leading up to Antietam with sculpture centerpiece for the Battle of Antietam. The walk from The current projected move in date is. July 17. This is when the exhibits and artifacts will goi in and the bookstore will start moving merchandise back in. The soft opening will be August 1. This is when the doors will be open to the public and visitor services will begin operating out of the' Visitor Center. A rededication ceremony is scheduled for September 8. The temporary modular buildings will be removed in mid-August The Strategic Plan for 2023 - 2026 is complete and available for the public. The primary intent of this strate- gic plan is to articulate an overarching vision for Antietam National Battlefield and to create at framework for setting goals and prioritizing work for the next three to four years. Three main goals the plan will focus oni is Safety, Preserve and Protect the battlefield, and' Visitor Services and Enhancing Visitor Experience. Other Projects: HPTC continues to work on the preservation project at the Piper farm with the wagon shed The pavement preservation project will begin on Sept. 12. The public can expect delays and closures as all National Cemetery rehabilitation is part of the FY27 funding but some of the preliminary steps have begun The Salute to Independence cannot be held at Antietam National Battlefield in 2023 due to ongoing con- struction around the Visitor Center. Contractors will be continuing work on the exterior grading, sidewalk and exterior exhibit installation, landscaping, and reseeding into the summer. The project will not be com-  to rotate artifacts.  universal themes that will tie into their products.  The auditorium includes new lighting, carpeting, and audio-video system.  area.  els, artifacts, and interactive displays.  that point willl be the major events after Antietam until the war ends.  and that area restored.  roof and at the David R. Miller house on the windows and porch.  the park roads will be resurfaced.  with some tree removal, pruning, and new planting.  16    pleted to allow the area to reopen by. July. As to the future of holding the Salute to Independence event, the Park recognizes that the Salute to Independence is a beloved community tradition, and as they continue to engage in conversations about the future of this event with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and other stakeholders, the National Park Service's focus will be on the visitor experience, including safety of the pub-  lica and protecting the battlefield's natural and cultural resources. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 13th, 2023  Old Business/ACTIONS:  Town Hall Plumbing-After Jake and Robbie met with Plumbingwurx: and both agreed to their proposal. Jake sent out an email to vote. Jake, Robbie, Ed and. Joe voted yes, Mia did not respond and. John voted no. Russ emailed John and offered ai few ways to handle. These suggested options were: 1.) Start all over with meetings with Larry & Sons, PlumbingWurx, Willard and any others you wish to engage, or 2.) Meet with PlumbingWurxi to validate their proposal, or 3.) Meet with. Jake and Robbie and go over their findings from meeting with Plumbingwurx or 4.) Any method you chose. John is not able to attend this meeting or Au- Awardy/elebratons.ack Myers 100-year birthday & Jeff Cline honorary citizenship-Jack Myers was in France and came home sick and is booked through mid-July. Carrie mailed his shirt with al birthday card. Fire House Signage Agreement-there are at few solutions, the first issuance of the sign was agreed to by council ast they interpreted the fire house as a government building, but it is not. The fire house sign is not in compliance with the town's zoning ordinance. The town hopes to have the sign at a different location, this  gust's meeting.  Jeff Cline's shirt and citation are ready for presentation.  will be at fire house sign and the town can use for events. Sea Container Ordinance No 2023-001 Signatures needed  FY24 budget approval-Russ discussed the budget and the increase in price of the well drilling, there is still marked covid money and the price to drill a well is 77k, the budget has been discussed. Robbie motioned,  Joe seconded and all were in favor.  New Business  Wreaths Across America-Organization reached out needing funding. Carrie put their letter on the town's Facebook page and requested that al blurb be done in the Town Crier through the end of the school year. Robbie motioned for adjournment, Joe seconded, all were in favor, 7:30 pm, next meeting is slated for Mon-  day, August 6th at 6 pm  17