COMMISSIONERS OF OXFORD Regular Meeting Minutes July23, 2024  The Commissioners Meeting was held in the Oxford Commissioners meeting room on Tuesday, July 23,2024. Meeting was called to order and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.  PRESENT  Attending the meeting were Commissioner Norm Bell, Pres., Commissioner Tom Costigan, Commissioner Greer, Chief Chris Phillips, Town Planner Marilyn Williams, Clerk/Treasurer Vickie Sharp, Attorney Lyndsey Ryan and Public Works Matt Ozman. Approximately 43 people were in The Oxford Commissioners will vote to go into Closed Session following this open session on this 23rd day of July 2024 under the Open Meetings Act, General Provisions Art. Sub-Section 3-305b)-1-To discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation, or performance evaluation of appointees, employees, or officials over whomi it Commissioner Greer motioned to table the meeting minutes for July 9, 2023, pending revisions until the next meeting. Commissioner Costigan seconded the motion, all werei in favor, and the motion Ar new water fountain has beeni installed at thet tennis courts. We alsoi installed a weatherproof bulletin board, ify you want to post information you will need to go to the Town Office and drop off and they wills seei it gets on the board, they have the key. The Town Park water fountain is temporarily working we were ablei to finagle a part to get it working, a newi fountain willl bei installed soon. The Well 2 control panel has had repairs. Hill's electric has been working with us in finding the exact cause. They are excellent to work with. Lawn mower maintenance and general maintenance on equipment has been completed for ther month. It's been extremely hot and we're finally starting to get al little bit ofr rain now, and things are: starting to look up out there int thet tree world and bush world. Wev want to give al big shout out tot the volunteers that were actually able to help out and keep things watered. Wel have water bags around the younger trees and we are finally Chief Phillips went oft the stats from Talbot County Sheriff's office and the Town of Oxford. The time frame is shorter for the period of July gth. -J July 17th. This will be posted on Facebook as well. We did 151 total calls, no actual reports ori investigations during that time. A combination of traffic stops and citations, we had a total enforcement of about 25 during that time. You'll also notice on1 the posted stats, the bottom sectionlusedi to have more specifici information about some of the traffic stops becausel Ithought people might find them interesting. Currently we have 3 appliçations for the Citizens Police Academy, would like to see at few more, we are aiming for at least 15, the Academy will starti in September and finish early December. Applications are available here tonight and down at1 the Police Department. Ify you attended this last time, come again as we have added new classes. lattended the Steering Committee meeting in Easton on. July: 16th, thisi is a meeting oft the Police  attendance along with individuals attending virtually.  ANNOUNCEMENT  hasj jurisdiction. APPROVAL OF MINUTES carried.  PUBLIC WORKS REPORT  starting to get al little bit of rain. POLICE REPORT    Chiefs andl leaders from the County to talk about thel happenings in the County. There was aj plane Matt and went to Tilghman Street to look at the bulkhead, there is a 31-foot stretch section oft the bulkhead that needs immediate repair or as soon as possible repair. Ihave submitted some pictures, it'si in pretty bad shape, and we'd like to have approval to do ar request for bids and geti it advertised for repairs. Once we have the quotes in, for the cost to repair, we will come back and discuss the next process. There are signs of water intrusion that's affecting the parking lot, as welli int that section. Commissioner Greer is good with the RFP, asked' Vickie, ifs shei inherit any kind of capital improvement plan or list or spreadsheet? Vickie state, Iwould have to go back and check to see ifl have anything. Commissioner Greer stated, we'd want to get the costs, and then we'd want tol look at our total CIP and decide what we were going to prioritize. Marilyn stated it needs to be high, high priority, as it has been pushed off andi maybe not even brought to your attention. Commissioner Greer state, thei first I've seen it was int the packet. Marilyn stated having been out there today, we did meet with our title wetlands person from MDE we wanted her to see it as well as we: showed her af few projects around and talked to her about ai few things. We'llr need an MDE permit eventually to be able to dot these repairs. Commissioner Greer asked how did this come to attention. Matt, brought this repairi forward as iti involves one-finger pier. This areal has deteriorated to the point it hadt to be patched andt the patchi is starting to give way. Thet top runners are now: starting to rot and has pulled away from thei finger pier and bulkhead. Three pilings are the only thing holding things together. Commissioner Costigan went tot thes site and questioned vehicles parking in the parking lot on top of the area of concern. Matt does not know! howf far the moisture is going back under the parking lot. We can shift the parking down and cone off the area of concern. Commissioner Greer motioned to approve an RFP to repair the 31 feet ofl Tilghman Street Dock. Commissioner Costigan Wer need approval to enteri into the critical area commission grant program. This is something that wel have to do each year. It kind ofs solidifies our participation with the critical areas and enforcing our regulations. It'sal lot of work for our $1,000 each year. Municipalities fill out this paperwork and give ar report each yeari for a small stipend. But it keeps usi in good graces with the critical areas commission. Therefore, we'd liket to be able to dot this grant program and get our $1,000. Do you need a motion? Commissioner Costigan motioned to approve the critical area grant agreement as described by Marilyn. Commissioner Greer seconded" the motion, all werei ini favor, and the motion We had our prequalification for our community rating system or what is called the CRS program this month andi right now the community is a seven int the community rating system. Our citizens enjoya 15% discount on their flood insurance. There'sal lot of things that we do on a regular basis thati isa part of the CRS program, you don'twant to commit to things that are going to be labor intensive. We get credit for our living shorelines, public and private. There are things that we can do to get extra points and we don'tneed: al lot of points comparatively to get to a six. To be a six) you also have to have al building code audit number and the Town has not had al building code audit since 1988. I would need approval to move forward with the building code audit. Going from a seven to six would increase the discount on floodi insurance from 15%1 to 20%. Commissioner Greer motionedi to approved go ahead with the CRS renewal and building code audit. Commissioner Costigan seconded lattended the state planning meeting this month, I'I have some new! legislation to discuss with the historic andt the planning commissions. We had staff and commissioners, that attended the post- disaster training offered by Talbot County and Maryland Emergency Services. Wel have an  crashi in Talbot County on. July 16th as well. TOWN PLANNER REPORT  seconded the motion, all were ini favor, and the motion carried.  carried.  the motion, all werei ini favor, and the motion carried.    emergency operations committee, and will ber meeting at the end of the month to review our preparedness have a disaster. The fire department and police department willl bei involved Currently reviewing on how to streamline office duties, one being transcribing meeting minutes. I have found a new product called Turboscribe, which is an Al product. You take your recording and dropi iti int the program, ity will1 translate every word for yout from everybody's ah, ooh, or whatever. I tried the program out and yous still have to make edits by adding names of the: speakers and/or shortent the wording. Tos subscribe to the program would cost $120 annually. lask the Commissioners for approval to move forward with Turboscribe. Town Attorney Lyndsey Ryan confirmed that meeting minutes no longer need to bet typed. We can use only the meeting stream andy you can hear the audio, makei it available on thel Town website, you no longer have to complete typed minutes. Storage oft the meetings have to be forf fivey years, either stored ont the website or on aCD, with one year on they website. Ifall meetings are: streamed live, they would be ablet to go upon the website immediately. Having a video would be the same as typed minutes, as you would see who is speaking. Commissioner Greer motioned to purchase Turboscribe. Commissioner Costigan Next, lwould like to introduce ap product called BoardPAC that will help streamline any agenda items fora any committee. Many governments use this product to support and manage their agendas as well as assist with their meeting minutes. Helps streamline deliver of meeting packets by sending them via email. Itis an annual or monthly subscription and you can cancel at anytime. Will request I'd like to recommend that the staff reports be presented once a month at the very first meeting of the month, and that way individuals such as Public Works and the chief do not need1 to be! here twice ar month. Commissioner Greer agreed ands suggested moving forward with consent agenda. lonly! have one item this evening, and that is the software license agreement with Muni-link, which ist the cloud-based billing software for your water meters. Iwould be asking that you would approve the software license agreement with Muni-link so that the town can go ahead and geti it purchased outside ofi thel bigger project. And theny you would put the RFP for the water meters outt to bid. This contract, again, ist for the cloud-based billing software. It's for one year andi includes full-time dedicated professional support staff. They're required to use commercially reasonable efforts to make sure that thes services that they have demonstrated are the services that they would provide. The cost oft the product is $15,000 with an additional $525 per month once it's installed for the software fee. The risk of proceeding with this on your own and not doingi it as part of the overall project ist that USDA could potentially not approve it. Iti is less than $20,000, sO under your charter, you're not required to advertise the service. However, four software companies were contacted, so you did engage in some competitive procurement. Ihave three amendments tot the agreement, sol would like yout to approve it as amended. And those amendments are that the contract termi is for one year with automatic renewals. Idon't like automatic renewals, sol would just change that such thati it's a one-year term, but within 90 days of thet term renewal, it has to be my mutual agreement. Al lot of times with automatic renewals, the client forgets about them, and then yous geti into ar new contract term, and you're stuck withi iti for a whole other year. The other is thei indemnification that we indemnify, defend, save, and! hold harmless, Muni-link. Tot that, would just add, to the extent permitted byl law. And then the last one is they have thej jurisdiction and law! being the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Obviously, we want to change that to Talbot County. Commissioner Greer motioned to approve the Muni-link contract as amended. Commissioner Costigan seconded the motion, all werei ini favor and the motion carried.  CLERK/TREASURER REPORT  seconded the motion, all were in favor and the motion carried.  ac demo.  TOWN ATTORNEY    OVF COMPANY REPORT  Int the last two weeks, the Oxford Fire Company has responded 11 times. Firei for at total of six, two within Oxford, three within thei first two, one within the county. EMS was at total off five within Oxford itself. Thei fire boat responded tot the plane crash situation for thei first time as it was unofficially placed in service. We're still working on installing a number oft the components. But we did prove to be very helpful toi the situation. Fall classes for new members, both EMS andi fire, will begini in August ify you would like to attend. The next breakfast will be September 8th andi the Resolution #2411 - Al RESOLUTION SETTING THE FEE SCHEDULE FOR THE TOWN OF OXFORD'S MOORING PROGRAM, REPLACING AI PORTION OFI RESOLUTION 2212 AND ALL PREVIOUS FEE SCHEDULES, EFFECTIVE JULY23, 2024: Currently there are moorings located int the Town's ownership waterways and1 therei is not as structured program for them. The moorings need to be renewed eachy year or every two years, along withi inspections and any repairs. In an effort to develop structured procedures for enforcing the program based on a section in our Code for moorings and harbor management. Thei fees for the annual renewals of only $25, thati is al low cost for alli the work and follow up by Town Staff. suggested that thet fees need to be increased tol help offset staff time and liability. The Port Wardens have reviewed this Resolution and approved with a unanimous vote to recommend to the Commissioners this Resolution increasing the annual fee for ther moorings from $251 to $350. Do to such al large increase, it is recommended to send back tot the ORDINANCE #2413 - AN ORDINANCE FOR THE TOWN OF OXFORD TO AMEND CHAPTER 11 OF1 THE TOWN CODE TITLED "HARBOR MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE', TO REVISE SPECIFICATONS FOR MOORINGS AND ESTABLISH AN ESCROW ACCOUNT FOR MOORING MAINTENANCE: This ordinance is beingi introduced by Marilyn' Williams, Town Planner. This escrow ist fora a one-time payment. Will bel heldi in escrow in1 the event the Owner ofi the mooring does not pay their annual fee or ift they don't do their repairs, then we would have to pull the chain. Currently the Town does not have al budget linei item for this cost, by establishing the escrow fund would cover cost for pulling the chain and/or making repairs duet tot the default of1 the Owner. Ift the Owner sells his mooring he wouldi then be refunded his escrow payment. This helps the Town enforce their own code. Tom Commissioner Greer motioned to move Resolution #2411 back to the Port Wardens, Commissioner Costigan seconded the motion and also stated that they consideration: a step increase from $25 to  rummage: sale willl be in late August.  Port Wardens for reconsideration ofa al lower price.  Campbell from the Port Wardens Commission spoke ini favor of this charge.  $350, all werei ini favor and1 the motion carried.  Ordinance #2413 will go to public hearing on August 27, 2024.  Ordinance #2412-A AN ORDINANCE FOR THE COMMISSIONERS OF OXFORD TO AMEND THE OXFORD TOWN CODE TO PROHIBIT RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE TOWN FROM PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH: SINGLE USE DISPOSABLE PLASTIC BAGS: This ordinance is being introduced by Commissioner Tom Costigan. This ordinance will go to public hearing on August 27, 2024. Commissioner Bell stated, we need to finalize the vote to use professional: search firm. Imade a mistake and didn't finalizei the vote. We will take the vote again today. Isthere a motion. Commissioner Greer motioned to employ the use ofap professional search firm that specializes in  UNFINISHED BUSINESS    local government for the search for a new town manager. Commissioner Costigan seconded the  motion, all werei int favor and the motion carried.  NEW BUSINESS  Commissioner Greer, when are we going to schedule the interviews with the search firms? Att this point, we want to understand the services that they provide andl how that best fits with what we think we need. It'd be a learning process. And Isuggest that we doy part ofi iti in an open session and then we close for any confidential or proprietary material they might wanti to discuss. Meetings could be: short and then we would probably re-interview our favorites. Commissioner Bell, my objection to this has been that Ifeel we need to understand what the scope of that job would be andi need1 tol have conversations with staff to understand that. Certainly, before we would go ahead and ask for an RFP. What lunderstand you're saying is this would just be ani intermediate step to figure out who's out there, what they provide. So we would have that information when it's time for us to go to an RFP, we would understand what they would provide. Commissioner Greer, we already have proposals that were solicited from: six different firms ranging in price that lay out1 the scope of their work or they! lay out ar more minimal search process. This part of the process of doing this is that they gather information withy youi ify youl hire them about your needs. They interview staff, they interview you, theyi interview townspeople tot talk about what type of leader you have. It may be after hiring them and working with them, they come back and say, we think your need at town manager three days a week. Maybe they think something different, but that is part of the process. It's not like we ourselves would dot the process of deciding what at town manager is like and thent tell the search firm that that's what we want. We want the search firm to help us engage with the public and with each other and with the staff to come up withi that vision. If we don't start right now, you're talking months and months and months. This would be a matter of doing al half an hour PowerPoint presentation by Zoom, by one oft these groups and they're nationally known groups that do national searches and they can talk about their services and how they view their process, how they use the public. Thisi is what we promised the public two weeks ago that we would engage a professional firm andi not just kind ofr makei it upa as we go along. Commissioner Bell, speaking to, working with staff, understanding what the worki is that they're doing now, ideas about filling any gaps, what gaps remain because we don't have at town manager. So, what you are: saying is these firms would help us with that. Commissioner Greer, they place people in big municipalities, small municipalities. They are used to doing classification, jobs. They come in and do team building exercises. They're much more geared to this and they would havei ideas for us ini fresh thinking that we don'thave. We really need to demonstrate to the publict that we have ap plan and that professionals are, going to help us. That's what we promised, everybody was really great at1 the last meeting. 1think that's because we presented a way forward that made sense tot them, and that was to hire a professional: searchi firm. Ithink we can talk to four ori five oft these firms, develop a short list based upont thet types of placements they've done, thet types of work they do, the model they have, and then we interview them again. They will show us, reveal to us, how we develop our plan with our staff, with our town. Ithink we know that we're not al little backwater anymore, that we have FEMA grants, that we have grants we wanti to get to, and that wel have a great property tax base, and we want tol keepi it that way by not having flooding. Ithink this is what we owe the public. This is what they want. Commissioner Costigan, I'm willing tol listen andI learn. Ifthat means we have to do a couple of meetings and attend a couple of Zoom meetings, don't have a problem with that. We're not making any decision, and we're not making any final hiring decision oft these firms until we have af firmi idea of what they can offer us. Quite frankly, I'm al little bit upi in the air as to just what these firms can offer us. I'm not sure that there'sa. . It's apples, apples, apples, apples. I think each one probably has strengths and weaknesses, and we can listen tot them and make our decision then as far as where we're going. Commissioner Greer, Iwill set ups some meetings. We'll probably do twoi firms a night. Likel Isaid, some of that willl be open tot the public.    Commissioner Greer, wel had talked about divvying upt the duties, andI had talked about wanting to dot finance and the grants that Ihadi taken the FEMA grants management, and then Ihad taken a great interest in the budget. We had talked about you takingt the boards and commissions and publicv works and Tom taking the police and emergency planning and the media. Shall we dot that Wel had talked in our administrative session about developing a workflow, and I've started that process about what needs to come to all three commissioners, what could come to your supervisor. Itisas short-term solution, based upon the fact that we have no town manager. Buti it's going tol be very open-ended. The workflow document gives some guidelines about when to report to your superior, when to report to the clerk-treasurer, when to report to all three commissioners. We agreed int the administration session that would do the first draft and that yous guys would take the  second, third stab at it. Berkly Cone- Governance PUBLIC COMMENTS  LETTER RECEIVED FOR THE COMMISSIONERS Barbara Paca Preserving Oxford's" Trees to Cool Thel Earth and Watershed Barbaral Paca Request Formal Written Apology Schuyler Benson - Fee Structure For Oxford Moorings  Debbie Krolicki, simple question, you mentioned about thei trees being trimmed. Are they finished, or are they going to be coming down all of our: side streets becausei they're sorely needed? Commissioner Bell, there's still work to do on Tred Avon and Benoni. Commissioner Costigan, specifically ati the corner of Benoni and Morris, there is at tree that has its branch laying on a live line. They did say they were going to come back and1 take care oft that. lalso showed them at tree that was growing into at transformer on Tred Avon Avenue, which for some strange reason their survey team missed. Debbie Krolicki, there was an excellent presentation from, Commissioner Greer, International County Cities Management Association, thet former president of that, Don Baruch, and then we also had David Deutsch from the Mercer Group. He was 28 years the town manager in Bowie, Maryland. He's currently doing the search for Cambridge, but he places al lot of Maryland people. The other search firms are similar. They are more nationally focused, butt they do placements int the regional area. Debbie Krolicki, what lwanted to say that I'm ar neophyte on something like that, but they explained the scope of what a search firm would do. That would include helping us decide what we want our town manager, the scope oft the work that that town Jane McCarthy, we keep saying we're a small town, and yet our budget grew from $2 million 12 years agot to $61 million. We received $40 million worth of grants. Ithink it'st time for someone else to look at this towni from a fresh perspective, andI think we need to start this search right now.I think we could leti itg go, it sounds like, for a year, and then it'll sort of drop off our focus. Art Muir, Chris, this is for you. The crosswalk on either side of the crosswalk, there's yellow. It's being ignored. I can go by there at night, and guarantee yout there are people parkingt there. What I'm going to suggest is that int that area, first of all, enforcement, one, but number two, put crosshatches, block off thes street so that youl have crosshatches that come out onto the street so that you can't see, sO you don't have the excuse of, didn't see the yellow line. It's ont the street itself. Stop to hopefully give people more encouragement to not park ini thei illegal parking spot that they're all parking in. Chief Phillips stated we have to go to thes state or something like that. It'sa state road, but Ithink it does make al lot ofs sense. Ini terms ofe enforcement, Ican'ti telly youl how  manager would do.  many tickets I've written there.    Dan Kordell and Sarah Kordell, read aloud al letter that was sent to the Commissioners, submitted this letter before thel last commissioners' meeting and have heard no response, so that's why I'm reading it now. What I didn't send them, though, is Todd Whitaker, a contemporary. American educator, said, the culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leaderi is willing to tolerate. Again, the culture ofa any organization, that's us, is shaped byt the worst behavior the John Fairhall, and my wife and my next-door neighbor had a nice meeting the other day with Marilyn Williams. Thank you again. This was about Doc's and their plans to physically expand their facility. Certain information was not provided! because Marilyn said it was really not part oft the publicr record. Ifiled al Public Information. Act request int the last 24 hours and think thati information should be available. It's just that he or his folks have submitted plans for what they're goingt to do, and Iwant to see those. want to see them for private benefit. lwant to show them to everybody who lives near Doc's because we have that problem that we have every year with parkingi in particular. There are other related problems. Coincidentally, Irani into the owner of Doc's, and we had a very amiable conversation at his restaurant the other day. He brought up: something which was interesting. Hes said he thought one of the solutions could ber restarting up that golf cart taxi service, if you will, that we used to have, which actually did work or allocating parking spaces on the grass and then requiring Doc's to pay the cost oft the golf cart. We need al little bit more information about what's goingt to be! built there, and lhope that the Freedom of Information Act requesti is honored, and we need some help arranging: a meeting SO we can air some of these things and reach asolution pretty quickly. Marilyn Williams, I'm still working with him on his building permit, and we are addressing these things, and we're already looking at additional parking. There's al lot of moving parts, and nothing at all is near at final stage. Commissioner Greer, Ithink when itg gets al little closer, or perhaps we: set upt the meeting now,! Iknow the owner would like to have a public meeting with ther neighbors, andI It think that's essential. We don't have provision in our zoning code that requires Sarah Matthew, I'I be short. Maybe not that sweet as last time. The commissioners who were here in March, yous said you would hire a search firm if we didn't get as successful candidate. Wel know we didn't get a successful candidate. And two weeks ago, it was ap public promise that your made, and your reiterated that promise today. Jamj just waiting for all three of you to uphold your word and engage ini the search firm and continue that process. Don'tj just hold ar meeting and: say, hi, thank you Bob Bergner, several weeks ago, mys sweetheart observed at frail lady with a cane trying to navigate the gravel path. Lady realized that she wasn't going to make it, so she sat down on the dune, never makingi it to the beach. Iknow whati it's like to be disabled. Ihave the experience ofl limited mobility. And with that observation, Idecided1 that would research the Strand Project as much as Icould.I went to thet town website, andI Icombed, along with a couple others, everything as farl back as 2020 that pertained to the draft or to the Strand. And! lalso had documents from the Corps of Engineers andi the Maryland Department of the Environment that basically was asking selected residents.I don't think these requests for comments went to everybody ini town. And on those drawings, or on this request, were drawings from the contractor, which was Underwood & Associates. Four separate drawings submitted by Underwood, three of them specifically identifying the location of the twor ramps, one at Mill Street and Strand, and the other one across the street from the beach. There was also a specific semi-construction, generic drawing of an ADA ramp out of an ADA graphics book, basic standard, which clearly identified that a ramp was going to be built.  leader, that's you all, is willing to tolerate.  you to notify the neighbors.  very much, and walk awayi from that search firm.    Maryland Department of the Environment issued a water quality certificate about ay year and al half ago to Underwood & Associates, specifiçally identifying that twor ramps would be built contingent on thei issuance of the water quality certifiçate. Ifwe dol have this company build the ramps for us, designed, engineered is important, and that should be done by a certified civil engineer, structural engineer, so that the specifications oft the ramp meet the American Disabilities Act specifications. Documents were handed to the Commissioners and Staff. Idid: send the basic cover letter, Ibelieve, tol Marilyn and Viçkie, and Ididn't hear back. That's whyl decided that Iwould make this Scott Rensberger, the next timet the chair of the Port Warden says he doesn't want to be on camera, Iwant you to telll him that this is ap public meeting and he's part of thei town. He's part of the whole board system. Andl I've never gone after him. I've sent him nice letters int the past that I'm willing to share withy you. So, the next time he does that, Iwant yout to speak upa and say, you'rei in a public meeting right now. And then the next question, since hel kind of brought it up here, whati is he even being the warden for? He's got two boatyards. It'sa conflict of interest. Where Icome from and every town l've ever visited, that would not be! heard of. So we: should get rid of that right away. Mr. Tom, Imean this with all due respect. llook forward to the day when I'm riding my bicycle past your house every dayi ini the summer and I'm seeing your beautiful wife and everything, and Iwant to get back to that period. Ireally do. Ijust want you1 tol know thaty you said about 20 minutes ago, Idon't know what any of these professional hiring firms can offer. With all due respect, thisi is what they offer. None oft these firms, none of them would hire ar many who wears pantyhose and shows their junk to children at seven different locations. Matt, I'm going to pick on youj justf for a second, andI love you, brother. Who put thei trees ini thel ball field? That was all donel before you? Who put the mound of dirt, and where did the mound of dirt come from? I've recently learned, residents of Oxford, Irecently learned witha al high probability that al large portion of that dirt that was dumped at the ballpark came from the wastewater treatment, the old wastewater treatment plant. Where did that dirt comet from? Matt Ozman stated, they actually came out of the bio retention ponds that were dug aroundi town. That's where that dirt came from. Mr. Rensberger some ofi it did. Ift thisi is the case, the soil could be extremely toxic. Think about this for as second. There has to be a reason that that stuff was dumped at the ballpark. If that dirt was good, ifi it was: safe dirt, it would be sold to a contractor, al landscaper. They would come fori free and grab all that stuff. But it wasn't. It was put there because we didn't know what to do withi it. At one time, we were: sending all of this toxic stuff to another state, and Ithink we ran out ofr money or time or they didn't wanti it anymore. don't know exactly if everything Ijust saidi is absolutely true, but Ithink the soils should be tested. Matt Ozman stated, I do know that when they dug those bio retention ponds, Barkers Landing, they Scott Rensberger, regarding the last election, Norm, Ireally mean! am thankful that you're Commissioner, andIreally! hope this takes off and everythingi in my heart is for you, okay? There were a few voting irregularities that I've seen. There are a couple people that live at: 105 West Division that, to my knowledge, has never lived in thel house. It doesn't have a certificate of occupancy. Idon't even knowi ifit has electricity. How these two people got to vote, and thenr my neighbor behind me who's lived here for 40 years, but he's part-time, he comes and goes, buti for 40 years, can'ty vote. Ican't vote. I've been here eight years, and Iknow I've spent three years of my life in Oxford, solcan't vote, and Iwouldn't even try to votel because Iknow the rules. Iwant to know how 105 West Division got to vote. And1 then the other person! Isaw, andlhaven't researched the whole thing because you all tooki it down, the voting video downi for 13 days, andi then the 4th of July came up, and Ididn't have thet time to look through everything, but lalso believel Is saw Laura Frock walk in here. Ithink: she's the daughter-in-law of thet former commissioner. She came in here and voted, and she lives in Easton,lbelieve. Maybe l'm wrong, but her address is Easton. Ihope that  presentation.  did those projects. They did the one behind the ballpark.    Pam looks into these things and gets back to me. Iwould like to know: about these little voting Future Commissioner's meetings, August 13th and August 27th. I'dI like tol hear an adjournment of Commissioner Greer motioned to adjourn the open session. Commissioner Costigan second the  irregularities. Thank yous so muchi fory your time. the open session to goi into a closed session. motion, all were ini favor and1 the motion carried. Respectfully: submitted, Vickie! Sharp, Clerk/Treasurer  Citizen letters discussed inn these minutes are available upon request at the Town Office. Commissioner Meetings are now live streaming and are archived on townhalstreoms.com    Barbara Paca, Ph.D., O.B.E. 101 and 103 Mill Street Oxford 21654  18July,2024  Lindsay Ryan, Esq. and the Staff and Commissioners of Oxford Oxford Town Office, Oxford, Maryland 21654 (410) 226-5122  ownoliseagosastonnet oxfordclertreasurer@goeaston.net ryan@bhcmlaw.com Batmangrereicouicon d2ox4d@verzon.net mommelk5@gmail.com  PRESERVING OXFORD'STREES TO COOL THE EARTH AND WATERSHED  Dear Oxford Commissioners, Oxford Staff and Ms. Ryan,  Oxford resident Mrs. Frances Curtis lived to the age of 98, and she shaped my son's and my life in an impactful way. Among her many fine qualities, one of the best things about Miss Frances was her direct manner of speaking-comprehensive truths-and her words have stayed with me and shape this letter. Before we knew about climate change, she told us that the "sun seemed hotter" to her, recounting that "Back in the day, you could walk to church in the gentle shade of As with many Oxford citizens, I, too would like to see a return to the hospitality ofl high shade to cool our town, and have walked the streets with friends, observing the recent pruning. As with Mr. Burgner of the Strand, Iv was trained as an arborist, and recognize the issues that have alarmed our neighbors. Today arborists prune trees differently to allow for mature trees to survive severe storms. Inj performing "developmental pruning" we encourage trees to grow with Again, the challenges associated with the obvious perils of human/property loss and downed electric lines from trees is well known, and I believe that concern for security is what motivated the company engaged to over prune our trees. My perception re. the aftermath of. July's aggressive pruning is as follows: beyond disfiguring mature specimen trees on public and private properties, canopies were hollowed out at the top which now allows sunlight to penetrate into the trunk. All mature specimen trees will suffer; particularly members of the maple family, especially sugar maples, which have been suffering for a decade-this is clearly evident in the reduced leaf size, poor branching architecture, and decline leading to vertiçillium wilt. Asa result of weakening some of Oxford's largest specimen trees, many are now actually less stable  large trees."  ar more open canopy, allowing them to adjust to the increased sunlight.  and unlikely to survive storms.    Page 2/Preserving Oxford's trees to cool the earth and watershed  The problem is complicated, and the solution is not easy-In sum there are. 3 options: 1. Continue practicing arboriculture as has been done and suffer the consequences ofa dying forest. Oxford will suffer aesthetically, and we will create a heat desert, negatively 2. Plant only small-scale trees under the powerlines. Slight challenge is that these too will 3. Bury the powerlines and plant trees where they are most likely to succeed in cooling the earth-along sidewalks and the roadways. This involves planning and would be done in  impacting the land and adjaçent watershed  become entangled in the wires creating the same problem as above steps with the review of other significant infrastructure.  One only has to look overhead to understand the biggest challenge to cooling the earth in Oxford: overhead wires providing the power on which we all rely. Ifthere were a comprehensive plan to make Oxford truly green, one would address this first. Annapolis buried powerlines in the historic district in the 1980's. Perhaps, with transparent management and an intelligent plan, this could happen in Oxford. Toward that goal, Mr. Burgner and I would like to suggest your Asal beginning, the trees that have proven successful in my research include:  consideration ofat tree policy and perhaps a Tree Commission.  ForLong-Term Shade: White Oak, Willow Oak, Silver Linden, American Black Gum, American Small-Scale but also good for Cooling/Shade: American Redbud, American Crabapple, Kousa Dogwood, Crepe Myrtle, American Hawthorn, American Chaste tree (pruned with an open  Sycamore, European Hornbeam, Bald Cypress  canopy to provide shade, Smoke tree (a shrub which becomes a tree)  With All Good Wishes, Yours Sincerely, Bbbrypen Dr. Barbara Paca, O.B.E.  cc: Robert Burgner rober.burgner@me.com    12July 2024  To: Mr. Tom Costigan Ms. Katrina Greer Mr. Norman Bell Re: Governance Dear All:  Iwish to make a couple of comments about the most recent meeting at the Community Center this week. Firstly, Iv wish to applaud the Pledge of Allegiance and the process ofaffirmation of the new Commissioner under the laws of] Maryland. That process clearly emphasized that our commissioners are held to the values ofal Democratic Society and not to the values ofan  autocracy.  Election oft the Youngest Commissioner  Given that there are only three Commissioners, Ifound it startling that the Chair nominated the youngest Commissioner, rather than the more experienced Commissioner Given that there are only three votes, obviously Ms. Greer lost the vote before it even started. I humbly found this voting process a violation oft normal corporate and NGO board procedures. Clearly, the more experienced Commissioner should have been selected to ascend to the Chair position. Expand the commissioners to a 51 member Commission sO that such a voting process cannot be repeated again. Adding two Commissioners would, in my humble opinion, strengthen the Commissioners bench for added expertise and the succession process for leadership. My wife and I found it fascinating that the Commission meets SO frequently, why not considera We understand that a citizen ofOxford was twice threatened, once at 11:30 at his home, and on another occasion at a shop where a citizen threatened him with a fist fight. Were these two  once a month meeting schedule?  incidents reported by the Police Chief to our fellow citizens?  Town Manager Position  The process oft the selection ofa qualified Town Manager was, in hindsight, quite flawed. Now that particular candidate has been discarded for obvious reasons. Was that individual given a remuneration for his release as an employee of Oxford? Ifhe received a payout, what was the amount? The Commissioners were responsible for this event and why has not a Commissioner considered resigning over this very flawed process. Iwill humbly submit, that Oxford was indeed lucky to avoid this individual and one citizen of our community deservesa great deal of credit for spotting a criminal flaw in that person's character.    Governance 12July 2024 Page2  Search for al New Town Manager  Iapplaud the decision that aj professional firm be brought in to make aj proper search. Yet firstly, the actual position needs to be defined and I strongly recommend that this search include finding ac candidate within our ranks of Oxford. Perhaps, we need to hire out the fundraising component and just hire a Town Manager. Ihumbly submit that we have many highly intelligent folks that  would be qualified to serve Oxford.  Minei is only one voice and I respect the service of each ofyou.  Kind zi Berkley Core 215 South Street Oxford, MD 21654 Cc: Ms. Vickie Sharp    Barbara Paca, Ph.D., O.B.E. 101 and 103 Mill Street Oxford 21654  8. July, 2024  Oxford Commissioner Tom Costigan  clo The Oxford Town Office, Oxford, Maryland 21654  (410)226-5122 e2ox4d@verzon.net CC: ownolice@goessonnet oxfordclerktreasurer@goeaston.nel ryan@bbemlaw.com atinahygrer2lidloudcom nombel450gmal.com  *LETTER TOBE READ ALOUD AND RECORDED INTO1 THEOXEORDIOWN  MINUTES DURINGTHE TOWNI MEETING ON9JULY.2024  Dear Oxford Commissioner Tom Costigan,  This is to request a formal, written apology from you to the Citizens of Oxford for your As the mother of a vulnerable child with severe special needs who grew up in Oxford, the thought of your reckless behavior ini introducing a person convicted of sexually-related offenses into our community distresses me to the core. Iti is my understanding that many other parents and Should you be unwilling to engage a professional recruitment firm to hire a new Town manager, there will bei repercussions, as there are many others in town who share my beliefthat you have been derelict in your duties. Please disclose the role you played in the previous selection, who you professionally engaged to perform the background check, and how much the citizens of Oxford invested in this dangerous decision. You also need to state how you intend to conduct a search for the next' Town Manager, which I expect to be done in a professional manner. Again,I This letter ist toberead during the upcoming Town meeting asa part of the official reçord. *K Kindly note: If, for some reason, the Town Staff should accidentally forget to bring this letter (as has happened in many previous meetings), it will be read aloud by a citizen of Oxford (who pays property tax and votes) at the end of the meeting. This letter will also be recorded into the  negligence in hiring Michael Everett Calvert as our Town Manager.  grandparents share my sense of shock and disgust.  urge you to do the right thing and hire a professional recruitment firm  Sincerely, burbypre Dr. Barbara Paca, O.B.E.  Town Minutes:    Schuyler Benson 101 Bay' View Ave. Oxford, MD 21654  Monday, July 22, 2024 Dear Commissioners of Oxford,  lam writing to request that you reconsider the fee structure being proposed for Oxford Moorings. The proposed increase of over 1000% seems excessive. From attending the June Port Warden's meeting, lunderstood that the proposed fee increase is to cover the expense of implementing and maintaining this program, which has been in place for twenty years. There might be a better way to decrease the burden on the town staff and protect the interest bottom chain (including swivels) and the connector to the bottom chain shall be serviced and inspected at least every two years, and written evidence of a current inspection shall be Make a mooring permit that is good for two years instead of just one. This would cut the town's paperwork in half and keep the inspection requirement the same. Staff would have free time for other tasks, and the moorings would still be maintained at the same level. With regard to the proposed escrow, Iwould like to ask how many moorings have been removed int the last twenty years as opposed to having the chains dropped. Ik know of a few that Jeff Mathis disconnected for the town in the last two years, but lam not aware of any that Ihave my mooring serviced annually even though I am only required to have it done biannually -1 the fee which is charges if $150.00. lasked Jeff last week how much it would cost to disconnect my mooring, and he said $150.00, the same as an inspection. The proposed escrow of $350.00 also seems excessive. If moorings are being maintained as per the code, then those in a bad state of repair will either be upgraded or abandoned, and the concern and  of all involved. Currently, the Town Code states:  "D. Mooring maintenance.  1. Mooring tackle from the pennant (and including the pennant) to the  submitted..."  the town has actually ever removed.  need for this escrow will not exist. lappreciate your consideration of this matter.  Sincerely