rOWA N Op  GATTONISVIL  1892  Meeting Minutes of the Town Council on September 3, 2024  As reviewed, approved, and accepted by the Town Council on October 1, 2024  There being a quorum, Mayor Charles Hendricks called the regular meeting oft the Town Council to order at 7:32 p.m. The meeting was held using video conferencing. Council Members Tom Burke, Amy Koval, and Christina Pellegrino were present. Council Member Charles Bradsher was absent. Treasurer Angela Hoffman, Clerk Mary Burke, Assistant Clerks James Schneider and Joy Jackson, Planning Commission Chair Brendan Deyo, Historic District Commission Chair. Jennifer Sizemore, and approximately five residents or guests were also present.  Minutes:  The minutes from the Town Council Meeting held August 6, 2024, were approved as submitted. Treasurer Hoffman stated that she completed al Budget Preliminaries Sheet for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, as requested. She pointed out that on the Capital Improvement Budget the income was very close. The difference was only $251 from the budget, and we were over. We had $33,251.57 come in as actual income for capital improvement, and the entire amount will be saved in reserve. The budgeted General Funds income for FY 2024 was $692,000, and we ended up bringing in $660,539. We were very close with a $31,461 difference. The majority oft that was from a couple ofd different items. One is that we did not transfer in all the ARPA money we were expecting to have reported and spent. That was almost $39,000 less than we. had budgeted, which isstill sitting in the ARPA account. Legal expenses were over budget. They were budgeted for $25,000, and we spent $46,073. Overall, we. had budgeted $624,500 in expenditures and spent Treasurer Hoffman stated that for the July report, there were two notable items for income. Interest income was $9,124 overall on all the accounts, and the highway income was $6,462. The total income was $17,639 for the month. The major expenses were the repairs and maintenance, $19,279, which included the sidewalk repairs, and waste collection $6,515, and we did have some picnic expenses that were paid out. That brought expenses to $45,830, Council Member Burke asked if we are drawing down to December 31, 2024, when ARPA funds must be allocated or turned back to the Treasury. Mayor Hendricks responded that he would like Council Member Koval to meet with him and Treasurer Hoffman to talk about a plan for these  Treasurer's Report  only $397,250. Thus, we transferred $263,289 to reserves.  which left us a deficit of $28,191 for the month ofJuly.  www.aylonvlle.md.us  Post Office Box 5158 e Laytonsville, Maryland 20882 e Office 301-869-0042 Town Hall e 21607 Laytonsville Road . Laytonsville, Maryland    funds. Last year Treasurer Hoffman had a very good plan to use the remaining ARPA funds over at two-year period without seeing the need to make major changes in our operating plans. Council Member Koval observed that we. have other expenses we can also use, because we've had some repairs done, and those were big-ticket items. The. ARPA money has to be allocated with signed contracts by December 31, 2024, and then we have to actually disperse the ARPA funds by December 31, 2026. She doesn't think we're going to be in that situation; she believes we will have spent it by the end oft this year. Mayor Hendricks stated that he will meet with Council Member Burke to go over some oft the repairs that might be needed at' Town Hall. Council Member Burke made a motion to accept the Treasurer's Report subject to audit. Council  Member Koval seconded the motion. Unanimously approved.  Historic District Commission Report  Jennifer Sizemore, Historic District Commission (HDC) Chair, reported that the HDC iss still waiting for a response from the Town Attorney regarding the recommendations it made to the Town Council a couple ofmonths ago and stated that the HDC held a public hearing last month on the house at 21524 Laytonsville Road. She described it as a yellow house with white trim experiencing severe damage on the second story from water leaking into the interior framing. The new owner oft the property, Ernesto Figueroa, replaced some windows with vinyl windows and replaced siding. Mayor Hendricks informed him that he needed a historic district work permit for that sort of work. The real estate agent who had sold him the house had apparently not told him this. The HDC held a public hearing and approved the work that he had done. The commission also approved replacing a first-floor window with vinyl, which will match the new second story windows. Chair Sizemore also reported that the HDC discussed environmental setting and appurtenances. The intention is to decide what the commission thinks the HDC  should and should not be responsible for. Planning Commission Report  Brendan Deyo, Planning Commission Chair, reported that the Planning Commission supported the Mayor and Council in the acquisition of Wallace Montgomery as a consultant. A kickoff meeting was held with the firm last week where we. had some introductions, gained some great general ground rules, and started the contract process. The Planning Commission understood from its discussions with the mayor that we would likely not be getting an extension on the due date of September 25 for the Planning Commission's response to the moratorium. So the Planning Commission will be meeting on September 18 and 25 to prepare a response to the moratorium containing the recommendations oft the Planning Commission. Mayor Hendricks stated that ifit appears that more progress is needed before the due date, the Planning Commission can request an extension. He observed that the commission is making a great effort to meet the deadline set in May. Chair Deyo encouraged the mayor and Council members to  attend all open Planning Commission meetings.  New Business  Report on the Wallace Montgomery Kickoff Meeting  Mayor Hendricks reported that the town now has a signed contract with Wallace Montgomery, and the town held al kickoffmeeting with Michael Bayer of that firm last week. At that meeting,  2    Mr. Bayer described the initial community engagement process he envisions we will undertake soon as part ofthe Comprehensive Plan review. Mr. Bayer promised to follow up with a detailed project schedule and to review, notably fori impartiality, the survey questions that the Planning The mayor reported that the town attendees at the kickoff meeting, looking forward, thought that Mr. Bayer and his associates should interface primarily with the chair of the Planning Commission, while keeping the mayor informed of decisions and progress. The mayor added that he anticipated involving his fellow Town Council members in discussions ofany matters he thought would affect the overall viability of the Comprehensive Plan review or involve critical decisions about the town's future that the Council would at some point have to Council Member Burke asked how the Town Council worked on the last Comprehensive Plan. Chair Deyo stated that Dave Preusch was a Town Council member who worked with the Council Member Burke stated his concern that ift the Town Council is not involved and the product is put in front ofus, and then discussions show that the town is not happy with the finished product, then you've got to go back and possibly start over again. Chair Deyo responded that is why he invites all to attend the Planning Commission meetings. There will be public meetings throughout this process, SO there will be lots of opportunity for input. He then asked for former Planning Commission Chair Eric Wenger's input. Mr. Wenger explained that the Maryland Department of Planning's guidelines are non-negotiable, but the public has input throughout. In the past the consultant gave its recommendations, and then public hearings were used to get input. After that, the Town Council votes to accept it or not before it Chair Deyo stated that Wallace Montgomery has talked about all of this, especially the need to get public input. The town's vision is the first matter that needs to be decided with public input. Mayor Hendricks emphasized the importance ofl keeping everyone up to date on the progress of this work. He stated that concerns would be addressed at any public meeting. One concern addressed at the kickoff meeting regarded leading questions, where the outcome might be steered in one direction. Wallace Montgomery had suggestions for addressing this. Chair Deyo added that as data comes in, the Planning Commission will ensure that it is shared with the public. This will be an open process for what the community desires. The Planning Commission makes recommendations, and the Town Council makes decisions. Council Member Koval stated that the Town Council should be aligned to what the community  Commission has already developed and submitted tol him.  address.  Planning Commission on the last Comprehensive Plan.  goes to the state.  The Planning Commission's aim is to be as open as possible.  desires.  Update from the Picnic Committee  Council Member Pellegrino stated that there will be 12 adult raffle prizes, 12 kids' prizes, and 12 cakes used in the cake walks. She named some special guests who may attend. She invited anyone who wants tol help with set up to do sO starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 21.  Fliers are made, and post card fliers will be mailed to all town residents.  Update on the Walkable Community Map  Mayor Hendricks gave ai report on1 the draft Walkable Community map that ARRO Consulting was preparing under a contract with the town. The draft map had been provided to Council  3    members in advance oft the meeting. The mayor stated his belief that the map will provide residents an casy-to-understand visual portrayal oft the sidewalks, paved paths, and unpaved trails in the town, along with their connections to town parks and an adjacent county park. As the map iss still in the revision process, he invited Council members to make suggestions for possible Parks and Trails Task Force Chair Joy Jackson shared her screen showing the draft Walkable Community Map and stated that she is working with ARRO Consulting on making changes as needed. The Parks and Trails Task Force has been talking about this for quite some time. She reported that an event called the Laytonsville Community Walk is being planned to be held on October 19, 2024. This event will acknowledge the work that went into the improvement of Miller Park and will celebrate the completion of the wayside signs project. This Community Walk will be organized by the Parks and Trails Task Force and the Laytonsville Historical Chair Deyo asked why Sundown Road Park is labelled on the Walkable Community Map when iti is not in the Town ofl Laytonsville. He also asked if we are getting a GIS compatible file sO that we own the data. Or do we get the base state GIS that we can then give to our engineer or Mayor Hendricks responded that Sundown Road Park is labelled because the town has at trail that residents can use to walk to it rather than drive. Having this on the map shows that town residents can easily access a county park. Chair. Jackson answered the second question saying that ARRO will provide a final map version to the town inj pdf and jpeg formats. She does not know ift that means it is GIS compatible. Chair Deyo stated that we should interpret it as such Mayor Hendricks stated his view that the base map is aerial photography that is in the public domain, and ARRO just layered onto it the street names and the points ofinterest that Chair Jackson supplied them and added the lines that depict the walkways and trails. His interpretation ofwhat the contract says is ift these trails are extended or ifnew trails are built, we could amend the map without having to buy any files from ARRO. It says that we are to get digital files. He added that he thinks the map will be an eye-opener to residents who may know about a trail near their house, or certain parks, but not others. They can learn where they can walk in town and Council Member Burke stated that he walks around the town and measures his distances in miles and not feet. He asked if the distances on the map could also include some mileage distances. Chair Deyo stated that ift this is truly in a GIS format, then that could easily be figured out. Chair Jackson stated that she could see this being another map with some loops showing distances and interesting points ofi interest to see along the way. Maybe there could be al Phase 2 Eric Wenger asked to speak to add some historical commentary. He observed that about twenty years ago the Citizens Advisory Board, which predated the Planning Commission, invited Dan Burden, aj proponent of walkable communities nationwide, to visit the town. He came and gave us several ideas for creating a walkable community, which the town adopted. The Planning Commission later included a walkable community map in the town's Comprehensive Plan. Dave Preusch was instrumental in this, and something should be done to commemorate this fact.  improvements to it.  Center's Wayside Signs Committee.  somebody else to edit? In what form are we getting a product?  and ask for that.  how they can make loops.  map showing walking distances in loops.  4    Council Member Pellegrino stated that, as the new map shows, sidewalks continue along several roads beyond the town's borders. Ifwe do a Phase 2, we should show where those walkways go and state their length, which would be ofinterest to the greater Laytonsville community. She then invited everybody to join the upcoming Laytonsville Community Walk to explore some of these routes, to view the wayside signs put up by thel Laytonsville Historical Center, and to end  up at the Fire Department for the Spaghetti Dinner. Date for the Next Town Council Meeting  The Town Council decided that October 1, 2024, and November 12, 2024, will be scheduled for upcoming Town Council meetings, and the mayor may call a second meeting in Octoberif  needed. Resident's Forum  Eric Wenger of6715 Maple Knoll Drive criticized the town' si issuance ofa a permit for utility work that included the installation ofal large new pole very near his driveway without consulting him or his neighbors. He said he hopes that the town can rethink this and hopefully stop any further work until it can be reassessed. Mayor Hendricks responded that he has arranged fora Pepco representative to meet with him and Mr. Wenger tomorrow at the site to review the plans. Thej project will involve installing an underground conduit from the south side ofl Maple Knoll Drive to the north side to enable the removal of a number of poles and overhead wires on the north side of] Maple Knoll Drive. This will benefit the aesthetic ofthe town as a whole, he  asserted. Adjournment  Council Member Pellegrino made a motion to adjourn at 9:25 p.m. Council Member Burke  seconded the motion. Unanimously approved.  Respeçtfully, submitted, James Schneider, Assistant Clerk A Town ofLaytonsville  5