Town of Onancock Town Council Meeting Monday, September 9, 2024  7:00 PM  1) Call to order and roll call: Mayor Fosque called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM: and roll was called. Councilmembers Ray Burger, Cindy Holdren, Joy Marino, Sarah Nock, Maphis Oswald, Paul Weitzel and Mayor Fosque were present. Town Manager Matt Spuck and Town Clerk  Debbie Caton were also present. A quorum was established.  2) Pledge of Allegiance 3) Public Hearings a. None scheduled. 4) Public Presentation . None scheduled. 5) Council Action  Councilmember Marino moved to allow for public comments. Councilmember Oswald seconded the motion. The motion passed with a 6-0 vote. Mayor Fosque allowed for public  comments from the audience on the proposed ordinance changes.  Mary Clements - Ms. Clements is the only candidate running for town council that owns ar residence, a commercial building, and operates a successful business. She thinks the parking changes covers too wide of a zone. The zones should be split between business and residential because the need for each zone is different. She thinks 3-hour parkingi in  the downtown business district is not long enough.  a. The Town Council will consider adopting the following amended ordinances:  ARTICLE II. STOPPING, STANDING. AND PARKING - Town Manager Spuck explained the ordinance change was to address two issues. The first issue is employees of other businesses are parking in front of other businesses and taking the spot away from customers. The parking spots should not be occupied all day. The: second issue is residents of upstairs apartments should not occupy a parking spot in front of businesses for an extended period.  Council discussion ensued.  Councilmember Nock moved to adopt Article I: Stopping, Standing and Parking with the revisions discussed to be effective February 1, 2025. Councilmember Holdren seconded  the motion. The motion passed with a 6-0 vote.  1IPage    Town of Onancock Town Council Meeting Monday, September 9, 2024  7:00 PM  b. ARTICLE XV. SPECIAL USE PERMITS (SUP) - Town Manager Spuck gave updates on the changes from the last discussion. The ordinance nowi includes verbiage to allow for neighbors' opinions when issuing a SUP. Also, a SUP ceases entirely when the property changes ownership whether by at formal sale or transfer oft tax entities. After council  discussion, the vote was tabled until all revisions are updated.  6) Council discussion:  a. Farmer's Market request for Town Staff to administer agrant. Councilmember Weitzel moved to allow town staff to administer the grant. Councilmember Holdren seconded the b. School Projects and financing package. Mayor Fosque allowed for public comments.  motion. The motion passed with a 6-0 vote.  Kent Sudman - Mr. Sudman was disappointed the agenda changed to allow for public comments as he did not have a prepared statement. He stated there is much erroneous information out there regarding Friends of Onancock School (FOS) and the town and what it would cost for different things and who is responsible. An ad was published in the local weekly newspaper. The ad included a written inspection from Bancroft Engineering requested byt the Town Manager. Mr. Sudman asked, "why was this was done and who directed him to doi it?" Mr. Sudman wants to know who is responsible for capital improvements to the school. Mr. Sudman has assisted FOS with furnace issues at the Historic Onancock School (HOS) for several years. He thinks it is the Kerry Baird/Joanie Donohoe - Ms. Donohoe read a letter from the board of directors of HOS previously emailed to the Town Council. - see attached Laura McGowan- Ms. McGowan was dismayed to see the ad int the paper which was full ofe exaggerations and misinformation. She feels the FOS puts out accurate information. All improvements thus far helped the tenants, the school, and the community. She does not want to lose the school toa developer. She encouraged thei town council to vote in favor oft the loan Cherie Tapman - Ms. Tapman attended the school. She loves the school and does not want to see it torn down or sold to a developer. Iti is an asset. Karen & Mark Belknap: - The Belknap's share studio space at HOS. She thanked FOS for the upgrades and improvements completed over the last 17  town's responsibility to do capital improvements.  package.  2jPage    Town of Onancock Town Council Meeting Monday, September 9, 2024  7:00 PM  years. The school is well intentioned, and Mrs. Belknap will offer tours to Mary Clements - Ms. Clements is not contesting the work FOS has done for the school. She is not contesting the talent of the artist who have space at the school. She owns her building on Market Street, and she does make a profit. She agrees with Mr. Sudman's earlier comments in that thet town council needs to determine who pays for capital improvements. Bancroft Engineering isar reputable firm, and their estimate is more accurate than the estimates from local contractors. Ms. Clements would like to see the estimates from Dr. Greg Felthousen Dr. Felthousen would like to dispel some oft the things being heard around the community regarding his letter toi the editor. The issue started with the construction oft the pavilion which was a complete surprise to him and other members of the community. At the February 2024 town council meeting, Joanie Donohoe thanked the council for paying for the evaluation from Bancroft Engineering. A copy of the evaluation was requested but not received until at formal FOIA request was submitted. The repairs at the school have been discussed for almost two years without any action from the town council. Dr. Felthousen said that he is not against the HOS. The letter to the editor was written to open the eyes to all residents as to the extent oft the issues that exist at the school. The issues are not small. Iti is our responsibility to all thet taxpayers in town to be aware oft the liability that the school has brought to us. Dr. Felthousen does not think a 40-year loan is the best option, Katie Schwab - Ms. Schwab is a "come here" and one of the reasons for her move was because of the reputation of HOS. She was toldi it was the center of the art community on the Eastern Shore. This is at tremendous asset for the town. The current issue is straightforward in that the town is being asked to support al loan to make a capital improvement to property owned by the town. Ms. Schwab is bothered by the adi that was placedi in the local paper with no attribution and with inflammatory! language and without checking the facts. She hopes the town council will make a good fiscal decision. She feels there is no issue of transparency because a member of town council has Rick King- - Mr. Kingi is on the board of FOS and been actively involved ini the HOS. His wife has a studio in the building. The school offers cultural events for all children on the Eastern Shore. The children benefit by having activities,  anyone interested.  local contractors and the scope of work.  but spending reserve money would be al better option.  always had as seat on the board of FOS.  shows, and theater groups. This is FOS' mission.  3Page    Town of Onancock Town Council Meeting Monday, September 9, 2024  7:00 PM  Mark Sinclair - The initial ad published ini the local paper from two years ago called "When Pigs Fly" has caused at two-year delay in pavilion construction and $150,000 in increased cost. Many issues have been kicked down the road and this only cause the price of construction to increase. Mr. Sinclair feels FOS has put together a good package with price quotes from local contractors. Mr. Sinclair asked the town council to make a prompt decision about the loan  package.  Council discussion:  Councilmember Oswald stated this project started in 2007. At that time, the FOS presented the town council with a plan to keep the school open without any expense to the town. The lease agreement was written to reflect that sentiment. To now ask fora Councilmember Nock stated is it her hope the town can take responsibility for the propertyi it owns in cooperation with the FOS to pursue the work to get the urgently needed HVAC system, the electrical upgrades, and the windows. This will allow the surroundings to be supported sot the studios and shops can continue. We can have a Councilmember Holdren stated she believes thei town does have responsibility for property that we own. Fori the town, the loan package is a good deal as FOS is asking to split the loan payment. She supports the proposal from FOS. She thinks Bancroft Engineering is a much larger firm than what most people are used to dealing with ont the Councilmember Marino questioned the decision by FOS to spend money on construction oft the pavilion with much needed repairs being an issue at HOS. Councilmember Marino also stated she saw the Bancroft Engineering evaluation fori the first time when it was printed in the Eastern Shore Post. Mayor Fosque stated he had previously seen the proposal. Town Manager Spuck explained the same architect firm that designed the police department and Welcome Center renovations, recommended Bancroft Engineering. Bancroft Engineering did a visual inspection free of charge. Councilmember Marino requested the prior three years income statements andi income projections for the next five years from FOS to make an informed decision about the Councilmember Burger stated town council should decide sooner rather than later because of the heating situation. A decision needs to be made soon to get the  40- year commitment from thei town is unfair and unfounded.  center and not al hole on College Avenue.  Eastern Shore.  loan.  contractors scheduled prior to cold weather.  4/Page    Town of Onancock Town Council Meeting Monday, September 9, 2024  7:00 PM  Councilmember Weitzel requested a quote to replace the roof. This will provide a  complete picture of the investment required. This item was tabled until the next meeting. committee will work on the overall design.  Oak treei fence options - Town Manager Spuck presented fence options. The parking lot  7) Committee reports a. None scheduled. 8) Closed session. a. - None scheduled.  9) Adjourn = Councilmember Nock moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Oswald  seconded the motion. The meetinga adjourned at 8:41 PM.  Fletcher Fosque, Mayor  Debbie Caton, Town Clerk  5Page    September 09, 2024 To: F.F Fosque, Mayor R. Burger, Council Member C. Holdren, Council Member J.N Marino, Council Member S. Nock, Council Member M. Oswald, Council Member P.Wetzel, Council Member M. Spuck, Town Manager From: Mary Clements ()8Jones Street (w) 59 Market Street  Subj: September 09, 2024 Town Council Agenda  Its seems that there may not be the opportunity for town residents and businesses to have public input into this meeting. Therefore, lhave included my conçerns int this email.  Article Il - Stopping, Standing and Parking  This ordinance attempts to cover a wide range of zones within the town- business, residential, dock. Split the regulations into the already defined zones and survey the Dusinesses/esidents, boaters in that zone. One size does not fit all. The businesses on the north side of Market 26-38-1 There are vehicles that are larger than the standard car- eg. Church and public buses. 26-44 a) i) The boundaries are too all-consuming. Again there are a variety of zones within this proposed definition with different needs. Survey those effected in all zones and use their input to craft a more inclusive document. Remove the last 3 parking designated spaces at the very These have all been proposed before and apparently ignored. Where are the SIGNS for parking? When will the yellow curbs be repainted for easier identification?  Street have never had the opportunity to address their needs.  west end of Market Street.  Article XV - Special use Winter Market-  38-497 - Doesn'tappear to be a complete sentence.  No. The Town Manager has already been publicly admonished for attempting to take on extra activities not directly related to the town. If the TC accepts the submission and tracking of this activity, you will have to carefully consider the legal questions of favoritism if another 501c3 Mayor Fosque was the Primary Agent for this organization's original federal tax 990 form submission. He is therefore associated with the market int the eyes of the Feds. He should recuse himself from any tie-breaking vote regarding market issues brought up for vote by TC.  requests the same consideration.    Friends of Onancock School request  and still receives tax funded  First, it MUST be understood that this property was purchased by in the school property  support. The town tax payers have had little effective representation  decisions.  of the Bancroft Construction information should shine a light on this  The 2 page publishing and budget. Bancroft has far greater experience with large and various use proposed and project is better qualified to make an assessment than even the most talented of local Its seems that there were only a limited number of contractors that offered estimates, with one Ita appears that there wasn't any representation for this project by a TC member. will add FOS already has, according to public records, a debt of over $113,000. This project 1/2 of the 40 $13,441 to that already climbing bottom line. "Potential" income to repay their year loan is very sparse- a raise in sub-tenant rent only nets $7000 extra? The $8000 in potential savings on oil use will be far offset by the 5% and 9% increase. ANEC has already advertised. How much does FOS owe annually to the individual(s) for the Pavilion construction? Forty years () Exceeds the FOS current lease. Indeed, there is no guarantee FOS will continue to be a viable entity for the life of the! loan. The town taxpayers will, again, be stuck with a long term loan and no guarantee for repayment other that tax dollars. This is a poorly developed plan to fix only a part of the school's deteriorating condition. TC must accept the fact that the property is ai town asset and needs closer oversight of the There are myriad other red flags inside the stated agenda items- they requires deeper  craft buildings people. Bancroft estimated a far larger estimate, by a factor of 10!  category only showing 1 estimate.  that  property and building.  consideration than a 31 1/2 hour council meeting.  Thank you.    ALetter from the Board of Directors of Friends of Onancock School  We were unspeakably sad to read the attack against us in two full-page ads and a guest column in Friday's E.S. Post under the guise of transparency and accountability. We are working quite diligently to create. inteligent solutions that will help our whole community at reasonable cost. We agree that clear and open communications are vital, that honest and responsible government are imperative, and that taxpayer and donor dollars should be spent wisely. The actual proposal we made for the Town of Onancock is reasonable and The information: advertised in the newspaper was melodramatically presented and unfortunately misinformed. Half of the ad reprinted a letter detailing a visual assessment of the school by one company. It surmised that $5.38 million would be needed to make significant improvements and repairs to the property, some necessary and others not. It wasn'ta a fully developed quote, competitively, shopped or appropriately priced. For the work we actually need to do int the next few months, we requested real quotes from reputable local companies without conflicts of interest. The aggregate quote was $532,000 to install new HVAC to replace a failing boiler and add A/C, replace windows for efficiency and upgrade electrical to accommodate the new HVAC. The published assessment that itemized these items as critical appeared to price the work at well over $3 million, more than 600% over the true cost.. The ad preposterously concluded: The Question Is- Are we insane! Oris itj just Malfeasance?" No, HOS and the Town are acting appropriately. Another misdirection in that ad was: "Even though FOS has stated they would repay Y the loan to the town - they already owe $133,000* for other loans." The * referenced IRS form 990,10/2023. The facts? FOS took out a Small Business Administration/EIDL loan for $ 63,500 in 2020 at 2.75% interest. Due to the super-low interest rate and the much higher market interest rate on our eserves, we, chose to be financially prudent and pay the foan as agreed without prepaying additional principal. As of 9/7/2024, the balance of that loan, which is in good standing, is just $59,047, versus current liquid assets and reserves of over HOS has made a proposal to the Town of Onancock to help us with this project in a wise and cost-effective. manner. The details of the proposal are public and should have been In 2007,HOS and the Town agreed that HOS could lease the property from the town for 40 years for $1/yr. Now in its 17th year, the lease did not create a legal partnership' between the organizations. However, as most citizens understand, informal partnering' with other organzations.including governments, offers a variety of benefits and efficiencies that help everyone. For example, governments and non-profits are eligible (and ineligible) for different types of grants, loans and SO forth, which means an informal partnership' is usually extremely practical, increasing non-taxpayer revenues and lowering costs. This is In the lease, HOS is responsible for maintenance" of the building while capital improvements would fall to the owner, the Town. To make the school the best place  affordable, as we can demonstrate.  $140,000, which ensures stability in unforeseen crises, such as COVID.  referenced in any fair-balanced reporting or advertising  the simple use of "partner" that we intend.    possible for eyeryone, HOS has invested over $650,000 and untold volunteer hours in maintenance and improvements over the past 17 years. While we don'to own the building, we maintain and care forit. Over the years, all improvement benchmarks in the lease have been We are willing and able to not only continue the maintenance of the property, but also to pay for half of the currently proposed capital improvements. Anyone who argues that HOS cannot afford to do so does not have up-to-date data or could be interpreting iti incorrectly. The Town of Onancock is able, via thel Department of Agriçulture (USDA), to access a low- cost 40-year loan that is easily affordable to both organizations. The current interest rateis 4%. A $532,000 loan over 40 years at 4% would amortize at $26,882 annually. HOS proposes. to pay half, in addition to all our other expenses, saving the town $13,441 in capital expenditures. How many governments would not be willing to invest $13,441 per year into a property that offers such al laundry list of positive attributes as HOS? This is NOT government waste. The annual amount of $13,441 is less than $12 per town citizen, per year. HOS can afford to pay Y of the annual loan payments from the energy savings and increased rents alone. In addition, HOS brings in many visitors to Onancock: who spend money in the town's shops, restaurants and bed and breakfasts. They pay non-resident sales and transient occupancy taxes, which decrease taxes forresidents.  accomplished and exceeded, but there is more to be done.  To elaborate on the project to be funded:  The most critical issue, which must be addressed immediately, is to replace our 102-year old boiler system. An inspection several years ago indicated that the boiler was nearing the end ofi its useful life, so we have been as prudent as possible with services and repairs. Earlier this year a routine check brought into question the boiler's ability to make it through the winter. We worked to develop a An energy audit and advice from multiple other sources indicates that installing mini-split technology for our HVAC needs will be cleaner, more efficient and less expensive to run. It would provide an enormous additional benefit: air conditioning for the whole building. This obviously provides comfort for businesses and the public but also helps preserve the building, reduce maintenance costs and, financially, allows fori increased rents to help pay the loan. Also included is replacing the existing uninsulated single pane windows with energy efficient windows to allow for smaller units and to reduce long-term energy costs. Ift the Town didn't apply for al USDA loan on our behalf, who would care for and maintain the school? Who would perform the safety checks or cleanup and repair the playground equipment, chalkboards and Little Free Library? Who would maintain the grounds, soccer fields, disc golf course, What else would go away? Our spacious and affordable Gallery & Events room would not be available to the community. Iti is used by many diverse groups and organizations for numerous classes, art shows, fundraisers, meetings and celebrations. We house numerous businesses who pay a fair market rent (according to an analysis by a local realtor), including many artist studios, classrooms, rec rooms, gift shops, a gym, a museum, seamstress, and a massage therapist. HOS even hosts your CommUnity Band. Our soon to be finished Performance: Pavilion, which we realize some people oppose, will host additional, worthwhile community events such as concerts and plays.  reasonable resolution, which resulted in our loan proposal to the town.  nature trail, trees, shrubs and lawns?    Ifv we do not continue to care for the school and maintain it for all the activities listed above, who will? Will the Town hire people to dot this? Will they sell it to developers? What would the cost of We ask for the full support of the Onancock Town Council to work together with the Friends of Onancock School in a prudent manner so that we may provide a great facility to enrich the residents  those options bei to thet town citizens?  of Onancock: and1 the entire Eastern Shore community.  September 9,2024    We have discovered as statement in our letter from the Board this morning thati is inaccurate and should not have been included in the The fown is notr responsible for Capital Improvements as was cited. The actual wording of Section 5 of our lease states the following: "5. Maintenance. FOS will care for and maintain the School in a condition as good as that existing on the date of this Lease. FOS will cut the grass and otherwise care for the Premises. After the rehabilitation of the School and any other buildings has been completed, and after any new Improvements have been made to the Premises, FOS will maintain thel Premises in good order and repair." Please accept our apologies and consider our request of the town to work with Friends of Onancock School with al loan application for  document.  This was at team project andl If failed to delete this from thet final draft.  Historic Onancock School.