Denton, Maryland

The regularly scheduled meeting of the County Commissioners of Caroline County, Maryland, convened at 7:30 PM in the Hearing Room, Courthouse, Denton.

John W. Cole, President

Franklin W. Prettyman, Vice President

John S. LeGates, Member

Charles C. Cawley, County Administrator

The Commissioners held a budget workshop at 6 PM prior to their regular meeting, as previously announced.

On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the minutes of January 12, 1999 were approved with one correction. Vouchers #44513 – #44590 were approved for payment.

On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed an accounting office transfer request to transfer $203,786.44 from the capital improvement fund to the general fund the amounts expended for the period October 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998 for capital reserve appropriations.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed an accounting office transfer request from the leased industrial property fund to the general fund in the amount of $70,370.36 for MILA loans for Koski, Bartley and Ritz/Boaters World.

On individual motions by Mr. LeGates, the following purchase orders were unanimously approved and signed:

On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed Provident Leasing Corporation Acceptance Certificate No. 1 for acquisition from CDW Government, Inc. of computer equipment in the amount of $3,431.84 for a server at the HAPS building.

Dorsey Wooters, county treasurer, gave the Commissioners the monthly investment report for December 1998. Mr. Wooters also reported on the semi-annual investment report for the period July 1998 through December 1998. On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the Commissioners approved and President Cole signed the required semi-annual investment report to be submitted to the state.

Helen Spinelli, director of economic development, met with the Commissioners regarding the FY 1998-99 State Tourism Grant proposal. Ms. Spinelli advised that the previous grant enabled the EDC office to obtain state-of-the-art computer equipment and that this next phase of funding is targeted to developing a brochure, annual events calendar, and a visitor’s guide. The funds from this grant represent the initiation of a comprehensive tourism program for Caroline County, with the major portion of funding will be support on-going successful programs such as Summerfest and the 4-H Fair. On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed the grant request in the amount of $20,000, Caroline County’s state allocation.

Carl Scheffel met with the Commissioners regarding a long-term lease of County property for the Old Harford Town Maritime Center (OHTMC) and the TEA-21 Grant application for wharf reconstruction and center. Followed by a slide presentation, Mr. Scheffel said the upper Choptank River in Caroline County holds tremendous potential for heritage tourism and economic growth from this industry. The rich agricultural and maritime history of Caroline County offers both cultural and natural resources which are unique to the region and the State of Maryland. The added advantage of the riverfront settings throughout the County further enhances the attractiveness of the County to tourists. Recent initiatives at the local and state levels which are aimed at promoting and financing heritage tourism are gaining momentum. Caroline County can benefit from these initiatives by promoting projects and program which will create heritage tourism. The grant from the Maryland Historical Trust will provide funds to identify historic and cultural resources along the upper Choptank and Tuckahoe River. The grant will include the following projects:

1. Upper Choptank River Inventory – Fully-funded inventory and mapping project for identifying historic and cultural maritime resources and developing maritime heritage themes.
2. Preliminary Planning for the F.C. Lewis, Jr. Skipjack Restoration Exhibit – Fully-funded planning project for the riverfront exhibit.
3. Choptank River Heritage Watertrail Visitor’s Center – Current proposal application to construct a replica steamboat freight office which will serve as a waterfront visitor’s center and museum of river transportation.
4. Transportation Enhancement Project for West Denton Wharf Reconstruction – Proposal to the Maryland State Highway Administration for National Transportation Enhancement funds to reconstruct selective portions of the West Denton wharves and the transportation museum component of the visitor’s center.

The Commissioners requested that Mr. Scheffel submit a preliminary drawing of the proposed projects and to meet with Betsey Krempasky, planning and codes administrator, regarding critical areas issues and to report back to the Commissioners.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously signed a joint letter with Queen Anne’s County to Maryland Department of Transportation outlining a priority listing by County of the recommended progression for construction funding of the components of the Maryland Department of Transportation’s two major state highway projects: US Route 50 Ocean Gateway and MD Route 404 Shore Highway.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed a letter to the Governor’s Work Force Investment Board supporting the Upper Shore Workforce Investment Area to be composed of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties and designating Helen Spinelli, director of Caroline County Economic Development, as the contact for our jurisdiction.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously appointed the following persons to serve on the Caroline County 4-H & Youth Park Board, for three-year terms retroactive to January 1, 1999: Rebecca Carrow; Cindy Clopper; Delores Greene; Frank Pittinger. On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously reappointed Mark Fuchs to continue serving on the 4-H & Youth Parks Board for another three-year term.

On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the Commissioners unanimously reappointed the following persons to serve on the Caroline County Housing Advisory Board:

Category	Board Member
Local Government	John LeGates
Caroline County Sheriff’s Department	Sheriff Philip Brown or designee
HUD – Section 8 Administrative Entity	Kevin Brooks or designee
Business/Corporate Community	Jeffrey Heflebower
Charitable/Religious Group; and Community Service/Civic Group	Debbie Peters

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed the required Assurances for Section 5311 and SSTAP Grant application funding for the Upper Shore Aging Transportation Service Plan Vehicle Utilization for continuation of the existing program.

Mr. Cawley advised the Commissioners that the first meeting of the Maryland Association of Counties Legislative Committee is January 27, 1999.

There being no further business, the meeting of the County Commissioners was adjourned by unanimous consent.

Vivian L. Anders

Acting Executive Assistant