Town
Council Work Session
October 14, 2004
Council President Norman
Pinder convened the work session at
2pm
in the Goodwill Fire Company Meeting Room. Donna Turner, Council Member
Vice President, Mary McCarthy, Council Member, and Royden Powell, Town
Manager, and Deana Ashley, Clerk, were in attendance.
Town Attorney Stephen Kehoe and Delegate Richard Sossi, District
36, were also at the meeting.
Welcome:
Citizens and guests were welcomed to the meeting.
Business:
- SHA Discussion
of Truck Traffic and Origin/Destination Study – Mr. Richard
Lindsay, District Engineer for the Maryland State Highway
Administration appeared before the Council to discuss the draft
ordinance which addresses limiting truck traffic through Centreville.
Mrs.
McCarthy discussed the status of the ordinance to say that it is in draft
form and has not been reviewed by the Council.
Items of review include the definition of a truck and language
regarding enforcement of the legislation.
Mr.
Lindsay stated he was aware of the importance of such legislation and
would request the Council include data from a study in their decision.
When the Streetscape project was reviewed, it was apparent that
there are issues with the infrastructure that must be addressed.
He then
talked about the recent study conducted by Chestertown where local law
enforcement recorded the origin and destination of truck traffic.
Mr. Lindsay suggested that SHA will hire a consultant to conduct a
similar study to include Chestertown and Centreville.
Mr. Pinder and Mrs. Turner suggested that citizens provide input to
the consultant on what days and times would be most informative for the
study. Mr. Lindsay offered the
citizens attend the meeting to be held on October 25th at the
Chestertown SHA office so that they can have direct input into the
parameters of the study.
Citizens Forum:
Aileen Minor,
S Liberty St
– Mrs. Minor discussed the findings of an informal study conducted by
local citizens. She noted that
trucks are traveling at
3:30am
on
Liberty St
.
John Draper, Centreville
– Mr. Draper noted his dual role as a farmer and a commercial trucker.
He stated that without review of the ordinance the QAC Farm Bureau
is informally opposed to the ordinance.
Doug Anderson,
S Commerce St
– Mr. Anderson suggested that the ordinance not be drafted to impact
local farmers, that the real issue is defining the types of trucks which
should be prohibited.
Paul Gunther,
University
of
Maryland
Extension Service Agent – Mr. Gunther stated that Queen Anne’s County
farmers produce the most corn, soybeans and wheat crops in the state of
Maryland; to prohibit farming
traffic can also not be timed based as their work is weather-sensitive.
Local farmers contribute $75million dollars in agricultural
business.
Joseph Minor,
S Liberty St
– Mr. Minor suggested a label or tag be used to identify local or
farming trucks.
Mrs. McCarthy discussed
the intent of the ordinance was specifically not intended to limit local
trucking, especially farmers. However, the Council has not received any
written communication from local farmers or their representative agencies.
She would ask that their comments and concerns be submitted to Town
Hall for consideration along with other letters received by citizens.
Mrs. Turner asked Mr.
Lindsay to look into the proposed work on
Liberty Street
where homeowners were asked to remove vehicles, but the improvements were
not made.
Mr. Lindsay replied he would contact the local office and find out why the
work was not completed.
Mr. Pinder noted his
concerns over how the ordinance could be enforced.
He also discussed with Mr. Robert Kiel, SHA, if the speed limits on
each end of Town could be reduced from 55 to 40 to slow traffic as it
enters town limits. Mr. Kiel
described how speed limits are determined and that the posted speeds are
accurate for the current flow.
Pat Rhodes,
4-H Park Rd
– Mrs. Rhodes discussed her concerns over traffic at the Rt18 and Rt213
intersection. Mr. Pinder noted
that the recent traffic study results would be discussed at the
4pm
meeting.
Mr. Pinder questioned
whether Rt213 would be resurfaced? Mr.
Lindsay suggested that would only be completed after the Streetscape work
projected for the near future.
Mrs. Judy Suling,
S Liberty St
– Mrs. Suling questioned the timing of the study and its results?
Mr. Lindsay responded that citizen input would assist in the
formulation of the study parameters and the consultant is timely in
releasing their findings.
There was general
discussion about the definition of trucks, including number of axles,
tonnage, etc. There was also
general discussion about hazardous materials being hauled through town
limits.
Mr. Lindsay reviewed the
State’s responsibility of maintenance of roads to include “inside face
of curb” to “inside face of curb”.
Mr. Powell and Mr. Lindsay reviewed other areas of the State’s
responsibility.
Mrs. McCarthy suggested
the Council review the draft and discuss it at their next work session so
that it would be made available for public consumption at the October 21
council meeting. Mr. Powell
stated the Council could mark up the document at the next work session.
Mr. Gunther requested Mr.
Lindsay consider utilizing local nurseries and farms for materials on
street improvement projects. Delegate
Sossi noted that the Streetscape project is essential to improve the
infrastructure, then surface work can be completed using local materials.
Town Council Work Session
October 14, 2004
Council President Norman
Pinder convened the work session at
4:20pm
in the Goodwill Fire Company Meeting Room. Donna Turner, Council Member
Vice President, Mary McCarthy, Council Member, and Royden Powell, Town
Manager, and Deana Ashley, Clerk, were in attendance.
Town Attorney Stephen Kehoe and Delegate Richard Sossi, District
36, were also at the meeting.
Welcome:
Citizens and guests were welcomed to the meeting.
Business:
- SHA Discussion
of Truck Traffic and Origin/Destination Study – Mr. Robert Kiel
presented the Council with the results of a traffic count study at
Rt18, Coursevall, and the entrance to the Food Lion shopping center.
The results showed that the McDonald’s entrance did warrant a
light, but Mr. Kiel suggested that traffic would be better served if
only right-hand turns could be made out of the main entrance and a
light placed at Coursevall. This
would force traffic to make left hand turns south on 213 at the new
light and would ease the congestion at Route 18.
The
Council discussed how the light would be funded, and asked staff to review
any agreement with Mr. Duffey and the business park.
Mr. Kiel stated that if the light intersects a town road and a
state highway, SHA is responsible for funding.
There was
general discussion regarding the re-configuration of Coursevall to
facilitate left turns and a traffic signal.
Mr. Kiel
stated that the current flashing light at the 301/213 overpass will soon
become a signal light. Signs
will be placed strategically to alert drivers to its pending
implementation.
Delegate
Sossi questioned the timeframe of the new light at Coursevall?
Mr. Kiel stated that he would prepare a design request and submit
it to the engineering department for approval.
Mr.
Pinder reminded Mr. Kiel that
Northbrook
is near the 170 house requirement for installation of a traffic signal.
Mr. Kiel asked Mr. Pinder to keep him apprised as the houses near
the requirement.
Mrs.
McCarthy discussed the possibility of a crosswalk at Lawyers Row across
213. Mr. Kiel noted that the
traffic pattern at the nearby intersection would prohibit such a
pedestrian courtesy.
There was
general discussion about different types of paving/textures to be used to
notify traffic of a pedestrian area. Mr.
Kiel suggested that could be implemented as a part of a Streetscape
project.
The
Council thanked Mr. Kiel and Delegate Sossi for their participation.
Motion
to Adjourn to Closed Session for Potential Litigation: Mrs.
McCarthy made a motion to go into closed session to discuss potential
litigation; Mrs. Turner seconded the motion at
4:50pm
.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Deana Ashley, Clerk
