town council special meeting minutes

Exactly as extracted, unformatted — for checking against the original. The readable version is easier to read.

Town Council of Centreville
Special Meeting
June 4, 2020
7:00 p.m.
M I N U T E S
The June 4, 2020, Town Council special meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by President Jeffrey C.
Morgan at the Liberty Building, 107 N. Liberty Street, 2nd floor meeting room. The following members and staff
were present: Jeffrey C. Morgan, President; Timothy E. McCluskey, Vice President; Joshua E. Shonts, Member
via Zoom; Steve Walls, Town Manager; Kenneth Rhodes, Chief of Police; Sharon VanEmburgh, Town
Attorney; and Carolyn Brinkley, Town Clerk.
Citizens Forum
Written comments were received by: Barry Feldman, Symphony Way; Joe Brown, Concerto Avenue; Dan
Worth, Commerce Street; and Caroline Huddleston, Liberty Street.
 Mr. McCluskey clarified one of the public comments that Mr. Frank Ogens never resigned as a council
member when he was in office. He stated that he was on vacation over the winter for a couple months
but never resigned.
 Mr. Morgan clarified one of the public comments that the Council will not be deciding on who takes
office; that will be decided through an election.
Discussion
 Resignation from Council / Special Election / General Election
o Ms. VanEmburgh stated that Mr. Shonts submitted his resignation to the Town Council effective
following the June 11th Town Council meeting which would require the Town Council to hold a special
election not less than 60 days and not more than 90 days following the resignation. Currently, the
special election would have to be held between August 10th and September 9th. The deadline to file for
the October general election is August 3rd. The way the Charter reads, candidates would not be able to
file for the special election and the general election.
o Ms. VanEmburgh indicated there are a number of possibilities that could be considered:
 Charter amendments could be considered to change the number of days required for a
special election;
 Mr. Shonts resign as of June 11th and move forward with a special election and the general
election; or
 Mr. Shonts delay his resignation to July 8th or 9th which would then take the “no more than
90 days” passed the general election.
o Mr. McCluskey asked Ms. VanEmburgh to explain Resolution 04-2020, the recent charter amendment
to amend the language for the two-year seat that will be open in October and how this would affect
adding another two-year seat to the ballot.
o Ms. VanEmburgh stated the Council could pursue another charter amendment to change the language to
allow for two two-year seats just for this election however, Section 416 of the Charter allows the
Council to make changes to elections, by ordinance, not already addressed in the Charter.
o Mr. Morgan stated that he is not in favor of a charter amendment and is in favor of asking Mr. Shonts to
re-date his resignation letter to be effective on July 10th. He indicated that he is not in favor of having
two elections.
o Mr. McCluskey stated he is also not in favor of two elections however, this is something that needs to
be changed.
o Mr. Shonts reported that he submitted his letter of resignation and does not feel he should hold his seat
any longer than needed and does not want to cause any more dissention with the Town. He is not in
favor of any charter amendments.
o Mr. Morgan stated the Council could wait until the next meeting for public comments.
o After some discussion, Mr. Shonts stated he will change the date on his resignation letter to July 10th to
eliminate the need for a special election.
2020-06-04 TC Approved Special Meeting Minutes.doc

o Ms. VanEmburgh will prepare an ordinance for the two two-year terms.
 Outdoor Dining for Restaurants
o Mr. McCluskey stated the Council originally talked about providing outdoor dining for restaurants on
Lawyer’s Row. He discussed an idea Denton is doing by blocking off parking spaces to allow
additional seating in front of the restaurants.
o Ms. Brinkley stated the restaurants have reported that they are not interested in participating in
expanded outdoor dining on Lawyer’s Row and the Courthouse green at this time. Ms. D’Agostino will
poll them to find out their interest in the parking spaces.
o Mr. Walls with check with Maryland State Highway Administration for consideration and what barriers
would be needed around the parking spaces.
Citizen’s Forum
Steve Kline, Elm Street; Joe Cichocki, Water Street; and Mitchell Delaney, Bristol Lane, offered comments.
Motion to Adjourn
Mr. McCluskey made a motion to adjourn the June 4, 2020 special meeting. Mr. Morgan seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously at 7:44 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn M. Brinkley
Town Clerk
2020-06-04 TC Approved Special Meeting Minutes.doc