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City Council of the Mayor and Council of New Castle Present: Council President William Blest Also Present: City Treasurer Janet Carlin, City Administrator Cathryn Thomas, City Solicitor Roger Akin, MSC Secretary Chip Patterson, MSC Water Supervisor Jay Guyer and DNREC representative Doug Rambo The City Council held a public hearing concerning proposed Ordinance No. 457 for the protection of wellheads and source water supplies. Administrator Thomas gave a brief overview of the ordinance. Ms. Thomas stated that this type of ordinance had a deadline for passage of December 31, 2007, however the City remains in compliance as DNREC has been aware that the City has been working towards passing the ordinance. The overseeing governmental agencies, the Federal EPA and State DNREC, are requiring municipalities to have this type of ordinance in place to protect the wellheads, which in turn has the overall impact of protecting public and drinking water supplies. Ms. Thomas reported she had spoken with Mr. Andy Taylor, attorney for the Trustees of the New Castle Common, and they are aware of the proposed ordinance and do not oppose it. It was noted that the new areas which are impacted by the overlay zoning and have additional development restrictions in the ordinance are mainly owned by the Trustees. Mr. Patterson spoke on behalf of MSC and stated that the City works from three wells which are located on Basin Road, Frenchtown Road and School Lane. Mr. Guyer also spoke on behalf of MSC and gave a much more detailed account of the aquifers and the wells. Mr. Rambo from DNREC was present at the meeting and informed Council that he is in favor of the ordinance as it is proposed. Mr. Guyer also informed Council that MSC will start flushing the City’s water system next week so there may be some disruption in service or cloudy water. This process will take approximately 10 days. The public hearing and meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p.m. Present: Council President William Blest Also Present: City Treasurer Janet Carlin, City Administrator Cathryn Thomas, City Solicitor Roger Akin, Police Lt. Adam Brams, MSC Secretary Chip Patterson, MSC Water Supervisor Jay Guyer and DNREC representative Doug Rambo Approval of Minutes by Date A motion was made by Councilperson Churchill to accept the Minutes dated March 11, as presented; seconded by Councilperson Petty and passed unanimously. Approval of Treasurer’s Report Treasurer Carlin reported that there was $400.00 in petty cash, $263,929.26 total deposits for the month, $484,925.90 in the Wilmington Trust Accounts, $1,201,740.46 in the Certificates of Deposit and Delaware Government Investment Pool and $1,686,666.36 total cash on hand. A motion was made by Councilperson Reese to accept the report as presented and it was seconded by Councilperson Churchill and passed unanimously. Approval of City Administrator’s Report Ms. Thomas stated that her detailed report was in Council’s packet, however did not include a few recent items of interest. Ms. Thomas spoke with Mr. Richard Keller of Deemer’s Landing apartments regarding the sidewalk required to be constructed adjacent to the apartments on Washington Street. The sidewalk project is to be started next week and should be concluded by the end of April. Ms. Thomas also stated that the Buttonwood tide gates are slated to have construction start on a repair, which should provide improvement in the structures estimated to last a period of about five years, at which time a major replacement and/or reconstruction should occur. At this time, however, Senator Henry is providing funding from the State for the repair project, which is being coordinated by the New Castle County Conservation District. Approval of Staff Reports Lt. Brams stated that the bike patrol will be starting soon and the police department is trying to obtain additional funds for the VIPS. The police are also considering participating in the “Click It or Ticket” seat belt safety campaign again this year. Grant Review The City received a check in the amount of $950 for maintenance on the Heritage Trail. Checks were paid to A&A Lumber and Joshi Construction on behalf of Bellanca Hanger, Diamond State Ambulance on behalf of SALLE S-14-08 (additional equipment for police vehicles) and Kercher Engineering on behalf of Municipal Street Aid Funs for street and road repair work, paving and inspections. Communications Council President Blest had received some e-mail messages from some residents. Mr. Michael Heyman wrote to urge individuals to send letters to Senator Dori Connor in support of the General Assembly passing SB4, which would make the State FOIA law equally applicable to the State and General Assembly, the same as it now applies to other municipal governments in Delaware. Mr. Mike Alfree expressed concerns about some early issues the Trustees were having with the developers and activities occurring relative to the Riverbend residential subdivision. Finally, Council President Blest reported on a letter received from URS, the firm providing planning consulting and comprehensive plan update services to the City. The report in the letter from URS noted that the comprehensive plan update kick-off meeting was held before the last meeting of the Planning Commission. The report summarized the meeting and initial discussions on priority items to be worked on for the update. Business from the Floor (concerning agenda items only) None. Business from the Mayor None. Business from the Council President Council President Blest reported on agenda items for a special meeting of the City Council to be held on Thursday, April 10, beginning at 6 p.m., as follows: 6:00 – Public Hearing on an ordinance to govern Temporary Storage Units Motion, Discussion and Vote on Resolution No. 2008-11, in gratitude and recognition of the achievements of Mr. George Freebery. President Blest read Resolution 2008-11. A Motion was made by Councilperson Reese and it was seconded by Councilperson Churchill and passed unanimously. Mr. Blest presented a framed copy of the resolution and an engraved clock to Mr. Freebery as tokens of appreciation from the City. Mr. Freebery received a standing ovation from the City Council members and those present at the meeting. Unfinished Business 1. First and Second Reading of proposed Ordinance No. 457 for the protection of wellheads and source water supplies. Due to the length of the Ordinance, Councilperson Reese gave an overview of the Ordinance. It was noted the full text of the ordinance is available to any interested person. Copies may be obtained at the City offices and also the entire ordinance is posted on the City’s Web site. A third reading and consideration of adoption will occur at Council’s May 13 regular meeting. New Business
Considerable discussion was held concerning the development plan and the proposed location of the new building relative to the 100-year floodplain. The engineer from the McBride and Ziegler firm representing the developer acknowledged that work had already begun filling in the property within the boundary of the 100-year floodplain. The developer had applied for and been issued a City fill permit from the City Building Official. The City Solicitor asked if the proper FEMA permit had been issued prior to the fill work commencing, as this is the primary regulating agency for any work done within a floodplain. The engineer indicated that he believed the process may have begun to obtain a FEMA permit, however had not been concluded. The engineer stated that historically the reliance has been on the City-issued fill permit to start fill work within the 100-year floodplain, without regard to when a FEMA permit would be issued. The engineer explained that once the fill is completed, FEMA will inspect the work and if satisfactory, the line for the 100-year floodplain would be moved on the FEMA maps, in this case to a location beyond where the new building would be built. The City Council directed that prior to the issuance from the City of any further permits for the project, that the engineer and/or developer provide to the City Solicitor satisfactory proof that the requirements of other governments for development of the project had been met. Councilperson Churchill made a Motion to amend the Resolution and it was seconded by Councilperson Petty. The amendment proposed to remove all language in the original resolution which would grant approval for the “site improvement and construction plan”. The result would be that at this time the City Council approval would only be granted for the subdivision plan. The motion to amend the original resolution passed unanimously. The vote on the amended resolution, to approve only the subdivision plan, passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Jill F. DiAngelo, |
