Council Passes Forest Conservation Ordinance

Havre de Grace City Council passed an ordinance concerning forest conservation in a 62-minute meeting Tuesday night at .

Council also recognized resident Ned Colburn for his contributions to the city. The Winter Wonderland Committee within the Chamber of Commerce was also recognized for its efforts to create a festive environment in Havre de Grace during the holiday season.

A new city website and three television screens in council chambers were also unveiled Tuesday.

Below is a recap of the entire meeting as it happened:
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8:02 p.m.: Meeting adjourns.

8:01 p.m.: Period for public comment closes without comment.

8:00 p.m.: Mayor Dougherty reminds residents that next week.

Dougherty notes that John Simpers will be inducted into the Maryland Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame this spring.

Dougherty notes that the Duck Dunk will be held at the launch ramp in Tydings Park Saturday.

7:51 p.m.: Council President Martin notes that the web address for the city website—www.havredegracemd.com—has not changed.

Two work sessions will be held in the coming month—the water and sewer commission report will be announced at 6 p.m. on Jan. 30 and the personal property tax cut will be discussed at 6 p.m. on Feb. 13.

Martin notes that one of his best friends texted him during the meeting to reveal that his wife had a baby boy. Martin notes that today is also his birthday.

7:50 p.m.: Councilman Craig said the staff at the water plant should be commended for their efforts, and for providing him with a tour of the facility and answering a number of concerns. Craig said that, while the facility is aging, there are contingency plans in place at the facility.

7:48 p.m.: Councilman Miller points out that Bel Air and Aberdeen have in-town transit options, and that Havre de Grace should look into one.

Mayor Dougherty said that one was discussed years ago while he was on council and was shot down because it was “cost prohibitive.” Dougherty said he’d be open to the idea of an in-town transit option to help folks travel around Havre de Grace.

7:44 p.m.: Councilman John Correri notes that the thoroughbred named Havre de Grace was .

7:43 p.m.: Mayor Dougherty interrupts council reports by acknowledging and , who walked into the meeting, for their work on the photographs for the new city website.

7:37 p.m.: Councilwoman Barbara Wagner congratulates the Ravens and wishes them well in the AFC Championship game in New England.

Wagner also congratulates the owners of , located on Washington Street.

7:36 p.m.: Councilman Fred Cullum applauds city staff for the new website.

He also had some positive things to say about the new television screens in the council chambers:

“It’s going to make it a lot easier,” Cullum said. “It’s a new venture, something that this year at budget time, council decided we were going to use a bit of money and do something for us for a change to improve our space here and to make it easier for the citizens, also.”

7:31 p.m.: Neal Mills notes that the next planning commission meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 23. Mills said voting for new leadership on the commission will take place during that meeting.

Mills added that has elected not to run for reelection as the chairman of the planning commission, but he will remain on the commission.

7:25 p.m.: Carol Mathis, director of administration, unveils the new city website on the television screens in the room. Mathis and the administration at have been working on a new website for months.

The site was upgraded Tuesday.

Patch will have a post to unveil the new website Wednesday.

Dougherty points out that the photos that dominate the front page on a rotating basis are provided by City Hall intern Adam Rybczynski, a regular photo contributor to Patch.

“I would buy any of them as a print,” Martin said.

7:24 p.m.: Council votes unanimously to approve six special events.

All meetings are sponsored by the , or held on the grounds of the . With that in mind, after council votes in favor of the first event, Martin requests that council is allowed to vote on events No. 2-6 as a whole, rather that individually.

Those events include:

• War of 1812 Reenactment on May 12
• 5^th Annual Pirate Gala on July 14
• Pirate Encampment on July 14
• Pirate 5K Run on July 14
• Christmas Boutique on Dec. 8 and 9
• 40^th Annual Candlelight Tour on Dec. 9

7:21 p.m.: Shyla Glassman begins introducing a series of six special events for 2012, all of which are to be voted upon by council.

All meetings are sponsored by the , or held on the grounds of the . With that in mind, after council votes in favor of the first event, Martin requests that council is allowed to vote on events No. 2-6 as a whole, rather that individually.

7:20 p.m.: Council votes unanimously to adopt the amended ordinance.

7:19 p.m.: Council opts to accept the amendments as a whole, rather than have each amendment read aloud. Mayor Dougherty said the amendments were “housekeeping” for the most part.

Councilman Fred Cullum said the planning committee reviewed the ordinance with help from the planning department. He said the ordinance mirrors state regulations.

Councilman Randy Craig said Aberdeen has 75.5 acres in forest conservation, while Havre de Grace has 275.68 acres in forest conservation.

“I think that speaks volumes about forest conservation in an urban city like Havre de Grace,” Craig said before applauding the planning department.

7:15 p.m.: Councilman Jim Miller introduces Ordinance 935 for a second reading.

Miller begins with a series of amendments to the ordinance, which involves forest conservation.

7:14 p.m.: The period for public comment on agenda items passes without comment.

7:10 p.m.: The Winter Wonderland Committee and the Chamber of Commerce are recognized for their contributions to the downtown area during the holiday season.

The Winter Wonderland Committee, led by Shalonn Lawson, is responsible for the lights and Santa Land on Washington Street.

Mayor Wayne Dougherty reads a proclamation to the committee before the committee presents him with a print of the Washington Street area lit up for the holidays.

7:05 p.m.: Ned Colburn is recognized with an Outstanding Citizen Award. Colburn served 15 years on the street and traffic safety commission.

7:02 p.m.: The Boys and Girls Club of Harford County will not be in attendance tonight, and Council President Bill Martin asks for an amendment to the agenda to move the proclamation to the club to another meeting.

7:00 p.m.: The meeting begins with all members of council present.

6:55 p.m.: There are new high definition televisions on either side of the council chambers. There’s also a television screen facing council on the inside wall of the rotunda.

6:45 p.m.: Welcome to our City Council live blog, where we will be updating the news coming from City Hall at it happens.

Check back regularly. We will be adding nuggets of news immediately. Feel free to email sean.welsh@patch.com with any questions.

Check out our , which includes a PDF file of the agenda.