Live Blog: July 18 City Council Meeting

7:50 p.m.: Meeting adjourns.

7:49 p.m.: Public comment period closes with no comments from residents.

7:46 p.m.: Councilman Fred Cullum said the city's residents can counteract the County's hike in tipping fees for trash collection by recycling more.

Cullum said he has spoken with John Van Gilder of the Havre de Grace city government about seeking grant money to purchase recycling bins for residents.

"If we can come up with some money to buy some, that’s what we would like to do," Cullum said.

7:44 p.m.: Councilman Jim Miller reported his daughter's cat has been returned home. had been missing for more than two weeks.

7:36 p.m.: Mayor Dougherty said the city is moving closer to taking action on the opera house on Union Avenue. Dougherty said a $146,400 grant, coupled with $35,000 from the city, should enable the project to move forward.

Dougherty ran down a number of projects the city's Department of Public Works is dealing with, including: the Tydings Park sidewalk, David Craig Park, engineering of Old Bay Lane improvements, streetscape improvements in the 400 block of St. John Street, valve replacements, Lewis Lane land acquisition, the beginning of Canvasback Drive repaving (set for July 25) and reviewing potential other street repavement recommendations.

7:32 p.m.: Police Chief Teresa Walter reminds citizens that Aug. 2 is National Night Out, in which a number of Havre de Grace communities celebrate with porch parties.

7:31 p.m.: Director of Finance George DeHority expressed appologies to nearly 1,000 city residents who were assessed a higher property tax than they should have been.

DeHority said the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation is "working to send us an upgraded file. It affects a little over 1,000 of the tax bills. There will be some tax bills going out that are lower than the original tax bill. If you have paid your tax bill, we will be promptly refunding your payment. ... We will get the revised bill out before the end of the month, still 60 days before the first bill is due."

7:30 p.m.: Director of Planning Neal Mills reported 64 new construction projects have been started this year, including 46 single-family homes.

Mills also reported the city will have technically met its requirements for its update to the comprehensive plan, but that in discussions with the mayor, the city likely will continue on with its updates. The next update would be due in 2017, at which point in time Mills said the city would be "operating off 7-year-old data."

7:28 p.m.: Director of Administration Carol Mathis reports to council members that its time again for a photo of council. She said she will send an email to the Mayor and Council in the coming days to schedule the photo.

7:24 p.m.: The ordinance was given a 6-0 vote upon first reading.

A public hearing will be held at the next city council meeting, at 7 p.m. on Aug. 1.

7:19 p.m.: Changes to the city's fee structure for parking violations are introduced in an ordinance.

Council President Martin outlined the fine changes are the third step in a series of parking items the City set out to change after a parking study was conducted last year.

After meetings this spring, Council moved to increase parking time from two to three hours in the downtown area. Motorcycle parking was added near the Masonic Lodge.

The fee changes were made in the name of backing police enforcement.

"If you don’t pay your fine, you’ll pay eventually when you go to pay for your tags with Motor Vehicle [Administration]," Martin said. "We don’t want to see people parking all day in front of businesses."

7:15 p.m.: The resolution on the proposed changes in traffic patterns at MD Route 155 and Bayview Drive is approved, 6-0.

The resolution calls for Bayview Drive to be one-way, preventing northbound traffic on Bayview Drive from entering MD Route 155.

The City conducted a survey of neighborhood residents, which provided overwhelming support in favor of a one-way street versus a complete closure of Bayview Drive at MD Route 155.

Travelers will not be able to access MD Route 155 from Bayview Drive due to a lack of sight distance.

The full resolution will be published Tuesday.

7:11 p.m.: Resident and business owner George Wagner said the proposed changes in parking fines, set to be unveiled Monday night, are not fair across the board.

"The enforcement is a big thing," Wagner said. "Its being spotty when tires are being marked. You're not being fair across the board."

7:09 p.m.: Former Mayor Gunther Hirsch thanked the council for honoring he and his family by .

"I want to thank you again on behalf of my family," Hirsch said. "I want to thank all of you and the staff and everybody. I always enjoyed being here as mayor. ... Thank you very much."

7:06 p.m.: Resident Kevin Racine presents a system map from the Maryland Transit Administration, revealing transit options for the local area and the state.

Racine is unaware when the map will be mass produced, but assured that the free maps would be available in various locations in Havre de Grace and in Harford County.

Racine said he will be meeting with officials in Delaware Thursday, at which point in time the maps for Maryland and Delaware will be combined to assist commuters in traveling north of Havre de Grace.

"It appears the years you've been involved in this at the state level, and the hard work you've put in ... appears to be coming true. We thank you very much for your perseverance," Mayor Wayne Dougherty said. "I want to thank you very much for being here tonight."

7:04 p.m.: Council President Bill Martin asks for council to consider removing item B under Section 10 from tonight's agenda. The item was a resolution pertaining to a new traffic pattern in the 800 block of Erie Street.

Council agreed to the friendly ammendment to the agenda.

Martin said there was an insufficient amount of data to proceed with the resolution.

7:02 p.m.: Chaplain Nick McDonald of Upper Chesapeake gives the opening prayer.

7:00 p.m.: Meeting begins with all council members present.

6:50 p.m.: Small gathering in the crowd as the council members begin to stroll into the council chambers. Meeting should begin shortly.

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. For our council meeting preview, including a PDF file of the agenda, click .