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North East appoints economic development commissioners, hears MDOT wayfinding and preserve acquisition updates
Summary
At its March 12 meeting the Town of North East swore in elected officials, approved appointments to an Economic Development Commission and heard staff reports on MDOT wayfinding, a hotel feasibility study, annexation work, and a potential property acquisition adjacent to the North East Preserve.
The Town of North East administered oaths of office and approved new appointments to the North East Economic Development Commission during its March 12 meeting.
Charlene M. Notarcola, Clerk of the Circuit Court for Cecil County, administered the oath to Mayor Kelly A. Benson. Mayor Benson then administered oaths to Commissioners Catherine Bernard-Dutton and Neil M. DeMatt and to Justine Patterson, who was appointed to the Board of Appeals. The board approved appointments to the Economic Development Commission; Sandy Turner, Kathy Jamison and John Ford were confirmed to terms expiring March 12, 2027, with Sandra Edwards and Anthony Simpson to take their oaths at a later date.
In reports to the board, Mayor Benson said he met with the Maryland Department of Transportation and town staff to discuss wayfinding and signage at Routes 40 and 272, and with a hospitality consultant to begin a hotel feasibility study. He also attended a Placer.ai demonstration on foot-traffic analytics and had a brief introduction with the Director of Finance on the budget process.
Town Administrator Melissa Cook-MacKenzie reported staff meetings on long-term streets and sidewalk infrastructure planning, progress on annexation next steps, recruitment activity for the water treatment plant and police positions, and work with the town attorney on acquiring property adjacent to the North East Preserve, including finalizing deed-restriction language for the intended use of that property. Cook-MacKenzie said the North East charter amendment will be introduced at the next Town Board meeting due to "extreme circumstances." Assistant Town Administrator Grant Handley reported exterior restoration work at the Old Town Lock-Up, coordination with MDOT, annexation mobilization work, water plant security upgrades, and focus groups run with North East Elementary School students to collect feedback.
The minutes show the board continues to coordinate multiple economic-development and infrastructure items (wayfinding, a hotel feasibility study, property acquisition, and annexation planning) while also staffing local projects such as restoration of historic town property and community event planning for an April 12 Easter Eggstravaganza.
During business from the floor, Marybeth Appio of Ridgely Forest asked whether stormwater ponds with garbage are the town's responsibility; town staff replied the HOA owns the ponds and is responsible for maintenance. Appio asked about rental of homes and whether the town required lease copies; staff said homeowners may rent but leases are not required to be filed with the town and properties may not be converted to commercial use. A representative of Aspen Property (the community's management company) said deeds of easement are not required and that the Planning Office will follow up with the HOA.
The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
