Mount Airy’s Charter

Like Amendments to the Constitution…
Changes Should be Part of a Thoughtful and Planned Process

I attended the Public Work Session on Wednesday May 12 primarily organized by Councilman Gary Nelson regarding the Town’s Charter. Having gone back and forth with acting Mayor Peter Helt the week before regarding the process of commission appointments, I was eager to hear the Town Charter discussion.

Past Town Council members and Mayors were invited to the work session. It was an interesting dynamic with many strong personalities who shared great insight and a lively discussion. Mount Airy’s Charter and how difficult issues are dealt with has been a hot topic since the Dave Pyatt issue in December of last year, particularly for the council members who were forced to deal directly with the issue.

Discussion ensued regarding how vacancies should be handled to the overall power of a Mayor. Chris Decolli, councilman 2002-2006 believes strongly in the separation of powers. The Mayor acts as CEO and manages government operations and the Council acts as the legislative branch. Our charter currently resembles this set up. Town Council President and acting Mayor Peter Helt suggested we give the Mayor a vote at the table and take away veto power. Many thought that this presented several issues, one being an even number of votes at the table.

In addition to recommended changes to the charter structure, another recommendation was to add a "Forfeiture, Suspension or Removal from Office" option, or possibly even "Recall Procedures." A suspension or removal option is already part of our Town Code for appointed officials:

"Removals and suspensions. To remove or temporarily suspend from office any person who has been appointed to any municipal office and who after due notice and hearing is adjudged to have been guilty of inefficiency, malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, misconduct in office or insubordination; and to fill the vacancy caused by such removal or suspension."

It was councilman Nelson’s comments regarding a recall provision that got a lot of heat. Councilman Nelson thought the voters should be able to get rid of an elected official because they were not following through with the platform of promises made when campaigning.

WOW! If this were the case, we should get rid of 95% (at least) of all elected officials, including President Barack Obama! In this provision, an elected official may be recalled with only 20% of the registered voters signatures through a referendum. If Councilman Nelson had his way, it would be simply because they haven’t kept a campaign promise. Really?

Let’s examine this statement a bit closer and perhaps share a little history.

It’s no secret that Councilman Nelson and I have rarely been on the same side of an issue. But I do admire that he stayed the course and completed his term, unlike the other members of the Johnson-Nelson-Woodhull team of 2006.

As liaison to Parks and Recreation for the past four years, Councilman Nelson brought several initiatives to the table. My friend Bob King, Chair of Parks and Recreation, has nothing but praise and admiration for Councilman Nelson.

"Whatever he took on, Gary Nelson gave one hundred percent effort."

King credits Nelson with many of the commission's accomplishments such as coordinating the effort to designate the Town's 88 acres as a park, naming the park and creating a Master Plan for the park. Councilman Nelson also worked hard on Rails to Trails. By applying and receiving grants from the State Highway Administration, councilman Nelson was able to offset some of the legal costs for easements and make property purchases needed for the project. This project is now closer to reality than ever before.

The one issue that Councilman Nelson and I have agreed on is that of schools and Mount Airy. We strongly believe that we need a Frederick County middle school either in Town, or closer to Town. Although one never would have guessed it when he fought hard against an annexation that came complete with a pad-ready school site in 2006. He said, “we can do better.” Granted, he certainly tried to do better and worked on several leads to find a site for a school during his term.

After working with Councilman Nelson on the Committee for Schools, I truly believed that Councilman Nelson was committed to bringing a Frederick County middle school to Mount Airy. Unfortunately, even though Councilman Nelson managed to convince Frederick County to retain a "floating" future school site within the Town's limits, the “we can do better” promise regarding finding a site for a Mount Airy middle school for Frederick County never came to fruition.

Should we have “recalled” Gary Nelson? Overall, I do believe that Councilman Nelson meant well and truly believed he could do better, so recalling him because he did not fulfill his promise of bringing a Frederick County middle school to Mount Airy would be absolutely ridiculous! I know, crazy coming from me, but it's true. I promised readers this would be an honest and truthful Blog, and I too will honor that promise.

Campaign promises are sometimes harder to keep than one may think. Trying to work with Frederick County schools when the Mount Airy community has sent mixed messages regarding schools being built here for the past 15 years would be challenging for anyone, seasoned or green. FCPS is a tough bunch and I truly believe that Mount Airy has gone down that path one too many times to be taken seriously, although I'd love to be proven wrong in this case.

It’s the green politicians who think they know more, and think they “can do better” who create an air of arrogance. I do believe that Gary Nelson had that air of arrogance when he was elected. Personally, I believe he still has it, but that doesn't mean he should be recalled, nor should he not receive credit where credit is due.

Councilman Nelson did not run for re-election and his term ends today. But if he had run, the voters would have decided if councilman Nelson was worthy of another term based on his accomplishments and the promises made four years ago.

And that is how we get rid of politicians who are not doing the job we elected them to do. This is America! We go to the polls!

In closing, I want to thank councilman Nelson for planning this very informative public work session and for his four years of service to the Town. I admire anyone who takes on this challenge and I hope the new incoming administration will take seriously the oath they are about to take this evening in serving the people of Mount Airy.

We don't expect to always get along, but we do expect a level of consistency and commitment to promises made and for decisions to be made based on what's best for all Mount Airy residents, not just a select few.

Always a Few “Whining Winners”

......To Sour The Thrill of Victory...

I would like to take this opportunity to send a big congratulations out to Mayor-elect Pat Rockinberg as well as David Blais and Scott Strong for winning the two Town Council seats on May 3.

The Mayoral race was very close. With that, I hope Mayor-elect Rockinberg will recognize he does not have a mandate. He must embrace all the voters, including the 47% who voted for Wendi Peters. I know these three men will work diligently along with fellow council members Peter Helt, Dave Pyatt and Wendi Peters to bring back the stability and continuity that's been missing over the past several years.

With every new administration comes the promise of a clean start. Similar to all the "hope" and "change" rhetoric, most people just want to be part of something meaningful. Unfortunately, no matter if it's a presidential election, or just small town politics, there's always a few “whining winners” to sour the thrill of victory. Only a few days after the election, my friend, TJ Grogg of The Grogg Report shared a link on her facebook page to this Blog.

“Heads up all FB pals........This is a great local blog for Mt Airy, Maryland created by Donnamarie Needle in order for all sides of any issue regarding town politics, and decisions to be heard. And in order to have the truth published by We the people of Mt Airy. Thank you Donna!This has been a long time coming ,but so very needed and welcomed."

While I am truly appreciative of Tina posting The Mount Airy Blog through facebook, clearly one of her friends didn't share her sentiments. Rockinberg supporter and Planning Commission Member, Mr. Falletta commented;

“Sorry Tina, I don't see a lot of truths printed on donnas blog. All I see Really a lot of half truths. Mr. Medve is the LAST person robe critical of anyone. I remember him ( along with Wendi and Chris decolli ) pushing zeltman with no regard to the citizenry. Pat has repeatedly stated his position on the 600 acres. It disturbs me that lying liberals like Mr. Medve try to get away with this kind of rhetoric. I am also surprised that someone like yourself sells Donna's blog as a bridge of true communications for the town. Thank God the people of our town see through this deception. Have a blessed day. Tony”

Seems Mr. Falletta couldn’t handle the feedback or the questions I posted. As a Planning Commission member, and someone who represents our Town and our residents, Mr. Falletta decided to delete his original comments instead of engaging in meaningful dialogue. Should we expect the people who represent the Town and the residents to be held to a higher level of professionalism and ethics? Yes, our Town representatives are a reflection of we the people.

Mr. Falletta accused the Mount Airy Bloggers of lying without providing any proof or documentation to back up his allegations. Accusing bloggers of sharing erroneous content, attacking their character and then walking away with his tail between his legs speaks directly to Mr. Falletta's credibility. So what do we want and expect of our Town officials?

This seems to be a pattern in Mount Airy; many elected or appointed officials have outwardly chastised those with differing opinions. For example, during my advocacy of the Rigler Annexation in October of 2009, I received a scathing email with the Mayor and all Town Council members copied;

"I realize that you feel passionately, but it seems to me you tend to feel passionately about almost anything that you can get your hands on. You seem to feed on a fight. Even a bio you wrote about yourself online says you enjoy the "sport of politics" and made a joke about your boxing gloves coming in handy."

The author of the email, Diane Gleason, another Planning Commission member, got one thing right; I am passionate about many things. If something doesn't seem right I get involved. My mother, may she rest in peace, taught me about honesty, integrity and to stand up for what I believe.

Instead of having an open an honest dialogue about our differences of opinion, Ms. Gleason went directly to character assassination.

Nasty emails and weak accusations on facebook will not scare the Mount Airy Blog into hiding. I will continue to defend my Town, this blog and my friends when confronted with outrageous allegations and so my suggestion to those who want to wander down the weakest path of intimidation and bullying would be to think twice; in a small town, the printed word is just as loud as your actions.

We will continue to provide the facts and an honest message to the residents in Mount Airy. If anyone wants to question what is written, we welcome an open and honest dialogue. We will be happy to engage in a productive, valid and meaningful discussion. Please feel free to submit your comments to any blog post you deem inaccurate. The only thing we ask of you is that you do so in a respectful manner and that you use your real name. We will not publish comments such as “anonymous,” “mtairycitizen” or Ilovemountairymd."

Those who contribute to the Mount Airy Blog want our Town to work for us and with us in moving forward to get Mount Airy Back on the track of stability and continuity. Back on track to a close knit community where we listen to what others have to say and although we may not always agree, we look for common ground to find the best possible outcome for the people.

The Mount Airy Blog Team

Growth Supported by Mayoral Candidate Pat Rockinberg Will Not Pay For Itself

Pat Rockinberg supports a 600 Acre Expansion of Mount Airy adding 200 houses, roads that need 500k in improvements, lifestyles that don't conform to Town code, and failing septic systems that could be the Town's responsibility down the line. His opponent, Wendi Peters, is not in favor of this annexation, however on the campaign trail, Mr. Rockinberg continues to call his opponent "big growth" and a proponent of raising taxes.

Rockinberg's stance on this annexation is inconsistent with everything he has touted, including adhering to the 2007 Town Survey where residents clearly stated they wanted Mount Airy to remain the same.

Mount Airy, not unlike other municipalities, has a history of turbulence in attempting to resolve issues related to growth. The guiding document for the Town on growth is the Mount Airy Comprehensive Plan last updated in 2003. The Vice-Chair of the Planning Commission at the time was Wendi Peters and the Town Council Liaison was Dave Pyatt.

During the two-year development of the Comprehensive Plan, which included numerous opportunities for residents to participate, Dave Pyatt never considered adding to Mount Airy’s existing outer growth areas. Pat Rockinberg who served a short tenure in 2004-2005 on the Planning Commission before resigning never explored expanding the outer growth area, nor did he ask for a review of the Comprehensive Plan. In fact, Dave Pyatt, who voted for the plan in 2003, insisted on presenting the Comprehensive Plan at community meetings to reinforce his support.

Fast forward to 2010, why are Pat Rockinberg and Dave Pyatt supporting the expansion of Mount Airy’s outer growth area to include 600 acres south or I-70? Their positions are clearly inconsistent with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan. I frankly don’t have a good answer other than the residents of that area are not happy with Carroll County and want to use YOUR tax dollars to improve THEIR infrastructure.

There is no benefit to current Town residents to annex these 600 acres. The residents of that area are on private well and septic systems, have road infrastructure that does not meet Town standards, and have land uses that are inconsistent with the Town code. The tax revenue generated by this annexation when balanced against expenditures to bring their aging infrastructure up to Mount Airy standards results in a negative $400,000—meaning that current residents will pay for this upgrade at a time when our existing capital improvement plans are being put on hold because of budget cuts.

Does that sound like good planning to you?

Wendi Peters has dedicated herself to ensuring that Mount Airy’s plan for growth retained the Town’s character and was managed in a responsible way. More importantly, and applicable to the job of Mayor, Wendi Peters knows a bad financial deal when she sees one. She opposes spending your hard earned tax dollars to improve a road system that does not bring benefit to existing residents. In the past Wendi Peters insisted that developers of sub-divisions like Summit Ridge, Twin Ridge and Village Gate shouldered the entire financial burden for infrastructure costs.

In supporting the I-70 annexation, Pat Rockinberg shifts the financial burden to current residents—that’s a bad deal from my perspective. Mr. Rockinberg has been touting the 2007/2008 Town Survey that shows current residents want Mount Airy to remain as is and they do not want additional residential growth. This boundary expansion is in direct contrast to what Mr. Rockinberg has promised the residents and in contrast to what the residents stated they wanted for their Town through the very survey that Mr. Rockinberg claims credit for.

The main job of the Mayor in our town is to serve as the Chief Financial Officer and to listen to the people. Through this example, it is clear that Wendi Peters is the better candidate to responsibly manage our tax dollar and ensure that the Town follows through with the wishes and desires of its current residents.

Contributed by John Medve, Mount Airy Resident