Jefferson County Foundation President Christine Wimer asks the Town Council to send a letter to the Jefferson County Planning Commission, regarding the proposed Groundwater Bottle Plant Concept Under Review, during Wednesday night’s meeting in Town Hall. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Corporation of Shepherdstown’s Town Council held its monthly meeting in Town Hall on Wednesday night.

At the beginning of the meeting, the second reading of an amendment to Section 7A-110, allowing the Shepherdstown Police Department to place a financial penalty of up to $100 on those who have committed disorderly conduct, was held. The amendment was passed, with one vote in opposition by Town Council member Marty Amerikaner.

Amerikaner’s opposition to the amendment was prompted by concerns raised to him by local residents.

“Somebody stopped me on the street and said they’re concerned about this, because by shifting this to an ordinance that only has a financial penalty, it’s a criminal arrest. It’s under the criminal code. So, if a person is convicted, even if they pay a $50 fine, they do actually get a criminal record that they may not have had before,” Amerikaner said. “If they’re relatively poor, they might want to have a court-appointed attorney or public defender, to defend them from the criminal charge. But if there’s no possible jail time, according to the person who approached me on this subject, they’re not entitled to a public defender. If that’s true, that puts a relatively poor person in a difficult position, if they believe that they should be found innocent. It seemed like a significant issue.”

Other questions from local residents, related to a different matter, was brought to Town Council member Linus Bicker. Bicker, who is Shepherdstown’s Tree Commission Chair, said these questions were prompted by recent trimming of the crab apple tree in front of the Market House.

“There were a lot of questions as to why it wasn’t pruned sooner. Just for the health of the tree, it is best to wait to do it during the winter months. Now is the appropriate time to do it,” Bicker said. “It is an older tree, so we have to be careful not to distress it.”

Bicker noted that further trimming on the tree will be done by the company that was hired to do the project in the near-future, as the job was not satisfactorily done to the Tree Commission’s standards.

In new business, the Jefferson County Foundation approached the Town Council with the request for the town to send a letter to the Jefferson County Planning Commission, asking for them to require a zoning text amendment before approving the Groundwater Bottle Plant Concept.

“The foundation believes that if this applicant would like to use groundwater extraction for bottling water, that they should seek a zoning text amendment for the Article 12 process within the Jefferson County Zoning Ordinance. This is important because it can place protections on the land use — requirements that will protect places like Shepherdstown,” said Jefferson County Foundation President Christine Wimer, mentioning a similar amendment had recently been required of the solar farm opening in Jefferson County. “We hope that Shepherdstown will send a letter to the planning commission that outlines that you are concerned that this may create a precedent, where more of these plants may be built in the county and that this may negatively impact Shepherdstown, through both its backup water source and the effect on farms around the town and the effect on the character of the town itself.”

The town’s financial status was reviewed by Chris Longerbeam, of Longerbeam Tax & Accounting Services AC. The CPA, who has been managing the town’s finances in the absence of a Town Administrator, said that the town is beginning the new year in a strong financial position.

“If you were a business and not a government, you would be showing a $106,000 profit right now,” Longerbeam said.

Mayor James Gatz brought up a major concern for the Corporation of Shepherdstown, during the meeting. According to Gatz, only one application for membership on the Board of Appeals has been submitted to the town, in spite of recruitment efforts to fill all of the empty seats on the town’s commissions and boards.

“There’s at least one opening on the Planning Commission and at least four on the BZA (Board of Appeals) — maybe five if you count the alternative person. The thing abut the BZA that is sort of critical is that, to be a member of the BZA, you cannot be a member of any other committee,” Gatz said, mentioning members must be Corporation of Shepherdstown residents. “So all of us who are hanging out with people who are involved in town, one way or another, we cannot ask them, because they already have a job!”

Those interested in filling one of these positions are encouraged to download an application form at https://www.shepherdstown.gov/news/post/8745/. For more information, contact Town Clerk Amy Boyd at 304-876-2398 or clerk@shepherdstown.gov.