At its January 11 meeting, Taneytown City Council learned American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funded projects are receiving the bulk of the focus of the City of Taneytown’s Capital Improvement Plan, according to City Manager James Wieprecht.

The two largest components of the Capital improvement Program and ARPA funding are the Public Works Department and Parks and Recreation Department.

The potential for ARPA funding has driven the Public Works department to update and reexamine capital improvement program projects plan for projects. Director of Parks and Recreation Lorena Vaccare has worked with the parks and recreation advisory board to update parks list.

"It’s been a long time since the city had a capital improvement program that was formally adopted," Wieprecht said.

Similar to capital improvement programs done in the past, the City is hard at work creating narratives and justifications for each project. "We’re kind of putting the meat on the bones for it," Wieprecht said.

Miller Approved To Planning Commission

Following the resignation of member James LeFaivre from the Planning Commission, Alternate Christopher Miller was approved to become a full voting member. Dan Myers was then approved as an alternate.

Myers came recommended by the Planning Commission Chair James Parker, according to Mayor Bradley Wantz.

"I am very excited that I am seeing a lot of interest in serving on boards and commissions right now, which is great. I have a pretty big pile of people interested, I just don’t have that many openings," Mayor Bradley Wantz.

"That’s a good thing, I’d rather have too many people interested than not enough," he said.

Well Motor Replaced

In December, an electrical surge damaged the control panel components along with the motor of water well 16, Wieprecht said. The damage was "not a normal wear and tear situation," and required replacement of the motor as well as the pump bulbs,

The pump motor for Well 16 was relatively new, having been replaced in 2019. The Public Works Department was able to source and install a comparable pump quickly.

"We were fortunately able to source a new, comparable motor, so the well was only down for about two days," he said.

Mayor Bradley Wantz suggested Public Works look into preventative measures to preserve the longevity of the well motors.

"What I would hate to have happen is if we have all of our wells unprotected and we get one surge that blows out half of our wells, we’re going to be in bad condition," he said.

Public Works Bids Awarded

Two bid awards were granted for Public works projects of the Meadowbrook sewer interceptor replacement and a sewer cleaning and televising bid. The bid awards where based upon recommends by The City’s engineering consulting firm, CDM Smith.

Five bids were received for the Meadowbrook sewer interceptor replacement. The low bid of $190,841 was submitted by Stambaugh's Incorporation, of Union Bridge.

Ten bids were received for the cleaning and televising, This televising project is to identify the city’s terra cotta piping and the city has worked with the construction company in the past. The work was awarded to Utility Service Group in the amount of $71,160.

Water Allocation Plan Approved

The Taneytown City Council approved the City’s monthly water allocation plan. The plan details where the city’s water usage caps and how much can be pumped for project management. Any more usage and the City would have to seek permission from Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), who informs Taneytown how much water can be pumped, Wieprecht said.

The city has implemented a voluntary water conservation for some time and continues to ask residents to be mindful and conservative of water usage in general. The city’s well levels are measured regularly and are at healthy capacities, he said.

According to the water allocation plan, the city has 57,210 available gallons per day. A total of 14,125 gallons per day have been allocated to City projects including Meade’s Crossing and Meadowbrook phases. There are 43,085 gallons per day less allocated available and 13,750 gallons per day are available for projects with preliminary plan approval, with a total of 29,335 gallons per day remaining. The allocation plan will expire this month.

City Mask Requirements Return

The City of Taneytown has returned to a mask requirement for city buildings.

Anyone visiting city facilities including City Hall, the Annex, or the police department is asked to mask up. The city is dealing with COVID-19 cases as they come up and dividers between council members have gone up again.

As COVID numbers rise, "We will do whatever we can to prevent the spread, especially among our employees," Mayor Bradley Wantz said.