Kent County Commissioners Meeting, 2 April 2018: From left, Bryan Matthews and Mayor Chris Cerino ask Kent County Commissioners Ron Fithian, William Pickrum and Bill Short to lend $75,000 to the principals of Chesapeake Theaters, who plan to reopen the Chester 5 movies in Chestertown. County attorney Tom Yeager is in the background.

The Kent County Commissioners and the town of Chestertown have struck a deal that should result in the reopening of the town’s movie theater, hopefully by May 31st of this year.

At the county commissioners’ meeting, Tuesday, April 3, Mayor Chris Cerino and Bryan Matthews, representing the economic development committee of Main Street Chestertown, asked the commissioners to advance $75,000 to the Chesapeake Movies group, which is planning to refurbish the vacant theater for an opening Memorial Day weekend. The funds would come from the county’s revolving loan fund, which was created to facilitate economic development in the county. As an incentive to businesses and entrepreneurs, these county business loans have interest-rate below current market rate with terms of five to seven years. The town plans to repay the loan from proceeds of the entertainment tax, which the theater would pay after opening.

The Chester 5 theater closed in June 2017, leaving local residents with little option beyond driving to Middletown or Dover Del., Annapolis, or Easton for first-run movies. The long-time theater manager under the old management, Charlene Fowler, said that the newer theaters in Middletown and Dover had been drawing movie-goers away from Chestertown for several years, with tax-free shopping and dining opportunities as additional reasons for locals to make the thirty- to forty- minute drive. The condition of the local theater, which had not been renovated for many years, was also a factor.

Representatives of Chesapeake Movies were seen working in the theater, removing old seats, in September, and at the time they said they planned to open for the Christmas season, traditionally a busy time for theaters, with many Oscar contenders being released at that time. However, an anticipated deal with Silicato Development, the owners of the shopping center, fell through, and for a while it appeared the theater would not reopen.

But negotiations warmed up again in February, and the principals of the theater company appeared at the March 19 Chestertown Council meeting to request the town’s help in closing the deal. Mike Klein, Ira Miller, and Bob Weinholdt told the council they were near to a deal with Silicato. They said they were prepared to invest $500,000 in the renovation, and Silicato had offered to provide another $270,000, much of which would go toward the purchase of state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment for the theaters. To close the deal, they asked the town to advance them $75,000 on anticipated entertainment tax revenue to close the deal. The town would make the advance back from proceeds of the entertainment tax, which they said could be as much as $20,000 in a good year. The theater would be completely renovated, with upgraded seats, an expanded concession area, new restrooms, and a program of first-run films along with some indie films. “It’ll be unlike anything Chestertown has ever seen,” said Weinholdt.

Chestertown council members were enthusiastic about the prospect of the theater reopening, but as Cerino noted, the requested advance would amount to nearly 10 percent of the town’s cash on hand. Guarantees would need to be in place in the event of the theater going out of business before the advance was repaid. After discussion at the Mar. 19 meeting, the council authorized Town Manager Bill Ingersoll to carry on negotiations with the theater group to find a way to help them bridge the monetary gap and reopen the theater.

Then at the April 2 Chestertown Council meeting this past Monday, Ingersoll said the town had settled on a plan to sponsor a request for the Kent County Commissioners to make up the advance from Kent County’s revolving loan plan. He said that Cerino and Matthews were on the agenda of the next County Commissioners’ meeting scheduled for the next day. Ingersoll credited Kay MacIntosh and Jamie Williams, economic development coordinators for the town and county respectively, for helping to facilitate the plan.

Then at the Kent County Commissioners’ meeting last night,  Tuesday, April 3, Mayor Cerino succinctly outlined the proposal for the theater reopening and for funding it from the county loan program, with the town forwarding the entertainment tax proceeds on a quarterly basis to repay the loan.

Matthews gave an overview of the economic benefits of keeping theater-goers in Kent County instead of Delaware, spending their money in stores and restaurants in addition to the movies. He noted that the theater would employ 12 to 15 people, which he calculated as an annual influx of some $300,000 into the county’s economy.

Commissioners Bill Short and Ron Fithian were enthusiastic about the possibility of the theater’s reopening. Commission President William Pickrum, on the other hand, hit a note of caution about the use of taxpayer money to finance a private business. He said the plan to repay the county from entertainment tax revenues was dependent on the theater staying in business long enough to realize that level of income.

Cerino said the town would be willing to commit to a memorandum of understanding or some equivalent mechanism to guarantee the loan. He said he realized the $75,000 being asked for exceeded the $50,000 cap for the revolving loan fund, but he noted that the theater was a business that would benefit both the town and the county as a whole, describing it as “a win-win.”

The commissioners voted unanimously to grant the loan. While the final details need to be settled, the theater appears to be on track for its Memorial Day opening. Get your tickets now!

David Sobers of the Chestertown Environmental Committee speaks to the Mayor and Council about a proposal to reduce trash pickups in town to once a week

Waste disposal and the town’s website were the top subjects at a two-hour long Chestertown council meeting, March 5 in Town Hall.

David Sobers and Ford Schumann, representing the Chestertown Environmental Committee, presented a proposal that the town adopt once-a-week trash pickup. Schumann read a letter from former mayor Margo Bailey pointing out that anticipated savings from scaling back the trash service could be used to promote recycling.  Seventy percent of households in Chestertown currently participate in the town’s recycling program which has once-a-week curbside pickup every Friday. And with fewer trash pickups, residents would have an incentive to recycle an even greater proportion of the waste. “There’s no such place as away,” Bailey concluded. “When you throw something away, it has to end up somewhere.”

Sobers then gave a more detailed presentation, giving statistics in support of the proposal. The town generates 1,687 tons of waste annually, compared to 265 tons of recycled materials and 200 tons of yard waste, which is composted. It pays $166 a ton for waste disposal, of which $102 is the fee for collection. The cost per household is $101 annually. For recycling, the annual cost per household is $46.

Moving to once-a-week pickup would result in a savings of $40,000 to $80,000 annually, not counting yard waste, Sobers said. Meanwhile, increasing the participation in recycling from 70% to 90% would cost between $20,000 and $40,000. At the same time, the environmental committee recommended upgrading the recycling containers in use, providing larger, wheeled containers to households at a one-time cost of about $45 per container. Street containers should also be improved, the committee said, increasing usage by making the difference between trash cans and recycling containers more obvious.

Increasing participation would involve sending notices to households. publishing articles in the local press, and involving the public schools and Washington College in spreading the word. Another possibility would be giving awards or certifications to businesses that reached certain milestones for recycling. Residents wishing to join the recycling should contact town hall.

Councilman Marty Stetson expressed support of moving to once-a-week trash pickup. He said he had made the suggestion when he was first elected, but Bailey, who was mayor at the time, was opposed. “I’m glad Mayor Bailey finally saw the light,” Stetson said with a smile.

Mayor Chris Cerino said the current waste disposal contractor may be “getting out of the business,” due to the recent death of one of the owners. Thus it might be the right time to consider moving to once-a-week pickups. He said it would be something for the council to look at more closely during budget deliberations later this Spring.

Francoise Sullivan of Moo Productions gives the Chestertown council a virtual tour of the town’s website (on screen at top) at the March 5 council meeting

The town’s webmaster, Francoise Sullivan of Moo Productions, was on hand to discuss the town’s website. She gave a brief overview of the website, showing some of the submenus and links, partly for the benefit of the two new council members.

Stetson said the website should be designed to attract visitors to town. He said the current design is primarily aimed at residents, with information on subjects primarily of local interest. He suggested making the front page a rotating series of pictures of the town, featuring the approach across the Chester River bridge. “That’s what’s unique about the town,” he said. He also said a voice-over by Cerino would be a good way to give the town an appeal to visitors.

Cerino endorsed the idea of making the site more appealing to visitors. He said the Sultana Education Foundation website, which Sullivan also maintains, could be a model, and volunteered to supply some photos for the front page.

Sullivan said the suggestions were all workable. She said she would get together with Cerino and start making the suggested changes.

Also at the meeting, Prof. Elena Deanda of the Washington College Department of Spanish and Larry Samuels of the Diversity Dialogue Group gave a brief presentation on a community street fair scheduled for April 14. The group has requested a street closure for College Avenue between Campus Avenue and Calvert Street. The event will feature activities for kids, music by local and college bands, information booths by local organizations, and food trucks.

The council approved the appointment of Owen Bailey to fill a vacancy on the Historic District Commission. After the vote, Councilman David Foster said the town should routinely publicize openings on commissions to allow more residents to apply for the positions. He said he would have been interested in being appointed to the Planning Commission over the last few years if he had known of the vacancies. He suggested letting residents who are interested in such positions put their names on a list to be notified when openings occur.

Cerino also gave a report on a bond bill to raise $500,000 for renovations on the Chestertown Marina. He said Kees de Mooy, the town zoning administrator, will testify before the state Senate in support of the bill. Cerino also gave an update on work at the marina, noting that if the bond bill is ratified, it will allow the town to make significant progress toward completing the project.

Councilwoman Linda Kuiper, during her ward report, requested a review of the town’s policy regarding participation of non-profit organizations in the farmers market. She said churches should be allowed to set up booths at the market on the same basis as other nonprofits.

Cerino said the suggestion was “a slippery slope” because of the principle of separation of church and state. He said a church conducting a bake sale to raise money for a project was probably OK, but distribution of religious materials was problematic. He said the question should be put on the regular agenda if the council wanted to discuss it.

Stetson said he opposed allowing churches to distribute religious materials in the park. He said if you allowed one to do so, you would need to allow all of them, and there is limited space in the park. “What if the Ku Klux Klan wanted to set up a booth?” he asked.

Town Manager Bill Ingersoll said the policy for issuing farmers market permits was worked out several years ago. He said the non-profit section of the park is pretty heavily used, judging by the wear on the grass in that area.

At the Utilities Commission meeting, Utilities Manager Bob Sipes updated the council on a project to generate a map of the town’s water supply system. He said the project would probably cost between $50,000 and $120,000 if it was done properly. Grants might be available to pay for most, if not all of it. He said the project had been moved to the back burner last year when other priorities came up. He said he would reprioritize the mapping project.

The meeting which began promptly at 7:30 p.m. adjourned at 9: 30.

Chestertown Mayor Chris Cerino (left) listens to Town Manager Bill Ingersoll describe an offer to buy excess property from the town

The Chestertown Council, at its Feb. 20 meeting, authorized Town Manager Bill Ingersoll to move ahead with the possible sale of four town-owned lots near the intersection of Calvert and Lynchburg Streets.

Ingersoll said the town originally acquired the properties, which were the site of the original Garnet School, from the Board of Education in 1973. He said in a memo to council members that the lots were “added to an ’80’s planned rebuilding project called Calvert Homes, which was awarded to Interfaith Housing Corporation from Denton.” Interfaith built several townhouses along Calvert Street, and had plans to build more. But sales did not meet their expectations, and the company sold the remaining land, back to the town in 1993.

The town subdivided the property into six building lots, with the intention of selling them as low- or moderate-income home sites. One, on College Avenue across the street from Bethel AME Church, was sold in 2005 and a home was built on it using Federal Home Administration funds for affordable housing, Ingersoll said. The lots were priced at $15,000 for low-income individual buyers seeking home sites and $25,000 for developers intending to build homes for the low- to moderate-income market. However, despite efforts to market the property, no buyers came forward.

In December, Ingersoll said, the pastor of the nearby Faith Life Church made an offer of $40,000 for four of the remaining lots, and put down a $10,000 good faith deposit. The church planned to use the lots as a parking area to alleviate congestion in the neighborhood when there are services or other events at the church. In the longer term, the church is thinking of expanding its building and could use the property for that purpose. Ingersoll said he had reviewed the contract and asked for a couple of terms the town could not guarantee to be modified, which the other parties agreed to. He told the council it was their decision whether to accept the offer, reject it, or enter into further discussions with the buyer.

Ingersoll pointed out that the state assessment was higher than the town’s asking price, but the lots had been on the town’s hands for 25 years with only one selling. The council had declared the properties excess a number of years earlier.

Councilman Ellsworth Tolliver said he would be willing to approve the sale if he could be sure the buyer was not planning to resell the property at a profit.

Councilwoman Linda Kuiper said the town would benefit if that were to happen, because the property would be on the tax rolls.

Ingersoll said the property would be on the tax rolls until the buyer completed a church building, if that ever takes place.

Councilman David Foster asked if the property has water and sewer allocations. Ingersoll said there are water and sewer connections for all four lots, but the buyer would be using only one if he builds a church extension on it.

Mayor Chris Cerino said the town would be able to make good use of the $40,000 to pay for ongoing work at the marina or to pave streets.

Tolliver moved to move ahead with the sale, and the council voted unanimously to do so.

In other business, Dr. Wayne Benjamin and Muriel Cole of Homeports gave a report on the organization’s 10-year anniversary. Homeports, which has the goal of allowing senior citizens to remain in their own homes with the help of volunteers to provide services such as rides to shopping or medical appointments or to perform small home repairs and other projects. They said Homeports currently serves 90 members, with a core of about 60 volunteers. They said the group hopes to add more members.

Also, the council heard a presentation from Jeff Carroll, owner of the Fish Whistle, on a fishing tournament he is planning for October 6 and 7. He requested permits to use part of the marina property, which is adjacent to the restaurant, for the participants to weigh in. He said the tournament would bring visitors to town, benefiting local businesses.

Cerino said the exact site would depend on progress on the renovations, but in general he said the town would be willing to work with him. The council voted to support the project.

Cerino nominated Owen Bailey to fill a vacancy on the Historic District Commission. The council will vote on the nomination at the next meeting.