By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
Tribune Staff Writer
WESTERNPORT – Responding to concerns that town billing practices penalized married older couples, the Westernport Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to expand a senior discount on water bills to any household solely occupied by residents 65 or older.
The council also declined to act on the proposed sale of a vacant lot on Chestnut Street near the water filtration plant, and announced that a recycling bin will soon be located in Westernport.
Previously, the $5 monthly water-bill discount had been reserved for seniors who lived alone, with the intent to provide assistance to elderly residents on fixed incomes. Earlier this summer, though, a resident noted that the discount amounted to a penalty for married couples, who were prevented from receiving the credit because they live together.
Members of the council agreed, and with Monday's vote, the discount is available to all homes that are solely occupied by residents 65 or over. The ordinance also provides an exception, so that the discount is available as well to households occupied by seniors who are taking care of a younger dependent family member.
For more information about how to apply for the discount, contact Westernport Town Hall at 301-359-3932.
Councilman Richard “Pete” Davis announced at the council meeting that a long-awaited recycling bin would soon be available in Westernport, hopefully by the end of the month. To be located at the parking lot across from the Westernport American Legion, the bin will initially accept only cans and newspaper.
“We hope to get more eventually, but that's it for now,” Davis said.
According to Davis, the bin will help replace a recyclable drop-off bin that had been located in the former Tri-Towns Plaza east of Westernport. Partly because of its isolated location in the largely vacant shopping center, that bin was abused, Davis said, with shingles, household trash and other items deposited in it. The bin has since been removed by Allegany County.
Finally, the Town Council acted on a controversial land sale by taking no action at all.
John Shingler, who lives just outside Westernport on Chestnut Street, had approached town officials about buying a vacant, town-owned lot adjoining his property so that he could build a garage. One of two lots the town purchased for $15,000 apiece in 2000, the property abuts the water treatment plant and had been acquired for possible future expansion of the plant.
Following an advertisement for bids placed by the mayor without council approval – but in accordance with town policies – Shingler submitted the lone bid, offering $300 for the lot.
At the August council meeting, Shingler pressed for a vote on the matter, despite opposition from Councilman Davis, who had researched the deed to confirm the price paid by the town for the property. With Councilman Charles Legge absent at that meeting, a motion to deny the sale ended in a two-two tie, with Councilman Darrell Stephen joining Davis in opposition to the sale, and Mayor Amel Morris and Tuck Martin in favor of selling the lot.
Monday's meeting was set up to offer a showdown vote, with Legge in place to provide the tie-breaking vote either for or against. However, the sale was not on the agenda and the entire meeting proceeded without any mention of it.
Only at the very end of the meeting, as Morris prepared to drop the gavel for adjournment, did Shingler approach the council members to inquire about the status of the sale. Morris said the issue was “in flux.”
With Shingler again pressing for a vote, the mayor said he was unable to make a motion and that a motion to sell the property would have to be made by one of the four councilmen. After an extended period of silence, with no motion offered, the meeting drew to a close.
“It looks like nothing right now John,” the mayor said.