North Beach Mayor Mark Frazer had some help running the first half of the Dec. 8 town council meeting. Daniel Carey of Chesapeake Beach, who won the “Mayor for a Day” contest sponsored by the Beach Buccaneers, co-presided over the meeting’s first eight agenda items.
“I’m surprised there’s someone who wants to be mayor for a day,” quipped Frazer.
In addition to Carey, three members of Cub Scout Pack 262 were also recognized by town officials during the meeting.
Business items on the agenda included a brief overview of a report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding a flood mitigation plan for the north section of town. The overview was presented by Town Engineer John Hofmann, who said the report is 500 pages long and “esoteric.” The flood mitigation plan is estimated to cost $2.4 million.
Frazer requested that the Corps’ report be put on the January work session schedule and asked Hofmann to see if a consultant could attend either the work session or an upcoming meeting.
The project involves building access channels to bring tidal waters into and out of the wetlands area.
The council voted unanimously to direct Hofmann to advertise a request for bids regarding the town’s Timber Breakwaters project. The vote was also unanimous on a motion to direct Hofmann to advertise a request for proposals for additional engineering for the dike at the north end of town.
A water flow problem of a different kind was also discussed at the meeting. Numerous jurisdictions with public sewer systems are being plagued by line clogs caused by wipes. Many of these sanitary products have been dubbed “flushable” by the manufacturer. Both Department of Public Works Director Don Bowen and Councilman Mike Benton assured meeting-goers that the hygiene products are causing problems.
Benton, who assisted Bowen during a sewer emergency Thanksgiving Day, stated he saw first-hand the problems the wipes are creating in the town’s sewerage system. “It is really bad,” said Benton. “That’s a lot of money we’re investing to clean up after people.”
Frazer asked staff to post a warn
