Meeting Notes: Kensington Council Talks Plans to Promote Town and More

At Monday night’s Kensington town council meeting, members discussed future plans with a public relations firm, Maier Warner, as well as the possibility of purchasing a generator for town hall and hosting food trucks in the town once a month.

Below is a summary of key points from the meeting:

Mayor’s report

Mayor Peter Fosselman began the meeting by thanking the public works crew for their effort after the storm and during the power outage. He asked residents to keep an eye out for damaged trees on their street.

He also announced the town picnic will be returning this summer after a three-year hiatus. The date has not yet been decided.

The town is looking for volunteers to be part of a committee to seek and obtain funds for arts, economic development and environmental needs. Those with experience grant writing are especially encouraged to volunteer.

Council’s report

Councilmember John Thompson suggested looking into the purchase of a generator for town hall in case of a prolonged outage. He said this would be an expensive venture that the town may acquire funds for over several years.

The fire department, in an effort to become more engaged with the community, is sponsoring a picnic, movie and kickball event on July 28.

Councilmember Sean McMullen suggested the town consider hosting food trucks in town for one day per month to take advantage of what he said was a recent trend of exotic foods being served from food trucks and to encourage people to spend time in downtown Kensington.

Fosselman reappointed the members of the current audit committee, Jeffrey Capron, Leslie Olson and Kerry Thompson, for the next fiscal year.

Contracts

Kristine Warner and Kariann Zentz, of the public relations firm Maier Warner, discussed plans to continue promoting the town via social media, the Explore Kensington website and email blasts.

Zentz said they would continue to put up YouTube videos once a month that will highlight different areas of Kensington, such as the parks, the history, the art and the farmers' market, among other ideas. 

The council members unanimously approved the extension of the town’s contract with Maier Warner for another year.

The council members discussed the terms of the contract the town has with the Montgomery County Police Department. Both Fosselman and McMullen expressed their desire to make sure the department provides services it would normally investigate as part of the natural police function, such as spikes in vandalism, burglaries and car thefts, without being paid by the town.

The council members unanimously approved the extension of the town’s contract with the county police department.