Showing posts with label Westminster Council Mtgs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westminster Council Mtgs. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Feb. 11, 2019 meeting of the Westminster mayor and Common Council


Feb. 11, 2019 meeting of the Westminster mayor and Common Council

Feb. 11, 2019

What a difference a month makes. A month ago there was standing room only at the Jan. 14, 2019 meeting of the Westminster mayor and Common Council. Monday, in the middle of the snow storm, there were less than 10 folks in the audience and the meeting lasted 15 minutes. I am not quite sure if that is a record or not – but if it is not a record, it is close to it.


Agenda for the CITY OF WESTMINSTER Mayor and Common Council Meeting Monday, February 11, 2019 at 7 pm

Council Chambers of City Hall, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane, Westminster, MD

The weather was bad. It had snowed and rained freezing rain for the last 24-hours. Most of staff did not attend the meeting – as per the request of Ms. Matthews.

1.   CALL TO ORDER The meeting began at 7 p.m.

2.   APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A)  Mayor and Common Council Meeting of January 14, 2019

B)  Mayor and Common Council Meeting of January 28, 2019

Approved.

3.   CONSENT CALENDAR

A)  Approval – Standardized Public Works Agreements and other Development-related Documents – Mr.
Mackey

Approved

4.   REPORT FROM THE MAYOR

No report.

5.   REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES

A)  Arts Council – No report.

B)  Economic & Community Development Committee

Ben Yingling had Ms. Matthews deliver a report on the city’s water re-use initiative.

C)  Finance Committee – No report.

D)  Personnel Committee – No report.

E)  Public Safety Committee – No report.

F)  Public Works Committee – No report.

6.   COUNCIL COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION – none.

7.   ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS

Adoption - Resolution No. 19-05 of the Mayor and Common Council of Westminster, amending the adopted Water and Wastewater Allocation Policy for 2018-2024 – Mr. Mackey

The resolution was adopted.

8.   UNFINISHED BUSINESS9. NEW BUSINESS

A)  Approval - Annexation Agreement A-1121 for Parcels 1 and 5 of the EOB and DASY properties – Mr. Mackey

Brooks Leahy attended the meeting with Mark and Dave Bollinger.

10. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

The only report was Westminster Fire Company President Jamie Petry’s report for the fire department.

11. CITIZEN COMMENTS


13. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:15.
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Carroll County Times: www.tinyurl.com/KED-CCT
Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: http://tinyurl.com/KED-Sun
Westminster Fire Dept. and MTA Lodge #20 Chaplain and PIO
Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoff.com/
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Time Flies: https://kevindayhoff.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Eight years ago Laura Russell stole the spotlight at the Westminster mayor and Common Council meeting on Sept. 28, 2009


Eight years ago Laura Russell stole the spotlight at the Westminster mayor and Common Council meeting on Sept. 28, 2009

Oct. 9, 2017 – Sept. 28, 2009

Our friend Laura Russell, stole the spotlight at the Westminster mayor and Common Council meeting on Sept. 28, 2009. In an article I wrote for the Baltimore Sun that was published October 5, 2009, I reported, “Budget woes dominate Westminster mayor and council meeting. Westminster City Hall - The meeting of the Westminster mayor and Common Council last Monday began with plenty of smiles, but the mood quickly turned somber as a discussion on budget woes dominated the balance of the evening.

The meeting began with a presentation by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Westminster as club vice president Lyndi McNulty unveiled plans for raising money to purchase an electric three-wheeled “T-3 Personal Mobility Vehicle” for the Westminster Police Department.” …

Alas, sadly, the link to the story no longer works. But it is just as well as Laura Russell and Lyndi McNulty stole the show anyway… Just saying….
 
Photo caption: Westminster City Hall Sept. 28,2009 - The meeting of the Westminster mayor and Common Council last on Sept. 28 began with plenty of smiles, but the mood quickly turned somber as a discussion on budget woes dominated the balance of the evening. By Kevin Dayhoff Posted on 10/05/09 Left to right: councilmember Dr. Robert Wack, councilmember Tony Chiavacci, council president Damian Halstad, councilmember Greg Pecoraro, councilmember Suzanne Albert.  (Photo by Kevin Dayhoff)

Budget woes dominate Westminster council meeting

Westminster Common Council report By Kevin Dayhoff Posted 10/05/09

The meeting of the Westminster mayor and Common Council last on Sept. 28 began with plenty of smiles, but the mood quickly turned somber as a discussion on budget woes dominated the balance of the evening.

Mayor Kevin Utz conducted a public hearing on the 2009 Comprehensive Plan for Westminster.  Planning director Tom Beyard explained that the comprehensive plan was the culmination of two years of work and that it was due to be adopted by October 1, 2009 in order to conform with Maryland State law.

The development of the plan, which began in earnest in October 2007, was broken into three phases, Beyard said. The first phase was a citizen survey, followed by additional public outreach, followed by the drafting phase.

Beyard said the municipal growth footprint and the planned water and sewer service area had not changed since its boundaries were agreed upon with the county government two years ago. The plan did incorporate for the first time a water resource and municipal growth element.  Both are new mandates from the Maryland General Assembly.

The city was “probably one of the first (municipalities in the state) to submit the water resources element… many municipalities had asked for an extension,” said Beyard.

Council president Damian Halstad remarked, “… that the state found it to be an incredibly thorough plan… very detailed…”

Later the council voted to adopt the plan.

Under reports from the mayor and council members, there was much discussion about the success of the recent Fallfest community festival the previous weekend.

Utz and Councilmember Tony Chiavacci also noted how well the recent Westminster Police Department sobriety checkpoint exercise was planned and executed.

Police Chief Jeff Spaulding noted that although the checkpoint only resulted in taking one driver off the road for being allegedly driving while impaired by alcohol, “the whole point (of the checkpoint) is prevention…  The message will get out… (It’s) a public awareness tool.”

The mood of the council turned noticeably serious as the council president brought up “Budget Amendment No. 1” for adoption.

Utz explained “this reduction in the budget came as a direct result of the governor’s reduction in highway user revenues…”  Other council members noted that the state Board of Public Works recently voted to not send $818,000 in revenue due the city from taxes collected by the state designated for the city’s coffers – in order to balance the state budget.

A press release describing the budget amendment explained that the state reduced the Highway User Revenues from $747,580 to $74,758 and Police Aid from a budgeted $400,000 to $254,826.

Council finance committee chair Dr. Robert Wack described the state cut as “unexpected and unfortunate,” as he went on to further explain that “we will (probably) have to do this again.  We need citizen input as to what we can do without,” said Wack.

This is a “one time reduction,” said Wack of the budget amendment.  “This does not do anything about our structural budget deficit. There will be more reductions. The hole is just getting deeper.  (Increased) taxes are also on the table,” explained a clearly concerned Wack.

Wack and Councilman Greg Pecoraro gave an analysis of the steps the city has taken to address the city’s budget woes and what may lie in the future.  He also emphasized the need for public feedback.

“What is it the citizens want the city to do in the way of services?” asked Pecoraro as it was explained that in order to balance the budget in the future, a reduction in services offered by the city may need to be discussed.

Pecoraro lamented that if the city continues to provide all the services it currently maintains, the future budget challenges mean that “we are going to be able to do none of them well.”

City administrator Marge Wolf said that she expects the state to withhold an additional $329,000 from the city in January.

Among the cuts approved by the Common Council were cancellations of the paving contract, technology purchases and a police vehicle which totaled $267,950 in capital expenditures; diversion of the $100,000 contingency reserve to operating accounts.

Also, the city converted $215,000 of Union Street property proceeds to operating accounts; reduced departmental operating budgets by $155,086; revised the take home vehicle policy to institute a partial employee payback of costs by $15,768; and captured $65,000 in savings from reduced tipping fees.

Moving on to brighter topics, city parks and recreation director Ron Schroers talked about Fallfest in the final stages of the meeting.  He also described a series of state grants the city had already received to make some infrastructure improvements.

Public Works director Jeff Glass gave a brief presentation on ongoing efforts to work the Maryland Department of the Environment on future mandated upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

The city’s roadway overlay and improvements program was also discussed.  As a result of the state cuts, the city had to withdrawal plans to re-surface certain streets in the city.

Wolf tried to put a bright face on a bleak picture at that by remarking that “this is not the best of times, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have good projects underway.”

As if on cue, Lori Graham, representing the business community, gave a report on the “Midnight Madness,” downtown business celebration held in conjunction with Fallfest.  She also gave an update on plans for the upcoming community ‘electric’ Christmas parade.

Also at the meeting, there was a presentation by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Westminster as club vice president Lyndi McNulty unveiled plans for raising money to purchase an electric three-wheeled “T-3 Personal Mobility Vehicle” for the Westminster Police Department.

This was followed by Historical Society of Carroll County presenting to the city with a copy of a new publication authored by Historical Society curator Cathy Baty entitled “Images in America: Westminster.”

The meeting ended on a positive note as Graham and others reminisced about “Fantastic Friday,” a new feature at Fallfest in which special needs children were treated to an afternoon of carnival rides.

“The community has its share of problems but we still come together to do good things,” said Graham.


More pictures and information: http://tinyurl.com/y95zket




http://twitpic.com/kkupu Budget woes dominate Westminster council meeting http://tinyurl.com/ycvrd2q

http://twitpic.com/kkupu Budget woes dominate Westminster council meeting http://tinyurl.com/ydgusz6


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Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:
Baltimore Sun - Carroll County Times - The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO

Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com

My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/


See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson: “That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!” - See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf
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Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Westminster MD Mayor and Common Council Meeting of January 12, 2015


Westminster MD Mayor and Common Council Meeting of January 12, 2015



AGENDA CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND Mayor and Common Council Meeting of January 12, 2015

My running rough notes from the meeting – Kevin E. Dayhoff January 13, 2015

Update, Heather Cobun has published a well-written and informative article in the Carroll County Times about the council meeting. Find the article here: http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/ph-cc-westminster-meeting-011315-20150112,0,2701792.story

Westminster selects fiber network operator

Toronto-based Ting began as mobile service provider, expanding to fiber networks

By Heather Cobun, Times Staff Writer

9:59 p.m. EST, January 12, 2015

Some areas of Westminster could see high-speed Internet by the spring if the pilot phase of the city's fiber network stays on schedule.

The Mayor and Common Council voted unanimously Monday to select Toronto-based Ting, a subsidiary of Tucows Inc., as its Internet network operator. The firm will devise a fee structure and manage a fiber optics network being built by the city, which will retain ownership of the network. Though the fee structure has not been set, Ting officials hope to keep the price under $90 a month.

The city budgeted $6.3 million in the current fiscal year for network construction.

"From the very beginning, it was obvious that they understood what we were trying to do," said Council President Robert Wack. "We got a lot of feedback from other responses that was questioning to flat-out skeptical."


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This was a really good meeting. Lots of exciting things happening and everyone seems to working well together – at least as far as the public face of the mayor and council and department heads. This is in stark contrast with the openly hostile disagreements aired publicly at the county state of the county event Tuesday morning January 13, 2015.

There appears to have been a reception before the meeting. I think that maybe it was for the broadband initiative.

Lots of folks here. Roy Chiavacci, Sam Greenholtz, Lisa Breslin, Missy Wilcox, Lyndi McNulty…

This is the first council meeting that I have attended for some time. Many of the positions have changed…. Some have not… Tammy Palmer is the finance director, Jeff Spaulding is the police chief. Steve Horn is the planning director, Marg Wolf is the city administrator, attorney Elissa Levan, public works director Jeff Glass, recreation and parks director Abby Gruber, and … …

1.   CALL TO ORDER: Council president Dr. Robert Wack brought the meeting to order at precisely 7 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.

2.   APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE MEETING DECEMBER 8, 2014 Motioned and approved,

3.   PUBLIC HEARINGS No public hearings

4.   CONSENT CALENDAR Motioned and approved.

Approval of November 2014 Departmental Operating Reports

Approval of 4th Amendment to LaserCraft Agreement – Chief Spaulding

Approval of Delta Plus Licensing Agreement – Chief Spaulding

5.   REPORT FROM THE MAYOR Welcome the new council member. Attended the NAACP breakfast. Meetings with the county commissioners

6.   REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES and 7.   COUNCIL COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION

Paul Whitson attended the NAACP breakfast.

Suzanne Albert Welcomed the new council woman.

Tony Chiavacci mentioned a positive meeting with Mayor Utz, Chief Spaulding and the new State’s Attorney Brian DeLeonardo... 

Dr. Becker… NAACP breakfast, the Civil Rights tour…

8.   BIDS

Approval of the selection of the broadband network services operator—Dr. Wack

A discussion of the history and the initiative. Unique approach. Interviewed all the folks back in October.

Right from the very beginning, it was clear that Ting Fiber … they were interested in a partnership.

“We’re thrilled with the opportunity… It makes sense that the municipality own the infrastructure… Customer service a strong point. We have a unique business model in that we specialize in going to places where the customer service is poor and we are nicer.

9.   ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS None.

10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None

11. NEW BUSINESS

Approval of the establishment of a Broadband Policy Group

Mayor’s announcement of a policy group… Barbara Biller, Sam Greenholtz, Jason Stambaugh, Mark Krider, Davis…. et al. It was approved.

APPOINTMENT OF BROADBAND POLICY COMMITTEE

Tonight is the culmination of six month’s concerted effort by the city to bring the most expansive infrastructure project in our area to fruition. This project will bring jobs, allow for telecommuting, encourage technology startups and broaden business markets and will be the first open access gigabit municipal broadband network in the Mid-Atlantic region. The President of the Common Council, Dr. Robert Wack, was the visionary on this project and he convinced the Common Council that this investment in a broadband network would result in a diversity of services and competition which will provide the best quality and pricing for City residents. Dr. Wack will provide more detail on this project later in the agenda.

To assist the City with this Broadband network project by providing advice and guidance as we move to connect every residence in the City to the network, I am asking Council for a motion to approve the appointment of a Broadband Policy Committee composed of the following residents and business owners with specialized knowledge of the broadband community:

Barbara Biller
Samuel Greenholtz
Josh Kohn
Jason Stambaugh
Mark Krider and
Patti Davis

This Committee will provide advice and guidance to the City as we move forward with the implementation of this city-wide project.

Presentation of Financial Statements and Audit Report – Tricia Bush, McGladrey LLC

A report on the financial statements and audit report…

Auto Zone @ 140 Village Shopping Center; Public Works Agreement (A-1087)—Steve Horn

Cactus Willys will be razed and replaced with an Auto Zone. Motioned and approved…

Weis Market Gas-N-Go; Public Works Agreement (A-1088)—Steve Horn Motioned and approved…

12. DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Jeff Glass Hyde’s Quarry

Abby Gruber various events; working through minimum wage increased… Jacob’s latter exercise equipment.

Finance Director Tammy Palmer RFP for a new auditor and working on the budget… Assessment lagging.

Jeff Spaulding new Main Street police officer. Mike Beaumont… Spends 40-hours a week working with the businesses… Working on the heroin challenges in the community. The polar plunge.

Steve Horn – reminding folks to clean the sidewalks

Elissa Levan no report

Marg Wolf budget issues.

5 pm Wednesday at Calvert House for a legislative reception.

13. CITIZEN COMMENTS 7:45 pm There were no citizen comments.

14. ADJOURNMENT: We adjourned at 7:45 p.m.


It was a good meeting. Lots of new and exciting approaches and initiatives. 
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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoffTwitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: Westminster Maryland current elected officials

Kevin Dayhoff - Soundtrack: Westminster Maryland current elected officials


"This afternoon, Sunday, June 19, 2011, I was looking for a picture and a bio for the current Westminster Maryland elected officials and the ..."


This afternoon, Sunday, June 19, 2011, I was looking for a picture and a bio for the current Westminster Maryland elected officials and the city does not have the newly elected officials up on its website...


One wonders when a picture, contact information and a brief bio for the successful "challengers Dennis Frazier and Paul Whitson (who) bested incumbents Suzanne Albert and Greg Pecoraro," will appear on the city website?

Readers and voters have said that they would like to see more information, in a timely manner, disseminated to city residents. The previous administration, 2005 - 2009 and the last two years of this administration, 2009 - 2011, has treated the press and the public like mushrooms. It could have not been more opaque if it put up blackout curtains. More information in a timely manner on the website would be a great start... I'm just saying...

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Westminster councilman Dennis Frazier city update


This past meeting was packed-the voting date and time for city elections was changed-second Tuesday in May from 7-8 this now puts us on the same date as 4 other municipalities in the county.

We approved a new commutation system VOIP that will work faster and better than the current one and cost thousands less.

We are moving forward with changing the city's health care provider, one that offers the same coverage as the current but at a little more than $40,000 less per year than who we have now.

We extended a Bio-solids contract for on year than will save the city over $40.00 a ton on disposing of the solids for the next year, we will have to enter into a new contract next year but we are hoping that pricing will be more favorable at that time.

We are going to talk about taking the parking meters off of main street and replacing with signs that say -parking limited to one hour between the hours of 8am and 5 pm Monday -Friday- we are also going to talk about giving each downtown business owner on free permit for parking.

My thinking is if you go to any other shopping center in Westminster you do not have to pay to park -and the owners don't have to pay.   What do you think?




May 09, 2011
http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/5418/challengers-frazier-whitson-prevail-westminster-election/. *****. Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art:...

May 10, 2011
Explore Carroll: Challengers Frazier and Whitson prevail in Westminster election. Citizens of the City of Westminster sent a message in Monday's Westminster municipal elections, which saw two incumbents fall short in ...

Mar 18, 2009
Dennis Frazier for Westminster mayor campaign lit. Campaign literature from Dennis Frazier for Westminster mayor acquired sometime around the middle of March 2009. More on the election: Westminster Elections 20090511 on ...

Apr 09, 2009
Dennis Frazier for Westminster mayor campaign literature received April 8 2009. WHAT THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW The week BEFORE the public hearing on water and sewer rate structures, a representative from Tylex ...

Apr 09, 2009
Dennis Frazier for Westminster mayor literature - received April 8, 2009. DID YOU HEAR? Dennis Frazier is running for Mayor of Westminster! I believe I should try to make Westminster the best place it can be to live,...



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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Friday, May 27, 2011

Dennis Frazier commentary on the May 23, 2011 Westminster Common Council Meeting

Dennis Frazier commentary on the May 23, 2011 Westminster Common Council Meeting - May 24, 2011

The council passed some housekeeping measures - the property maintenance bill now has the height of grass as 6" the height that the city will send a notice to homeowners about cutting –the height was left off the original document.

Changing the limit to $10,000 as the amount the city can buy necessary items as needed by departments without requiring a formal written and competively bid contract-it was $7,500.

I introduced two new items:

1-change the time and date of the city elections-change the date to the 2nd Tuesday in May and the time to 7am-8pm--right now three other municipalities in Carroll have their elections on that Tuesday and if we moved ours to that date then we would be in line with most of the other towns- the time change would give voters an extra hour to vote

2-create a new tax break structure for smaller business-who have12 new employees 2500 sf of new or expanded space and pay the average county wage for a tax break from the city of 25% the first two years 20% years 3-4 and 15% years 5-6-with the same penalties as the Job Creation tax credit that we talked about last meeting--both items are being drafted for a future meeting ---tell me what you think …

Thanks for your time Dennis Frazier



May 09, 2011
http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/5418/challengers-frazier-whitson-prevail-westminster-election/. *****. Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art:...

May 10, 2011
Explore Carroll: Challengers Frazier and Whitson prevail in Westminster election. Citizens of the City of Westminster sent a message in Monday's Westminster municipal elections, which saw two incumbents fall short in ...

Mar 18, 2009
Dennis Frazier for Westminster mayor campaign lit. Campaign literature from Dennis Frazier for Westminster mayor acquired sometime around the middle of March 2009. More on the election: Westminster Elections 20090511 on ...

Apr 09, 2009
Dennis Frazier for Westminster mayor campaign literature received April 8 2009. WHAT THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW The week BEFORE the public hearing on water and sewer rate structures, a representative from Tylex ...

Apr 09, 2009
Dennis Frazier for Westminster mayor literature - received April 8, 2009. DID YOU HEAR? Dennis Frazier is running for Mayor of Westminster! I believe I should try to make Westminster the best place it can be to live,...



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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/