(10/6/2004)—Commission President William O'Neil Jr. admonished town staff Monday for ticketing residents living on incomplete roads in the Pennbrook Woods development.

"The question is, if we can ticket and assess fines, why can't we plow the road?" Mr. O'Neil said. staring at Town Manager David Haller, who was sitting at an adjacent table in the Town Hall meeting room.

Mr. Haller replied, "Because the roads aren't standard." He said the town could be liable for dam-ages resulting from working on them.

Mayor James Hoover said the town may issue no-parking zone tickets because they're in the town's jurisdiction, and the town has the intrinsic right to issue traffic violations.

At one point during Monday's meeting, Commissioner Dianne Walbrecker turned to Mr. O'Neil, who was sitting next to her, and said, "So far. from all I can tell, the only person documented with receiving a ticket has been you."

To that Mr. O'Neil replied, I will continue to bring up issues I feel are not adequately addressed. I think this is part and parcel of how the town relates to Pennbrook Woods."

He said that the ticket wasn't even his. Someone visiting him was ticketed, and Mr. O'Neil paid the fine.

"The issue isn't parking tickets," he said. "I want to clarify responsibility so the project can move forward."

The acting president of Pennbrook Woods Home-owners Association, Mike Hoffman, accused the town of letting the developer "drag it out."

Reached by telephone, Ed Smariga, the owner of the Pennbrook Woods developer, Buckeye Development of Frederick, said, "Personally, I believe parking should be allowed there."

There are three parts or "phases" to the project on the town's west end.

"Phase I has been done for two years;" Mr. Hoff-man said. "The streets and the stormwater management system still have issues that need correction."

Meanwhile, Pennbrook Woods residents pay "more taxes than anyone and they get the least amount of services," Mr. O'Neil said.

Mr. Hoffman said the developer is responsible for snow removal. The plow gets there once a day, but not as early as the town's snowplow would be able to, he said.

.Mr. Smariga said issues need to be ironed out between the town, residents and the developer, but "we believe Phase I is complete. The town has to go through the process now."

But Mr. Hoffman said the developer "says the work's been done, but we say it's not up to the quality it should be."