We began today’s meeting with the Invocation and Pledge followed by the approval of the Consent Agenda. After that we presented a proclamation to Tom Hodges Auto in recognition of 31 years of business and a proclamation for National Black Business Month. Next we presented a commendation to Jack Curtis for his retirement.
The Department of Emergency Services also presented a large group of commendations to the many people who met every week for the Emergency Operations Center during the COVID-19 State of Emergency. I saw first hand this incredible group of people work to ensure the safety of our county residents week after week. Thank you all for your dedication!
We then approved a motion to end the County’s involvement in the Roger’s Drive project and we approved a motion to allocate funding from the American Rescue Act grant funds toward Broadband Expansion ($2.4 million) and the Health Department ($1 million). This is not a final plan, but allows those agencies to keep moving forward while the commissioners are not meeting over the next two weeks.
For our only Main Agenda item, we approved the 2021 LOSAP Point Award Process. This modified process came from a recommendation from our volunteers and it provides a method of awarding LOSAP points to volunteers who demonstrated a reasonable restriction on participation during the state of emergency period that ended July 1st.
Moving into County Administrator time, our first item was a review of upcoming meeting agendas—we will not be meeting for the next two weeks. Our second item was approval of the Family Services Grant Award for $192,602 ($21,870 higher than anticipated) for the Adult Recovery Court Program and the Family Recovery Court. Third we approved a legislative bond bill application for the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum—since the county owns the property, Commissioner President Guy’s signature is required on the state’s application. Fourth we approved the DNR Waterway Improvement Fund grant award for $800,000 for the dredge and design of beach replenishment for St. Patrick’s Creek—no county match required. We also discussed the status of St. Jerome’s Creek. Fifth we approved setting the Transferrable Development Rights (TDR) Fee-in-lieu amount at $2,747 for fiscal year 2022. Sixth we approved Recreation and Parks to submit an application for American Rescue Plan Child Care Stabilization Fund Grant application for $115,000—if awarded, these funds will support school age care programs. Seventh we approved the Bushwood Wharf Pier Repair Project ($125,000) and the Snow Hill Park Boat Ramp Project ($500,000) using funding from the FY2022 Waterway Improvement Fund Grant. Eighth we heard an update from the Department of Emergency Services on EMS staffing and future needs and we approved transitioning four full time employees into supervisory roles. Our final item of business was approval of the spending plan for $1,118,650 from the Emergency Number Systems Board—this is funding that comes from the 911 fees on all phone bills. The funds will go to pay for Grounding upgrades, Primary Consoles Replacement, Audio-Visual equipment for the training room, Logging Recorder, Training aids, network and phone systems and other miscellaneous equipment.
During Commissioner’s Time I spoke about customer service issues with Atlantic Broadband and encouraged everyone to attend the upcoming Lawnmower Races at Bowles Farm on August 6th and 7th. After Commissioner’s Time we entered into Closed Session for Legal Advice.
This afternoon we reconvened for a brief from Michael Sanderson, the Executive Director of the Maryland Association of Counties and a discussion of the MACO legislative priorities.
