Today’s Commissioner Meeting was a bit out of the ordinary for several reasons. First, I participated virtually through Zoom due to being COVID positive—I’m feeling pretty good now, almost fully past this, but when sick stay home! Second, we did not begin our meeting until 1 pm because of the CALVEX drill that took place this morning. CALVEX is a regularly scheduled FEMA emergency drill because of the Calvert Cliff’s Nuclear Power Plant. I’ve had several opportunities to participate as a commissioner in the past few years—its fascinating to watch, involved multiple stakeholders and counties, and helps us to be better prepared for all emergencies, not just nuclear power plant disasters.
At the very beginning Commissioner President Guy held a moment of silence in remembrance of 9/11. The meeting started off with the Invocation and Pledge, followed by the approval of the Consent Agenda. We then presented proclamations for Forget-Me-Not Month and the 50th Anniversary of King & Kennedy Estates.
Moving into our Main Agenda, we voted to approve an ordinance amending the Code of St. Mary’s County to clarify the exemption on the first $30,000 of transfer tax for homes that are principle residences. This exemption has always existed, this amendment just clarifies and removes confusion if the home buyers have co-signers with a different principle residence (easy example is if parents co-sign a mortgage for a child). Next we approved a Public Hearing on the morning of October 4th for an amendment that would allow conditional use approval from the Board of Appeals for Major Solar Development on sites with prime agricultural soils or farmland or environmentally sensitive areas. The current zoning requirements do no allow for solar in these areas, this amendment, if passed, would permit it if it receives conditional use approval from the Board of Appeals.
Entering into County Administrator time, our first item was review of upcoming meeting agendas. Second we approved the FY23 Senior Center Operating Fund grant award from the Maryland Department of Aging for $5,000 (no county match required). Third we approved the 2022 Just Serve resolution that provides county employees with four hours of paid administrative leave to provide volunteer service in the community. Fourth we approved a Waterway Improvement Fund Grant Application for $250,000 for the maintenance of the St. Inigoes Landing and Boat Ramp improvement and dredging project—this is the second phase of this project. Fifth we approved the Maryland Department of Transportation Supplemental Agreement to replace the Cornfield Harbor Bridge as part of the Federal Bridge Program. The estimated cost to replace the bridge is $2,066,000 and the county’s share is $453,200. Sixth we approved an option contract for a temporary construction easement for FDR Boulevard Phase 3B for $2,600. Seventh we approved a “Release of Lien” for Admiral’s Landing-Foxchase Village—the lien goes back to a 1989 agreement and the conditions have been met. Eighth we approved amendments to the New or Expanding Business Tax Credit Ordinance—this is correcting a clerical error and will allow the existing tax credits to continue. Ninth we approved amendments to the ordinance for the tax credit for Improvements to Commercial Real Property—same as the previous item, this is a correction of clerical error to allow for the tax credit to continue. Tenth we received a presentation from Brandon Hayden, our Procurement Manager/Contracting Officer providing a FY2022 Procurement Summary. He talked about the volume of procurements, the ability to favor local businesses, and some of the challenges we are all seeing, such as supply chain issues and increased prices. Eleventh we approved the Calendar Year 2023 Commissioner Meeting Schedule and the budget calendar. Our last item of business was allocating $100,000 of the remaining American Rescue Grant funding to grants for sports leagues and AEDs (defibrillators) for our public parks.
During Commissioner Time I spoke about my family’s experience with COVID and recognized our Department of Recreation and Parks for achieving national accreditation. After Commissioner Time we entered into Closed Session to discuss Personnel.
