For the last day of February we started off our meeting with the Invocation and Pledge, followed by the approval of the Consent Agenda. The Consent Agenda included several items. First, a letter of support to the State Highway Administration for St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s request for signage on Route 5 and Route 235 directing travelers to the Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland. Second, a letter to the Maryland State Department of Education on behalf of our Emergency Services Board requesting flexibility in the order of courses for the Fire & EMS Cadet Program. Last, a change in our calendar to shift our Public Forum from April 18th to May 9th—this change is being made because we have our scheduled Budget Public Hearing on April 25th and want to provide a buffer of two weeks between the forum and hearing and an additional opportunity for citizen input after the Public Hearing.
We had no Main Agenda items today, so we moved directly into County Administrator time. Our first item of business was review of upcoming meeting agendas. Second we heard a brief from the new director of the Housing Authority, Ms. Simone Ross. Third we approved an amendment to the lease with RCS Services LLC/Piedmont Flight Center to extend the lease at the airport from December 31, 2025 to December 31, 2035. Fourth we approved a Sheriff’s Office request to convert a vacant Investigative Detective position to a Court Security Officer position—salary savings will cover the difference in cost for the remainder of the FY and moving forward this will have an increased cost of $12,467. Fifth we approved the 2022 Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) certification for the members of our volunteer fire departments and rescue squads—thank you all for your service. Sixth we approved an agreement with Associates in Emergency Care, LLC to provide paramedic students with clinical experience on our county ambulances—this is the same as the partnerships we’ve developed with the College of Southern Maryland and the National Medical Education and Training Center. Seventh we approved an option contract for $1,450 for an easement for the FDR Boulevard project. Eighth we approved Federal Funding Request Letters to our Federal Delegation for a three projects: the YMCA, Tulagi Place Extension and Roundabout and Health Department Renovations for a total of $7,790,530. Ninth we approved the award of the Asphalt Overlay Services Contract for 2023 to Holcim-MAR, Inc. for $2,358,400. Tenth we approved a budget amendment to realign salary savings in the amount of $123,743 to the Commissioner’s Emergency Reserve account. Our last item of County Administrator business was approval of a resolution realigning projects that will be covered with current bond funding to include the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum, the Patuxent Park Neighborhood Preservation, Asphalt Overlay, HVAC Chiller Replacement, Airport Improvements, Lettie Dent Modernization, Town Creek Elementary and Chopticon High School Pre-Design for a total of $1,669,004. This allows us to fully utilize the bond funds on completed projects and close out the bond funding—it is a good accounting move.
We then moved into County Attorney time to discuss Legislative Updates. We approved letters of opposition for:
- HB0549/SB555 – Fair Wage Act of 2023
- HB0147/SB0250 – Environment – Climate Crisis Plan – Requirement
- HB0230/SB0224 – Department of the Environment – Zero-Emission Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Regulations
We approved a letter of support for HB0171 Corporations and Associations – Annual Reports – Filing Fees.
In the middle of County Attorney time we took a brief recess to hold a Memorial Ceremony for Debbie Barker, a county employee who passed away on September 20, 2022. Debbie worked for the Department of Aging and Human Services and will be missed.
During Commissioner Time I congratulated Ridge Volunteer Fire Department on their 75th Anniversary and installation of new officers and talked about the upcoming Ridge Auxilary Purse and Handbag Bingo on Sunday—check it out! Also, I reminded everyone about the Hollywood Fire Department Spring Dinner this Saturday—it is always a delicious meal! Finally, I spent some time discussing recent Social Media posts and our desire to ensure safe, modern, and attractive facilities for our youth.
We then entered into Closed Session to discuss Litigation and Personnel.
Tune in this afternoon at 1:30 for our next Budget Work Session. We’ll be discussing the Board of Education requests and our proposed revenues.
