Happy Flag Day! Today’s meeting began with the Invocation and Pledge, followed by the approval of the Consent Agenda. Included with the Consent Agenda was a Letter of Support for Bethesda United Methodist Church for a grant through the Maryland Heritage Trust and a list of appointments to Boards and Commissions. Thank you to all who are willing to serve on our Boards and Commissions!
Next we presented two proclamations. First, for National Nursing Assistants Week and second for World Elder Abuse Day 2022. We then presented three Commendations . First for Marc Edwards’ retirement after 22 years and 11 months. Second for Zane Rettstatt’s retirement after 23 years and 2 months. Third for Robert Richardson for his incredible work and commitment to Babe Ruth Baseball.
Entering into our Main Agenda, we presented Years of Service Awards to County Employees—thank you all for choosing to work in and for St. Mary’s County! We then approved the final Board of Education Budget. The total Board of Education Budget is $319,568,377 for FY2023, which includes both Restricted and Unrestricted Revenues. The county’s portion of this funding is $121,524,907.
Moving into County Administrator Time, our first item of business was review of upcoming meeting agendas—there will be no Commissioner meeting next week due to the Juneteenth holiday. Second we approved the cooperative agreement with the Maryland Department of Agriculture for “noxious” weed control programs—this agreement has been recurring since 1971. Third we approved an ordinance establishing an “All-Way Stop” at the intersection of Tallwood Road and Primevere Road/Primever Street. Fourth we approved a grant application for the Military Installation Review grant from the US Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation—this grant will fund a study by the University of Maryland Center for Global Sustainability and will require a 10% county match that would be met with in-kind staff time. If awarded, the study will look at the ability of the base to continue its mission and evaluate environmental conditions that could impact in the future, and then provide recommendations for an action plan to increase resilience. Our final item of business was approval of a letter of support for the St. Mary’s County Agriculture Land Preservation Advisory Board’s ranking for properties that are being considered for Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) funding—this funding is used to purchase easements on farmland and woodland for agricultural preservation.
During Commissioner Time, I spoke about the Crab Festival (Thank you Lion’s Club!) and the Fire and EMS Cadet Awards Banquet that I attended. The Fire and EMS Cadet Program is an incredible partnership and a huge benefit to our county—thank you to all who make it possible and to the students who choose to enroll and serve their community!
