We started off today’s meeting with the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance followed by the approval of the Consent Agenda. We then held a recognition ceremony for all of the Citizen’s Academy participants—thank you all for taking the time to learn more about your local government!After that we presented proclamations for Giving Tuesday and the Great American Smokeout.
Next we held a Public Hearing on the proposal to repeal and reenact the St. Mary’s County Electrical Codes Ordinance. This proposal would create a “Master Electrician Registration” that would be locally controlled. We had one person speak.We then approved a Public Hearing for a proposed ordinance for Agricultural Alcoholic Beverage Production. This zoning ordinance change would make the Land Use permitting process easier.
We then adjourned as the Board of Commissioners and reconvened as the Board of Health for a discussion with Dr. Brewster on the state of COVID in our county. We are still considered in high transmission, but our number of cases is coming down.
Reconvening as the Board of Commissioners, we moved immediately into County Administrator time and the first item was review of upcoming meeting agendas—we will not meet next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Second we approved a grant submission for the FY2023 State Aid for Police Protection program—this is a recurring grant that is formula driven with the amount still to be determined, but the current FY2022 funding estimate is $948,976. Third we heard a presentation on the YMCA Site Concept Plan. This portion of the meeting got fairly heated—I attempted to offer a compromise motion but the citizens in the audience were not receptive and no motions were passed, so the YMCA is on hold while county staff look into it further. Fourth we approved Program Open Space grant award of $1,309,000 that will be used for Baseball field improvements, ADA park improvements, Lexington Manor Passive Park enhancements, Chaptico Park restrooms and tennis and basketball court improvements at Cardinal Gibbons Park and Hollywood Recreation Center. Fifth we approved the FFY2021 State Homeland Security Grant for $104,238. Sixth we approved the FFY2021 Emergency Management Performance Grant for $25,993 to fund the Hazard Mitigation Plan Update (interesting thing about this grant is that it was not budgeted, requested or applied for). Seventh we approved the Exercise of Option Contract and Railroad Right-of-Way Easement agreement with Kody Holdings for property for FDR Boulevard. This option contract pays $204,420.09 to Kody Holdings for their property and includes a traffic circle on FDR and enlarges a Storm Water Maintenance Pond. Eighth we approved the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan. Nineth we approved the FY2022 MDOT/MTA operating grant agreement for the St. Mary’s Transit System Operating program for $2,708,340 (the funding breaks down to $752,829 Federal, $308,081 State, $777,587 Required County Match, $502,974 Additional County Funding, $366,869 Passenger Fares). Tenth we approved renaming the former Garvey Center to “The Aging and Human Services Building” and naming the new animal shelter the “St. Mary’s County Animal Adoption and Resource Center” with the Animal Control Section of the new facility being named after Tony Malaspina, a former animal control officer for the county. Eleventh we approved the Senior Care grant application for $126,106—this funding is used to help seniors who are at risk of needing to move into a nursing home to remain living independently. Twelfth we approved the Senior Rides Operating Grant Agreement for $35,652 to coordinate door-to-door transportation for low and moderate income seniors who are unable to utilize other transportation options. Thirteenth we approved a lease agreement with the Home Grown Farm Market for five years for $1 a year with the option to renew for an additional five years. Fourteenth we approved the award of the Solid Waste Transportation and Disposal Contract to Lucky Dog LLC for an estimated annual cost of $2,561,174.92. Our last item of business was approval of transfer of $5,743 of seized forfeited funds to the Leonardtown Lions Club—when these gambling funds were seized, this portion was intended to go to the Lion Club.
After Commissioner Time we held a brief memorial service and plaque unveiling for Dale Smith, an STS driver who passed away while employed by the county. We then entered into Closed Session to discuss personnel, legal advice and litigation. We re-entered Open Session to approve a Coordinator II salary for the Circuit Court.
