Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Thursday, July 16th, 2026 open session for the Board of Carroll County Commissioners. As we always do, we'll begin with... Hope everybody is doing well this morning and we'll kick off with Priority Carol and Commissioner Kyler, would you like to lead us off today?

Sure, why not?

That was very enthusiastic.

Yeah, yeah. Well, I never remember who was first or last, and Tannery Farm was where I was going to start. So, yeah, what a great, and what did they call it, a launch? It wasn't a ribbon cutting, but it was a ribbon cutting. But I think they launched the facility, but whatever. What an awesome facility inside and out. I was very skeptical originally of their access, and they seem to have worked that out. And it's just a great facility. And with a total of eight people, I hope the neighbors will eventually accept it. It's a good facility, and I don't think it'll be disruptive to anybody. And I thanked... Westminster Mission for allowing us to be out there and be part of it. It was a nice event. And it's interesting for those of you who were involved in farms, when they bought the property, There were X number, I forget, let's say five goats. Now there's like a dozen. They do have babies, and I think most of them were expecting to have babies that the new owners weren't aware of when they bought them. So it's interesting. And, yeah, the dog was awesome. and yeah great event and I don't know if you have any photos of the Carroll County car fest but that was this weekend I was a judge again and I will tell everybody I'm very novice at judging but some great cars there Old cars, restored cars, stock cars. It was great. I think they probably had about 120 cars. Last year they had 150. But to me, it seemed like more spectators. So the Farm Museum was very active and very full. Transit Advisory, we met on Monday. Well, there we are with some of the winners. um the transit boom to everybody so you see what they're doing um they uh they're talking about modifying some routes probably cutting a couple stops out in tawny town but adding a stop in union bridge so i that's that's a great yes um i don't know what the right word is attempt you know it who knows how many people will use it from union bridge but but that's an area that doesn't have good good access to the other areas so it's it's a good thing to try and they uh they analyze their roots they do uh a lot of good things um the service award breakfast um that was this week and uh great event um great employees, and I'd say half that had years in service and would have got a reward were there, but the ones that were there represent the other the other ones with years of service but also every employee in this building and uh we have pretty good employees so uh i really appreciate um what they do for carroll county and we have really good volunteers um speaking of that i think uh winfield carnival just ended Reese is starting and then followed by Hampstead. So, uh, and I think recent Hampstead are the last two. Um, I don't think so. I think Mount Airy is coming. He holds, uh, I think once a month, but, um, I'm not sure how often they hold it, but I'm going to go to that and talk to some vets tonight. So that, that'll be fun. And, uh, it's always good to talk to vets. Thank you.

Thank you very much commissioner commissioner Gordon good morning.

I'm going to mention a few things also about the rescue mission of and I know was myself commissioner Kyler commissioner Krebs role in attendance at that. When this project was first announced I thought what a really awesome concept because unlike a lot of other uh recovery homes like this this was an opportunity to keep the mothers with their children in a uh i guess i would say more rural and peaceful environment it wasn't in a city as you saw from the pictures with commissioner kyler that they had posted to me i think it just again proves what we do so well in carroll county But this also includes folks from outside. This is state, federal, local, the various nonprofits and individuals that stepped up to help with this. And I wish them all the best with this. The location is very warm. It's very caring. And of course, Westminster Rescue Mission has such a history of doing just absolutely wonderful things. So I have no doubt that this will be another one of those amazing things that they do quite well. And kudos to Stephanie Haley and her staff and everyone, the volunteers, everyone that was involved with this, because I just think What an opportunity we have to nurture mothers with their kids and keep them together because that separation to me is just, you know, it's paramount. We keep the family together as much as we can when they're going through various challenges. This weekend also, I had the opportunity to attend the Toast of Italy event in downtown Westminster. Absolutely jam-packed event, great food, lots of fun. It was great to see so many local people in the community getting together. If you didn't get your fill of food, you were missing out. There we have on the right there on the screen was a gentleman that was doing glass blowing and was talking about that process. And then we had a gentleman there on the left who was a human statue, which definitely surprised Zaria when we were walking by. So we had a great time at that. As always...

Did he move as she walked by?

Moved and waved. And, you know, she wanted to walk by him again, but, you know, didn't want to go talk to him. But, you know, great event. Always good to have the community get together in downtown Westminster. A lot of local businesses heavily involved. Not only Westminster businesses, but we had, like, let me think, Sunday at Savannah's was there. They were set up. A lot of other community entities, nonprofits, and businesses throughout the county. So just a great time to get together. I also wanted to mention that last night, I, excuse me, we'll break this first. The Night at the Farm Museum event is coming up July 25th. Tickets are available as well as sponsorships for anybody that has an interest. This is going to be a great evening at the Farm Museum. It's going to be a dinner and there's a lot of other things, definitely something that's new and unique this year, but I would definitely recommend if you are event for fundraising for the Farm Museum. Last night I was at Planning and Zoning, and as Commissioner Kyler also mentioned, a number of us were in attendance at the employee service breakfast this week. What an amazing group of individuals that were representing all of our employees. just the number of hours they've worked and you know the years of dedication uh it just ways that people maybe assume or presume it to be just you know typical but they really work hard and i can't thank them enough for their dedication and time and then last but not least i wanted to bring up something that kind of caught me off guard over the weekend which was saturday it's been two years It's hard to believe it's been two years ago since this Board of County Commissioners attended the first public meeting for the proposed transmission line at the Westminster Senior Center. That just really kind of caught me for a second. I know we've all been heavily involved with this. Various community members have been involved with this. We've all been involved with this. As we all know, the turnout was more than significant that day. That would be an understatement to just say it was significant. The room and even outside that building was just filled with lines and lines of people, even those, you know, some of whose properties weren't directly impacted, but were neighbors from every corner of our community that came together and understood this was a Carroll County issue. That day demonstrated that it's not just when our community is faced with a challenge. We don't ask, you know, whose property is affected, what political party somebody belongs to. We come together because we stand together and we fight together. So two years later, that fight's not over. We continue to advocate for our property owners, protect our agricultural heritage, defend private property rights, and preserve the character of the county we all call home. Well, there's still work to be done. I remain very proud of our community and that we've all stayed united and committed to this effort every step of the way. And I'm very proud of this board and how we've approached this as well. Looking back, that very first meeting was about far more than a proposed power line. It's about neighbors standing shoulder to shoulder, proving that Carroll County is strongest when we work together for a common purpose. And that's the spirit of this community. That spirit's never wavered, and neither will our resolve. I want to thank every resident, farmer, landowner, volunteer, and community leader who's remained engaged throughout this process. Your voices have made a difference, and we together will continue to stand up for Carroll County, and that's what Carroll County does best. We work together, and that's all from me. Thank you.

Very well said, Commissioner. Commissioner Guerin?

Good morning, Carroll County. Thanks Commissioner Gordon for that. I had forgotten that's two years ago. I remember that day a few of us raced over there after session ended and NPRP is not something we asked for. It's not a fight we asked for, but we have all been in it and You know, it's part of the job. It's what we all signed up for. But we have spent an inordinate amount of time on that issue, and we will continue to do so and see it through. We discuss it every time we get together, including this morning. And those conversations take place constantly. And also, I appreciate Commissioner Cowley did briefly mention carnivals. So next week is Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company's carnival. from July 20th to July 25th. It's their 97th, it's hard to believe it's their 97th carnival, but they're celebrating their 100 year anniversary as well. So for those of you who live down in that area, they tend to get a big turnout. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. They're trying to fund a couple vehicles, and people have to remember, and I know we've said it many times up here, But those volunteer fire company carnivals are those companies' biggest fundraisers, period. So please show up. If you can buy tickets in advance, if you'd like. I think you can still do that from Mount Airy. But supporting those volunteer fire companies is critical. That is your volunteer fire company, the one that you live near. That belongs to you. It's our responsibility to support them. They are volunteers. They are not paid. They are running into burning buildings because they love their community, literally love their community, a term that's just overused in today's lingo, but it is a real community when you get together with these volunteer fire companies. So Mountain Area Volunteer Fire Company Carnival next week, July 20th to July 25th. And let's hope for some good weather, and that's all from me. All right.

Well, thank you very much, Commissioner. To kick my own priority carol off –

Okay.

I just wanted to say I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Commissioner Krebs, we're grateful to have her joining with us today. Virtually covered a couple of the things that I'm going to touch on. So I'll be able to be even quicker than I thought that I would be able to be. So first of all, I want to reiterate and second the comments made regarding the employee length of service recognition breakfast that we had this week. Especially as my colleagues mentioned, it's incredibly important to highlight and to recognize the men and women who have been with the county for such an incredible amount of time and who do such an incredible amount of work for us. We really are very well served by them and besides the commissioners, those men and women are the face of the county and we really are blessed to have them and they do a really phenomenal job. And second of all, as Commissioner Guerin, I'm sorry, as Commissioner Guerin and Commissioner Gordon have mentioned, I've received some questions regarding the status of our latest endeavor regarding the MP, our staff, groups like Stop MPRP, and friends and elected officials from other counties as well. But so our latest endeavor against the MPRP transmission lines has to do with the motion that was heard in court in May regarding public conservation easements that are held by the county, and whether a company like PSEG has the right to negate those easements by entering such land for surveying and disturbance of the land in that process. And as of this morning, we've not yet heard anything regarding the outcome of that case, but it really is an important question regarding those easements because so much... of what's going on with the mprp is fundamentally central to the entire future of that project relating to those easements it's not necessarily existential but it's one of those core components of what the county is facing and as i've said before regarding this particular hearing if peace sake loses i'm sure that they're certainly going to appeal it and if we lose i know that we will definitely be appealing we will definitely be continuing on with that fight and i know all four of my colleagues feel the same way as well And lastly, on the note of different legal actions, there have also been some questions that we've received regarding solar projects in the state. And whether it is the NPRP or solar mandates in order from the state, there's always a host of attendant issues such as decommissioning. Who pays for solar projects when they either fail, become obsolete, or no longer wanted when the company either fails or leaves? By what method is value determined? By what process is a solar project dismantled? And these are ongoing issues between local jurisdictions in this state. And I want to make it very clear that this board, everybody on this board, as well as our phenomenal staff, are continuing to press the case for local determination and the rights of our citizens. And we certainly haven't let that go either. And I want to make sure, again, that everybody knows that Every member of this board is paying very close attention and continuing to be very actively involved in all of these things. And that is all for me for priority Carol this morning. So nobody else has anything for privates. I'll turn things over to Tim for a brief introduction, then turn things over to our staff for a presentation of project highlights and other important information. And then we will open up the floor to public comments. So Tim, would you be so kind as to move us along?

Good morning, commissioners. July 9th, Carroll County's Department of Planning and Land Management came to you and presented you with a draft of a comprehensive unified water resource element for the master plan that's required to be adopted periodically under the annotated code of Maryland. You agreed to send it to public hearing and we advertised the public hearing in the Carroll County Times on July 2nd. 2026, July 9th, 2026. With us here are the appropriate staff, Director Hine and Brenda Denny. They're ready to make a very short presentation for you to refresh your memory on the elements if you so desire.

Very elemental, Tim. Thank you. Yes, good morning, commissioners. And as Mr. Burke teed it up well, I'm just going to turn it over to Brenda for a very brief presentation just to set the stage for any discussions, and then we'll go from there. Morning, Brenda. Good morning.

And it'll be briefer yet, because they've already given you some of the information. As Tim said, it was introduced to you on June 18. And so you directed us to schedule this public hearing. Just a brief recap what the WRA is. It's long-term planning for water, wastewater, and water quality issues. The county and the municipalities work together to develop the document and to adopt it per requirements of state law. It recognizes limitations to growth at the point in time that the information was put together and provides actions that could be taken but aren't a commitment to do so. And it's not the water and sewer master plan. It's a completely different document.

I love the pump.

I've seen some of those recently on my travels that were like, 10 feet tall process was this was as I mentioned a cooperative effort between the municipalities we use the WRCC is that the Water Resource Coordination Council is the forum for that coordination and All nine planning commissions for the municipalities and our own work together to review and approve the document. So everybody's adopting one document. All nine planning commissions had approved the document by the end of April and forwarded it to their elected bodies with a recommendation for adoption. At this point, and I have an update to this slide, all municipalities have adopted it except for Sykesville. So Tawny Town has adopted as well. And Sykesville's is in progress.

Yeah, so I had a couple things. First of all, explain the difference between the water and sewer plan and the water resources element.

Would you like me to? Sure. Sure. So the water resources element is a component of the master plan. So it's probably the highest level planning type document. And it looks out 10 years. It looks out what are the limitations for growth in the county and the municipalities from a water, sewer, water quality perspective. The water and sewer master plan is a slightly more detailed plan that looks at the specific properties in each municipality and who is currently served by water and sewer. and who is proposed to be served, whether it's short term or long term. And so it goes into more detail as far as who is actually being served today and planned for the short term duration. And so if someone who is not proposed to be served in the near term wishes to be served, they have to coordinate that with the municipality and the county to adjust the water and sewer and those are those updates that you see um twice a year uh related to the the uh water and sewer master plan so that's that's the difference there they're different levels of looking at similar sort of subject matter

Another difference is that the plant this plan document is reviewed by the state and they provide comment. But we determine how those comments are incorporated or not. Whereas with the water and sewer master plan, because it's implementing it's an implementing tool of the master plan but that document is actually required to have Maryland Department of Environment approval before you can adopt it whereas there's no approval authority at the state level for the plant the comprehensive our master plan elements

i guess one thing i've learned over a long time is this document sounds like a boring thing sitting here on our agenda today but it's probably one of the most important documents that we have and one of the most important things we're responsible for is making sure that our citizens have water and when they turn on the tap and to make sure there's enough of it for what we've planned and and i've been through do you know how many times we how many years have we had to have the water resources element in the master plan? I know it was a number of years ago, but how many times have we actually done this?

It was adopted as a requirement in 2006 by the General Assembly, and our first one was adopted 2010, so this is the second one.

Okay. The reason I'm saying it, because it sounds boring, but the reason the legislature made lots of discussion about it is because jurisdictions weren't necessarily planning ahead at really like 10 years ahead. Like you said, we have the municipalities. And the reason I'm asking is because I was looking on page two, and it says there's a point in time and again i said this is a very important document so at this point in time it says it's based on 2023 build out of water so and then uh was this a source and that's for the water and on the service areas using 2022 zoning so how does that work in in conjunction with what we have in our master plans both at the towns and at the at the county level And how do you know what's gonna be built out? Like you have certain things that you think could be built out, but how do you contemplate that?

Based on the zoning that's in place at the time in 2023 for those water and sewer service areas the properties that weren't developed were it was estimated what and based on what the zoning was it was estimated what their development potential was and then the corresponding estimate for water or sewer service based on MD email Department of Environment what they standard use was applied to those properties and added to the existing demand and that that's essentially how you come up with the projected build-out demand at that time of course things change everything is

So it's everything that could be built out is included in that. When Warfield came along, we didn't have allocation. And it took them a long time to get allocation. And then all of a sudden, we had all this allocation. And I'm trying to figure out between the the lake didn't get bigger. And maybe we got more allocation, but it was a very big issue. It was like one of the big issues in 2003, four or five, we didn't have water allocation. And so all of a sudden we got all this water allocation. And I'm trying to figure out how that changed And then I'm also on the sewer part. I know it's more, there's plenty of water. It seems like now again, maybe answer that first. How did it go from, I don't know if you were here then, but it was a very big deal. We were trying to get the Springfield wells and limited monitor. We wanted to build Ponty Run Park because we needed water. And now we seem like we have so much water. So how did, what changed?

One of the things or the most significant thing that changed since then was that the water treatment plant at that which is on Liberty was expanded and this Baltimore City then gave us additional water allocation. So that's the biggest change that resulted in us having more water available.

I don't know if you were here, but we had this big thing that saved the lake because they wanted to use Piney Run as a water source. I mean, it was a thing for years, and then they decided not to do it. But then all of a sudden, so did we just not ask for the allocation then? Why was it an issue, and then the issue went away? Is it just because they asked and we didn't know?

In the 2000s, when the county was looking for other water sources... There was a water treatment plant at Liberty Reservoir because there was an old one that was there, but it was under capacity. And then a third thing that we did was build and we did the Liberty Reservoir water treatment plant. I don't know why wastewater got stuck in my brain. And so that resolved the issue.

All the wells at Springfield, are they all tapped into or are we finished with that?

Yes.

Because there was a time when we didn't have access and we were looking for access. So is that subject gone?

That's complete. There are several monitoring wells and there are several wells that we use. The last well was held up somewhat because of the transfer of the property from the state one state agency to another state agency and then the build of that project um the uh the national guard readiness center that was built there on uh route 32. so uh now operating and has been for several years well i know that the the water plant was doubled in size years ago from i think four million to eight million gallons and it's interesting because because of the drought that we had and i forget when that wasn't

early 2000s and early 2000s whatever it was and nobody could use water and people sort of stopped watering and then because of the cost of water people don't water anymore i mean used to be people watered their grass they washed their cars and it costs a lot of money now because our water source so high i think people have conserved water we don't have the demand but it just was odd to me because it was such a big deal we have no water and now we got it and then on the wastewater i noticed that um it is it doesn't have as much capacity and so on some of these properties we've been talking about um so if you have a you know or we had a property that was r40 and it was supposed to be 20 houses and now it's 130 houses because of something we do how do you anticipate that when a property has a certain zoning and then we end up putting six times it's the retirement facilities end up with six times as many houses and there's it's that it's hundreds of them how do you calculate something when an underlying zoning is x but then you put a different product on and it becomes six times as many units that are able to be put on it because the underlying zoning is something different. How do you forecast that?

in terms of the calculations in the plan document itself we can't forecast that we have no idea where those types of projects will 20 anticipate where those types of development projects would occur so that could change things down the line and that's why this is really just an estimate to kind of give people a picture of like the magnitude of whether there's an issue and how much not necessarily well the reason i bring it up is because it was never

in my mind at least when we did the mass place master has never anticipated that that that outcome would occur that we would somehow make our zoning be able to have six times or now they want to maybe do eight times as many on a property that was anticipated to have x and now it's going to have y um so it's just asking for planning purposes because it even still shows up on the map is the underlying zoning but it's what actually presents onto the ground the the changes and i'm i'm asking as well because a number of years ago as i said warfield which is a it's part of the town of sykesville but they could not get water allocation i mean they it was a difficult thing so i just want to just water allocation commissioner is is um was um a part of was negotiated when the

town purchased the property or got the property from the state and they the state Springfield hospital has a water allocation and then they negotiated the portion of the water allocation from their allocation to Warfield's property okay and this again a number of years ago there and a restaurant would come and restaurants use more water so they have a higher use and there was some issues with

just it just is odd that it's just going from x to y but let me get back to the wastewater on the wastewater that issue um as well it's sort of the same question that that seems a little tighter on the wastewater but um is that something we can easily fix that you can get more more capacity you could ask for more capacity i know we don't control the plant the wastewater treatment plant but can you just ask for more capacity would they have that if we need that

For the demand that we estimated for 2023 for that service area, for the amount that would be needed, there's a potential that we could request additional allocation and negotiate that because we don't have the full plant capacity ourselves. And then the other way to get some additional flow capacity would be to implement like flow and infiltration improvements to the pipes that would regain some capacity so those are ways that you might be able to put a little less investment into getting more flow capacity than having to do a full uh expansion of a plant and of course we don't own or operate the plant well that's what i was that's what i was asking because we don't really have i mean i'm not sure how much control we have but the one thing that this document shows me

And this is when I looked at it and I looked at it a few weeks ago, we really got to start this conversation of capacity over the rest of the county is a huge issue because I know Union Bridge is working on some capacity, but these water and sewer issues are huge. And I know that planning has been working. I think planning has been working with the towns, but we really do have to have a discussion with our towns because there's not it shows negative capacity for water and sewer. I mean, you're talking about stagnant growth everywhere if we don't get some more water and sewer capacity in some of these areas, because that's where the growth's supposed to occur. And then we don't have the ability to grow in the unincorporated areas because we don't have tiers. So there could be a point in time when we're stagnant and it's not, you gotta have water and sewer at some point. to have a home you have as much land as you want but you have to have the ability so i think we we need to put some attention on um you know what's going on in the other areas and how we can support um making sure there's enough resources for the water and sewer capacities because they're all negative they're all big negatives i know union bridge is working on a big um I mean, this is like one of the most important things that we do, I mean, is making sure that we can fulfill the needs of water and sewer. So I think we should just be getting a little more updates about what's going on in the other areas and if they need help. I know Westminster has their water resource, water reuse program, which is fantastic, that's coming online. They've been working on that for years, and that's helping Westminster with their issues as well. But It's more important. It's a pretty big document, and when you look at it, and I got it, and you throw it on the desk, and then start reading it and realize how very critical it is to everything we do in the county, everything we manage. It really revolves around water. Less important, but this one is actually very, very important. And thank you for all your work on it because it is, again, it's one of those things we expect when we wake up in the morning that you can turn the water on and that you can flush the toilet and it's all going to go where it needs to go safely and environmentally clean. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Commissioner. Do any of my colleagues have any other comments or questions? Roberta, do we have anybody here for the public hearing? No, sir. Chris, do we have anybody on the line for the public hearing? We have no one on the line, sir. All right. Thank you very much. Are there any other questions or considerations from the board?

Move the Board of County Commissioners close the public hearing and hold the record open for 10 days. Second.

We have a motion. We have a second. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Aye. You too, Commissioner Krebs? Okay. Could you give us a thumbs up? Just so we... Okay. Just wanted to make sure. All right. Thank you very much. All right. Carried unanimously. All right. Thank you both very much. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

Up next, we have renewal of memorandum of understanding between county commissioners of Carroll County and the Maryland Classified Employees Association Incorporated.

Good morning.

Good morning, Christy. How are you?

Good. How are you all?

Doing well, thank you. How are you?

Good. Good. So as mentioned this is the renewal of the memorandum of understanding between the commissioners of Carroll County and the Maryland Classified Employees Association. This is a meet and confer agreement with the Maryland Association of Classified Employees. Right now we have about 49 employees enrolled in this. MOU most of them are in our public works area but we do have several individuals that take advantage of the the benefits of being part of that organization our our responsibilities as the county are to deduct dues from the employees' paychecks if they wish to be enrolled in the program, and then also to notify new employees that the program is available if they're interested in joining. And we meet at least once a year with the group to discuss any concerns or answer any questions that they may have.

Any comments, questions, or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Commissioners approve and sign the Memorandum of Undefeated Years.

Yes, July 1st of 26 through June 30th of 28. Did anything change from the last agreement? No, it's the same exact language as the prior agreement.

Good question. Good question. Any other comments, questions from the board? All right, hearing none, we have a motion. We have a second. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you, Commissioner Krebs. I see the thumb. Thank you very much. That's very helpful, Commissioner Krebs. Thank you.

I'm disappointed there were no games, but thank you.

Sorry, you missed me dressed as a hot dog yesterday. I know.

I was planning on coming, but I would have been late.

Have a good rest of the day.

You too. Up next, item number four, approval of the FY27 town-county agreements at Hampstead, Manchester, New Windsor, and Sykesville. Hello, Ted. How are you?

Okay, so it's the time of the year again where we begin approving county agreements. The main focus here is the revenue sharing portion of this. For those listening who aren't familiar, this is a longstanding program where the county shares some of its revenue with the eight municipalities. We have four of them today. As we get these signed by the towns, we then bring them into you for your signatures. As you mentioned, we have Hampstead, Manchester, New Windsor, and Sykesville. Just a little side note, we do have two employees who work on water issues with the towns. The towns pay the salaries of those two people. We pay the benefits of them. But rather than send them one check and then send us another check, we net out that cost and just send them where we would end up. So depending on what you want to do, you can approve each of these individually or you can approve them all together. And once we have your approval, we'll send out checks.

Any comments, questions, or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Carroll County Commissioners approve the FY27 town-county agreements with the towns of Hampstead, Manchester, New Windsor, and Sykesville. Second.

We have a motion. We have a second. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Thank you very much, Commissioner Krebs. All right. All those opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. Thank you, Ted. All right, up next, item number five, approval of use for not-in-carrel funding committed for opioid issues for fiscal year 2027. Morning, everybody. Hope everybody's doing well.

Morning.

Good morning, commissioners. I'm joined today by... Our local management board manager, Ed Singer, and also Veronica Dietz. Veronica is the director of crisis services with Carroll County Health Department. And as you noted, we're here to bring before you the approval of the use of the Not in Carroll funding committed for opioid issues for fiscal year 2027. This has been an ongoing line item in the commissioner's budget for several years, as identified as a need to prevent opioid overdoses and address the opioid crisis. The Opioid Prevention and Policy Group reviewed the priorities and are recommending to the Board of County Commissioners the following projects for continued Not in Carol funding for fiscal year 2027. One is to continue the support of the call center for mobile crisis, and I'll have Veronica speak to what they're doing with the mobile crisis team, how that has enhanced and the quality and the services provided by them. And then also the after school programming that the Boys and Girls Club has been providing. The after school programming continues to identify and engage middle school youth and after school activities in order to ensure that they have the skills to refuse use and also the skills to cope with everyday issues that may arise and really bring that around for all of our youth in Carroll County. And Ed will speak to that on behalf of Boys and Girls Club as his work with the local management board. So I'm going to turn it over right now to Veronica to share some of the great work that they're doing with the mobile crisis team.

Good morning, commissioners. Morning. Again, Veronica Dietz. I serve as the Director of Crisis Services, and part of my duty and responsibility is to monitor the contract that our office has with our vendor, Affiliated Sante Group. In 2018, we rolled mobile crisis services into the community, and unfortunately, we didn't have quite as much money available at the time, but began to braid and blend funding, including Knot and Carol funds, to move towards a Call Operations Center. So we've had that since about 2019. That is a group of trained phone counselors that can provide service to individuals who are calling in. They can triage calls. They can also provide supports and services to individuals that may not necessarily need a dispatch. In January of this year, with some additional funding from our Behavioral Health Administration, we were able to move our call center operations to a 24-7 operation. So they are working, while Sante is working to build up a 24-7 mobile crisis team, they were able to roll out completely with a 24-7 operation. call center. So any day of the week, any hour of the day, a Carroll County resident can call our local vendor for mobile crisis and receive a response from a phone counselor who can provide supports, resources, can triage calls, or can access the mobile crisis team for a dispatch. So I do have some updated numbers in the briefing. You'll see that there are some numbers there. We did get our final numbers. So if

And I'm going to turn it over to Ed now to share some details about the Boys and Girls Club and the great after-school programming they're providing.

And as Veronica was kind of referring to, the blending of funding is amazing what we've been able to leverage with the funding the commissioners have provided over the years for these programs. The Boys and Girls Club is a great example of that. There were no after-school programs other than here in their central Westminster location when this first came about. And they've taken the funding that the county's provided over the years and have found other sources of funding, philanthropic funding and everything else to expand funding. to touch all of the middle schools in the county. Essentially, we as the county are getting a lot more than what we're paying for because of what we're able to leverage with the Boys and Girls Club and their reach in the community. I just think that having a place for these young people to be positively engaged and have... the one thing we talk about quite frequently is having a positive adult that they know that they can trust, that they can talk to, especially if they're having problems at home or problems at school. I just think, uh, that, that that's really what this program brings for these, uh, for these young people and helps keep them on the right track. And we see so many of the, uh, so many of the youth in their programming being so successful and, and, uh,

Just several of the middle schools, but now they are touching every middle school in Carroll County. So that was the goal. And with some blended funding and being very creative, they were able to make that work. So it's really touching. Now we know we're in every middle school and reaching all those kids. So the total funding allocated towards mobile crisis from the Nodding Carroll would be $143,000. The after-school programming would be $194,000 for a total of $337,000. And so that is the ask. And it is budgeted in the commissioner's budget.

any comments questions or direction from the board move that the board of commissioners approved the fy27 not in carroll funding to continue the mobile crisis teams call center to be paid through the contract with the carroll example of a collaborative effort over first got an office took this on as one of his main objectives made every county have an opioid team of some sort and ed i think you're the one started this i think it's been like 10 years ago um as a health officer And the team that was put together included law enforcement, state's attorneys, Board of Education, Sheriff's Office, providers, Board of Education, and the county. And everybody sat around and just brainstormed. And we had fairly robust meetings. How do we stem the tide? And many, many, many things came out of it. But two of the main things ended up being the mobile crisis to be able to get to people right when they needed it and make sure we are able to provide services And then we kept saying, how do we stop the pipeline? That is the prevention. And everyone agreed that you just can't treat your way out of this. We've got to stop the pipeline. And so that's what came out is, when is that? It's middle school. And at the same time, Boys and Girls Club in Westminster was being formed for a different reason. We already had a club down there, but they were getting a new venue. And it was a perfect time to say, okay, let's bring this there. And then when we decided, okay, we need this in all of our middle schools, Everybody looked around, and that was the perfect place to expand is the Boys and Girls Club, that method, but do it at the home schools in different places. So these are just a couple pieces, but it's an example of every part of the community working together in an official capacity. They've changed the name several times, the Opioid Prevention Group, the Opioid Senior Policy Group. Commissioner?

commissioner i don't i'm really sorry i i don't want to i i just want to make i want to crow for carroll county a second carroll county started this um before that um this is a not that's what i was getting ready to say i was getting ready to say that i was getting ready to see so the commissioners basically i mean during this whole process the commissioners were always involved and they stopped stepped up with the not in carroll funding to have the seed money

to do to leverage the grants and because you obviously need money so it was a whole you know you've got these ideas but then you know how do you implement so the the not in carol money started i guess with the first five board of commissioners i can't remember and it's continued and it allows i mean all of these things and this is not a huge amount of money but this is the seed money for all the things we get to do it leverages the grants and it allows these things to occur so it's um it's well spent money and again they the commissioners have always had a seat at the table too and this was their portion of it to allow these things to happen so i i support it but i just want to remind people that these um you know we we spent a lot of money and this is a we get a lot of bang for our buck and it's always been enthusiastically supported by the boards of commissioners at the 988 number that we're talking about so tonight

Sure. 988 does filter calls through our call center, but locally we don't have a kind of a regional call center or a 988 call center per se. That is the numbers of calls that are coming from 988 to our local 410-952-9552 number, as well as people that are just calling that number. So it does include some 988 call center numbers, but it's not just folks calling 988.

Yeah, but they could, it's the easiest thing to remember. Yes, they can call 988.

Absolutely.

And I guess, and the other thing is, I mean, because of the ability for us to have the funding and leverage these things, this has been a model. And I've talked about it many, many, many times in my own role about how Carol got together. And you can have great ideas, but having the leverage of the money to do these things and get the grants and then have the successes with it is a model of how it all works well. So I just want to give accolades to the continued realization that this money has gone to leverage a lot of other things to be able to occur.

Thank you very much, Commissioner.

Any other comments or questions from the board?

Hearing none, we have a motion, we have a second. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? All right, motion carries unanimously. Thank you, Commissioner Krebs.

Thank you, Commissioners. All right, thank you all very much. Thank you, guys.

All right, up next, item number six, contract renewal for the after-school program for Carroll County Middle Schools.

Good morning. Hello, how are you? Good, how are you?

Doing well, thank you. Good.

The Office of Procurement, in cooperation with the Department of Citizen Services, request your approval to renew the contract for the after-school program for Carroll County Middle Schools with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Carroll County in the amount of $194,437. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Carroll County was previously awarded a term contract that was competitively bid, and this amount is within the approved FY27 budget.

Anything you wanted to add, or?

So this directly relates to the other agenda item. So now this is just formalizing the process to award the contract again to the Boys and Girls Club for the after-school programming.

All right. Any comments, questions, or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Commissioners renew the contract for the after-school program for Carroll County Middle Schools with the Boys and Girls Club of Carroll County in the amount of $194,437. Second. We have a motion.

We have a second. Is there any other discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much.

Sean Davis just showed up from Boys and Girls Club. And I know he was trying to be here today for this. And I don't know if he wants to add a few things about the after school, middle school thing, or if you want to indulge him. Because you guys moved a little faster than I think we expected. You're more than welcome.

We were after 10.

So my apologies.

He was on the agenda. On the agenda.

Yeah. Well, I feel like I have to read these stats for you or Miss Erin might slap my hand when I go back when she gets back from D.C. for the advocacy event. But just wanted to share a little bit about the program. And so in total, we serve 305 middle schoolers that walk through our doors this past year. from the five Carroll County middle schools. Eighty-nine percent of the participants demonstrated measurable growth in social-emotional skills through the positive improvements, and 100 percent of the prevention topics measured. Most importantly, 73 percentage points, including a 73 percentage point increase in opioid overdose awareness, which is key to the program's goals. 9,306 meals were served. 5,710 community hours were earned, and 20 leadership awards were given out. Four out of the five schools improved the percentage of students earning a B or better in both math and ELA, with Sykesville Middle School showing the largest ELA gains of 13 percentage points. And last but not least, we have 30 leaders in training and 15 junior leaders are continuing to build the leadership workforce readiness skills throughout the summer with us. And I would add that many of those participants, whether it's the middle schoolers or high schools, are participating in our leadership academy over at North Carroll as well this summer. So we're keeping them busy, and we appreciate all your support.

Not counting the leaders you're developing, how many employees do you guys have and how many volunteers?

Volunteers.

This is so awesome for mental health and how you guys treat kids. You do an awesome job.

Yeah, our leadership team consists of about 12 full-time staff members now. And then we have some part-time staff members in the quantity of about 15. But then where our leadership really kind of goes down is through the McDaniel and Carroll Community College partnerships. This year we had over 50 work-study students on staff, right? And those are the ones that really make the connection with the kids. They're not too far removed from where they were. They all have stories. They come from different backgrounds, and they're able to share that with our students, and it means a lot. Plus, they're a lot cooler than me because I have gray hair now.

A little. Yeah, it used to be cool. It used to be cool. The old North Carroll High School, Pantherplex.

Yes, sir.

You've done a second phase there, and it's almost complete?

Correct, sir. And I was going to kind of close with that. We finished construction. No, no, it's OK. I was going to invite you out. So we're finalizing open house dates in between, right before school starts. We're looking to do some open house dates. We'll have a variety of different options for the community. And, yeah, with the federal earmark we received a couple years ago, actually one week before we did the grand opening, we found out we got it. So we added a phase two. But, yeah, I think everyone will be blown away when they see it. We put about $800,000 into it and completely transformed it and put all the bells and whistles on it. And, you know, just a few instances of, like, some signage and tech and things like that to install. But the construction is complete. And by September 1, it will be – uh we'll be done with it thank goodness and that grant was through dutch who correct prior to that hadn't represented carroll county and so he jumped in once he got carroll county and did a lot and johnny o's following that up well yes yes and mr sarbanes actually came in and toured as well it was uh yeah it got a lot of support from both sides of the aisle there and we're very happy with how it turned out and you know what this will give us the opportunity to do this year is is uh introduce elementary on some level so that was our end goal we always approach this as a smart growth program and you know we have the high school and the two middle schools and now just need a place for those elementary it helps helps the parents so much having a place for the elementary school kids to go yeah so yeah we'll definitely be on the lookout for some communication around open houses there i'd love for you to see it and then we're approaching our 20th anniversary Boys and Girls Clubs, yeah, 20th anniversary.

No wonder you have gray hair.

Yeah, well, I've been a part of it every year except about four. A brief lapse, I left and then came back. So, yeah, there will be some communication going out about that. I think we're going to try and tie that around the first day of school, if I'm not mistaken, or first day of our after-school program, which is usually like the second week after school starts. Yeah. Yeah, a lot of exciting things happen, but we appreciate your support.

Awesome, and I just want to join all of my colleagues in thanking you and your entire crew for everything that you do for this county. It really is important to think about how we lead the way in all of these things. We start these programs, we really kick things up a notch, and then everybody else catches up later on when they see how well we start things and how well we do things in this county. So thank you all for what you do.

Joe, and I would add, and we usually don't toot our horn too much, but, you know, we've kind of become the model for the state of Maryland, especially with teens and leadership and, you know, a lot of different, you know, the organizations across Maryland that come to us for training. They come to see what our operation flow looks like. They come to get ideas and see what best practices are like, and, you know, they send their staff up to train, and so... I'm extremely happy with the team from top to bottom, and they make it move these past 20 years. And thank you for your support. We appreciate it.

Thank you all as well. All right. Up next, item number seven, approval to purchase independent financial auditing services. Not as fun as this, probably.

It's a great way to set up.

We're not the fun group.

We just do fun to county.

You're fun people. You're fun people.

Yeah. Of course. I know you're giving me a hard time. Somebody's got to today.

Somebody's got to give me a hard time today.

I never get to, so I'll take the opportunity.

Carrie even makes procurement exciting. She does. She does.

I like to think so. My staff thinks so sometimes. We have fun over there. The Office of Procurement, in cooperation with the Department of Comptroller, requests spending authority approval for independent financial auditing services with Clifton Larson Allen, LLP, in the amount of $116,680.

Clifton Larson Allen was previously awarded a term contract that was competitively accepted accounting principles and GASB, which is your government accounting standards board. And then the audit ensures that our financial report meets those standards. It's free from material misstatements. In addition, we are required to file the uniform financial report, which is a state report, the 911 expenditures of state Maryland, the single audit, which is a federal government audit of all of our grant, federal grant money. And then the audit actually reviews all of our internal controls and makes any recommendations to management, which you see in turn for that.

And they seem to always, rightfully so, have some comments. Has anything significant, what have they caught that's important for us?

The biggest thing, last year's audit, we had a invoice that was behind getting billed to us, and that was one of the things that it basically is a timing issue. It wasn't a huge significant thing. It was just that it was classified in fiscal year 26, and it should have been in fiscal year 25, but it was still transparent, still there. It was just a timing issue, nothing major. and we still have the highest ranking for our audits.

Good.

We're going to try to keep it that way.

And all kidding around and joking aside, you really do phenomenal work, you and the entire department, all of you. Thank you very much. And so I just want to make sure that you're very much aware of that and that the citizens of our county are aware how professional and how proficient we are with keeping things, thanks to you. Thank you.

We're not everybody's best friend. We always have to put our foot down, so we say no a lot. And then we need to explain why, but it is the county's money. It's taxpayer money, not our personal money.

Any other questions comments or direction from the board with the Board of Commissioners approved spending authority for independent financial auditing services with Clifton Larson Allen LLP in the amount of $116,680 second we have a motion we have a second is there any other discussion hearing none all those in favor aye all those opposed motion carries unanimously thank you very much thank you

All right. Up next, item number eight, change order request for additional work associated with the replacement of water service laterals on White Cedar Court.

Good morning, good morning.

The Office of Procurement and Cooperation with the Division of Utilities requests the Board of Commissioners' approval of a change order to the H&K Group in the amount of $10,229.25. This is for additional work associated with the previously awarded contract for the replacement of water service laterals on White Cedar Court within the Freedom District service area. This change order is within the adopted FY27 budget.

So during the water service lateral construction on White Cedar Court, we found that the asphalt drawings for the roadway were not consistent with the actual site conditions. So basically what happened out there is the contractors bid on a job that wasn't accurately portrayed via the asphalt drawings. So once that was learned out in the field, staff came to me and we discussed it. We confirmed that adequate funding was available. Following that, I instructed staff to proceed with the original scope of work for the replacement of all 14 water service laterals on White Cedar Court. It would have cost the county more funding if I would have had the contractor pull off the job and come back at a later point in time. Pardon my voice today. I've got a summer cold, and it's not like it typically is. So the as-built drawings for White Cedar Court have been updated now to show the existing site conditions. So this error should not happen at any point in the future. Any questions for me?

I hope you feel better soon. Thank you. Summer colds are not fun.

I'm not crying. I just have weepy eyes.

And I'm going to ask a question despite your voice. So H&K Group's pretty big. They recently bought HTI. Is this the old HTI that joined this contract? Do you know?

That is correct. There are one or two of the older crews left from HDI that are still focused on our work. Okay. Thanks.

Do we have any other questions, comments, or direction from the Board?

The Board of Commissioners approve a change order for additional work associated with the replacement of water service laterals on White Cedar Court to the H&K Group in the amount of $10,229.25.

We have a motion. I will second that. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. Thank you very much. All right. Up next, item number nine. Change order request for additional work associated with the replacement of water service laterals on Pitch Pine Court.

The Office of Procurement, in cooperation with the Division of Utilities, requests the Board of Commissioners' approval of a change order to H&K Group in the amount of $8,956.50. This is for additional work associated with the previous awarded contract for the replacement of water service laterals on Pitch Pine Court within Freedom District Service Area. This amount is within the adopted FY27 budget.

So, Commissioners, as far as this project goes, Pitch Pine Court, in addition to White Cedar, were two of four roads that we bid as separate items approximately a year ago for the water service lateral rehab projects. As you heard in the previous item, as well as this item, the as-built drawings were not consistent with the field conditions. So the same item, the same issues that I explained in the previous item also apply to this project. The as-built drawings have been corrected.

...associated with the replacement of water service laterals on Pitch Pine Court to the H&K Group in the amount of $8,956.50.

...award for the purchase of replacement pumps for the Rain Cliff Wastewater Pumping Station.

The Office of Procurement, in cooperation with the Division of Utilities, requests your approval to award a contract for the purchase of two replacement pumps for the Raincliff Wastewater Pumping Station to Freemar and Associates of Harmens, Maryland, in the amount of $57,811.80. This amount is within the adopted FY27 budget.

So last week you heard me talk about the need for grinder pumps at the Piney Rum Pump Station. This week's item is for the actual pump. the wastewater pumps for the Raincliff Wastewater Pumping Station. And these are basically the pumps that push the water up through a force main to the next gravity flow system. Pump stations essentially are set up in low areas of the service area. So we have gravity flow flowing to them. The wastewater fills a wet well that the pumps then kick on and transport that wastewater essentially upstream uphill to another gravity flow system. So these two presently offline, the cost of the repairs exceeds the cost of a new pump, so it would be rather foolish for us to try and make that serviceable again. And the second pump has exceeded its service life expectancy. Replacing these pumps now is the most cost-effective approach and avoids the increased operational, environmental, and emergency repair costs associated with an unexpected failure. And once the new pumps arrive, my staff will install the pumps as they can. With that, any questions for me?

Well, you answered part of my question. I was going to ask if staff was installing these. What happens with the old pumps?

They're basically worthless. They've been resurfaced several times. They're returned for scrap metal.

So scrap metal, and that's it. Okay, thanks.

Any other comments, questions, or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Commissioners award a contract for the purchase of two replacement pumps for the Raincliff Wastewater Pumping Station to Freemeyer and Associates in the amount of $57,811.80. Second. All right.

We have a motion. We have a second. Is there any other discussion? Hearing none, God bless you, Tim. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thanks.

All right. Up next, item number 11, approval to purchase household hazardous waste event services. Morning, everybody. Good morning, Commissioners. Good morning.

Good morning. Good morning. The Office of Procurement Cooperation's Division of Solid Waste requests your approval to spend an estimated amount of $90,000 for semiannual household hazardous waste event services performed by MXI Environmental Services. The estimated amount is based on the volume of deliveries by county residents during previous events. MXI Environmental Services is contracted by the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority to perform these services. This amount is approved in the FY27 budget.

Good morning, commissioners with me I have actually trees recycling and conservation program manager. So this morning, we're requesting your approval for the division of solid waste household hazardous waste events. These two events are estimated to cost around $90,000. The events average around 43,000 an event, we typically see anywhere from 450 450 to 500 vehicles each event. And these events provide an opportunity for the residents of Carroll County to drop off house household hazardous waste.

Any comments, questions, or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Commissioners approve the FY27 Household Hazardous Waste Event Services to Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal and the estimated amount of $90,000.

Second.

We have a motion. We have a second. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye.

Oh, yes, please.

Absolutely, please.

Oh, come to the microphone.

Yes, please. No, no, you're good. No, no, that's all right.

You're most welcome.

I wanted to ask a question, so you had to talk, but I couldn't think of anything. Sorry.

Oh, I beat you to it. so our next event is going to be saturday october 17th from 8 a.m to noon it's at the vehicle maintenance facility which is 1250 old meadow branch road for any anybody listening out there and we will also be offering paper shredding and the health department and sheriff's office will be there to collect medical sharps as well as old medications

october 17th from 8 a.m to noon and we have a very large list of all of the things that we accept on our website thank you very much thank you so much for the information thank you all right now all those in favor aye aye all those in favor all right all those opposed motion carries unanimously thank you everybody thank you all right up next item number 12 approval to purchase services at the residential recycling drop-off area

The Office of Procurement, in conjunction with the Division of Solid Waste, requests spending authority to spend up to but not to exceed $105,000 for FY27 recycling drop-off area coverage services to the Arc of Carroll County. The Arc of Carroll County is an approved term contractor. This amount is approved in the FY27 budget.

So this is the the art provides recycling services for us at the homeowner drop off area of the recycling lot. And it's staffed by one our client and an art employee who monitor and monitor recycling area and direct residents to the appropriate area of on the lot based on the recycling materials being dropped off. And most importantly, they help limit contamination to our recycling program.

Any comments, questions or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Commissioners approve recycling services by the Arc of Carroll County in the amount of $105,000.

Second.

We have a motion. We have a second. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye.

All those opposed?

Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right. Up next, item number 13, approval to purchase commercial insurance policies for station personnel and assets. Good morning. Good morning.

The Office of Procurement Cooperation with Risk Management requests your approval to renew the commercial insurance policies, which cover station-owned property, vehicles liability, and accidental and health coverages to align insurance services in the amount of $728,440. This amount is approved in the FY27 budget.

Good morning. Good morning. So this is the policy that we combined several years ago when the stations came on board with the county. We combined all of the stations together into one policy. a complete package that provides all the insurance coverage for all stationed owned assets and liability exposures that the stations would have as well as an accident and health policy for the volunteers at the stations um and do you have any questions any comments questions or direction from the board so uh

and and can you delve a little bit more if you don't mind into how this particular policy is touching on vehicles and any sort of so this is the coverage for the vehicle so

If this is how it works, if a county employee, no, it's a mix. It's a mix.

No, you're correct.

Absolutely. And here's where some of the issues, questions, concerns may arise. If a station volunteer is operating the vehicle, for example, and it's in an accident, the station pays the deductible. If a county employee, meaning the fire EMS staff, is the driver operator and they are at fault, the county pays the deductible.

How are the deductibles consistent with what they've been in prior years?

They were changed last year. So this year and last year, yes, they were increased as a matter of fact. And it has a lot to do with the losses, but it also has to do with the size, the number of units in the policy. And it is across many other municipalities the size of ours have the same deductibles. It's not a choice. It is what is dictated to us for the coverage.

And I think that's that's your last comment was it's you don't pick the deductible. No. And I think a lot of people don't understand that. Right. No, they tell us what it is in this policy.

And what are the dates of this coverage? I mean, when does it begin?

July 1st through July 1st next year.

Mr. Krebs has a question.

Commissioner Krebs. Yes, please.

Yeah, along that same line of the deductibles. It just happens, I think, that the deductible went up at the same time that we were sort of switching over, but it does affect the volunteers. And so how, because they have these larger deductibles now, and I know we don't choose it, but I know there's, in the past, we used to have a local person that did a lot of risk management with them, and like went and talked about why, how do you not get your claims, how do you keep your claims down? And it's not just about accidents. I think there were some lawsuits about some other things that were not necessarily related to the vehicles or related to other things. So how do we get that risk down, and how long does that take to show up in a deductible?

So we go out, and just for your... information only there was only one claim that the volunteers had to pay a deductible on over last year but your question has to do with liability we do I go out at least once a year and meet with each one of the stations individually along with the rep from the FIS direct to talk to them about the programs that they have their recommendations they look individually they'll meet Each station do an inspection. It's not every year they meet with each station to do a full inspection, but they will meet with them every year to go over their losses and prevention, preventative measures. We'll also do, when we do a renewal, we do a questionnaire. So we fill out a questionnaire based on how they operate. So for example, we just had one this year. They reviewed the juniors programs that the stations have and made recommendations and suggestions across the board to all stations and how that juniors program works. So they do look at the losses that we've had or the lawsuits that we have.

So how do, is there a way to explain like each year, like we've had X number of losses and how do we mitigate those? Or is it not, is it not significant enough that we can control? Is it based on other factors?

A little bit of both actually. Um, and we do, like I said, we do look at what are those lawsuits. And even if we were successful in defending that lawsuit, where were the holes? Were there any holes? Did we did something that we put in place work for us? so that all of the stations are doing the same things. So we want to make sure, even if the lawsuit may be against one of the stations, all of the stations, I don't want to say get the benefit, but they learn from each other, and we make sure that is discussed between them.

No, good, because I didn't realize it was more than just actual physical accidents of a vehicle, but these other things all played into it. It's nice to know that so that people can become aware that these things can become lawsuits, whether it's a potential harassment, whether it's true or not. Sometimes you have to defend it, but I think it's nice. I did not realize what all it encompassed, and it's good to continue. I'm glad to see that continuing education, meeting with them and explaining to all levels of the issues of each of the volunteers what those things are so they understand it. So we can maybe get those deductibles back down again. And it's only one, but it's always the potential.

sure and for that they also offer vfis which is volunteer fire service insurance they offer training programs so they have both online and in person if we request like if we have a significant amount of accidents they'll come out and do driver training for us the bigger apparatus whatever we might need or if there's something specific that One member in the station has questions, concerns, or the chief president may have, hey, I want additional training on this. I want my station to learn more about whatever topic it is. They'll come out and do that training or offer online training. They have an extensive online training, and DFEMS uses it as well.

And you mentioned the one claim for the volunteers. What were the total number of claims altogether?

Off the top of my head, I don't really know. I don't know.

I don't even want to guess. I don't even want to guess. No, I mean, it only affected them one time. They had to pay it. But the total claims obviously affect the entire, the premium. How many other claims do we have that could affect the actual deductible? That's all I'm asking.

Well, is the deductible determined by our claims or a pool of other companies' claims?

Both. Primarily, obviously, it's like your own insurance. It applies to your loss. But then across the board, how did the insurance company do as a whole?

All right. Any other comments, questions? I'm sorry. Any other comments, questions, or direction from the board? I forget. Did we have a motion? I don't think we did for this one. thank you chris so any comments questions or direction from the board

Move the Board of Commissioners approve the renewal of the commercial insurance policy for station-owned property vehicles and liability to Alliant Insurance Services in the amount of $728,440. Excuse me, $728,440. Second. We have a motion and we have a second. Is there any other discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye.

Thank you, Commissioner Krebs. I see you and then all those opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. All right. Up next, item number 14, approval to purchase third-party claims administration services.

The Office of Procurement and Cooperation of the Office of Risk Management request your approval to award the contract for third-party claims administration to Cisco Inc. in the amount of $55,000. This purchase will be made via the City of Rockville, Maryland contract, RFP 14-24, that was competitively bid. This amount is approved in the FY27 budget.

So this is for the third party claims administration for our workers compensation coverage. The county's self insured for the first $750,000 per claim. And we're asking for your approval for this claims administration services company to handle the workers comp claims for us. And that is so when we have an injury, the claim intake is done. We input it and then they do an investigation, interview the employee and have those conversations to determine compensability. and then approve any treatment related to that injury.

Any comments, questions, or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Commissioners award a contract to Cisco Inc. to provide third party claims administration services amount of $55,000. Second.

We have a motion. We have a second. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you all very much. All right. Up next, item number 15, approval to purchase excess workers' compensation policy for county employees.

The Office of Procurement Cooperation with Risk Management request your approval to renew the excess workers compensation coverage policy for county employees to RCM&D in the amount of $269,078. This amount is approved in the FY27 budget.

So this is after we exhaust the $750,000 per claim. This is a commercial policy that will cover the expenses related to the injury more than the $750,000.

Any comments, questions, or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Commissioners approve the renewal excess workers compensation coverage policy of the two RCM&D in the amount of $269,078. Second. We have a motion. We have a second. Is there any discussion?

Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. All right. And then up next, we have approval to purchase excess cyber liability, item number 16.

The Office of Procurement and Cooperation with Risk Management requests your approval to purchase commercial excess cyber liability insurance from Alliant Insurance Services in the amount of $77,282.70. This amount is approved in the FY27 budget.

So this policy covers the notification services, call center services, and credit and identity monitoring in the event if there is a breach in our security. It also includes coverage for legal and computer forensics expert services as well as public relations and crisis management expense. And this is an excess policy. The first $2 million is with legit local government insurance trusts, and this is the excess that covers an additional $2 million should we have an exposure.

Any comments, questions, or direction from the board?

Move the Board of Commissioners approve the purchase of commercial cyber liability insurance from Alliant Insurance Services in the amount of $77,282.70. Second. We have a motion.

We have a second. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Aye. And all those opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you both very much. Thank you.

Thank you. Good answers. Thank you.

They weren't the right ones, but they were good ones.

Well, I don't know if they were right, but she seemed confident. What the heck? No problem.

All right, up next we will move into the public comment portion of the agenda. Roberta, do we have anybody here for public comment?

I do. I have Diana Bergman would please come to the microphone and you'll have three minutes to make your comment.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning.

It's still morning. Good morning Board of Commissioners. I'm Diana Bergman and I'm a candidate for Maryland House of Delegates in District 5. And yesterday I was across the street providing testimony at the Board of Education meeting. sharing concerns regarding the lack of transparency in decision-making. Last month, the Board of Education made a decision to limit the full experience of the outdoor school. I also know that this Board of Commission did a great job a few months prior allocating funds to keep the outdoor school going. Now, what I'm upset about is that there was a safety concern that was raised up, and they didn't utilize their field of expertise. The school county has a safety director of a department for safety and planning. They check every school facility that they have to make sure that it is safe on a yearly routine. Now the outdoor school is not owned by Carroll County Public Schools, it's owned by the county. But I'm sure you guys have an equivalent of someone that checks your facilities to make sure there's no safety risk. So there is an alleged safety concern that was brought up with the outdoor school, but no immediate action to secure to make sure that we had quality standards to protect the facilities from any children visiting and our staff that works there at the outdoor school. And a lot of parents, regardless where they are on the political spectrum, are very upset about this decision that was made because everybody wants their kids to get outdoors more and receive an education. And it's a long tradition. Fifty years, the outdoor school has been providing a service here in Carroll County, a full experience like no other that we don't even have in the state. So I'm asking, a big ask, at least, Commissioner, can you guys please check up to see if that decision was even done fairly? And is it justified to go ahead and you guys allocate a full amount for a program that no longer has the full experience it once had? Okay. So I was just thinking, I'll come here, share my two cents, and I just want things to be fair, safe, and to include parent participations when decisions like that are being made, especially when you're cutting the curriculum and you didn't follow best practices and procedures on making such a decision. Everybody's upset in the community about the outdoor school and the changes taking effect. So thank you for your time. And have a good day.

Thank you. Thank you very much. You too. Thank you. Roberto, do we have anybody else here for public comment today? No, sir. All right, thank you. Chris, do we have anybody on the line for public comment?

Yes, sir. We do have one caller. Caller, if you can use star six to unmute, you'll have three minutes. Please identify yourself and tell us where you're calling from.

Yes, Andrew Manning here. You know what they say, location, location, location. Nobody surprised. I'm here in Carroll County. Commissioners get ready to rummage through your papers. If you have a pen, pick it up. Got down a few things. If you have a water bottle, a coffee cup, take a sip. And if you think if you think you're more important than people you don't like, let's take a nice big side together on 312. Thank you.

Quick disclaimer.

I just wanted to make a disclaimer here regarding public comment in this particular circumstance. Nobody is more valid or important whether you're a firefighter who just saved a baby from a burning building or you work at Walmart and the most exciting part of your day is chain smoking cigarettes on your lunch break. You are welcome here. As I say. I was going to say, as you say, I actually developed this term here. The public doesn't discriminate by definition. Only people do. Also, I know I'm a little late to the party. I'm not going to mention any names. You're not going to name drop. That would be against the rules. But I did hear that someone won by default. And I got to say, what an absolute honor to win an election because nobody else was interested in the position. um i would personally be really proud of myself if that were the case if that were me um so congratulations to whoever that may apply to um just a little update uh i've been doing my program running around um the police station the government building and the courthouses i've actually um upgraded my course to a more intermediate course we are now running around uh 140 between the lights at the McDonald's and the Bob Evans. I call it intermediate because it's up the hill, down the hill. It's quite a steep hill going up.

But in the midst of doing that, I was approached by a lady.

She said, hey, I don't appreciate you associating women to a certain, to a particular set of clothing. And I said, look, you take it all wrong. My mom was ahead of her time. While she didn't have the minivan, she did have a Nissan Pathfinder, okay? She took me to the YMCA all throughout my youth, soccer, baseball, Deer Park football. She took me to basketball at the school down below the Westminster High School, okay? By all definitions, my mom was a soccer mom. So if you dislike me, what you really dislike is your own time. Thank you. That's going to be it for me. Have a good one.

Thank you very much. Chris, do we have anybody else on the line for public comments?

That's all I have, sir. Thank you.

All right. Thank you. We will now move into the administrative open portion of the agenda. Does anybody have anything for admin open today? All right. Hearing none, we will move into agenda review. Good morning, Wanda. How are you? Good morning. All right, so first we'll get into the first week, the week of Monday, July 20th. Monday, July 20th shows nothing on the formal agenda. Tuesday, July 21st, I will be hosting the Chamber of Commerce business breakfast at the Carroll County Public Library in Tawny Town, and myself and Commissioner Kyler will be in attendance. And then at 9 o'clock a.m., Planning and Zoning Commission here at the county office with Commissioners Gordon and Commissioner Krebs. Wednesday, July 22nd, Mako Legislative Initiative Subcommittee with Commissioner Kyler and also the Mako Legislative Committee meeting with Commissioner Kyler. Thursday, July 23rd, Board of Commissioners closed administrative session at 8 AM, followed at 9 o'clock AM by open session. Item number one, approval to purchase courthouse security upgrades. Item number two will be priority Carol. Item number three, resolution declaring the county's official intent to reimburse expenditures with debt proceeds from the comptroller's office. Item number four, change order for standard roofing assembly at the state's attorney's office building currently under construction. Item number four, change order request for additional construction phase engineering services for the improvements of the Hempstead wastewater treatment plan project. Item number six, contract award for Gillis Falls Road pipe and headwall replacement. Item number seven, contract renewal for waste transfer and disposal services through Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority. Item number eight, spending authority for EMS billing services for fire and EMS. Item number nine, briefing discussion and decision and request for public hearing for Carroll County Water and Sewer Master Plan for the spring 2026 amendment cycle. Item number 10, briefing discussion on the 2025 planning annual report. Item number 11, briefing discussion decision on the grant for approval to submit application and acceptance of award for an FY28 Maryland Facade Improvement Program grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. Item number 12, exercise option to purchase agricultural land of preservation using the lump sum payment option to the David A. Yingling property. And item number 13, briefing discussion on completion of the application for House Bill 548, State Bill 325. And what is that in reference to specifically?

That's part of the new bill that takes effect in October with regard to the vesting for a project that's submitted that has residential. The vesting attaches when the project has what's considered a complete application. So this is a discussion about what the board's going to consider as a complete application.

Perfect. Thank you very much for that. That will, of course, be followed by public comment and admin open, as well as agenda review. right hearing none we'll move into the second week the week of monday july 27th monday july 27th shows nothing on the formal calendar uh july 20 tuesday july 28th ribbon cutting for historic durbin house at fenvey farm road with commissioners kyler and krebs wanda please add me to that as well thank you and can number one priority carol item number two bg e finksburg to westminster substations transmission i guess that's a presentation okay item number three uh we will have the board of elections present for a post primary election report item number four briefing discussion and decision on a text amendment for age restricted housing uh presentation of planning zoning commission recommendation and request to scan on accessory dwelling unit text amendments uh response to house bill 1466 presentation of the planning and zoning commission recommendation and request to schedule a public hearing item number seven fiscal year 26 year-end adjustments with the resolution Followed by public comments, admin open, and agenda review. Friday, July 31st shows nothing on the formal calendar. Saturday, August 1st shows nothing on the formal calendar. And then Sunday, August 2nd, I have the podcast. Are there any corrections, alterations, or amendments to the second week of our agenda? All right. Hearing none, I need a motion to adjourn. So moved. We have a motion. Do we have a second? Second. All right. We have a motion. We have a second. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? We are adjourned.