County Council - Regular Meeting

head and get started. I want to welcome everybody to tonight's meeting. Let's go ahead and stand and we're going to say the prayer and then the pledge of allegiance of the flag. Heavenly Father, as always, I'd like to begin this prayer with just just just thank you. Just a thank you. Thank you for a uh thank you for a wonderful day. Thank you for a glorious and wonderful and successful Talbit day this past this past Saturday and c as we celebrated on Sunday. Uh Father, we just thank you for your love, your grace, your mercy, your provision, all all that you offer to us here in Tula County, across our state, nation, and world. Father, we just thank you. We love you. And it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen.

I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, let's go ahead and get started. Appreciate you guys coming tonight. Um, we've got the agenda before us. Um, council, is there any uh additions, deletions, or correction to the agenda? Council? Yeah.

Okay. All right. Hearing none, the chair moves that the agenda be accepted as unanimous consent. Okay. Next is the dispersements of April 21st and April 28th. Council's had a chance to take a look at those. Is there any additions, deletions, or corrections to the dispersements council? Okay. Okay. Hearing none, the chair moves that the dispersements be accepted as unanimous consent. Okay. So, we got a uh a lot of uh proclamations to to tonight. Um Mr. Callahan. Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. We have the fourth estate here. Okay. Can you give her a desk over here so she can take notes? Yes. The Star Democrat.

Yeah. Come on over. Yeah. There we go. Yeah. Oh. Oh, there's there's a nice little desk for the fourth estate right over here. Okay. Um, Sean B. Yeah. Mr. Bola, you want to you want to from Come on up, please. There you go. If you want to stay. Okay. Madam Secretary, you want to go ahead and read the proclamation to the record? You can sit down. Yeah.

Certificate of recognition to Shauna Abula. Whereas Shauna Bula's passion for books began as a child and while working as a young adult in her high school library. And whereas following her move from Virginia to the Eastern Shore of Maryland almost 50 years ago, Shauna began volunteering at the Talbert County Free Library in Easton before being hired in 1984 as a part-time employee. And whereas in 1986, Shauna became the first paid branch manager of the St. Michael's branch of the library which initially opened in 1981 in a storefront on Talbet Street in St. Michaels and was staffed by volunteers. And whereas Shauna has served as the branch manager of the St. Michael's branch of the Talbet County Free Library since 1986, dedicating 40 years of her life to serving the people of St. Michaels and the Bayund area of the county. And whereas during her tenure, Shauna oversaw the move of the branch in 1988 from the storefront to a vacant garage owned by the town of St. Michaels on Fremont Street and the move in 2003 to temporary headquarters in the town's old firehouse in Muskrat Park while the Fremont Street address was being remodeled. And whereas Shauna led the rescue effort that saved the collection of the St. Michael's branch of the library when Hurricane Isabel inundated Muskrat Park Park one month later in September 2003 and also oversaw the return of the branch collection to the Fremont Street address. And whereas when the current renovations and expansion began to be planned to better serve the needs of the citizens in St. Michaels in the Bay Hundred area. Shauna, having served the community for so many years, assisted with the design to help ensure the new facility met the needs of the community it serves. And whereas Shauna

yet again oversaw the move of the branch in 2025 to temporary headquarters, while the Fremont Street address was renovated and expanded and oversaw the return of its collection to the newly renovated Fremont Street address for its grand reopening in March 2026. And whereas Sha Ambula has long since become a beloved community community icon in St. Michaels, the Bay Hundred, and the entire county. And whereas throughout all her years of service and passionate devotion to the library, the staff of the entire Talbet County free library system has learned and gained from their association with her. And whereas Shauna Abula, after faithfully serving the people of Talbet County for a total of 45 years, will officially retire from the library on May 1st, 2026. Now therefore, be it resolved that we, the members of the Talbet County Council, do hereby express our sincere gratitude to Shauna Abula for her four plus decades of dedicated service to the citizens of Talbet County and thank her for the thousands of smiles she has bestowed upon us over the years. Given under our hands in the great seal of Talbet County, this first day of May in the year of our Lord, 2026. Mr. Callahan, if I could make this official by uh starting off a motion, please second.

Okay, we got a motion. Second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Callahan, I. Mr. Steppp big I Mr. Hi, Miss Milky. Hi, Miss Hayes. I welcome. That was a tough one, wasn't it? Thank you. Take your time. Thank you, Tom. This is This is your moment, you know. We're so We're We're so proud of you. Thank you for lots of many years. Now, I've said to my staff and my co-workers, it's going to be hard to leave. It just is. But I'm going to,

but I think it's I have enjoyed my many years in the county and serving the county and working at the library and my wonderful staff and co-workers. It has been a pleasure and the support of the county council, certainly the town of St. Michael's, the Bayund area, it's been just humbling and warming to my heart. Although I'm sure response I've gotten from all of you and I thank you.

I thank you very much. I was just going to say it's it's hard to say what has already anything more than already what's been said, but in in your proclamation. I mean, it outlined what a wonderful career uh capstone project with uh overseeing this uh you know, this this beautiful new library we have down in St. Michael's. So, uh, when you when you add all that up and your service, it's just it it just equates to just a big thank you. So, thank you. To say you're welcome doesn't sound like doesn't

I feel you. I feel you. Well, for all the time that I have worked in St. Michael's and longer, you have been the face of the St. Michael's library and really the enabler of the community institution that the library is bringing people together in that community and thank you for all that you've done there. Um we we will we will absolutely miss you and but what a time to go out just as you have cut the ribbon on the expanded branch uh that in a place that you've dedicated so much time to it it's nice to be able to go out on a high

um I concur with everything that's been said. that I was at the uh dedication of the the uh renovation of the library and it was just beautiful and um I can't think of a better finale for you and the and the library than that and congratulations and thanks for all you've done over the years. It's been beautiful.

So, Miss Shauna, I just met you probably about four years ago through the St. Michael's Library and your kindness, your humbleness, the way you embrace the community is is truly amazing. Um you truly are a kind and gentle soul and um you are the very thread of that library down there and um going out on this high note after the St. Michael's expansion is truly a blessing. So I I just wish you much prosperity and enjoyment um in your retirement. So God bless you. Thank you. Why don't you come on out? We got something something to give you.

Sure. Yeah, absolutely. Bring whoever you'd like. Whoever you'd like. Come on up. I know this. She brings the crap. She's so What we're going to do is I'm actually going to let Emma with her camera. She's got the wide lens. We'll do that first and then we'll follow

and then ready. One, two, three. Okay, that was fantastic. Okay. Ne next proclamation is um sexual assault awareness month. Madam Secretary, could you read that into the record? Sexual assault awareness month, April 2026. Whereas April 2026 marks sexual assault awareness month, a time to bring attention to the widespread issue of sexual violence and to empower communities to take action. And whereas sexual assault, abuse, and harassment affect people of every age, gender, race, and background. And every person in our community deserves safety, dignity, and respect. And whereas in Maryland, more than half of women, 57.2%, have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. And one in four Maryland men report experiencing some form of unwanted sexual contact in their lifetime compared to 45% 45.1% of women and 16.9% of men nationally. And whereas one in three female victims and one in four male victims of rape or

attempted rape first experienced it as a child between the ages of 11 and 17. And whereas for all seasons, April 2026 sexual assault awareness month campaign focuses on helping mature residents to stay informed, vigilant, and equipped to safeguard themselves and their communities against sexual violence. And whereas Talbet County supports the experts who work to identify and prevent sexual violence and is dedicated to providing services and avenues for survivors seeking proper care and treatment. And whereas sexual assault awareness month and each day of the year is an opportunity to stand with survivors to recognize progress in combating these crimes and to recommmit to reducing sexual violence in Talbet County. Now therefore, we the county council of Talbet County do hereby recognize April 2026 as sexual assault awareness month and call this observance to the attention of our citizens. given under our hands in the great seal of Talbet County this 28th day of April in the year of our Lord 2026.

Thank you, Madam Secretary. Okay, council, is there a motion? Motion to approve. Second. Okay, we got a motion. Second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote, please? Mr. Callahan, I. Mr. Steppp, I. Mr. Leer, I. Miss Milky, I. Miss Hay, I Okay, want to welcome season. Yes, ma'am. Come on up. Hello. It's lovely to see weight of like standing room only at a council meeting. Yep. Yes. Exactly. A lot to be proud of. Welcome. Thank you. Uh thank you very much for If you could introduce yourself, that would be great. Yeah. I am Susan Alstrom. I'm the human trafficking regional navigator

for All Seasons. I cover the Midshore region here in Maryland. I'm Lauren Weber. the chief strategy officer at for all seasons and I also run our center for learning which is how we bring education and outreach to the community. Thank you.

So we are here for all seasons is the midshores only rape crisis center. We serve Talbet Queen ans Caroline Dorchester and Kent counties and that means that for all seasons is the only rape crisis center serving nearly 200,000 people living out of five midshore counties. What we do is we are available 24 hours a day. Our sexual assault advocates are available. Uh we offer a confidential hotline, crisis counseling and hospital accompaniment during forensic exams, support through law enforcement and court processes and ongoing therapy and case management. And for survivors of sexual assault, support is always immediate. We are available. There is no wait to speak with someone or to receive support. And through our open access program at Forall All Seasons, we also provide same day mental health appointments with no wait list. So anyone can walk in and be seen that day so people can get help when they are ready, not weeks later. So when someone comes forward, they do not have to go through it alone. We meet them where they are and support them at their pace. We're always grateful to come before you. Um, I've been with you, gosh, three or four years now to recognize, I don't want to say celebrate this really important month. Um, and here's what I'll say. We often get thanked and I'm sure that you all are getting ready to do the same thing for what we do. Um, part of what um, we want to share during this month is that everyone has a role. Um, it really is something that happens here. Just maybe a couple weeks ago, we had a program with our director of victim services who runs our rape crisis center, our chief clinical officer, and Shannon Temple, who is a forensic nurse examiner at the University of Maryland, just talking through what happens when you report to an emergency room after a

sexual violence has occurred and demystifying that process a little bit. And what their message is is the same one that we have tonight. It happens here. It happens frequently. It happens to children. It happens to adults. It doesn't matter what your background is. What we are asking our community to do is to be aware of what's happening, to take steps to educate yourself, to get informed, and also to be supportive of when people in your life might be experiencing sexual violence. A daughter, you know, I'm a mom of three kids, and I think every day about the fact that this can happen to my kids and all of the children in our community. um but also about how can we as a community be coming together to prevent this on a systems level. Um so we're grateful that you have us here tonight. What I would say is if you can remember if if this is something that is surprising to you, you're passionate about, if you can remember only three things, there's three calls to action that we'd like to to offer and invite you to. All of them begin with going to our website to learn more so that I don't bore you all with all the details here.

Um, if you are in youth's lives and you are concerned about risk of predation for youth, go to our website. We have a course that we've developed that you can take on your own time. should take, you know, an hour or two if you do it straight through. But it's all about developing healthy relationships for tween and teens and discussion guides for the adults in their lives. Whether you're an educator, whether you're a mentor, you're a parent, you're a faith leader, you're a coach, it we say the hard things so that you can watch it together, a three, five minute video and then give you the discussion guide to have a a real frank conversation about it. Mhm.

If you are in hospitality, if you have any relationship, restaurants, bars, uh hotels, and you want to do your part, we also are launching a SIP safe aare certification course so that you can learn about drug and alcohol facilitated sexual assault. Uh something we started last year, it's happening with increasing frequently frequency and so we wanted to do something about that. If you are aware of either something happening to yourself that's sexual violence or something that's happening to someone you love. It doesn't matter who you are. Know that for all seasons does not sleep. Our hotline operates 24 hours a day. Our advocates respond to hospitals, law enforcement, courts 24 hours a day. Not that the courts are overnight. Um we're here and the number one thing we want you to do is educate yourself. reach out and feel like it's okay to get help.

Yeah. And I also want to emphasize that our rape crisis services are free and anyone who has suffered this experience, they can call even if they're not sure what to do, if they're not sure what the steps are. Our services are free. Any forensic exam and support at a hospital emergency room is free here in the state of Maryland. And I want to make sure people are aware of that because it makes a difference. But we're here to support those who have experienced this and we are here for this community always, not not just in April. So, thank you again for recognizing this month and this very important issue. Thank you, Mr. Staff.

Yeah. Um, obviously very tough topic. Uh, very uh important to not only just, you know, recognize but address and like I said, I appreciate the uh the resources that you guys are bringing. not only just uh you know in in response but just in proactiveness. So thank you. Well, as as a scout leader, I get trained, retrained uh on a on a frequent basis to to do what what we can to prevent to recognize um and and to report and I I understand I understand what uh how important that is and uh appreciate what you are doing in raising that public awareness and making sure that we can all play our roles.

Okay. Um it's tragic that um sexual assault has become such a topic um in recent years and it's so good to know that your organization and others um are on top of it and um want to um make people aware and also be helpful. So thank you for all you do. Mhm.

So, working with young girls, um this is certainly a topic that we focus on um and work with them greatly um on, but truly appreciate the work that you do, but also the awareness that you bring to the public and the education um and the preventive measures as well um that can be enforced or initiated um to make people aware that this is definitely going on in our community. So, thank you. Thank you.

Yep. And so so we have we have a proclamation for you if you want to come on up. All right. Ready? One, two, three. Thank you guys. Appreciate it.

Okay, we have one more um proclamation to honor um Kelly uh Callahan. So, Madam Secretary, could you go ahead and read that into the record? Yeah.

Proclamation honoring Kelly Callahan. Whereas communities are strengthened by individuals who demonstrate extraordinary compassion, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to serving others. And whereas Kelly Callahan of Talbet Goes Purple has distinguished herself as a dedicated advocate for the well-being of the residents of Talbet County, Maryland. And through her leadership and involvement with Tolbert goes purple, Kelly has advanced substance abuse prevention efforts by empowering youth and families to make healthy and informed choices. And whereas through her work with Teen Court, a peer-led recovery community organization, Kelly has supported restorative justice practices that guide young people toward accountability, growth, and positive futures. And whereas her work with Grace Street has exemp exemplified innovative and compassionate care, including the use of peer support specialists, individuals with lived experience who provide understanding, mentorship, and hope to those facing hardship. And whereas Grey Street has become a vital resource in Talbot County under Kelly's leadership, offering a safe, welcoming environment for individuals in need of connection, support, and basic necessities. And whereas in times of severe cold and urgent community need, Kelly demonstrated extraordinary personal commitment by keeping Grace Street open at her own expense, ensuring that vulnerable individuals had a safe place to go. And through this selfless action, Grace Street was transformed into a 24-hour warming center, providing life-saving refuge, dignity, and care to members of the community dur critical conditions. And whereas Kelly's tireless dedication, generosity, and innovative leadership have made a profound and lasting impact on the lives of countless individuals and families throughout Talba County. Now therefore, we the county council of Talba County do hereby

recognize and honor Kelly Callahan for her exceptional service, compassion, and commitment and contributions to the people of Talba County, Maryland, and that her actions stand as an inspiring example of community leadership, reminding us all of the power of service, empathy, and unwavering dedication given under our hands in the great seal of Talbet County this 28th day of April in the year of our Lord 2026. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Good job. So, Mr. President, I got to make a motion as as read, enter this in the record, please. Second. Okay, we got a motion second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Callahan, I. Mr. Stef, I. Mr. Leser, I. Miss Milky, I.

Miss Haye, I Okay, welcome Sheriff. Thank you. How you doing? Um, thank you for having us. Um, so I also have an award that I would like to give. Yes, sir. Go ahead, Kelly. It's a sheriff salute. Mhm. Um

about 12 years ago, I got elected.

Two weeks later, this woman walks in and wants to talk to me and we developed the relationship o over those first few months. I learned a lot. Um she's been my right and left hand for the last 10 years goes purple. She's also been the driving force behind teen court, which is very unique in the state of Maryland. Um that we can defer youth for non-violent offenses to teen court. Um she spearheaded that. And then now with Grey Street, um there's not a week that goes by that I don't hear on the police radio an eastern officer, one of my guys, one of my deputies or a a state trooper um calling to drop somebody off there because she also through Grey Street runs our um county safe station

that used to be at 911 center and it kind of died, you know, nobody was using it and Now, I mean, 24 hours a day, their staff is available for people that are suffering um from addiction issues that are seeking help and and the homeless population. You name it, Kelly's conquered it. So, this is just a small token of our appreciation, Sheriff's Office, for all you've done for our community. Okay. Thank you. Go ahead, Kelly. Oh, yep.

Gosh, thank you so much. Thank you, council, for recognizing the work of all these different programs. It's an honor and a privilege as a native of East and Antba County to work for people like Joe Gamble for years. And this kind of not just recognizes the work of these programs, but also helps bring awareness to the importance of these opportunities and services for our communities. most underserved and most vulnerable. So Joe and I are we stay away from politics. It's pretty funny. He always talks about me being the only non left right leaning person in the office, but we stay away from all of that. And about as far as you can get,

but I support him wholeheartedly. And in my line of work, people will sometimes say, you know, tell me all about that sheriff. Is he the real deal? and I know that he is because he's kept programs like Teen Court alive and started programs like Top Goes Purple. So, this means a great deal to me. I like to be in the background counting things and organizing things and I certainly just am really honored to be here. So, thank you.

Okay. Thank you. Um, I just, Kelly, there's there's just there's probably not many people in this room, if not anyone, who hasn't been touched by at least one of the aspects of of things that you address. I'm you my family and I were we're right there, too. Right. So, uh, you know, I what what else can I say but just a heartfelt thank you. I, you know, it's like I said, you're solving for not just one need, but many needs in our community. Like I said, you you when you see folks who are struggling or vulnerable and you know, you know, we've lost good people in this community, too. Um just for you to step in and do what you're doing, it it's it's commendable is not even the word. So, thank you. Um and uh I'll leave it there.

Thank you. Well, if there's anybody here, and there are a lot of folks here who exemplify volunteerism in Talbet County, but you certainly do and for such vital causes for this community. So, thank you.

I've known Kelly for so long, even before she was started getting involved with uh to that turns purple or whatever. Anyway, and so I'm so proud to have watched you all these years develop all these um options for people who suffer from addictions and substance abuse. Um and it's just good to see that you've been so dedicated and so successful, too. So, thank you for all you do.

Well, it's good to finally put a face to a name. I see the name all the time. Um but yes, you know, all that you do in the community and as Councilman um Steppp said, you know, a lot of us in this room probably have been touched in one way or another by some of the efforts that you have at at Grey Street and that is that is true. Um and addiction is is tough for many in in our community. So, thank you for serving the underserved population. Continue doing what you're doing and we appreciate you here in Talet County.

Well, Kelly, we really do appreciate you. Thanks so much. We you we you we all had a tough winter and the partnership that you shown with the neighborhood service center and all the surrounding food pantries and and all that stuff. You were a huge part of that. So, I really want to personally thank you because you work very very hard um to to find places for these people and um you know, you you know, you're you're in the business of saving lives and I appreciate that and um I appreciate everything you do too, Sheriff. You know, so um come on up She bothers Steve as much as she bothers me.

We're good. We're good. Right back.

Thank you. You're welcome. Okay. Um, let's move it on to a presentation of the Waterfoul Festival econ. Um, you guys want to come on up? Yes. Come on up. Hey everybody. Thanks for having me. Yeah. It's a great night for good news for everybody. So, just bring in some more.

Indeed, you are. All right. Um, it all right. So, thank you so much for having us again. Uh, this is a record-breaking waterfell year and we just wanted to share some good news. Uh, a little bit about the future. Um, first, just to give somebody general awareness if you're new to the community or you're not aware of what we do, we are a 501c3 nonprofit with the mission to support uh, Chesapeake waterfall and wildlife conservation. and we've been doing that for 55 years. And the way we do it is we raise money uh with the waterfell festival. Our priorities this year, this is new. Our uh board of directors just established these specific priorities for us for the next three to five years um to establish a clear year-round organizational identity. So you'll know more about what we do throughout the year. transform Eastston's historic armory into a vibrant center for learning, wildlife conservation, cultural heritage, and community engagement. And you'll hear a little bit more about that. Celebrate the festival as a premier wildlife and sporting heritage and event in support of conservation. And we have been that for 55 years, but we are going to reclaim the East Coast crown uh as we get going here. Who runs the festival? People ask that all the time and I wanted to clarify. We have a paid staff of three. Again, we try to be very thrifty with our resources. Uh there's me, Dina Kelman, uh assistant director, Sammy Adams Mercer, and our administrator and volunteer coordinator, uh Annie Miller, and that is our entire paid staff. Our board of directors is currently now actually 15 members of awesome people in the community that give endless hours to support it. And of course, we have our chairman of all our myriad of committees and over a thousand volunteers every year, including last year over 300 student volunteers. It was huge last

year with the kids. Um, and the one of the things I wanted to share with you tonight was our actual economic impact on the community. Um, this maybe I'll submit this paid study here. This 33 pages, unless anyone wants to read it, but this is by the Institute for Service Research out of Virginia. This is the actual study we commissioned last year to find out exactly what that e economic impact looked like. It was5 to6 million on average in the county uh over those few days of the festival. Um, but a $9 million statewide impact uh when when you look at all the auxiliary expenditures of everyone coming in from all over the uh all over the United States and several foreign countries, we had about 32,400 attendees and that's verified with some cell phone and placer data that uh was provided to us by Eastn Economic Development Corporation. Uh we had about 13,000 tickets uh purchased this year. And the message on the tickets is that your ticket is a donation. We we love to say that we're here for everybody, but we can't do it for free. So when you buy that ticket, you're helping us out. If you can't afford that ticket, you're welcome to volunteer. And that is open to everybody as well. We had a positive impact. Like I said, it's this is a brief synopsis of this massive report. 62% of people travel from outside Talbot County. So that's great for tourism. 25% of our visitors come from out of state each year. Um there's lots of excellent uh statistics there and I won't read them all but bear in mind that there's a lot of money being spent that weekend and this is inclusive of the festival but also as you know the John Deer auction the guy in deer auction made over six million that weekend. So, there's so much going on that isn't even uh really captured here. This was just specifically festival numbers.

Um this is my favorite little diagram here. This is our VIP ticket buyers and our general admission ticket buyers and where they come from across the United States. Um so, it's really fun to look at that each year and see how our our uh presence is growing. Who funds the festival? People ask that every year too, like how do we do this? uh the Maryland State Arts Council. We give big big big uh props to them. They are one of our biggest supporters and um just yesterday I found out they did award us $105,000 for this year's festival. So we are thrilled to announce that right here right now. Um, general admission ticket sales again funds all the things that are um, not only the ticketed venues but also the non- ticketed venues and of which there are many for our education of our children and for our community. Um, the raptor exhibits, the library, um, you know, all the things at the high school, those are all free. So those ticket purchases do fund that. We do of course rely on our corporate sponsors and then uh VIP ticket sales and private donations. um why do we work so hard? So, since 1971, we've donated over $6 million to education and conservation all over the nation, but of course, primarily here. Uh there's a list right here of the things we have supported locally, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Blackwater, uh Atkins, Pickering Creek. Uh you can read the list. It it's endless. We've donated to dozens and dozens of organizations over the years. And of course, our running total for scholarships to our kids is over $300,000. And we are thrilled that number is going to jump to 367 in a couple weeks with all the awards of this year's class. Um, other nonprofits that benefit during the festival, again, you've seen them. They're selling you crab cakes. They're selling you soft crabs. Um, they're running the ticket

booths. A lot of the other nonprofits that benefit and truly count on the festival for one of their largest fundraisers of the year are listed here. The Academy Arts Museum, the Elks, um the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, um some of our churches, our Lions Club, of course, all these organizations count on this festival as uh one of the main ways they put money back into the community themselves. So we are appreciative of them, but they also do need this festival if that ever crosses your mind. It's not just our organization that benefits. It is a multitude of organizations. Um, new this year, we had free and non- ticketed events all over the festival. Again, that's to support our educational um uh objectives, and there's there's something for everybody all over the city. Eastston High School was one of our free spaces this year and that is our conservation corner and all the free children's activities are are and art related are either at the high school or the library. So if you're looking for that next year that's where they are. Um we also you may or may not know this we host the world waterfile calling championships every year and we have for over 50 years. So that is uh something that people they come from all over to participate in and watch. But the live stream was uh all over the United States. People were live streaming that and watched our our incredibly talented callers. And the champion of champions was crowned in Eastern Maryland and has been for 50 years. And people do recognize that all over the United States. So that's pretty cool. Um, look into fall 2026, the armory is going to be a cultural and heritage center. Again, some of the uh fine art is going to move back to the Tidewater end and the gold room. And the armory will return to something that is going

to really feel like the 70s and 80s with the giant carvings and the outlaw gunner stuff and the big boats and all the fun stuff that people really look to the festival to uh, you know, explain the heritage and the cultural heritage of the festival. And that's going to be really amazing exhibits. I'm finalizing that today. We are almost full and uh you'll get some more information about that soon. Speaking of the armory, so I wanted to thank you guys so much for your support. Um I spend most of the winners, the last two winners, writing grants for this building. It is a community resource. I mean, we do use it a few days a year. The rest of the community benefits from this incredible building the rest of the year. So, um, we really appreciate your letters of support and your good thoughts when you talk to everyone at the state level. Um, we did receive, um, some additional funds for the roof. Again, uh, Maryland Historic Trust has given us almost $200,000 and I found out we had another uh, $50,000 private donation given last week to finalize the cost of the roof. So we are thrilled to share that with you guys because this is a true community resource. Uh we are the current stewards but going into the future you know we hope it's there for everybody for another hundred years. It will be hundred years next year. community partners. Again, I just wanted to give you that list of a bunch of people who helped us out this year and will continue to. Um, BAM, Leadership Maryland, Shore Leadership, Main Street Maryland, the Eastern EDC, the Interface Shelter, um, the Factory Arts Project, the Groove Factory, all these people used the Armory this year. So, that is an extensive list. That's not even everybody on the list, but we had an incredible array of programming this year from the state level with Jake Day to Main Street Maryland to local people having theater productions and art shows

and everything across the board. So, we thank you for your support of that building. Uh takeaways, uh the festival has had a substantial positive financial impact on the city, state, and the and the country and the county for over 50 years. We are growing and costs are rising. We are requesting support for infrastructure improvements. You'll see that as you come out into the next couple years as we really struggle with the armory and how do we keep it going for everybody. Um we do have a lot of support but you know of course we are going to look to all of us in the community to help us continue those capital improvements on that building. Um, supporting the festival allows us to grow, but also perform our mission, supporting the cultural heritage of our community and the education of our children, creating a lasting legacy for everyone in the community. So, we thank you for your support there. Um, I don't have the the time to do this for you, but there is an incredible video about the army restoration. It tells the history of the armory, which is amazing. We had uh Doug Sadler from the Pocket Media Group do this and he is a local Eonian did an incredible Hollywood level job on the history of the armory and in its future. So if you have time I I do hope that everyone can go check that out. And then last but not least, happy 55th birthday Waterfell. Um we are coming up on the 55th year and we hope everyone will be downtown and joining us.

Unbelievable. Okay, great job. Good job. step. Yep. Awesome job as always. I mean, this this is I mean our our marquee event every year in the fall. I mean, this is Thanks, Miss. Of course. Of course. Well, of course, we get to see and experience the impact that you have every year, but it is really nice to be able to quantify it in this way. So, well done on

I'll leave this for you, Pete. Um the uh festival has come a long way from the Scott Batty days when they wanted to establish something for the wives to do while the husbands came here hunting. Um and of course I'm always proud of it because it's always scheduled around my birthday. Oh. So, so I mean it's just it's just wonderful um for for the county, for the town, and um you know, I enjoy volunteering and uh here and there uh over the years. So, and what you're doing with it over the years has been just fabulous. Thank you so much. Thank you.

So, I echo what my colleague said, Dena. I mean, first met you in Anaonda County when you were working for the Ark, right? Right. And you did a spectacular job there. Then Eastern EDC, spectacular job there. But the Waterfoul, you have taken it really over the top. I mean, the community engagement, the providing the data and the statistics, um, and really showing the economic impact, um, to the community is just so valuable. Um, and so truly appreciate the outreach, you know, to the various other nonprofits and organizations in the community. Um, and Julie is just a blessing, too, to be on your board as well. So kudos to you, your staff, the team, the board of directors. Great job and truly appreciate um what you put together.

Thank you so much. Good job, Dana. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Okay, next on the agenda, um just an update for the uh Toby County Police um accountability board. Welcome back. Thank you.

Okay, great. Hey, Mitch. Pull that mic closer. Thank you.

Good evening. Mitch Edinger, the chair of the PAB and the ACC. Thank you for inviting me back to give you just a quick status report on the two organizations. Um, I'd like to start by confirming for you that both the PAB and the ACC are operating, I believe, effectively and are doing so with the support of all the ELEAs in this county. I uh yesterday I attended a statewide summit of all PAB chairs and ACC chairs in Baltimore. It was hosted by the Baltimore City PAB. And at that meeting, the representatives from counties across the state described their programs and all the challenges that they were facing. I'm pleased to report that the Talba County PAB and the ACC do not face any of the headwinds that were the subject of much of the discussion yesterday. And in fact, there were points where they were asking us how do we do what we do to avoid those headwinds. Um, I give a lot of that credit to our eleas and I give a lot of that credit to the administrative support that we received from Patrick Thomas and from Victoria Bradley. Um, so I came away from the summit with confidence that we're operating um, both the PAB and the ACC in a constructive and efficient manner. So one area in which we can improve is to engage with the community in a better and more constructive way to ensure that it understands the role of the PAB and the ACC how each can be helpful um in addressing issues that arise with the leas and the public nature of the PAB meetings um and the information that's available at those meetings. We really rarely have the public attend our PAB meetings which are open, right? And I think I that's that's on us to make sure we get the word out so they can understand what's happening at these meetings and the availability of it. Um I just want to address a couple of practical housekeeping matters that

affect the council directly. Um we currently have six members on the PAB which originally operated with seven. Um you you recently um appointed Bill Belding to serve on the ACC to fill the slot that was opened up with the passing of Connie Hope. Um, we welcome Bill Belding. He's finishing up his uh training this week and will be available for our June session. So, that leaves open a spot on the PAB. And when I would say to you, if you want to fill it, great. If you don't, we can operate with six. There are many PABS around the the state that are operating with five to seven. So, and some have more, but we can operate with six. If you want to fill it, we're happy to take another member.

Okay, be great. Um, two members are um, finishing up their terms. John Gilbert from Eastston and Connie Webster from Sheriff Area 1. Their terms are set to expire this August. Miss Webster has indicated that she does not wish or plan to ask for reappoint. So, that is one that will come to you in the summer um, for reappoint. I'm hopeful that Mr. Gilbert will request to be reappointed and I wholeheartedly support him serving another term if you if you all agree. So at the end of the day for housekeeping matters you're going to have two to three to appoint over the next um few months. Okay.

With respect to the ACC um with the addition of Billing we now have a full house. We have five members. Um, Greg Wilson's term has expired, but he continues to serve under the terms of the the statutory constructs. Um, the PAB appointed Mr. Wilson, and he has requested to be reappointed, and the PAB will address that in the next term, the next meeting. Okay, just a couple more things and I'll finish up. Um, in 2025, We handled at the ACC 15 actions, meaning 15 completed investigations came to the ACC for dis disposition. Eight of those matters pertain to complaints filed against the sheriff's office deputies, while seven pertain to the Eastn Police Department. Of the 15 investigations submitted to the ACC, 10 of those complaints were filed in 2024. So, I want to be clear that we didn't handle 15 complaints from 2025 and 2025. There's a lag time that's associated with the time required for the ELEAS to investigate, prepare the report, and submit it to the ACC together with body camera film. And that just takes time. Okay. Um, of the 15 complaints that we resolved in 2025, only three resulted in administrative charges against the officers. So about 80% of the cases were found either to be unfounded or the officer was exonerated. The officers accepted the disposition adopted by the ACC in all three cases where the administrative charges were implemented. As a result, there were no trial boards in 2025. That I believe is a sign that the ACC is working well.

To date in 2026, we've resolved seven matters, all of which were the result of complaints filed in 2025. Right? So, we have yet to hit the beginning of the 2026 complaints. At the rate we're going, we expect we'll have 15 to 18 complaints through the course of this year. With respect to these matters, three pertain to the sheriff's office, three pertain to the Eastern Police Department, and one pertain to the Oxford Police Department. Two of the seven cases resulted in administrative charges. No discipline was recommended in the Oxford matter because the former chief of police had already disciplined the officer. Um and with respect to matter 264, we've been advised by a sheriff Gamble that the officer has elected to take a trial board. So we'll have the first trial board in the in the four years that I've been serving um sometime this year or early next year depending on how long it takes to get it there. Um, and I want to highlight one matter for you just to give you an example of how well the ACC works. Um, in matter 265, a citizen while driving on Route 50 reported that an Eastern Police Police Department officer was surveilling traffic at night in the lefthand turn lane. So, he's watching traffic coming toward him with all his lights off on his car. And as the citizen passed the officer, the officer illuminated his lights to begin a a traffic stop. And it startled the the motorist because he didn't see the officer previously. And he filed a complaint requesting the that the police department look at this whether or not it's a safety issue, whether it presented a risk that could be evaded. The police department looked at it and said, sent it to the ACC and said, "There's no violation of any policy because um we're allowed to sit in those lanes and we do it routinely." The ACC looked at it and agreed, but made a recommendation to the police department

to change their policy to require officers sitting in active lanes of traffic to have their backup lights on, to have their tail lights on. And the the police department changed their policy. Right. That's exactly what is supposed to happen in these types of situations. A citizen raised an issue. The police department was not going to do anything because their policy did not require them do anything. But the oversight from the ACC said, "No, I think we can do this better." And Chief Lowry, to his credit, agreed with us.

So, just to give you a sense, it's not all disciplining officers and and and and problems, right? There's some things that we that end up very very um positive. Okay, finishing up. Um yesterday, Sheriff Gamble gave an interview to the Talbet spy. I'm sure you all have watched it 10 times. Um it's 10 minutes long. I asked that take take a moment to to watch it. Okay. The article is entitled Sheriff Gamble on Police Oversight: From Skepticism to Acceptance. Boy, did that warm my heart thinking that Sheriff Gamble actually accepts the ACC. Not true. But during this relatively brief interview, um Sheriff Gamble acknowledged that the ACC more often than not is closely aligned with the discipline that he would impose or the decisions that he would have reached independently. Right? That's a far cry from four years ago when I met with him and said, "I really don't need you and don't want you." He still doesn't need us or want us, but at least he's acknowledging. And I think he would say that um there's some positives that come out of this independent review. And what I took away from my perspective is his recognition that the independent oversight offered by the ACC enhances citizen confidence in the outcomes in which the complaints are handled. That is that is the benefit truly because we don't veer that often from the eleas in the way that they would approach discipline. So lastly, as I explained to Mr. Stamp last week, um I'm going to tender my resignation from the PAB and the ACC at the end of this year. Um, I urge the council to again make a concerted effort, a concerted effort to ensure that the individual appointed to chair the PAB, which is likely going to be your ACC chair as well, um, that he has the requisite or she has the requisite experience and time to commit to this endeavor. Um, hiring a lawyer with

background with criminal law is really helpful. I can I promise you it's really helpful. It's a good thing to do and I've agreed to work with Clay um and identifying possible replacements, but fully appreciate the process followed by the council having gone through it once. You need to do it again because this this is really an it's um it's important that you have the right u makeup of this body so that you can get the decisions done properly. Sure. Sure. Okay. That's all. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, but we're in a good place.

Any any any discussion? Any anything? No, I just think that the update is great. I mean, I thank you and the committees for all their work. Um, and um, you know, glad that we have moved from being skeptic about it to um, acceptance a little bit. Um, so sheriff standing back there. He's smiling. Um, but yeah, thank you for all your hard work and all that you do and and the board and um, seems like everybody's on the right track. So, thank you. Yeah. Y, thank you. Thank you. One one thing, Nick. One one more thing.

Just just just a ju just just a question or two. Uh, one, I I want to thank you for uh for the work that you did in the report um of recognizing the policing challenges uh and and learning about the policing challenges with our uh our immigrant community. uh and and the challenge of how do you build trust in that community uh between between officers and and and members of that community and um recognizing the work that the East Police Department has been doing in finding bilingual officers and putting them into uh into those places where they can sort of open those doors. uh I am sure are are you seeing uh from where you sit challenges of of uh community trust and what's the trajectory on on that front?

Well, we only hear anecdotally um issues about um individuals being afraid to reach out to the LEAs. Yeah.

For fear that um if they are not documented that they cannot do that, right? And that's exactly what the East Police Department, the Sheriff's Department is trying to explain that they're there to to to answer the calls. They're not there to make calls on whether or not you're you're there legally or not. Right? So, that's the kind of message that people came to the PAV meetings if the community could would come. And we're talking about trying to get in some guest speakers to address issues exactly like that. I mean, that's exactly the type of issue that could be addressed publicly. The ELA's come to every PAB. That's why they're there. and they address these topics and it's really kind of an open forum for it and it's it's it's I think it's great for the a for the PAB to hear it. It would be much better for the community to hear.

Yeah. Um and I you have such a a remarkably light case load for this small rural jurisdiction. Um and so this uh wi within that case load are you are you seeing patterns from particular officers you don't have do you have frequent flyers uh as it were

so two two points yesterday we learned that Baltimore city on average has 20 to 25 cases a week okay so we have 15 to 18 cases a year cases that we have are not bad actors. They're human beings maybe occasionally making a bad judgment call or having a bad day. Even the conduct that we're seeing when it is administratively charged is in the lower end of the matrix, right? We're talking about category A and B in the matrix where where the the maximum punishments a day or two of loss of pay. It's really bad judgment. Right? We've only had one case in the four years where I've been here where we recommended that the officer be terminated and that was a criminal case. Right. So, so Talba County is blessed with the force they have. And the cases that we get, I mean, I got to be honest with you that, you know, we have some interesting search and seizure issues that come up, uh, some detainment issues that come up. They're really interesting from the legal perspective, but they're not they're not use of force cases. They're not cases involving violence. not cases involving you know someone stomping other's rights right so we are very very lucky with with the forces that we have here

well thank you for the work that you've done and the and particularly the tone that you have set in in building that trust between this new body and and the law enforcement agencies in the county

welcome thank you Okay. Yep. Okay. Madam Secretary, could we move on um to um elig eligible votes? Um resolution 392. Resolution number 392, a resolution to amend the Talbet County Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan to reclassify and remap six parcels of real property located at 25516 Bushy Heath Road, 25520 Bushy Heath Road, 25524 Bushy Heath Road, 25533 Bushy Heath Road, 25575 Bushy Heath Road, and 25608 Bushy Heath Road, Solitude Road, and shown on Tax Map 40 as parcels 98, 86, 2, 82, 4, and 110 respectively from unprogrammed to S1. Immediate priority status pursuant to applications filed by Daniel D. Haley and Dawn A. Haley, Jacqueline H. Smith, and Federal Q-Tip Residuary Trust of Jerry B. Hook, Katherine A. Hikas, Kenneth R. Adami and Beth Adami, and the Harry G. Broadman Family Trust. Okay. Thank you, Madam Secretary. All right,

Council Ray Clark, County Engineer, we're here to just have any answer any questions you might have. We had, I think, at the public hearing a a change in the map. So, we're looking at an introduction of a an amendment that includes a revised map. So, Okay. All right. Any questions? No, just thank you uh for dotting the eyes and crossing the tees on this one so that we can uh make sure that this goes forward as as recommended in the public works advisory board meetings. Okay. Okay. Is there a motion? Uh well, I will start by introducing amendment one. Okay.

Uh to resolution 392 as prepared by staff. Okay. Second. And uh show hands for do we want to show hand? Show of hands for introduction. So introduced by councel. And if you want to if there's any discussion on that if not you can call call for the role. Yep. Madam secretary call the vote. Mr. Callahan I. Mr. Stepp. I. Mr. Lusher I. Miss Milky. I. Miss Hay I. Okay. Thank you. Thank you guys. We now have resolution 392 as amended. And if there's no discussion on that, you can call the vote on 392. Any discussion? Council. No discussion. Okay. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote on 392?

Mr. Callahan, I. Mr. Steppp, I. Mr. Lusher, I. Miss Milky, I. Miss Hate. I Okay, sounds good. All right. Next on the agenda is uh development tourism. Cassandra, you want to come on up? Yes, sir. with your whole team there. Hey, we got hell hail the game. Got the team here.

Yes.

Mr. President, members of the Toba County Council, thank you so much for having us this evening. Uh let me introduce my guest, Mr. Ted Bouts, member of the Economic Development Commission, is here with me this evening. Uh Debbie Wsworth, who is uh my chairperson, uh is away on vacation. She is a public accountant and uh always takes a uh vacation after the season is over. And uh Debbie walked with us uh every step of the way, as did Ted uh through this process. Uh and I'll introduce the team as well. Ryan Snow and Kristen Ger uh also uh walked every step of the way on this strategic plan. 219 pages. This is an important moment, but it is not a final one. It's just a step forward. For more than 18 months, this department together with economic development commission and the tourism board has done the work. We listened carefully. We engaged stakeholders across Talbet County. We held a work session with our where our consultant presented to you uh on February 24th and you gave us clear thoughtful direction. The public offered input and we took that input seriously. The plan before you reflects that process and it is stronger because of it. The document before you tonight is a strategic plan. It is it sets direction. It establishes priorities. It provides a framework for decision-making. It is not an operational plan. Nothing in this document authorizes specific projects, expenditures, or policy changes without coming back before you. Any material actions that flow from this strategy will be brought to the council for discussion and approval. We will not work in a vacuum. We do not work in a vacuum. We will continue to work in partnership with you, with our municipalities, and with the broader community. You've had this plan for two months now, so I won't walk through it line by line, but I do want to briefly ground us in what it does. It focuses our work in five priority areas.

Building on our regional innovation anchors, strengthening business services, cultivating a strong small business ecosystem, growing and sustaining a tourism economy built on excellence, and supporting a more resilient workforce. Together, these priorities give us a clear, disciplined framework for decision-making. This plan also provides alignment. It recognizes that Tobac County's character is both a legacy and an asset, something to be preserved and thoughtfully advanced. It acknowledges the importance of our core industries while also identifying where we have opportunities to grow in ways that are consistent with our values. You asked for clarity and balance and we made those adjustments. You ask us to more fully reflect the role that water foul festival and traditions like that play in shaping to county's identity and we strengthen that language accordingly. You ask us to sharpen our focus on business attraction and the plan now clearly identifies sectors where Talbet County is well positioned to compete while reinforcing support for industries that are already defining our economy. And importantly, this plan is scaled to our capacity. It is practical. It's intended to guide action, not overextend it. If approved, this plan gives us a shared roadmap. It allows us to move forward with greater coordination and purpose while ensuring that you remain fully engaged in the decisions that matter most. Your leadership has shaped this document. You were all interviewed. Uh and this was from the very beginning. You were among the first interviews. Um, we had vast public engagement and I sincerely appreciate your engagement and the public's your questions, your guidance throughout this process. And Ted, I'll turn it to you for if you have anything you want to say before we ask for final approval. Well, uh, on behalf of the commission and all of the volunteers, thousands of hours, I dare say, were put into this plan to offer

you a sound, uh, strategic plan, sound guidance for setting policies related to economic development and tourism. And, uh, we ask for your continued support and approval. Okay. Thank good. I'm I'm good. Okay. Thank Thank you for all the work that's uh went into this behind the scenes. Thank you. It was a labor of love. That's right.

Well, this this is clearly a a well- vetted report. Uh I I can't tell you uh how infrequently it happens that we are given a a document uh like this for approval two months in advance of when we're actually asked to approve it. So, appreciate all that uh all that review time and and uh it did allow uh me to to digest this. Um I know that that you you really touch well those five priority areas, you really touch on on uh quite the breadth of of Talbet County and and maybe with the strong presence of the agricultural community in in this room, you might uh nod how that how that is uh remains u really vital to your plan. Absolutely. Working open space is just integral to uh who we are. It uh is, you know, it adds to our tourism product, but it really um is the foundation for the economy here. And uh we would support, you know, all of the things that uh you know, bring uh innovation and excellence to that sector as well. And you probably know this, but I grew up on a dairy farm, have a degree in agriculture. So I'm I'm more than supportive of agriculture uh and believe in the future of agriculture and also uh building on that uh the agrch uh that we have vest invested in you as a county council have invested in with the F3 tech uh biotech manufacturing facility uh really believe that the uh future uh of agriculture includes uh innovations that come from biology and not just from chemicals. So absolutely it's 100% uh in this plan and uh supported uh by this plan and we had engagement um Shannon Dill represents the agriculture community um on our u strategic plan uh also on the economic development commission. Um so we've had u a lot of engagement from the community as well.

Ted, would you you want to you're good? Okay, good. Well, I'll I'll move approval of the economic development strategic plan. You you want to say anything else? Yes, I do. You know, I do. Listen, that's all right. I have to say something about the economic development strategic plan. I can't not say anything.

So, not serving on the economic development board, but serving on the tourism board. This um economic development strategy certainly has a clear path um for the focus and vision of economic development. And I mean I do believe it gets to the very core of what Talbet County is by and also ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch charting a course for economic development in the future. Um particularly addressing the attraction piece and totally agree that we have an opportunity with F3 tech. Um this is one of um I mean this is a good plan. I mean I've read many I read the whole thing 200 and some pages of it um and had my little sticky notes as as uh Clay will uh attest to. Um but all for it. Great job to the um team to Camo and Associates for all of the community players that were involved in the interviews. Um so great plan. I love it. I'll second um Councilman Leer's uh approval for this plan.

It means a lot that you um say that about economic development. One of the things that I will point out and this is for uh everyone uh to know and we will post this online uh now that it hopefully is about to be approved but um there is a strong data package in here and if you want to know anything about Talbert County uh numbers related uh it's probably in here uh so I would encourage um the public to take a look at the data package that goes with the strategic plan as well. So, thank you for your comments. Yeah. And I just want to say one thing. Thanks so much. Um I serve on that board and you guys have done such a phenomenal job and I'm talking, you know, this is years

of putting together and you know, you reaching out to me and say, Chuck, we got a meeting. All right, I got it. I got it. You know, so you've kept me straight and you kept a lot of people straight. you've led you've led all this and you've had a phenomenal team behind you and and Ted, thank thanks for hanging in there with with Yeah. Yeah. And um and um just just so much work is involved and and and staff too going from town to town to town to town.

So, I mean there's a lot into this and you've done a phenomenal job. Just taking a look at it. you can just tell how much time and effort and you know the professionalism that you put into this really makes us look very good. So I really appreciate that all of you guys. So just stand. Well, as your county manager, I'm very proud of our director of economic development and tourism and the team, Ted and the team and Debbie. Um, they they work tirelessly. Yeah. And yes, I did get that review with all those sticky notes from our resident economic development specialist who sits on the council. Uh, but no, kudos and we're very proud of the work that you all do.

Thank you. Thank you. It It's a good plan. I mean, it really is, and I'm very happy to sit here and approve it. Proud of it. Okay. All right. I heard I heard a motion. I did not hear a second. So, did you already I figured you did, but just I was going to give you the opportunity. All right. We got a motion. Second. Madam Secretary, could we call the vote? Mr. Callahan. I. Mr. Steppp. I. Mr. Leer. I. Miss Milky. I. Miss Hath. Uh I thank you so much.

Okay. Good job, guys. Good job. Okay. Um Okay. Next on the agenda, let's do a presentation of um home start housing fair. Yep.

How's it going, guys? I got She's telling me She's telling me to talk slow, so I'm Okay, talk slow. That's more That's more for me. Everybody knows it. I've got yell at I've got I've gotten it too to slow down, too. So, we got you, Diane.

Good evening, council. Uh for the record, uh Brennan Tarlton, your uh planning officer with me tonight. I've got uh Bryce Yelton and uh Sarah Kilman and we're here just to uh introduce to you Talbit County's very first free firsttime home buyers fair that will be taking place um May 2nd from noon to 3 p.m. Uh we'll be hosting that in partnership with the uh Toba County Health Department at the uh 510 Cadmus Lane building for the health department. Um, this is something that was, I know, near and dear to Council Member Hate's heart and and her first time um, talking to me about this was probably about two years ago. Um, we were contemplating and talking about some ideas of how to uh, bring some resources to the community. Um, really identifying and centering around uh, the housing needs particularly in our community. Um, so we discussed at length how to put on uh an event for the public where we could bring resources together uh to allow individuals from the public to come and attend uh and talk with resources that they may not be as familiar with or may not be aware of uh in hopes of educating them and bringing them uh the things that they need uh and the tools that they need in their toolkit to hopefully pursue uh being a first-time home buyer here in Talby County. Uh and we believe that's a very important feat uh for a lot of individuals. Uh living and and working in the community is something very important that we realize from a planning perspective. Uh it creates a lot of community resilience here. Um so we're very happy to bring this forward to the community. We've got a lot of great vendors lined up to be here and a few presenters as well that I'll let Bryce kind of dive into now.

Thank you, council. Uh we're really excited about this because I think I just want to give an basic outline of what's going to occur on that day. So, at noon, I think we're going to start about 15 minutes after uh after the turn of the hour, we're going to have a short presentation from a couple different people that provide housing resources and local government. Uh so, or in, you know, state and federal government. We have presentations lined up from the United States Department of Agriculture on all of their programs that they do for first-time home buyers. We also have presentations lined up from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, DHCD. They're going to be doing a presentation shortly about their pro uh you know products and different uh loans that they give out. And then we also have uh locally we have the Midshore Board of Realators doing a presentation shortly after that to talk about their local housing initiatives. Uh it's really awesome the overwhelming amount of response we've gotten from a lot of our local realators, lenders, banks, and other you home improvement contractors. We put out a you know a sign up and we've got so far 18 different vendors that are going to be vending for this event. And so we're really looking forward to it and hoping that if you're looking to purchase a house uh anytime in the near future and you're looking, you know, for where to go and how to start, uh this is really that event for you. So we're really excited to welcome the community out on Saturday uh at the health department at noon. And I'll throw it to either of you guys if you have anything else.

Do you have anything to add? Um, I don't have much to add other than I would say that um, I did recently go through the house buying process and there was so much that I didn't know, right? And and I had a good realtor that helped me through, you know, talking through all the steps and the process and that's why we're doing this fair to give you the opportunity to talk with the experts. Um, see the presentations, get the flow of how it feels to buy a house and the process you can go through. And I also would say, you know, home ownership is not it feel it it felt so unattainable, right? And then when you start to actually talk to people, you realize that okay, maybe this is a possibility. So um I would hope everyone that is, you know, like we said, looking to purchase a home or is maybe thinking about it um to at least come out and and see the resources that are available right here in our community.

Yeah. And so last final plug, we've got some flyers outside the courthouse today. If you know anybody that's in the audience or anybody watching online, you can go to our website at towick countymd.gov/housingfair for more information. Okay, that sounds good. Good job. Any any discussion on this, guys? Nope.

No discussion. I just have a comment though. Okay. Kudos to you guys for uh pulling this off. You know, yeah, housing has been at the top of my list for the forever. I'm I'm telling you, as a first-time home buyer myself in in this community, just like Sarah said, sometimes it can feel so overwhelming, but I tell you, USDA should be paying me to tout their program because that program is a really good way to purchase a home in Talbet County. And so, I'm excited um to be there and and share some tips as well. Um, so thank you so much for the hard work that you guys have have put in and and hopefully the community will come out and um see that it is within reach to purchase a home here in in Talet County. So, thank you for all the work

and Clay, thank you too for your support. Okay, guys, good luck. Thank you. Okay. Next on the agenda, um council's consideration of um recommendation of the planning commission. Um we got a text amendment on some signs. Um yep, there we go. Okay. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. I um wanted to let you know that the planning commission Could you introduce yourself please? Y

Elisa Deflow planning and zoning. I wanted to let you know that the planning commission had reviewed the text amendment to add the corporate flags to the sign ordinance and had made a recommend favorable recommendation to pass the text amendment with the amendment that um we add that it that the corporate flag fly with at least one governmental flag. Okay. Yep. Sounds good. Okay. And is our our charge now to uh direct uh uh staff from uh from the DES to uh to draft this? Yes, that is correct.

U I I will I I will I will move that we uh that we request that we do that and uh with the amendment as recommended by the planning commission. Second. Yep. I'll join in that as well. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Do we have to vote? I don't even need to vote. just really any anyone council member can direct me. All right, you got what you need then. Okay, good. Okay, that sounds good. Thank you guys. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Quick. All right, we're good.

Okay. Uh next next on the agenda is um a discussion um on the uh priority list of of um Maryland Department of Transportation. Um Ray and Josh. Yes, sir. Yep.

Okay. Well, I think council um I guess back in March, we present to you, I guess, the uh road priorities as discussed with the public horse advisory board. Um at that time uh there was no uh you know the 20 um 25 road priorities did not have anything listed as the rails to trails that was associated with with the uh Frederick Douglas uh building and I guess we had talked with the council about that and I believe it was added back to the list. Apparently it was on the list in 2024.

Okay. So um you know again when we met with the public wars advisor board we had not even looked at adding or or you know any it was not on our list at the time so there was no recommendation from the board having this added on. I think it was through our discussion with you all at that meeting. So so at this time it's on the list. It is on the list. It's actually item number 10 on the road priority list at this point in time. Uh we currently have I think 11 items

and so it was added as number 10. And it was my understanding and we can you know uh that it was there before in 2024. I do know that there was a meeting in 2024. I think the SHA had a public meeting talking about a rails to trails and I know there was a lot of concerns that was raised by the farming community at that meeting and at that point you know you know except I was on I was under the impression that it was not added to the list possibly for that reason. Right. Okay. Okay. Council discussion.

Yeah, I'd be glad to add a few points. So, back on that meeting, I I'm still unclear on how this got added to that. Um I have the list here in front of me from the March 24th meeting that showed going to the number nine. Number nine being Cordov Road and the transfer to SHA, but that was just for that.14 mile stretch. Uh that's the only conveyance that I, you know, saw that was in there. Um I was at the uh you know the the only thing I know we added was um at during public comment that that uh that meeting uh Mr. Rian had represented East and Club East and mentioned the extending the uh lefthand turn lane heading uh eastbound on Route 50 onto Dutchman's and we as council added that. So, again, I'm still unclear on how the the rail trail got in there, but uh I think it was last week we were out to uh Queen Hillsboro uh fire department and they had the public session that was there. Uh it was heard loud and clear that the the residents uh up and down 309 were not in favor of this uh for a myriad of reasons anywhere from just you know possible you know incidences with farming uh farming operations to um you know just just safety concerns and who's liable for this, who's liable for that. I know there was discussion about that. Um but uh you know it was it was heard loud and clear that the that the communities out there along 309 between Easton and uh and Queen End did not want this. So, uh, you know, I I'm I don't know what our a formal process here, but, uh, you know, I'm sure we anyone else might have any additional comments, but, uh, I'd like to make a motion that we remove that from this, uh, priority listing to, um, uh, to MDOT. I guess I have a question in regards to whether it was a clerical error or an administrative error where it wasn't carried over to 2025 because if the council voted in 2024 to have it on the

list and it should have been on the list for 2025 for us to review. Correct. Yeah. And and it was not on the 2025 list. So that's I don't know how it got removed or whatn not at that point. We'd have to go back and look. I have no idea. We did research it and the only thing we could come up with it was inadvertently dropped from the list. Okay, that's we could not find any action of council to drop it from the list. That's why this year although it wasn't on the initial list draft list that you had in your uh packet, uh we brought it back for your consideration as to whether you wanted to add it or not. And certainly tonight you can remove it and we would make due notice to the Department of Transportation following such. Thank you for clearing that up.

Yeah. Thank you.

Okay. All right. any other record? Well, my my inclination uh having been at the the meeting at Queen and Hillsboro uh and and heard uh uh the concerns from from adjacent property owners is is rather than remove this from the list and just be silent on the issue uh would be to add a little bit of language there that that would say uh something along the lines of as project planning takes its next steps, adjacent property owners must be engaged to address concerns regarding the compatibility of the trail to agricultural and related activities and that and make sure that that concern is registered in our priority listing to the Department of Transportation. And I know that we're we're past the the the deadline for DOT, but whe whether or not a late action at this point uh will will make it across their desks. If if if it can, I' I'd rather add add language than take it away.

Yeah. Well, we I mean a We're I mean I mean it it is I mean I can tell you that it it wouldn't get the attention anyway, but I mean they've moved on. They they've informed us that they've spent $800,000 already on just a a map to to draw a potential red line. Uh it's interesting how they have funding for this. This I know they say it's coming in from a grant, but you know, when we're in a state situation where we're in, uh, but we have, you know, we somehow find resources to put in this trail that, you know, our our community clearly doesn't want. Uh, it's a little definitely a little concerning. So, but, um, yeah. So, my motion still stands to remove it from the, uh, from the from the list alto together.

Well, go ahead. I have another question then. So in 2024 when we added I had to go back to 2024 when 2024 when we added it to the list these concerns were out there at that time as well. I don't recall we hadn't had any public session on it. The first one we had was uh keeping honest here last summer over at the library and it was a packed house in in opposition of uh in addition to last week a packed house in opposition of so uh like I said the communities

in in fairness there were plenty of supporters in the room as well. There were there were but you know like I said those who are residents that uh that spoke up I I didn't hear anyone who was a resident that said you know that that this would impact their property line that said that they would you know like this to to come to that area. I um I did receive uh you know um some emails from various constituents on both sides

and um I you know I think that what um Councilman Leer is proposing is potentially a way to move forward because everybody should be heard because you have somebody you have people on the side that says they would like to see a a trail for health reasons, walking, biking, whatever the case may be. And then on the other side, you know, there are questions that, you know, I agree with too regarding dust and some other things as well. Um, but to have a solution for both sides, I do think that there needs to be some type of um research and um, you know, public information session before they move forward with it. Um, and since it was on the 2024 list and somehow was inadvertently removed, we did vote to put it on there, this body in 2024. Um, so I think keeping it on there and moving forward with some type of research and making sure that the public is informed and do a public session would be the way to go as well.

Yeah. The only thing I don't understand about what Councilman Leer is saying is um if you present both sides and for what purpose? I mean, who's going to make the decision? Well, the the the point is to make sure that those community concerns get addressed in the planning process about uh traffic safety around around uh spraying, hunting, all of the all of the community concerns that were expressed at at that meeting. You're saying everybody has a voice, but in the final analysis, it would pass. I'm just saying that that if it were that those concerns need to be need to be addressed.

Yeah. brought to the light. Yeah. That it doesn't it doesn't really provide for a resolution of what each side would say. Well, the resolution may be that due to health reasons and environmental reasons, the trail can't be completed once the research um is done in regards to to the concerns. But I think, you know, having, you know, research and and data would help in making that decision. I mean, is it a health risk? Is it an environmental concern? I mean because you know right now it's just

right now it's bisecting farms and we have farmers that spray you know some potent chemicals and I could that that one concern alone just someone biking and then you know coming into a you know a drift from a combine with what's the um the uh industry that's there Mount Mount Air mounta mount air farms mount air concern about the comingings and goings and yeah it's literally it's out there you rail trail is about 30 feet off of their their um silos are about it's very it is a hard issue. I mean I it is it is Mr. Stanton. Were you able to found find out any information about our neighboring Queen Ans County? I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?

Did you find out any information in regards to my question about neighboring Queen Ans County and their their trail? Did I have not been able to get a response as of yet? So, Queen Ans County did just present their uh their bike and uh pedestrian safety master plan at the at our Talbet County um uh bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee meeting just this morning.

Uh showing how uh they are pri prioritizing uh connectivity and and um and trails in in combin support county the county comprehensive plan. They do show ultimately uh a link uh in trails down through Taho Park uh to 404. I think my specific question was if there was any common commonality between the trail that's already existing in Queen Ans County to the proposed here in in Talbit County if there's if there were some concerns or if there's anything in common that we could learn from that. different areas. How can there be

different areas, but there may be that was why I asked the question. We can't assume assume nothing is my motto. I agree.

Well, to hear that we've spent $800,000 of taxpayer dollars. Now, granted, it is grants, right? But grants are exactly that. They're taxpayer dollars. to find out we spent $800,000 to to put a red line on a on a map. Uh God knows what it's going to be for this planning phase and how much more they would they would waste on this project uh just for the planning phase. And then obviously if they've ever got got to construction, what that would cost uh for a community that didn't that that doesn't want this. Uh that's that's why I'm not for this. And it's interesting, too. We we we go to MEO, you know, every every summer and we're we're asked to attend a meeting, you know, with with MDOT and the meeting every year is the same thing. Hey, welcome every county. One county comes in, next county comes out. You know, just want to let you know we don't have any funding for anything this year. Next county, you know, that seems to be the general theme of that meeting every single summer. Uh so again that being low on the priority list again I don't see this happening anyway but uh you know I' I'd like to uh to to really carve that and grant it here by just removing from the from the list all together. And again that motion still stands if anyone wanted to second it.

I'll second it.

Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Callahan. I will move it, Mr. Steppp. I Mr. Leer. Nay, Miss Milky, I. Miss Hay, Nay. Okay. All right. All right. Next, we'll make sure we get a letter out to uh Department of Transportation tomorrow. Okay. Okay. Next is uh discussion of Popular Hill. I know. Okay.

Okay. Discussing. What are we discussing? Oh, what council? I think it's okay. All right. Cal council member um Milky had asked that we put this on the agenda to have a conversation about the popular Hill Park specifically um related to the town of Easton's comprehensive planning process and that I'll just hold for a minute. Okay,

that's fine. So again, u and this is in relationship to um how the town of Eastston is moving forward with their comprehensive plan um update and specifically the Popular Hill Farm. council had directed staff to um send a letter to the town of Eastston to make it clear that uh any any mention of the Papa Hill Farm at this point in time to leave things intact and it's until such time the council has an open and transparent session with the public to have a debate on what what the farm would be used for. We forwarded that to the town of Eastston and uh also indicate in that letter we indicated that any uh verbiage they plan to use that they send it back to the council for their review. I think uh council members mil council me council member Milky's concern is that in the updated comprehensive plan there are certain sections that talk about the property in particular there is one section that refers to Tristan Drive uh which is a road that is is shown in a dotted line that goes through that property um from one end of the property to the other exiting on Oxford Road and council member Milky, if that tease it up for you, hopefully uh take it from here. Yeah, there were several um through throughout the the comprehensive plan that's proposed there are a number of references to um popular farm. Um and and one of them it you have to read the

whole the whole draft of the comprehensive plan. Um and one of the one of the issues is as I said the the Tristan Road um that is in one section that it's recommended that it goes right through the property comes out across um Clubhouse Drive and Eastn Club onto 333. Um, and that's suggested and I think that that needs more consideration um than we've given it as to what effect that could be. Um, there's also a provision in there that um uh depending on the interest of the town, perhaps a new indoor facility should be um installed on the popular farm. Um and I think that's something that needs to be addressed, investigated by us. Um there's also a um in in a section um that talks about uh growth pro growth projections for the property that um that they retain or consider residential development design which was prepared by urban 3 which has helped draft this thing. And if if you look at the comprehensive plan itself, it has the drawing which was the original um residential development that was proposed that that developer sold to us. Um there are um other aspects um uh of it that I think um are are interspersed among it that um we should address each one and I know that there is some there is some um objection to the the Tristan road going through. I mean there

actually there are two provisions. There's Tristan. That's an entrance from 33 just at the at the tip end of Pablo Farm so that you could access the Woodland Park. That doesn't seem as objectionable as what they have dis what they have um destroy um de what they have um displayed as a a full road that goes directly through the property. Um, so I think that there are several things um that need to be addressed and considered um and we should um have an opinion on that. That's all I'm saying. It's I don't think it's enough to say, "Oh, we'll just keep it as it is in the original because it's not really clear what what the use was in the original." Okay.

I think I think the letter conveyed that um since acquiring the farm, what we're asking the town of East to do is acknowledge that until such time the county council has an open and transparent process, the public input that they echo that through their plan as appropriate. Um and not reference things that are old and outdated. Um, and if that's not sufficient, if we want to do more, that's of course

Well, well, my concern is if on the proposed plan it shows Tristan Road going all the way across and we don't speak up about that that it's of concern to us, are we then sort of giving a rubber stamp to the plan because we don't even if we say, well, you know, we want to consider these things. I mean, are we not raising the issue? That's that's just the way I look at it and I think that we we need to and I think also there is some um there is some uh information out there and we'll know more when we have the ward meetings that maybe the town isn't going to even include that. So, you know, why should we endorse something that they're not going to endorse? I mean, there's a lot of opposition to it. Um, and in fact, if you look historically on back in the day when the developer was going to develop it, they um they did a a traffic study and coincidentally they never did a traffic study of what the effect of Tristan Road would be on Clubhouse Drive. So, I mean, that's a big question.

Okay. So, I understand a little bit of where you're coming from, but you know, the town at one point um passed a development. That development was going to go in. Yeah. Well, well,

yes, well, I I think it was and and it just didn't go to tuition and and it was done. That's what made this property extremely valuable. That's why we bought it. So, why would we start messing around and start pulling things out when we don't even know what we're going to do with it? So, I'm just trying. So, I'm just trying to I'm just trying to put I'm trying to put a little bit of logic on what you're trying to ask us to do because there there we're we're we're developing a problem. There is no problem.

There isn't any problem. We you know, we we own this property. County owns it, right? The county owns this property. Okay. And it's up to the county to decide what the future holds on that particular property. That's just like anybody that owns property. I mean based on the zoning and the permitted use of that said property. So the county is the owners. The town of Easton can put anything in their plan but the zoning and the permitted use is still applicable to that property that the county own and the county in a future time will decide what goes there. Okay. My point is this. Let let me cut to the chase. Okay. Yeah. Cut to the chase please.

Please please. The town has put out a comprehensive plan with a suggestion here, suggestion there, suggestion here. Right. And we have to respond to that. Why not? We did. No, no, no, no. We didn't say No. We We didn't say We wrote him a letter.

We didn't We didn't say that we had that that we didn't agree with some of their plans. We did say we should sit down and talk about it. Um and the the town should get the input from the county, but we didn't say um you know, we we question we question the Tristan Road. We question um you know, the the use that they want that they mention about um the uh new indoor sports facility, a future park, and all their suggestions of things. That's what all I'm saying is

but they can suggest anything. It's up to the property owner. That's just like if you own property and the county suggested something a use for your property. It's up to you as the property owner to put whatever is defined in the zoning and the permitted use for that property. To me, it it it's a moot point because we've sent the letter expressing how this this board feels about the property. It was it was vague. Just saying. Well, when they go to vote on the comprehensive plan, we can make sure that the letter is attached to in the in the public comments and then

I don't I don't see any fear. Um, and we're talking about a road that's probably never going to be there and it's not there now. I mean, it's just I mean, you know, at one time they would have it means there's nothing there but land. I mean, we we've got a we've got a plan. I mean, at one time, I mean, the county's probably blessed all of us because it was going to be a hospital there and there was going to be a development there. Now there's zero there. So, that was the whole point to to to do all this. Can I just put a bow on this, please? By all means. Yeah. Right now, this is just a piece of property. Yeah.

That is being farmed that is owned by Tolbet County for future use by Talbet County. That's it. That's it. Nothing else. There's a lot of people who have opinions on things and as they should, right? This is county owned property, right? It's it is the citizens property. They should have opinions. Right now, it is our intent as a county to not do anything with that property, but to continue to farm it and retain it in our inventory for future county purposes. The town should tell us what The town shouldn't tell anything. The town shouldn't tell us anything, right? We are We are the owner. We are the owners of that property. Period. And I'm not sure. I'm not following the

Okay. Can we move on to county county manager comments because the bow has been put on the president. The property. The bow is on the property. Oh, the president. Let's move on. Yeah. Can we please move on? You're very quiet. I That's unusual. It's all two weeks in a row. All right. Do we have to do anything with this? This was just a discussion and it was a discuss I just want to close it by saying okay that we cannot take a we could not take a position until we have a sitdown with the town as we've said in the letter. Yeah. There's nothing to do right now. Right.

We this this requires no action right now. We're we're we're property owners and that's it. Right. And if we in the near in the in the future we all want to sit down right down here and talk about that property, we can do that. Yeah. So right now it's being farmed. That's right. Y that's the way it's going to stay for right now. So Yep. Okay. We've only extended that contract for a year. I'm ready for play stuff. How about you? Okay, Mr. Council President.

Okay. Um county manager report this evening. Thank you. First item we have are boards and committee appointments. That first one is the board of electric. One day we're going to get this system working right. That's all right. It just started. I don't know what it is. No, it was um it was like it this afternoon when I was in here by myself and just putting the Okay. name.

Okay. Excuse me. Uh, councel, uh, the first item I have is under board of electrical examiners, we're requesting the reappoint of Mr. Tim Flu Hardy representing the Toby County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association to the board. So moved. Second. Okay, we got a motion to second. It secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Callahan, I. Mr. Stef, I Mr. Leer, I. Miss Milky, I. Miss Hay, I. And the next would be requesting the reappoint of Mr. Chuck Powers to represent the fifth election district on the public works advisory board. Motion to approve. Second. Have a motion. Second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote, please? Mr. Callahan. Hi. Mr. Stepp. I. Mr. Lusher. I. Miss Milky. I. Miss Hay.

I.

Uh, council. Next, I have a request uh from our facilities maintenance award bid number 2518, roofing sections to the Talbert County Circuit Courthouse and State's Attorney Building, 11 North Washington Street, East of Maryland. As you're reading your agenda packet, they are requesting approval to award this bid to D project of Glenn Bernie, Maryland. The amount of $231,260, base bid of $224,300 and add alternate of $6,960. A total of seven bids were received. There are sufficient funds in the budget for this project.

Motion to approve the request. Second. Okay, we got a motion and a second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Callahan, I. Mr. Ste, I. Mr. Leer, I. Miss Milky, I. Miss Hay, I. Next, I'll invite Joe Hughes, our director of the corrections facility, up. He has a request uh for um the installation of air handler units one through four for the Department of Corrections. This is a project to replace all the air handlers which have exceeded their um uh lights I would say. Um go ahead and fill in where you need to. So Jugh's director of corrections. Um we have four units on the third floor but the design of the building

we have to have a crane that picks them up and then we have to take out a vent to bring all of them in. Um it's more it makes more sense to do all four of them while we can. I have one of them down right now. Uh, air handler number three is not working. And by doing all four of them, we'll save over $40,000 by doing it just at one time.

Okay. So this this would be um this would be a uh approval award contract to Johnson Controls utilizing a source well contract for the replacement installation of hair air handlers 1 through four at the correction center and for a total of $348,980. There are sufficient funds in the capital budget for this project. Okay, make a motion. Second. Here we got a motion second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Mr. Callahan. Hi, Mr. Ste. Hi, Mr. Leser. Hi, Miss Milky. Hi, Miss Hate. Hi. Thank you. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you, councel. And I would invite your finance director, Miss Sparks, up. She's here this evening to office uh to offer your consideration to approve a fourth quarter budget transfer.

Good evening, council. Martha Sparks, finance director. Um, in accordance with section 615 of the Toba County Charter, which states transfers between agencies of the county government and within the same fund of the current expense budget may be made only during the last quarter of the fiscal year and only on the recommendation of the county manager and with the approval of council. So, I provided you with a list of fourth quarter transfers that focus on the purchase of capital outlay items that we reviewed during the FY27 budget um work sessions that we had with you and which our department heads determined that these could be purchased in FY26. So, that amounts to about4 or excuse me uh $486,800. And the other uh fourth quarter transfers are operating expenses and capital outlay expenses that have been previously approved by council using contingency throughout the year. And that was that's $102,815. Um and those are being adjusted from our contingency reserve line. I'm not going to go through every single item unless you have any questions.

Okay. No. Any discussion? Motion to approve the request. Second. Okay, we've got a motion. Second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Callahan. Hi. Mr. Stepp. Hi. Mr. Ler. Hi. Miss Milky. Hi. Miss Hay. Hi.

Good. Good job. Thank you, council. And the final item I have this evening is requesting uh to enter into a contract for transfer and acquisition of real property by between 500 Beaver Road LLC and Tobin County, Maryland. Uh this is to gain your approval to enter a contract regarding Cedar Point Road in the amount of $0 for the transport transfer of 3,870 square ft. And just to add some context, this is a triangle on Oxford Road. Many people know it as a park and ride. This is a privatelyowned property. the owner of the property would like to convey the cutth through road to the county for $0 where we will firm up the road, add a fence on each side of it and uh and allow allow the safe uh access and egress from Cedar Point Road by doing so. We will also seed and cover the area that was a parking area uh as the as the owner of the property no longer would like to use it as a park and ride. Okay. So moved.

Second. Okay, we got a motion. Second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Callahan, I. Mr. Ste, I. Mr. Wer, I. Miss Milky, I. Miss Hay, I. And that completes the county manager report for this evening. Thank you, council, for your support. Thank you. Good job. All right. We got a few names, don't we? We have we have several people signed up for public comment tonight. Yep. Uh the first one is Ginda Simpson. Mhm. Can I move above Jinda just to kind of paint the picture? Yeah, sure. Come on up. Come on up. So, first up, we have Wendy Palmer then. Okay.

All right. Good evening. My name is Wendy Palmer. I'm the director of health interventions for the YMCA of the Chesapeake. Um, what a what a full house tonight and I'm really grateful for the time to speak to you this evening. I'm here today in strong support of the YMCA's proposed land swap of 1180 South Washington Street for the 15.66 acres on the plot that is located behind the temple uh off of the bypass so that we can build the YMCA at Chesby can build a health intervention center that will serve this community for decades to come. But more importantly, I'm here on behalf of the people behind me. Some of them have already left this evening because of the uh length of our meeting. So, um could I have all of my participants that are involved in our Parkinson's exercise program and their caregivers raise their hand to show the number of folks that have come out this evening. Thank you for being here. At the YMCA, we're more uh we're a community not forprofit with a 169y year tradition in Talbet County. That's right, 1857. The county and the Y have a history of trailblazing creating the first YMCA senior center model that's located in our YMCA in St. Michaels. That model has also been rep replicated in Queen Ans County and it's been highlighted as a model for others in the state. The Maryland uh Secretary of Aging has mentioned our facilities and that success. We are a health intervention partner across Tabaca County and the surrounding region. We deliver evidence-based health intervention programs that support individuals living with chronic disease

at no cost to the participants. These include cancer survivorship programs, the Livestrong of the YMCA, Tandem, which is a program to support families and individuals living with dementia and Alzheimer's. blood pressure self-monitoring, diabetes prevention, our falls prevention program which is called enhanced fitness, and critically our Parkinson's exercise programs. Here is a chance to support the wise effort to build the first ever health intervention center in the state. Our Parkinson's community is here tonight. You've seen them. These are individuals who show up with courage, determination, and hope. Fighting back against a progressive disease through movement, connection, and community. What they found at the Y is not just exercise. It's community. It's belonging. It's improved quality of life. Talba County is aging. Nearly 30% of our population is over the age of 65, and that number is growing. With aging comes increased risk of falls, chronic disease, dementia, and social isolation. Our balance, our strength, and our stability programs are not just luxuries. They are essential. They are helping our residents maintain independence, avoid hospitalization, and age safely at home. We know the data. We know the outcomes. And most importantly, we see the impact in real lives. Our original plan, which we focused on about two years ago, was to renovate the current uh facility at 1180 South Washington Street that the YMCA acquired in 2016. At that time, we really discovered that taking the time to renovate that

facility would be displacing some of these life-changing programs for up to 18 months to two years. That time off from exercise would not work for our individuals in our programs. Trying to find the space at the other location would be next to impossible. I've done the spreadsheets. So 18 months would displace these programs and at that location at Peach Blossom is already at capacity. So that's simply not an option anymore. And that's why we come before you tonight. The need is not slowing down in our county. It's actually accelerating. Parkinson's and dementia diagnosis are on the rise. Caregivers are stretched thin. Our health care systems cannot do this alone. And that's where we come in. The YMCA represents a community as medicine model, CAM. If you if you Google it, look it up, it talks a lot about where this is very effective in many states and many communities. It's being embraced across the country. We extend the work of our health the work of our health care partners beyond the clinical walls and into the community where prevention, connection, and the long-term wellness truly happen. This land swap is not just about a piece of property. It's about preserving and expanding access to these critical programs without interruption without any barriers. Again, no fee attached to any of our programs.

It's about building a future. Okay? Re and a ready space where we can meet the growing needs of our aging population with dignity, innovation, and care. We are proud to be a trusted community partner, and we are ready to do even more. So on behalf of our participants, our families and our future generations, I respectfully ask for your support and I will leave additional letters from people that could not be here with you. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you. Uhhuh. Okay. Next is Jinda Simpson.

I will leave them all. Yes. Welcome. Thank you. Yeah.

My name is Jinda Simpson and although public speaking gives me butterflies, I cannot not speak up. Please pardon the fact that I am reading from a prepared letter. But it was how I could organize my thoughts and express what is a deeply personal and emotional topic. My husband Mike was diagnosed four years ago with PSP, a very rare and progressive neurodeenerative disease that falls under the Parkinson's umbrella in that it shares many similarities to P with PD. It took many years to reach a diagnosis, but as soon as we learned what the mysterious and worrisome symptoms meant, we reached out to Wendy Palmer at the Y to see if Mike would qualify to participate in the programs they offer. Starting with Rock Steady Boxing. As soon as Mike healed from a shoulder injury caused by the fall that finally led to his diagnosis, Mike was invited to the gym where his ability to participate was assessed by the Rock Steady Boxing Team. He was then welcomed to join an ongoing class, one of several that are being offered at the Eastn YMCA free of charge to those diagnosed with PD. We knew that we were both at the beginning of a most challenging journey. For Mike, as he fought to maintain his equilibrium, both physically and emotionally in the face of the unknown, and for me as his care partner, what we both found was a community of deeply supporting, supportive friends and professionals who are dedicated to helping each of us stay strong, courageous, and giving. f always focused on what we can be what can be achieved when facing PD together.

In the four years that my husband has been a member of this amazing community, participating five days a week in swimming, biking, and boxing classes. He has not only held steady in the slowing in slowing the progression of PSP but has actually managed a steady reversal of some of its biomarkers. He is better today than he was four years ago. As I look around me when I pick him up from his classes, I see others who are experiencing their own individual successes every day in every way. None of this would be happening without these incredible programs at the Y and the selfless commitment and trained professionalism of of the individuals who work with our PD warriors. We are proud residents of Talbert County and are grateful for every better day these resources has given us.

Thanks a lot for sharing that story. my husband.

Yeah. I was just going to comment on the fact that the rock study boxing has made a change in my life. When I first went to Hopkins to see my doctor four years ago, at the end of the the meeting, he told me I had a score at 25. I said, "Well, what's that?" Well, a 100's bad. But he said, "The one thing you got to do for Parkinson's is you've got to exercise." And that's been known for decades. And he knew I had just signed up for Rock Steady Boxing. So they said, "You keep it up. Keep it up." So I went back six months later for my followup. And excuse me, the end of the class or the end of the session, the doctor looked at me. said, "This is incredible because your score is a progressive disease, right? But your score went from 25 down to 14.

The only thing I had done in six months was go a rock steady box." And three years later, I'm still at 14. Good. Good for you. So, it's really unheard of. They said if he keeps it up, they're going to be doing a study on him. The Y's got a great program and it needs to be supported. Yeah. So, we're hoping you'll help them out with Okay. Thank you.

Uh, next up is uh Harvey Bernstein. I don't have a lot to add to this except that there's so many tens of thousands of people that are coming down with Parkinson's every month all over the country. Everybody needs to take another look at this disease. It's been wonderful here at the Y. It's helped me. It's kept me single to take care of myself. I would have definitely had to have had more health care if I wasn't into this program. And I would invite you all to come over and look at it just to see what this program really can do. But again, there's not a lot I can add. Wendy said it all and the other people just mentioned more. But please take a look at what Wendy's proposing because this will help so many people that you know don't even know that will come down with this disease in the next five years. And I thank you.

Thank you.

Next is Jack Harold. Jack Harold and I've been diagnosed with Parkinson's degrees 13 years ago and was told at the time uh that there is no time no cure for Parkinson's and you just medications that would uh calm symptoms and what what is changed is has been mentioned is a revolution in seeing the treatment of Parkinson's through exercise and our ex our center went from four was one of the original four people and we ended up I think withund and something at this point all Well, as we get overwhelmed with the good news of that we're doing, you have to step back on the comments that were made that the this is the disease that is centered in the elder population. as the demographics of this county will show you if you lay that up market incidents that there you've got a uh major problem coming down that we're not we're solving today's problem but we have to be ready for the expansion and not for every person that's got Parkinson's there is a caregiver that is totally consumed by whether her she can do her work or his work or whatever. So

we have we have very large number of people and it's critical that we we maintain a level of support. Thank you. Next is Eileen Highand. So yeah, but I comments.

Thank you. And uh the last one who has signed up in advance is Cindy Orbin. Thank you, council. Cindy Orbin, member of the Talbet 250 commission and speaking in that role. Um, well, Talbet Day 2025 has come and gone, but its memories will surely remain. Just to be clear, I was involved with the 365th celebration which was held just outside this chamber. I want to take this opportunity to recognize by name in this official space the Tula County employees who represented their agencies, greeting those attended attending, sharing information, and offering giveaways. A reminder, I don't have to remind council or anyone here. This was a Sunday event, not one of their normal work days. from economic development and tourism, Kristen Galler and her young helper, Brennan Tarlton and Bryce Yelton from planning and zoning, Nancy Andrew representing Healthy Talbett from the Department of Emergency Services, Geneva Shaffle, Madison Locer, and Katie Stafford, who deserve additional recommendation for the most popular branded giveaway items at their table. Ellie Kilman from Parks and Recreation made sure to delight the young and young at heart, keeping the bubbles flying and the games going. Representing the sheriff's department, Corporal Mixon and K9 Kiwi delighted the crowd and provided lots of photo ops. And I just do have to

add because I did get a question from the sheriff. Um, Kiwi was the popular um the most popular of the two of them for the photo ops. I won't reference her the difference in the photogenic quality of either of them, but Kiwi was definitely a hit. Uh, the Eastn Volunteer Fire Department offered full tours of their truck and fire helmets for future volunteers. The Eastn Police Department provided timely, clearly marked road closure, ensuring the safety of all. We are also grateful for support from community organizations. The St. Michael's Art League, who inspired young artists to create paintings, and to the working artist forum who invited everyone to be a part of their quilt project, collecting memories from Tolbut residents. And then there are those who went above and beyond. And another reminder, this was a Sunday event. The director of the Talbut County Free Library, Dana Newman, who got a call um probably late morning that the ceremony would be moved from outside into the community room at the library. She drove in so that the room could be opened. uh the community um for the community and service awards um and the libraryies custodian Ken Healey came in moving the tables, setting the room with chairs for the ceremony guests. Jessica Morris, assistant county manager, and Susan Moran, council secretary, who are not just proficient at their day jobs, I've learned, but are also great at on the spot interior decorating, wrestling myar balloons in gale force winds,

and purple penant placement. Everything needed to ensure the festivities went off without a hitch. Facility staff Chris Dilla Davilio and Brent Guy made certain power was available for music, face painting, and as we all know, most importantly, for the Scottish Highland crearyy ice cream cart. They set up tables and chairs according to our map. Then they moved them. And then they moved them again as we re thought the space. But repeatedly they asked, "What else can we do to help? do you need anything else? And make sure you call us if you can if there's anything we can do to help. Once the event ended, they were right there to take it all back down again. Mike Dulan and Dean Samuel of the county road staff brought their dump truck and were simply amazing. Arriving at two o'clock, they waited patiently until close to five when they could move into position. They were clear that this was not a touch a truck. This was a climb into, sit in, sound the horn truck.

Yes.

And kids of all ages loved it. I have it on good authority that their truck was in full service through the week doing its necessarily messy, dirty road work job. But for Tolbet Day 2026, that truck was showing their Talbet County road crew pride. It was shining outside and pristine inside. And I have to tell you, there was not even a speck of pollen on that truck. Unbelievable. I don't know when I've ever seen a cleaner vehicle of any kind. Finally, there is the employee who had been looking forward to Tolbut Day 2026 ever since the end of Tolbut Day 2025. Sarah Kilman. It's obvious and probably doesn't need to be said. Sarah leads with her spirit and gives her heart to the citizen and service awards. She makes sure that each and every nominee feels celebrated and valued, that we all recognize the breadth and depth of their commitment, and that their exceptional contributions to individuals and communities make Tolba County in its 365th year this place we are all privileged to call our home. So, thank you, Sarah. And thank you council for your indulgence.

Yes. That's the end of those who have signed up in advance. Okay. Anybody else want to come up? Okay. Just a minute. Yes, sir.

Phil Rian, uh 29736 Sullivan Drive Eastern. Um, if if you decided tonight to introduce and pass an emergency appropriation for for overtime for you folks, I would I would lead a campaign to support it.

I um I just wanted to update you on one issue. Several weeks ago, I was here and I asked you to extend or to expand the priority list of road projects that were being sent to um by the county to the Maryland Department of Transportation and you agreed to do that. I want to thank you again for doing it. Uh to update you on a couple of things. You may know some of these. You may know all of them. Um, we have been told that the uh left turn lane onto Dustin's heading south whatever is out of here um will begin on in June. And we have also uh scheduled as as a uh speaker, a presenter uh for one of our community meetings an official from the state highway administration who's going to tell us the details of the project. Now, I would assume if somebody's going to come talk to us as a community, it better be good news or he's he or she's in trouble. So, uh that would that would support the same sort of thing. So, uh wanted to update you. Thank you for your support and um and it will maybe save a life or two again. Thanks.

Okay. Thank you. Okay. Anybody else like to say a few words? Okay. Council comment. Hey, good. I I'll echo everything Miss Cindy said. It was uh you know appreciate the uh appreciate you being there. Appreciate all you do on the 250 commission, but uh I'll echo the staffer. Thanks for the day. All of y'all. I mean, it it was a wonderful event uh both indoor and outdoor. Uh it it's it's truly heartwarming to see where this has come, you know, in in the in the few years we've been doing it. So, just thank you to everyone that that made that a part and thank you to everyone who came out to uh to celebrate with uh with uh you know on our 365th birthday.

Well, if you'll if you'll pardon me, I'll step into national news once again. We've had an incident uh calling us to condemn political violence as unamerican, unpatriotic, and unacceptable. Whether the intended victim is Vice President Mike Pence, Representative Gabby Gfords, Representative Steve Scaliz, Governor Josh Shapiro, State Senator John Hoffman, Governor Gretch Gretchen Whitmer, or President Trump. This is not the way we resolve our differences. The incident must be properly investigated and the perpetrator and anyone who aided and emedded brought to justice. But this kind of political violence needs to be condemned at every level. Okay.

Um I just want to revisit briefly um the position on the comprehensive plan and the effect that it potentially has on the property that we acquired. Um to quote from the plan, it says, "The transportation map illustrates key proposed enhancements to Easton's multimodal transportation network and that includes Tristan that goes through our property. These improvements summarized below are conceptual at this stage. Exact designs, funding mechanisms, and construction timelines are largely undefined. Most projects are expected to be completed in conjunction with the adjacent property development or funded through the town's impact fees. Um, these proposals are also subject to revision as the complete street study is finalized. And my only point was that I thought that we should make a a statement that we did not approve of this um that aspect of the comprehensive plan and that we wanted input. We didn't want it assumed that we agreed to it that we wanted to discuss it and have it subject to um our decision. That's all.

Okay. I just want to um thank Sarah and staff and everybody for a great day. I think it was the best one yet. And um me and Dave make a good duo. But um just remind everybody to attend um the housing fair on Saturday from 12:00 to 3. And um that's it. That's all I have. The only thing I have, I'm sorry I didn't make it. Um, but I heard you guys did a phenomenal job and um, Sarah, thank thanks so much. You know, this just you you've done a big be, you know, really a big job for a lot of people and it was a little bit of a tough day. So, we really appreciate it. Okay.

Well, Lyn's got one more there. I just wanted to u point out that on Saturday there'll be a recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Cordova Fire Company. Okay. Yep. Gotcha. Thank you for reminding us of that. Yep. Which I'll be there. The county council's next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 5th, beginning at 1:30 p.m. We will hold two public hearings that day on bill number 1625 regarding the proposed fiscal year 27 budget at 2:00 p.m. in the Bradley meeting room here and at 7:00 p.m. at the Eastern Elementary School cafeteria. Therefore, is there a motion to adjourn this meeting and reconvene as noted? So moved. And a second. Okay, we got a motion second. Madam Secretary, could you call the vote? Mr. Callahan, I. Mr. step. Hi, Mr. Leer.

Hi, Miss Milky. Hi, Miss H. Hi. Okay. Well, have a great evening. Thanks a lot for coming.