Board of Elections - Regular Meeting

Music

THERE HE IS. KISSING BABIES.

THANK YOU. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL, I'D LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE APRIL 23, 2026 MEETING OF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WITH THE PRESENCE OF MY TWO COLLEAGUES. I'M GOING TO HAVE OUR SHERIFF LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE.

I PLEDGE THAT YOU LEAD US TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REVOLUTION FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right. So good morning. First, I want to take a moment to welcome 40 new employees that we have working for the county today. So I want them to come in and say hello to everyone.

Thank you.

Do they have any music? Oh, there's music. Here's music. Here they come. Here we go.

Guys, we're ready. Come on in.

All right, how's everybody doing?

Are you making some money today? No. Thanks for coming. We're going to take these kids upstairs. Max and Miley, can you come up really quickly? Come up. Come up. Take a look. Bye, guys. Follow me on our back downstairs. so if you haven't uh guessed uh today is uh take your child to work day so i have my son max and my bonus daughter miley here um and we've got a whole bunch of kids from our co-workers across the county. So thanks Tony and the HR team for putting together such a thoughtful program for the kids to enjoy. This is a day that always creates memorable moments for our staff and their children and it's a part of a larger strategy to familiarize our young people with their local government and the importance of civic participation. So we'll be building on that with two upcoming programs that I'm excited to share. On May 7th, the county will be hosting our first youth summit in Montgomery County. It will be held at Montgomery County Community College. I'd like to thank our county team for really thinking through putting this program together. This is a chance for any Monaco high school student to come out and have their voice heard in a welcoming and inclusive space. Our goal is to encourage students to become more engaged in their local community and to help them find their voice. especially at a time when the world might feel a little overwhelming. Registration is still open until April 28th, and we encourage all interested students to sign up at montgomerycountypa.gov forward slash youth summit. Next, we're also excited to unveil our new Monco Junior Commissioner program for the 2026-27 school year. This will be an exciting new opportunity for rising juniors and seniors at any public or private high school in Montgomery County. We'll select three students to shadow the commissioners during the upcoming school year. Students will get a front row view, so guys, we got to behave, to county operations, what our county commissioners do, and they'll participate in structured learning experiences with various departments, site visits with all three commissioners, and county meetings just like this one. The program will run from September of this year until April 2027. And at the end, students will present a capstone project addressing a real world government issue. The application deadline for this program will be Sunday, May 10th. So for further details, visit MontgomeryCountyPA.gov forward slash junior commissioner. Next, I want to quickly share that yesterday we hosted Manco's first ever sustainability marketplace. We had over 30 vendors, advocacy organizations, and food trucks participate right outside our courthouse. And when I spoke, it was pouring down rain. I'm hoping that after I left, the sun came out and it dried up a little bit. I think that it did. Everyone was able to see the many ways, large and small, that they can contribute to a more sustainable Mako, whether learning about composting, vegetable gardening, recycling textiles and plastics, or just exploring options for clean energy. There was so much good information and I'm so proud of our Chief Sustainability Officer, Devi, for making the program so remarkable. So grateful to her and look forward to us doing this. Every year. And then, yes. if you don't hide stand up okay there we go all right last but not least april's also recognized as national language access month it serves as a reminder of the importance of providing services in multiple language languages so residents can access healthcare education and government services without barriers i'm pleased to say that our request for proposals to strengthen language access Service is here at the county is now live. Vendors have until May 22nd to apply via our Bonfire website. And I'd like, this RFP was led by Nellie, our Director of Immigrant Affairs. So I want to thank you for your leadership, Nellie. The county has long provided interpretation and translation across departments like public safety, health, and aging. This new RFP aligns our services with best practices and improves the services WE ALREADY PROVIDE, SUCH AS SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION, BETTER SUPPORT FOR VIRTUAL MEETINGS, UPDATED ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS, AND IT WILL INCREASE OUR LANGUAGE CAPACITY OF OUR 911 CENTER FOR RESIDENTS' NATIVE LANGUAGES. SO THANK YOU AGAIN. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE FOR HIS COMMENTS. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. It's a great day. It's only one, let's see, almost less than a month away from our primary election. Anybody vote already? Anybody get their mail-in ballot? Thank you for practicing your civic duty. I know our sheriff did because he's one of the most frequent or long-standing voters in the county in every single election. We gave you an award, right?

Yes.

Nice. 50 consecutive elections, so he's keeping up his record.

Two a year, in case you're wondering how old that is.

Yeah, two a year. So we're less than a month out. And in Monaco this year, we now have 620,000 registered voters who will be voting. And in this ballot, you're going to see the primary choices for lieutenant governor, Congress, state senator, or state representative. And we also, the parties have state committee choices. And there's these two municipalities with referenda. So mail-in ballots have already been mailed. The first batch has been mailed. You can still request one. But we've sent out 70,000 mail-in ballots. And I just want to encourage everyone to use the drop boxes. We now have 18 drop boxes. It's double what we had before. They're available 24-7. They're secure. They're monitored by camera. 24-7, and they're open until Tuesday, Election Day, May 19th at 8 p.m. So those boxes will be closed promptly at 8 p.m., but it's a great way to return your mail-in ballot because it's directly to the county. In case there's any mishap with USPS, you can be confident that we received your ballot, and the sheriffs, thank you again to the sheriffs for picking those up on a daily basis. Finally, I'll also note our satellite offices are also open in various locations. So here are some of the hours that we have. You can see Lansdale, Lower Marion, Norristown right here at O&P, Pottstown, Millgrove. We have a number of satellite offices open on the weekends. You can go there to get your mail-in ballot. You can submit it in person, essentially our version of early voting. and you can deal with any registration issues or changing your address or anything like that. The registration deadline, however, is May 4th, so if you need to change anything or if you're new to the county, please make sure to handle that by May 4th, and you can request a mail-in until May 12th. So there is a window from May 4th, sorry, prior to May 4th, from today to May 4th, where if you wanted to register your new voter and request your mail-in and submit it on the spot, you can do that from now until May 4th, and then everyone who's already registered can get your mail-in until May 12th. Okay, another point on the elections. This is the first time ever at the precincts for those of you who vote in person will be having electronic poll votes. And it's a secure system from checking in the people who are voting in person. for any of you who've been poll workers you might know people are very excited about this i've already gotten lots of great feedback it'll make the line shorter because you're not sifting through a big book trying to find somebody by their last name you just type in their name in an ipad And it'll immediately tell you where they're registered, whether they're at the correct polling place. And if you're not at the correct polling place, there's a small printer. It'll give you a slip with the address of where you need to go. So it just makes the whole process on election day seamless. And for anyone who's curious if there's any issues, they do still have the paper and poll books handy at every precinct, which we'll make sure remains the case for now. So that's an exciting rollout. I'm grateful that we were able to get that done. One comment, I always pay attention to what's happening around the Commonwealth in terms of what different counties are doing, how they're innovating. Allegheny and Monaco often are working on some of the same policies. Allegheny County recently passed a special ballot question enacting the possibility of term limits, which is not something I think any elected official maybe wants me to bring up, but I want to talk about it. Sean's been voting 50 times because he's been on the ballot by many times. but i think it's important it's one of these issues that if you ask the public they're vastly supportive of and what they did in allegheny county is not just putting a limit uh on uh they picked three terms 12 years they didn't just say anyone who's been there 12 years out what they said is starting from now we're starting a new 12-year period and i assume this will pass because it's immensely popular but uh that that's an example of a local government that's taking a step of reform that i think is uh worth looking at we may not have the legal authority to do that uh but if we had a home rule we potentially would but at the end yeah allegheny is acting under home rule okay So this is an example of something where home rule would be helpful. Home rule takes its own constitutional referendum, I guess. Yeah, just to go through the process. But there are many other issues that we can handle, but it's something we're looking at. Finally, for my comments, WE HAVE A FEW WAY TO GO WINNERS. IS ANYONE HERE TODAY? RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE HERE. WAY TO GO? OKAY, WE'VE GOT OUR WAY TO GO WINNERS HERE. AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS OUR WAY OF ACKNOWLEDGING A NUMBER OF FOLKS WHO ARE DOING EXCELLENT WORK THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. THEY WERE NOMINATED BY THEIR COLLEAGUES, AND THEY GET A LITTLE NOTE OF GRATITUDE IN OUR SALARY BOARD APPROVALS TODAY. I'll start with Chelsea Maynard, who is working in our Clerk of Courts office. Is Chelsea here? Thank you, Chelsea, for being here. According to our colleagues, Chelsea's a star receptionist. She handles every call with deep appreciation and care for our residents and their needs. Thank you, Chelsea, for your work. Surprise, Colin on our comms team. So Colin is taking our photos as we speak. And did not know this, because he doesn't check the salary board list. So you can see that he's getting a little bonus. But one of Colin's many roles is coordinating the Way to Go winners program. He has been nominated twice and previously refused. And today we decided to spring it on him. And we had to go behind his back to put his name up here. So thank you. Thank you, Colin, for all of your work. Next up is Preg Tinanee, who is . Thank you. Greg has gone above and beyond to check not only on our residents, but on his co-workers' mental health after they go through difficult calls on a daily basis. It's one of the hardest jobs in the county. Thank you, Greg, for all the work that you do. Next is Ashley Vinhart, who works in retirement. Ashley, she's got pension accounts. She's got can-do attitude and strong work ethic. That's an asset to the retirement team. Ashley's been instrumental in getting many of you to appreciate our new online retirement platform up and running. So thank you, Ashley. Appreciate it. Next, I think she's not here. Is Victoria here? Victoria's here, but I'll just tell you a little bit about Victoria Urban. She is an assessor in our Office of Aging Services in HHS. Victoria's colleagues say she's an amazing asset, a team player, and a great sense of humor. Are you okay? Maybe Tori can check in on you. More recently, Tori used her gut instincts to make two separate calls. Is he calling you old? I was joking. You missed that. But Tori does a great job checking in on our seniors. So give her a round of applause if she's watching this. And then finally, Second last one. Marissa Warren, who works in adult probation. Marissa, are you here? Maybe not. She's watching online, too. Marissa is always going above and beyond. Her colleagues say she's amazing to work with, creating a pleasant working environment with positive vibes, and always being there for her co-workers. So a round of applause for Marissa. OK, we'll bring everyone up for a photo.

ONE, TWO, THREE. One thing that we just wanted to recognize is that yesterday was Administrative Professionals Day.

And we wanted to thank all of our EAs. I'll start with mine. Rohan Lombor is doing an awesome job. And it also happens to be his birthday this weekend, so let's get that on.

Do you have all for your birthday, Rohan? Yeah, good. Do you have all for your birthday? It's a seven-day-a-week job. And always grateful for Raya, who I walked in this morning and she was stressing out because the printer wasn't working. I was like, are you crying about the printer not working? But this is a high stress job, just getting us where we need to get to. So grateful to all of you.

We have Tim, my VA, and she does a phenomenal job and makes sure I get where I need to go, keeps me on track. And all three of us are just incredible. I mean, we have a great team, great staff, and they definitely make us look good because without them, I think we would be a hot mess. Guaranteed. So thank you. Because the three of them work very well together as well, which is extremely important.

I have to say, Kim takes good pictures that make us all look skinny. Well, she has a special lens. She has that special lens.

She has that special lens on her camera, which we keep telling Brian he has the wrong lens. Intensing.

Yeah. I know.

I cut this right over there. All right. You're up. I'm up? Yep. All right. Do we get an update about the election coming up? I don't think so. Yeah. well he's busted on me so still always right all right so yesterday uh commissioner white and myself went to harrisburg um our laura marion uh team uh supervisors were the different lower american commissioners uh and uh and Montgomery county were recognized by the um EXCELLENCE AWARD FROM THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, AND IT WAS IN RECOGNITION AT ARDMORE HOUSE, TOO, THAT WAS BEING BUILT ON, LAURA MARION. THIS AWARD THAT WAS GIVEN TO MCCOMBURY COUNTY AND LAURA MARION and to our non-profit partners to work on building Armore House too. And for those that are not familiar with it, it's a senior living facility for affordable housing. And the groundbreaking was back in September, and Commissioner McKeeser, you were at the groundbreaking. And so the county contributed $5 million to the project, which came through from our federal pandemic relief funds. So it was really awesome for us to be there and be with Laura Marion. And when we showed up, we were also quite surprised because the gentleman on the The other picture with Commissioner Weiner and myself is Tom Weichel, and he is a Rorishburg super borough council. At least townships, you gotta remember, if they're supervisor, council, commissioners, they're all different. He's borough council in Rorishburg, and he was nominated by the Pennsylvania Township Supervisors, PSATS. So that's by his colleagues from all around Pennsylvania. So it was great to be there and receiving recognition. And, you know, it's always good to see Montgomery County being honored for all the amazing work that we're doing here. So and then from there, we also I mentioned this last meeting, but we have Montgomery County Trail Challenge starts April 24th through May 2nd. It's a great way to explore the county's amazing trail system. We have over 65 miles of trails that are part of the challenge this year. And so there's also added to the trail challenge four Montgomery County historic sites. So again, it's a great way to get out, see Montgomery County, use the trails. And last year we had a great turnout and we're looking for an even bigger turnout this year or participation. AND I KNOW THAT WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITIES OF INCORPORATING THE LEON AWARD, SO WE'LL SEE HOW THAT GOES.

I GET IT. I GOT THAT.

YOU GOT THAT ONE. And then also, Commissioner Weiner and Commissioner McAsia, we talked about this. And it would be a great way for us to, in May, we're going to have Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. And it's a good time to do it because for those that are avid riders, it's always a very... dangerous time as well if you're riding motorcycles. Because what happens over the winter, people don't see motorcycles on the road. And then the springtime comes, and then everybody starts riding again. And it's the craziest thing that when people see motorcycles, it doesn't register that they're a vehicle that's coming, and they just pull right out. And most accidents occur because of that. And so it's a great way for us to recognize safety awareness and really promote that the motorcycles will be back on the road from now until winter again. And we're actually going to be planning some type of event later in May as well, so we're really excited about that. And then... Oh, I attended the Envirothon over at Norristown Farm Park that's put on by Montgomery County Conservation District. There was over 50 students from four or five different school districts throughout Montgomery County have participated in it. It's a great job put on by the volunteers and people associated with the conservation district. It's a great way for the kids. They go from different stations and they actually learn about different aspects of the environment. Each station has a test and they work as a team. They have the kids broken into teams. And they take tests at each station, and then they accumulate the scores and all that. But I was over there and just seeing the kids participating and learning. It was a great day. It was a little chilly. I mean, but it was still an amazing day and would love to see this continue to grow and see additional school districts join in on it because it's just a great way to learn about the environment. And then this past Saturday, Commissioner McEasier, myself, and Commissioner Weiner attended The 37th annual International Spring Festival at North Penn High School. For those that may not know about it or do know about it, it's a great way to celebrate all the many different cultures throughout Montgomery County. There's traditional music, foods, there's a parade. So we want to congratulate the International Foundation for another amazing year. My understanding is that they had over 6,000 people go on Saturday and go through all the different events. uh spots all the vendors and all that so it's really a fun day and it's north penn they do a great job over there because if you're if you know north penn high school is very large it's like one big maze so but they have it spread out in multiple gyms a cafeteria in the hallway so and there's a lot to see uh so again we're it was it was an honor for us to uh to participate in that that event that's all i got

Great. Alright, next up our district attorney Kevin Steele will be here to talk about drug take back day.

Good morning. Thank you for an opportunity here for awareness which we. We have to talk about a topic that is important. We try to make it a little fun in some ways and have a theme each year. or each two times a year. And one of our paralegals who's very creative, Jill Neal from our office, comes through with a new take-back poster and should have some things going on with it. So if we could get that slide next, that would be great. All right, so this is our theme, the metrics for Take Back Day. And it's coming up. Yeah, beautiful, she said. So coming up on Saturday, 10 to 2, and we would really appreciate people getting out there to take take their unwanted unneeded medication and get it destroyed in a environmentally sound way to make our home safer. And you know, this is important because we find that You know, some of these medications that are in people's medicine cabinets often lead to dire consequences when they get in the hands of people that shouldn't have them and kids and other folks that go down a track. So if you could go to the next one. We're going to be at 38 police departments. And when I say at the police departments, they're always at the police departments, but there'll be police officers standing outside. So you can just pull by, give them the medications, keep going, try to make it as easy as they can. And this time out, we actually have four officers. departments going to grocery stores where they're going to be staffing tables at those where giant food stores in Upper Moreland and Stowe as well as Wegmans in Upper Prov and Montgomery Township. So the department's there doing that. There's a list of all of these departments on the homepage of our website so everybody can find it easily. And I have posters for 12 lucky winners to take with them today. Sometimes come by our office, we have them all over the walls and it's been pretty creative over the years. So what we do is take tablets, inhalers, vaping products, creams, ointments, nasal sprays, pet medicines. Uh, this is a picture, you know, it's, it's, it's usually pretty fun and I'm not gonna tell anybody where it is, but we use a facility and all the police departments line up and after taking all the medications, I'm just bringing them in and then we're able to immediately take all of these and destroy them. So So if anybody's worried about them sticking around or doing those kind of things. We can drop off, let's go back. So to the point where a lot of these are in pill bottles with your name and those kind of things. You can take them out and put them in a bag. You can block out a name, but no, nobody's going through these. It's simply they're going into these boxes, and then we're taking them right there to get destroyed in it. All right, so you go to the next one on what's not accepted. We don't take liquid medicines, needles, or other sharps on that, and hopefully that's just a matter of safety for us. If you go to the next one, if you could. So just give you a little background on this. We started it in 2010. Last October, 6,532 pounds. April of last year, 6,853 pounds. And I emphasize those numbers and the weights because what it shows is that there's a lot of Unnecessary prescriptions that are going on and they are in people's medicine cabinets. So let's get rid of them and do this. Over 144,000 pounds since we've been doing this since 2010 and safely destroying that. They're collected. They're taken to be destroyed by a federally licensed place to handle medical waste. And that's how we do it. And so encourage people to do it this way. And part of that is to make it environmentally sound good. People that are thinking about putting these in the toilet or going down that way, that's not a safe way to do it. It ends up in the water system and everything else. So please do it this way. Next one, please. All right. So this is the tough part to talk about, the why and why we're doing this and why it is so important. These numbers are the deaths of individuals in our communities. And I can't go too many places where people that I speak to, somebody knows somebody that has been affected by this. And if you look at some of the numbers over time, we're hitting this at a lot of different angles. And one way to make sure that that people are safe is by not doing or not allowing these readily available problems to be in your medicine cabinets. So if you look at how this has gone, you can see that fentanyl is a big problem and continues to be a big problem in our communities. With this, if you go to the next one. So this is a really difficult number to look at because they went up last year. And I want to emphasize that. And I had them do an extra slide on this because this is something that we cannot take our foot off the pedal. We went down substantially for a period of time. In 2002 or 22, we got to a point of under 200 for the first time in a long time, under 200 people dying in our community. So those numbers and overdoses fell even more in 2024. But we're back up and there's two still pending from the coroner's office in this. So I emphasize that because we really need everybody's partnership on this to try and save lives. And this is all about the preservation of life in our community. I know you all have been very focused on this with the work that's being done and developed on places that hand off people that are going through this, and our police agencies are working really hard on this, but this is why we have to keep going and working hard. If you could go to the next one. So this Saturday, the complete list, again, is on our website. You just have to click on the actual poster on our website to find the locations. But it also shouldn't stop you if you've got plans on Saturday and can't make it. Like me, I'd be in the courthouse doing a trial competition all day on Saturday, so we won't be able to do that. But every one of these police departments has a box in their police department. So this is an awareness. The DEA is doing it on Saturday, too. So get out there. But it doesn't have to be Saturday. You can go Sunday or Monday and walk into a police department. They're open 24-7. and take them in, and they'll go into one of our boxes there, and we will get them destroyed in an environmentally sound way. So that's what I have. If anybody has any questions, I'm happy to answer.

Just a comment. So I'm just thinking about my medicine cabinet and all of the... DRUGS THAT I COULD TOSS AWAY THAT WE'RE NO LONGER USING. SO I WILL BE COMMITTED TO DOING THAT ON SATURDAY. SO I'LL GO HOME TONIGHT AND OPEN MY MEDICINE CABINET BECAUSE WE HAVE SMALL CHILDREN. THEY COULD GET INTO THAT. SO APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP. I WAS LIKE WAITING WITH BATED BREATH TO SEE WHAT THE DESIGN WOULD LOOK LIKE. SO I THINK THIS IS MY THIRD YEAR, SO THEY GET BETTER AND BETTER. AND I THINK MAYBE, MEGAN, WE CAN PUT SOME OF THOSE POSTERS IN THE ELEVATORS IN MONTGOMERY SO THAT COUNTY EMPLOYEES ARE AWARE OF IT. DID WE ALREADY SEND OUT AN EMAIL TO COUNTY EMPLOYEES? GOOD. AWESOME. GREAT.

THANK YOU. AGAIN, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US THE TIME JUST TO GET THIS AWARENESS OUT, BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING EVERY ANGLE WE CAN TO DO THIS TO REALLY MAKE PEOPLE AWARE. AND, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, WITH THE NUMBER OF DEATHS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL GOT TO PARTNER ON AND KEEP GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

COULD I ASK SOME?

SORRY, GO AHEAD.

Could you go back to the overdose number slide, this one? I just couldn't fully get it. So 14% is the number that is involving fentanyl?

Or you said it's the increase? I saw that too. I think that's wrong. I think it's because it's still over half of the percentage. I think that's the round number that it went up.

Oh, that's the increase number. Yeah.

Okay. Because fentanyl is still like the main driver that we're seeing. But the other real rises that we're seeing is methamphetamine overdoses, cocaine and crack overdoses, and mixtures of those. And that's really been scary because, you know, with fentanyl, heroin, the opioids, naloxone is a life saving measure that is in all the police vehicles and readily available. That doesn't work on meth or cocaine overdoses. So that's problematic with what we're seeing here. So that's some of the trends that we have right now.

So the amount of pounds that collected is just, it's unbelievable. And that's what's been, that's not accounting for what hasn't been targeted. That's probably still sitting in medicine cabinets throughout the county. It's just crazy. So what's the recommendation? I know you're not taking liquids and you're not taking sharps. So if people have those, what do we tell them to do with those? What do we tell them to do with liquids? Who's here from the health department? Can you help me out with this? I don't know.

OK. Yeah, I'm not sure on that. Yeah, I just, we have to be a little careful with that because we're, you know, taking the boxes. Right, right.

Yeah, I just didn't know what we would tell people, ask what do we do with liquids. Yeah.

Quick question. Do you have a sense up for the overdose deaths? What's the age, like what's the largest age?

There's no demographic that is not being hit by this.

Yeah, so there's no proportion that's higher?

Yeah, it's really... All over the place? Yeah. Every community, every race, every demographic is getting hit by this. And so many people have gone down this track that it wasn't expected, like a sports injury or getting cut off on pills that you've been having and then going to other drugs. And it's really... There's so many stories out there of people that have been affected by it, and everyone's a tragedy. For the person that died, for the families that are going through it, and there's a lot of tragedy that has been brought on by some of these pharmaceutical companies and other places that went down.

Well, I'm sure we could talk about this all day. I think all of us are equally passionate about being part of the solution and how do we help people understand, how do we do prevention, right? But also like for those that are in active addiction, you know, how does a comprehensive county system kind of help people find their way. So thank you for being here, and we encourage everybody to participate on Saturday. Thank you.

And I appreciate the partnership so much because, you know, none of us can do this alone, and so it's been great. So thank you.

Absolutely. Thank you.

I'll leave the posters on the desk there.

Thank you. Thank you. All right. Next up, our sheriff. Thanks for... We broke the record from last week. We didn't break the record. Meeting was only 34 minutes last week.

Why don't the deputy sample and Fairchild come up with me? And Chief Deputy Barry. So I want to thank the commissioners. I know you've already had a long agenda. for indulging us and helping us honor two heroes here today. And it's really a credit to you and our office and the whole Montgomery County family because training, professionalism, and standards is a hallmark of any professional organization. Sheriff's Office has been accredited and re-accredited four times. We were the first Sheriff's Office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to do so. I've been lucky and blessed to be sheriff now for close to 11 years. And I've always had the support of the commissioners, regardless of party, whoever's been sitting on these chairs. And I really thank Commissioner DiBella, Chair Winder, Commissioner McKeisha for their continued support in this administration in these last couple years of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. And because of that support and the money you give through the budget process and the standards that we try to uphold, we have some of the best trained deputies in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And it's an honor to work with them every day. And an example of that is going to be about an action that happened close to a year ago that deputies Sample and Fairchild did to help save a life. Help save a life during a transport from our correctional facility out to here and about the training that they employed and who they are, who they are as individuals. Because people may see us in this uniform. They may have conceptions about everybody that's in this uniform. But I can tell you, every one of us are individuals. We're involved in the community. We are involved in our county for involving civic organizations. But because of our professionalism and training, I'm going to talk about an incident that happened that became a non incident thanks to Deputy Sample and Deputy Fairchild. So Deputy Zachary Fairchild brought a sample, showed professionalism on August 1st, 2025. While en route to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, Deputy Fairchild quickly recognized that the detainee was attempting to harm himself, and it was pretty far along. He immediately alerted Deputy Sample, who pulled over without delay, allowing Deputy Fairchild to safely exit the vehicle and intervene. Drawing from their extensive training, the deputies took decisive action to secure the subject and ensure his safety by breaking his grip and taking life-saving measures to prevent a more serious outcome. They transported the individual to Phoenixville Hospital and ultimately completed the transport safely after medical clearance. Throughout the incident, the deputies maintained a calm, focused approach, reflective of their experience and training. And I love Deputy Fairchild, but I have a soft spot for Deputy Sample because he's a fellow soldier like me and spends, when he's not working or raising his young family, He is serving our country in the Pennsylvania National Guard, constantly on deployments, constantly in AT. So he's a hero in many senses at work. I would also be remiss if I did not note that both deputies were quick to credit their supervisor. She's not here today. Corporal Brandy Shutler, who identified as a self-harm risk prior to the transport and provided critical guidance to allow the deputies to monitor him closely from the outset. So our intelligence helped out there. Deputy's Fairchild and Samples action reflect the highest standards of professionalism, situational awareness, and responsibility for the safety and well-being of those in custody. They are credit to themselves, the county, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. So I have two certificates right here. First, we have a certificate for Deputy Sample. Thank you very much. Deputy Sample, I don't know if you want to say it.

I'm not really sure. Okay. There we go.

And then I will also have a certificate for Deputy Fairchild.

Thank you.

Did you want to say anything? Not at all. Okay. All right. Let the sheriff do the talking. So I want to thank everybody here and thank the commissioners for being part of this ceremony. Thank you very much.

DEPUTY SAMPLE AND DEPUTY FAIRCHILD, THANKS. YOU REPRESENT WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT MONTGOMERY COUNTY, AND IT'S THESE MOMENTS THAT YOUR WORK ON THAT DAY CONTINUE TO MAKE US PROUD. SO I WANT TO THANK THE SHERIFF FOR, YOU KNOW, BRINGING THIS INCIDENT AND JUST RECOGNIZING YOU IN THIS FORUM. I know that your job often can be a thankless job, but I know that all of us see the work that you do every day. So thank you for your work and for keeping our county safe.

Thank you.

Come on up. You want to sit in my chair and do a 45-minute speech? All right, come on up. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Alright, thank you for being here. Next up we have a public comment. This is three limited to three minutes. It's a comment on today's pending votes and it must be germane to county business. Do we have any public comment?

Yes, first up is David Morgan. Mr Morgan.

Good morning, commissioners. It's David Morgan from Ambler.

Good morning.

And I'm going to comment about the agenda, Exhibit B, which is starting on page one. And we have two expenditures, almost a million dollars and over a million for the trails. And so trails, of course, are important, but in light of the fact that We have budget deficits, and last year around the springtime we had a large one. I'm just wondering if this fits into affordability for our taxpayers with having the tax increases over the last six years, that we can really try to look at these numbers in light of all the spending that's going on. THERE IS 80% FEDERAL MATCHING, WHICH IS NICE, BUT MAYBE WE SHOULD CONSIDER HOW HIGH WE WANT TO GO WITH OUR PART. ALSO, THE INFO AND TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS IS CLOSE TO $400,000 FOR DARK FIBER SERVICE, AND THAT'S FURTHER ALONG HERE UNDERNEATH THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUDGET. AND THEN WE HAVE THAT TO CONSIDER AS explaining maybe a piece of the public what they are but so because dark fiber service i'm not sure what that is and so i'd like to just say purge caution here we have uh some upgraded positions also on the desk there for a salary board so can we afford all these at the level they are and how are we doing do we have a cfo's report at this point of the county's financial standing and then HOWEVER, I DO COMMEND THAT WE HAVE MORE HELP FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY PART OF BUDGET PAGE 6. WE HAVE A LIST OF THE AMBULANCE ASSOCIATIONS, AMBULANCE AGENCIES. SO THERE'S ABOUT 12 OF THEM ALL GETTING EXTRA HELP, AND THERE'S THIS IRONY FOR RESCUES, AS WE HEARD ABOUT JUST IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT RESCUES ARE SO IMPORTANT. SO THAT, I THINK, IS REALLY GOOD THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING THAT.

THANK YOU, MR. MORGAN. NEXT UP. KAMENA TAYLOR.

Good morning. Good morning.

Just wanted to say for the last six years, I have been contracting with the Delaware Children and Youth Department on opioids and THC. And I just want to say that, you know, after watching the DA's presentation. I just want to level set and just go ahead and tell you what's going on. In Canada, THC edibles are regulated at 10 milligrams, and that's the limit. In the United States, that's unregulated, and the average edible a teenager is getting is 600 milligrams of THC. And when I looked at the disposable vapes, one vape has 800 milligrams of THC. And the opioids are highly potent as well. So what I thought was really interesting when he said that there's no age group or there's no race, he did not deny that it's young people. And I think that I'm willing to share some of my presentations with you guys about the dangers of what's happening to kids. I'm actually now going into elementary schools talking to kids about vaping, edibles, and THC. So I just wanted to point that out, that that's, to me, a very important thing. And then the tip of a pencil is the amount of fentanyl that someone can overdose on. Just a tip. And what happens is when they... They distribute opioids and give it out, the non-prescription ones. That little bit amount can be in a pill, but depending on how you eat it, how you consume it, you may get that amount or not. So when you collect all that stuff, that's stuff that people are willing to do. Just think about all the things that are not out there and the kids that are using. So a tip of a pencil is the lethal amount of fentanyl overdose. 10 milligrams regulated in Canada versus 600 to 800 in the United States. And these are babies. And then I'm also going to share a video. I don't know if you saw it, but a nine year old in Philadelphia two weeks ago went into the bathroom, vaped and did an edible. He ended up having 2000 milligrams. of high-potency THC in his body, and he was practically catatonic. And when he went to the emergency room, they had to handcuff him to the bed because he was so erratic. So I just want to share that it's a really big problem, and there's a normalization culture, and kids are getting it much younger. So I hope, Neil, that you'll enjoy my presentation when I send it, because I want to make sure you guys know it, okay? Okay, thank you.

Yeah, send that along.

All right, up next is Denise Pottinger.

Good morning. My name is Denise Pottinger, and I'm here to speak on the Meals on Wheels. I see that on the agenda there's going to be a RFP for it, and I just wanted to bring to the attention of the citizens how important Meals on Wheels are and maybe explain a little bit about what it is. The Meals on Wheels program is a nutrition and health support program that includes regular delivery to seniors in their homes. It's about them being independent and staying in place. There's a component of it of where the volunteers get into a home and someone lives by themselves and they're able to interact. The human piece of it is what I'm afraid is going to go away. It reduces isolation. So say, for example, there's a service that drops off males, and there's one where we actually have volunteers that go into the home. Those volunteers are able to observe and be the eyes of the senior services. And if, for example, someone falls, and they're in their home, They have no interaction with someone. That volunteer can go in and see and pass that information on to senior services or to their care managers. There's also the piece that I'm very strongly in support of. A lot of the Meals on Wheels that's done through senior services, and by the way, I used to work for senior service, so I understand the program. I was in that program for 20 years, in that office rather. You have to apply for it. My reason for being here today is because there are times that happen, things that happen to you that are not planned. I'm a very independent person. I drive, I do everything. I had a stroke last year. i have children who are extra there's no other way to describe that so they ordered meals they moved into my house they helped me but let us use an example of someone whose children live in another state they are above what the minimum salary is to apply or income income not salary we're all retired to apply for meals on wheels however they don't have access to it because as someone who has XYZ income, they can't call senior services and say, I need some help, I need someone to drop meals off for me, or I need someone to check in on me. Because the parameters of service and care are outside of what that person is. So having a program where you order a bunch of meals and it gets dropped off, and then expecting an 85-year-old or someone who broke their leg to go outside and pick up that box of meal and bring it inside. It's that that doesn't make sense to me.

So we're at we're at time, but certainly, uh, thank you for your service to the county. I know, uh, miss Denise, you know, my mother, you knew my mother really well. Um, and, uh, thank you for advocating, uh, for, for meals on wheels. We are just going out to RFP. Uh, we, we will select multiple vendors, right? To give. SENIOR'S CHOICE, AND WE CAN CONNECT YOU WITH SOMEONE ON OUR COUNTY TEAM IF YOU HAVE OTHER SUGGESTIONS THAT YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO SHARE IN THE THREE MINUTES. THANK YOU. I KNOW IT GOES QUICK.

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME.

THANK YOU.

NICE TO SEE YOU. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR ADVOCATING FOR MEALS ON WHEELS. I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A TOPIC FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW, AND CONCERNS, AND I KNOW DIFFERENT GROUPS HAVE REACHED OUT DIRECTLY WITH MYSELF, AND I BELIEVE MY COUNTERPARTS AS WELL. COLLEAGUES, I MEAN. But, and I know that we had a staff meet with each of the groups associated with Meals on Wheels in Montgomery County as well. So I think everything's moving in a good path. And I don't anticipate many changes occurring in the future. I think that services will still be available for our elderly to decide what's best for them.

Yes, thank you so much.

And I do, one of the things I do want to mention, though, because my mother and father were both in this situation. Both of them, like, got sick at the same time. They couldn't, they were not, didn't have, had mobility issues, right? Luckily, they had, myself and my brother, but had they not, you know, their income was such that, right, they were... right they didn't don't qualify for for anything so i want to you know that's just something that we've got to just solve for uh as a as a country like if people find themselves like disabled and maybe spending all of their money towards health care at least very little money to to to support other other things and these are people that have like like yourself like SERVED THE PUBLIC. MY DAD WAS A, YOU KNOW, KOREAN WAR VETERAN, SO THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT PIECE OF IT, SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD REALLY BE THINKING ABOUT. THAT'S EXACTLY FINE FOR ONE. YEAH. THANK YOU. GREAT. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? THAT IS ALL FROM PUBLIC. OKAY. NEXT UP, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE APRIL 9, 2026 MINUTES OF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING. IS THERE A SECOND?

SECOND.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MCKESHIA. ANY BOARD COMMENT? HEARING NONE, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT UP, COMMISSIONER'S APPOINTMENT AND REAPPOINTMENT TO THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY OPEN SPACE BOARD. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION NUMBER ONE AS DESCRIBED IN RESOLUTION G-1. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MCKESHIA. ANY BOARD COMMENT? HEARING NONE, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT UP, COMMISSIONER'S APPOINTMENT TO THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY CITIZEN'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION NUMBER 2 AS DESCRIBED IN RESOLUTION G-2. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER DEBELLO. ANY BOARD COMMENT? HEARING NONE, ALL IN FAVOR?

AYE.

AYE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT UP, PERSONNEL.

Morning, commissioners. You should have in front of you the final copy of the personnel list. It is a three page documented April 22nd, 2026, the timestamp of 1135 AM. All positions have been reviewed and accounted for for your consideration.

Great. I'd like to make a motion to approve the April 23rd, 2026 personnel presentation as given by Mr. Tony Brew, our chief human resource officer. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner DiBello. Any board comments? HEARING NONE, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. NEXT UP, ADVERTISEMENTS OF BIDS AND RFPs, MONTGOMERY COUNTY EXHIBIT A. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ADVERTISEMENT OF BIDS AND RFPs FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY ON ATTACHED EXHIBIT A. IS THERE A SECOND?

Second.

Second by Commissioner McKeisha. Any board comment? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Motion carries. Next up, awards of contract Montgomery County, Exhibit B. I'd like to make a motion to approve the contracts, awards, amendments, and renewals for Montgomery County on attached Exhibit B. Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded by Commissioner DiBello. Any board comment? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Motion carries. Next up, Awards of Contracts, Southeast PA Regional Task Force, Exhibit C. I'd like to make a motion to approve the contracts, awards, amendments, and renewals for Southeast PA Regional Task Force on attached to Exhibit C. Is there a second?

SECOND.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER DEBELLO. ANY BOARD COMMENT? HEARING NONE, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. MOTION CARRIES. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, ADVERTISEMENT OF BIDS AT RFP SOUTHEAST PA REGIONAL TASK FORCE EXHIBIT D. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ADVERTISEMENT OF BIDS AND RFPs FOR SOUTHEAST PA REGIONAL TASK FORCE ON ATTACHED EXHIBIT D. IS THERE A SECOND?

SECOND.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER DEBELLO. ANY BOARD COMMENT? HEARING NONE, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. MOTION CARRIES. YES. NEXT UP, GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT.

FIRST UP IS ARIANA RUMLEY. HELLO.

COME ON UP.

GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. SO I'M A LITTLE NERVOUS. THIS IS MY FIRST TIME PRESENTING. Good morning, my name is Arianna Rumley, founder of Aricare's Child Care Center. Pennsylvania loses over $6 billion annually due to child care shortages impacting families, businesses, and the broader economy. More than half of working parents report missing work or being late due to child care issues. And over 150,000 families need non-traditional hour child care that is not currently available. This is especially relevant in Montgomery County. We have no licensed 24-hour childcare centers and many jobs, particularly in healthcare logistics and essential services require non-traditional hours. This is not just a childcare issue, it's a workforce and economic issue. Aerie Cares is a 24-hour workforce-aligned child care model supporting low- to moderate-income parents who work nontraditional hours, including nights and weekends and holidays, and is grounded in Christian values with participation always optional and never forced. Tuition is income-based, typically around 10% of household income for families not covered by the ELRC, with a cap of $800 per month. The model is funded through multiple channels, including sponsorships, employer partnerships, and ELRC subsidies. Our pilot will launch in Pottstown with plans to expand into Norristown. We have developed and validated this model with guidance from multiple organizations, including WBENC, and we are active members of four local Montgomery County chambers. We would appreciate any guidance, introductions, or support, including alignment with economic development efforts, letters of support, or connections to relevant funding channels. At Erie Cares, our mission is to ensure child safety, strengthen family financial stability, and support the workforce while boosting economic growth. ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE TIME TO MENTION THAT WE HAVE SPOKEN WITH THE OFFICE OF SENATOR PENNY KUIC AND MADELEINE DEAN, CONGRESSWOMAN MADELEINE DEAN, AND THEY BOTH EXPRESSED INTEREST AND THE NEED FOR THE MODEL IN OUR COMMUNITIES. Thank you. You did a great job.

So let's connect you with Tiffany Thomas, who leads our early childhood work, and Mira also with our Commerce Department. Look, child, as a mom, you saw my little five-year-old walking around. Neil has Avi, who's very busy. Will he be free? No. IN JULY. HE'LL BE THREE IN JULY. WE CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND, RIGHT, WITH HECTIC SCHEDULES, DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU NEED TO GET TO WORK. SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE MODEL, AND OUR TEAM WILL LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE, OKAY? THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. NEXT UP?

UP NEXT IS DAVID MORGAN.

MR. MORGAN.

They've been working with Ambler. And a couple of meetings ago, I remember, right, there were people concerned about data centers. And so I've been thinking about this issue some more and the water impact I'm especially considering because just last night's news, I heard about South Carolina and Florida wildfires. And we know the wildfires that happen in Southern California And so our water is something we easily take for granted. Water is so vital to everything. And a lot of the water systems have reduced staffing and expertise because of budget concerns. And a lot of them can take an awful lot of water. Like I was reading, the average data center is 300,000 gallons per day, or 1,000 households. And large ones would be 5 million per day of gallons of water and 50,000 households. WE HAVE EMERGENCIES WHICH NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED AND WE'VE HAD PERHAPS OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE RESEARCH ON THIS WITH FIRE DEPARTMENTS. HOW HAS IT BEEN WHEN WE'VE HAD A REALLY LONG STRETCH WITH NO RAIN AND WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT BRUSH FIRES, EVERYTHING IS GETTING DRY AND RIGHT NOW WE'VE BEEN BLESSED WITH SOME NICE RAIN WITH EASTER WEEKEND AND THIS PAST WEEKEND WE HAD GOOD RAIN AND EVERYTHING IS FRESH AND SPRING-LIKE BUT WE KNOW HOW IT CAN CHANGE. SO THE WATER FLOW FOR THE DAM PROJECT, PERHAPS THE HYDRO PROJECT, IF WE HAVE consumption at these levels by data centers, then where will that stand, too? We have ways of dealing with this and with all of the real intelligence, you might say, artificial intelligence resources to devote to how can we use less water in these systems? How can we have recycled water, they call it closed loop, and using air instead of water to cool these systems, that would, I think, be really worth finding really good research to deal with this problem. And it's a growing problem because maybe in a few years it will be three or four times quadrupling the need for water. But if we have drought and you have quadruple need for water, then you've got to really think in planning with the planning commission and how do we plan ahead for this? And my thought was, well, you have derricks out in the ocean, you have oil being... access for energy, why not consider having these stations in the Delaware Bay or the Lake Erie or someplace where there's abundant water, where we don't have to have the farmers distressed because they can't have a farm. Treat planters don't have anything to water their trees. Children don't have enough water to have a good quality water system. The drug program, we don't want to have water CONTAMINATED BY DRUGS FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES THAT TAKE BACK IS A GREAT IDEA. SO WE WANT TO REALLY WORK ON THE PURITY OF OUR WATER AND THE AMOUNT OF IT FOR OUR CHILDREN AND CHILDREN TO BE BORN. THANK YOU.

THANKS, MR. MORGAN. FINALLY, WE HAVE JIM THOMAS.

JUST AS THE NEXT PERSON IS COMING UP, ALL REALLY GOOD POINTS. UNFORTUNATELY, AS BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, WE HAVE NO AUTHORITY OR SAY ON ANY OF THAT. Yes, it will be coming up, yes. But there's a lot of information on closed-loop systems. There's a ton of stuff out there. And the water usage is all highly regulated. But unfortunately, we have no say over where these data centers are going to be placed either. I mean, I think it's a great idea to put them out in the ocean, but whatever. But we don't have any say or authority over dictating where anything is built in Montgomery County.

A report from the state with an article about the state regulating water.

right the state has authority to regulate dep epa there's all kind of things that are in place that has all heavy involvement i just want to make sure that again you raised a lot of really good points i'm just saying that we as a board don't have authority over it unfortunately

Yeah, and Mr Morgan, we did a whole just like a data center 101 event last week. Davey, our planning commission just understanding that we don't have the authority right here. You know, we do believe at times we do have a responsibility to at least. to educate people on what we know and what we don't know. So we did do that last week. I don't know if there's a recording or anything. Daisy, is there a recording? So maybe we can get to that recording. So we're going to move on. We can talk after. Go ahead. I'm sorry about that.

Hi. Jim Thomas from Gwinnett. Good morning. And yeah, that topic is very important because they're going to compete for us. The data centers are going to compete for the humans for water and electricity, raising our prices, decreasing the quality of our water and increasing the cost. This is a critical thing for our health and safety. And so I echo his comments. I'm looking forward to figuring out how we can make a difference in the state's appropriations THE STATE'S ALLOCATIONS OF THESE CENTERS, POSSIBLY KEEPING THEM OUT OF PENNSYLVANIA. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS. I WANTED TO TOUCH UPON A COUPLE OF TOPICS. KEVIN STEELE WAS HERE TALKING ABOUT FENTANYL. FENTANYL WAS INVENTED BY JANSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, J-A-N-S-E-N PHARMACEUTICALS, AND THE PRODUCTION OF FENTANYL WAS MOVED TO CHINA IN 1985 BY JANSEN. our pharmaceutical companies moved it there with a supercomputer. And with that supercomputer, they invented things like carfentanil and other stronger fentanyls for our intelligence agencies. This may be a problem that our intelligence agencies and we created. You may want to look into that. The antidote is presumably naloxone or Narcan. That's a short-acting, it lasts for only 20 minutes and you often have to have a stack of them, especially for our first responders if they come in contact with it. There's a medication called naltrexone. Naltrexone is a long-acting version of an anti-fentanyl medication. low-dose naltrexone may be given to our, should be considered to be given to our first responders and to our, and more police to make sure that if they come in contact with this, they have something on board already so that they don't come in contact with it. And low-dose naltrexone may have some health benefits as well, anti-cancer, anti-tumor activity. Another topic about medications. There was a there was a scare a couple of years ago in 2021 where they found some smallpox vials labeled smallpox in the Merck plant around here. They found that they believe it was vaccinia virus. Last meeting I discussed a medication called nitroxonide or Alinea that seems to stop smallpox. monkeypox, Ebola. And I'd like you and I sent you guys an email about some vaccine issues and this is possible antidote or possible alternative to vaccines. I'd like to have further discussion with you about that and further discussion about vaccine mandates. We want our Children to be safe. We want everybody to be safe from these possible threats. I challenge each one of you to give us a list of what's inside each vaccine and vaccine attributes. So if you could do that for me, I'd appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else? That is it for public comment. Okay. All right. Any closing commissioner comments?

No, you did a great job today trying to beat Commissioner McNeish's record.

I was looking at the watch and we weren't going to make it.

You did at a point try to speed it up.

Yeah, good. Anything? Nope. Alright, we're all good. Next Board of Commissioners meeting is May 7th at 10 AM in the boardroom, so I'd like to make a motion to adjourn the April 23rd, 2026 meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. Is there a second second second by Commissioner Dibello? Any board comment hearing none all in favor? Aye. Motion carries. Next up, salary board. I'd like to invite our controller up. Any public comment for salary board? Okay. Invite Tony Brew up.

Good morning, members of the salary board. I actually have in front of you a copy of the salary board list. It's a four-page document dated April 22, 2026, with a time stamp of 1135 a.m. All positions have been reviewed and are accountable for your consideration.

Great. I'd like to make a motion to approve the April 23, 2026 salary board presentation as given by Mr. Tony Brew, Chief Human Resource Officer. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner McAsia. Any board comment?

All right.

Yeah, look at you. You're like feeling the seconds tonight. I know. Any board comment? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Motion carries.

Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to make a motion to adjourn the April 23rd, 2026 meeting of the Montgomery County Salary Board. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Commissioner DiBello. Any board comment? Hearing none. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries. Meeting is adjourned. I think we have an election board meeting right now?

Correct.

So. Okay. Thank you, Comptroller Hart. Unless you want to be on the election board, you're good to go. So we'll switch.

to order the Montgomery County Election Board, seeing all three members present. And is there any public comment? Any public comment for the Election Board in the room?

OK. Great.

No public comments. Moving on to approval of the minutes, is there a motion to approve the April 9, 2026 minutes of the Election Board?

Is there a motion? I'll make a motion.

Moved by Commissioner Winder. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Commissioner DeBell. Any board comments?

Aye.

All in favor? Aye. Minutes are approved. Moving on to some polling location changes. We'll hear from our director of elections.

Good morning election board here today to request authorization for the relocation of seven polling locations for the 2026 primary election taking place on May 18th, 2026. Notice has been posted at these locations that the polls are being moved as required by law, and the locations have all been notified of the move. We've notified representatives from the county Republican and Democratic committees regarding these moves. In addition to notice being posted, every voter in these precincts will be mailed a new voter ID card indicating the location change and identifying their new polling location. Those are scheduled to go out in the mail tomorrow pending today's vote. I'm happy to answer any questions you have and request the board approve these locations as provided. Just a quick recap why we're moving. Most of the moves are due to construction occurring at the polling location. One location that houses two polls, the church on the mall, is closing at the end of this month. So it will be fully unavailable for the rest of the year. We did our best to try and find new locations that can serve as the poll for both the primary and the general. That wasn't possible in all cases. So we will be looking to come back to the board very quickly after the primary to identify a new location and get those voter ID cards out and notice out to all of those voters to make sure that they're well aware in advance of the November election.

Great. And the ones that you're going to propose on the 23rd, those are for the general?

No, these are for the upcoming primary.

So those will also be changed for the primary?

Yes. On this, the location spreadsheet that was provided, those are all to be changed for this primary.

Got it. And how quickly will you be notifying the voters? Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Yes. For all of them? Yes. Got it. But not the ones that we're going to vote on on the 23rd? No, the, yes. We're going to notify them for those two. That's today. Okay. Today. Oh, today's the 23rd. Sorry. You say it. I'm getting ready. I know. I know. Got it. Perfect. Perfect. We're getting it all done right now on the 23rd. Any questions? Any other questions? Yeah, I just didn't know why it was. Oh, you have on the agenda the previous ones. Yes. Great. A motion to approve the relocation of the seven polling locations listed on the attached document titled Polling Locations 4-4-23-26, election board meeting.

So moved.

Moved by Commissioner Linder. Is there a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Zabello. Any board comment? All in favor? Aye. Aye. The motion is approved, and the changes are authorized. Great. Any opposing election board comments? All right. Is there a motion to adjourn the April 23rd, 2026 meeting of the Montgomery County Election Board? So moved by Commissioner Palo.

I'll second that.

Seconded by Commissioner Winder. Any board comment? All in favor?

Aye.

Aye. The meeting is adjourned. Can we do a retirement report now or no?

What time should we retire?

I wish we could just go right into it.

Yeah.

¶¶