Town Council - Regular Meeting

uh with the link available on the town's Facebook page. And we'll call the meeting to order at uh 7:02. Good evening and welcome to the town of Sykesville mayor and town council meeting. Today is Monday, January 26th. And uh we'll stand for the pledge of allegiance. I assume uh Carrie, you're going to put our nation's flag up there on the screen. There we go. All right. So, we'll we'll stand for the pledge and then we'll follow that with a moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. America and to the republic for which it stands under which it stands. One one nation under God, indivisible, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

In that brief moment of silence, please guys. All right, thank you. Let everybody take their seats and [clears throat] we'll get this party started. Um, my presumption is that there are uh no calls uh on on hold here waiting to make public comment. Is that accurate, Carrie? Have we do not have anybody else on the

Okay, great. Thank you. All right. So then we'll move ahead. Our first item uh is to approve our consent agenda with is which is inclusive of only one item, the minutes from January 12, 2026. Uh have we had any um requests for uh changes or amendments I should say to the uh minutes as as written? Yes, ma'am. I received one from uh commission uh from council member Ree and it has been implemented. Awesome. Okay. Then we're looking for a motion to approve the consent agenda with the uh minutes amended as requested. So moved. Thank you, Councilman Keenan. Do we have a second? Second. And was that Councilman Smith? I That was Mark.

Dire. That was Mark. Thank you, Mark. So uh the motion is uh made and seconded. All in favor, please say I. I. Mayor, I need to abstain. Absolutely. Thank you, Lisa. Um, I appreciate that. I should have asked ahead of time. Uh, so Lisa is abstaining from this vote uh because she was not present for the meeting in which the uh minutes were were taken. Therefore, uh, all in favor, please say I. I. I. Excellent. And I think I heard everyone. Did I hear Alex? I.

All right. Uh, I think that's everyone. Uh, any any oppose, please say nay. All right. Fantastic. So that uh means our minutes are approved uh unanimously with one abstension. All right, that brings us to our first and only well I guess I should uh actually announce that uh obviously this is a uh an amended agenda and then we had two items that um of new business that will be rescheduled. Um they were rescheduled due to inclement weather. Um that brings us to the uh item number four on the agenda which is also new business and it is an update on the station project. And so um we have Dante Liberatory uh the town's lease at the station uh with an update for the public and and the council and I believe he has some requests. All right. Are you are you there Dante?

I am Mayor. I am. Good evening everyone and thank you again for your time. um updating everyone. One way of putting it is I think we're at the finish line and approaching a new starting line. The finish line of course is that of the the permitting and um as we all have heard we have obtained for approval from the MHT. So, we're still waiting for a few minor things regarding the county by way of uh recordings and some surveying, but we can start our initial phase, which is the demo of the kitchenet and the rear platform, awning area, and such. The reason that I'd asked to speak to to everyone here today is for the request of some additional funding for the building for the overall building where we're going to need more dollars based on the redesign uh based on the structure of the kitchenet, the windows and such. to the tune of that amount that we're requesting is the $450,000. This is also for sprinklers. This is to make the building compliant, the additional restrooms and everything else that'll be necessary to make this building sound for several several more decades and generations to come. I'll pause there. Mayor, I'll pause there for a second. Mayor, I have more to say, but I figure I pause there for a minute for questions or comments or I can continue if you wish.

Yeah, I think it would make sense unless uh anybody throws their hand up here with uh uh by way of hitting the the hand raise option. We're gonna we're gonna keep going. Very well.

Thank you. We are extraordinarily delayed as you all know but do not of anyone's particular fault in in uh by way of apathy or complications. In fact, at the restaurant and everywhere and anywhere I go, Dante, when's it opening? Dante, when's it opening? And I explain to them of the complications that we had with MHT. And I also make a point to let them know it's not due to the county and it's definitely not due to the town. Everyone's been very supportive and understanding, but we are two or three weeks. That aspect of it is going to take anywhere between 7 to 10 days. We have the permits to do that. Prior to digging the footings and demoing part of what needs to be at removed for the footings, we have to bring in an archaeological team in case we unearth Jimmy Hoffa. They want to make certain that anything that's dug up is not of any of historical value. So, that's going to hopefully not cause any further delays, but we just don't know where we're going to unearth. The good news is we're only going about 3 ft 30 in below the frost line, though we don't suspect much by way of artifacts. Then the construction will begin with the slabs and all the underground conduits and the framing. The shell itself will not take that long. it. I think we'll be under roof. Maybe not with the entire windows

because there's a long lead time probably within 60 days. Roofing, kitchenet, 60 days actually a very comfortable window. Could be less. And then all the the mechanicals, the plumbing, electrical, HBAC, that's when it's going to take a considerable amount of time. And furthermore, the finishing. The finishing to make it look like a restaurant with the back bar where of course the kitchen itself is going to be very involved and trim and such. How long would that take? Probably an additional two to four months. when we think we're going to be open is still a moving target because of inspections unforeseen. It could be as early as the end of June. It could go into September. Projects like this being overbudget and delayed would not be a big surprise to anyone. Those are some of the preliminary timets that we have. So, I appreciate those uh Dante because those were going to be um Thank you for coming to the to the table with that information, I guess, is what I what I'm saying. I appreciate that. Um

I do have a question. When you say under roof, uh you're speaking of not just the kitchen, but also the enclosure of the platform. That's correct, Mayor. the the under roof would mean that the siding the the windows that we have uh committed to are a considerable lead time a considerable expense so it's very possible that the framing of it could be done without the windows as MHT was a big stickler about which is one of the main reasons we were delayed

as you may recall some of the initial drawings had a half wall not even a half enough where you could put tables against 39 in in height and then from that point point up would be casement windows. Well, they want it to be entire storefront glass from ceiling to floor but with functioning opening casement windows. So, it's quite possible that the framing will be done but the windows may not be installed. Mayor, understood. I appreciate that clarification. Certainly. Um I'll just pause here. Do any of the council members have questions?

Looks like Lisa Lisa has a question. Great. Go ahead, Lisa. Yeah. So, just one question. Um thank you for the drawings in the um the first drawing that shows the side view from the road. um where you have the entry door onto what would have been the patio now is the new space. That's the um ADA entry, right? That's correct. So, is that door bigger or is Yes, it is. Okay. I just standard door is 36 in. We have opted to put a 42 inch door there. Perfect. Thank you. You're welcome.

Thank you, C. Thank you, Council Member Gerov. Any other questions at this time? Okay. All right. Uh Dante, do you you have more to share with us? If if I may, mayor. Yes. Just a few more comments. Absolutely. The dollars that we are requesting are for the building, for the shell, for the buildout. It's not towards finishes. This is all inherent to the building. with or without me, these invested dollars stay in the building. I just want to make that exceptionally clear. Yeah, I think that's incredibly and exceptionally important. [laughter]

So, thank you for pointing that out. Um certainly we we it's for the edification of the public that you say that because of course the council u was provided with a staff report that included that information, but it's that that's that's important for the public to understand and and I'm glad you said it because I had it on my list of things to comment on. So thank you.

Certainly it's um we're going to be investing a multiple of the dollars that we're talking about here. We're putting in a lot of money. My wife and I have decided to not leave any inheritance to the children. They can make [laughter] no money. It's all going in this project and we are comfortable doing so. Uh we we want to steward this building. We want to make it all it can possibly be. You know how I think we all feel about the energy it can bring to the town and we're just eager to start. Mayor, very eager to start. indubitably. Thank you, Dante.

You're welcome. Um, and some of those numbers will uh be further uh revealed and and with more detail uh when we get to our next our next item of of new business. Um, are there any questions at this time? And this isn't your last opportunity. Dante's going to stay on with us, right, Dante? Certainly. Mayor. Certainly.

If I may elaborate on on the dollars, too. Yeah, it's I think the term is used in the construction are draws. So the draws are made based on the near completion of it. So it's not just put it it's not it's in other words it can be earmarked for it. So there you'll know where it's going.

Right. So, so and that's something that I know that you have provided uh per per staff request um with respect to um the amount of of this total ask uh what it's um what each portion of it and how much of of it is being as you put it earmarked but is attributed to certain aspects of of the improvements and and the overall project. Um and that's something that I I want to make make uh public and and and make sure that the public knows they can access that. Um it's very important to me. Um the other uh comment I guess I would have is I know that you provided us with those timetables, those preliminary timets um that will coincide with these draws. Um, I would like to also have that available for the public. and the actual dollars, you know, as part of that motion. I mean, that'd be part of the minutes, you know, we can make it uh, you know, as part of like, I guess maybe a construction update on the on the town's website or something along those lines just to make sure people have access to it.

That would be great. Thank you. Sure. Um, if there are no questions currently, and again, this isn't Go ahead. I'm so sorry. Um, your hand isn't popping up on my screen. I guess it's because I don't have my settings turned on correctly, but I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were you had your hand raised. [snorts]

Um, the other staff recommendation is um or clarity in the motion recommended is that no additional funding would be considered for this project after this time. And so Dante, you had um spoken to, you know, the costs keep going up and um you know, you're not sure that even what the numbers you have now would be kind of your final numbers. So if you can just speak to us or share with us kind of your thoughts around this being the last ask of the council and of the town and your comfort with, you know, if your budget continues to, you know, change the balance of the dollars necessary to fund this project to obtain UNO. Our team is funded to do the balance. Um it will go over budget. It will be a complicated project but we are committed through the UNO. uh you are asking me to verbalize that I will not be coming to the town for further dollars then I will agree then I will agree um unforeseen or unforeseen council member I I can't uh speak of to for example if I may we have to tap into a 6in waterline under Main Street that only a handful of contractors are licensed to do. We have been unable to obtain that dollar amount, but it's embedded. It's part of this ask. The full sprinkler amount has not come to light. We have a budget number. We have two budget

numbers. So, I don't want to come to the town to ask for any more money and I will agree not to. It's it's [clears throat] just goes in a little blind when I'm taking care of matters that are more so inherent to the parking lots and and water manes and things like that. I know what it cost to build a restaurant. I know what it cost to outfit a restaurant, but certain aspects of this are unknown till we get into it. Yeah. And I guess I just wanted to make sure you knew that that was the staff recommendation. um and kind of get your feeling about it.

I if it if that is what it must be, council, then I must agree. There's I don't want if I may, I do not want this project and I will not let this project underperform because some funding there's for the the platform. We have slated to put reclaimed wood on the entire platform. It's going to be expensive, but it will be beautiful. It'll be period appropriate. And those types of decisions, I don't want to be hesitating. We we have to move forward and seeing this project through to its best possible. Thank you, Dante, and thanks for for raising that that point, Councilwoman Gurov. Um uh we're kind of I guess right now diving into uh the next item. So, we'll we'll move on um and to item number five, which is to consider, discuss, act on a request for funding for the station project. Um, and as we've just heard, our our LEC, the town's LE has made his presentation and and has provided us with some some benchmarks as far as timelines and timets. Um, I'll ask Joe to add some color to this agenda item. [clears throat] Excuse me. And then we'll uh we'll open it up for for questions of staff and further discussion.

Thank you, mayor. So, uh, as we've been discussing, uh, obviously with our DC, you know, we entered into this lease in December of 2023, uh, back in se, uh, I think it was September of 2024. We we approved a, uh, at least initial funding dispersement of $350,000 to be used for the I guess to jumpst start the renovation project of this structure. Uh as the the leasey has already said uh there were some complications and some delays at least in the planning uh getting through the the proper uh historical approvals and things like that that were necessary uh before they could actually break ground or actually or start the construction of the of the renovation. Uh since then there's also been uh updated uh cost estimates on what the improvements will be. Uh looks like LEI has submitted just under $2 million in just these are just the building uh renovations. So there's an additional uh just under a million and a half that's going to go into actually outfitting the building itself. That's uh kitchen equipment, tables, chairs, bar equipment, things like things of those nature. Those aren't the kinds of things that uh the town should be looking at funding. You know, again, if if if we're going to offer funding, it should go to actual building improvements, and that is what's being requested here tonight. Um, so as I previously said, we we did approve $350,000 uh back in September of 24. Uh, of that uh roughly $210,000 has been sent to the LEC. So there's still actually some some draw remaining on on th that funding. Uh the additional funding of 450,000 uh would actually be put straight to the uh building renovations. Uh this is just uh kind of my recommendation on this or at least my uh reading on this just to try and uh clarify it a little bit. Uh based on those cost cost estimates of the improvements uh it would the the town would basically look at uh funding like the sprinkler system, the foundation and framing of the new kitchen. So roughly those cost estimates added up to right around that $450,000. If anybody asks

what specifically uh would this funding be going to, uh we could say something along those lines. Uh so again, this is completely optional uh of the town. It's not a required uh uh contribution. Uh but it should be noted that the uh building improvements would actually vest with the town. So again, even if this business does not uh last, you know, what we all hope is, you know, 30 plus years uh in in downtown, um uh we would uh obviously keep these improvements that are being made. They wouldn't uh they wouldn't be removed uh if the business would leave for whatever reason. Um, so we also recommend that the uh that the draws on this additional funding should it be approved be uh linked to physical improvements of the of the structure or I guess physical milestones of the improvements such as building permit release uh going vertical on the kitchen edition uh the completion of the kitchen edition and then the enclosure of the platform. Um, so again, none of these are finish work or HVAC or some of these other uh things that we mentioned earlier, but again, uh, we would like to see these these types of improvements done quickly because these are going to be the most visible that that the public will see. As far as the financial impact, uh, so funding for this request was not included in the FY26 budget. However, as uh everybody uh remembers, we did do a budget revision already this year and shifted funds or added funds to the budget uh of a half a million dollars from our unencumbered or unassigned fund balance uh to purchase uh the Royal Electric property off of Norwood Avenue. Uh since that purchase is actually not moving forward, we still have that funding sitting uh you know in uh in capital improvements. So, we would not necessarily have to do another budget revision. we would just have to make that note uh that the funding uh is being shifted to a for a different purpose. Um so because these uh the funding that's being requested would be an

investment in a town asset. Uh staff is supportive of the request uh and has provided a uh a sample motion there uh for council. Um so if anybody has any questions uh I'm certainly happy to answer them.

Thank you, Joe. Um I'll I'll begin. It's not so much a question at this point because Dante already addressed the time my concern about timets. Um and uh and we've already decided that we can make uh those uh available to the public. Um, but I do just want to toss out there the uh idea or at least let the public know and remind the council because I believe um Joe, you provided an update along these lines two weeks ago at our last meeting that the town uh of Sykesville has has been awarded uh facade improvement uh funding which from the HCD and I'm and I'm thinking that uh it would only be fitting and and and and very uh advantageous uh in to to use some of those funds in this way. So, just want to throw that out there. It's doesn't have anything to do with our motion. Um but I do want to I do want to uh let council kind of digest that as well. Correct, Joe?

We we will certainly make sure uh Dante has his application in for facade improvement money. Excellent. Thank you. Are there any questions uh for staff at this point from the council? Council member Guroff has a question. Thank you.

So, still in the sticking point of the I guess the overall costs and the this line that no additional funding would be considered. You know, I appreciate Dante saying he wouldn't come. Um, and I'm also incredibly grateful for the generous amount that that he and his family is putting towards this, you know, jewel kind of for the town. Um, so I just I'm curious either from staff or other council members opinions about leaving out this no additional funding would be considered. I just given that everything's estimates, given the importance of this building to the town, I just guess I would share with his his sentiment that I'd want to make sure that this was done right um and lasting and not want to pigeon hole anybody into something when we just don't know all the details. Um, so I think that's my my question.

I don't think that that was intended to be part of the motion. Joe, maybe you can correct me, but I think that was just part of the staff comments. Well, yeah. So, we we did want to make it clear that we we didn't necessarily want, you know, two months to go by, then all of a sudden we have another half a million dollar request. Um again we wanted to make it clear to the lease that we we we expect this now again obviously things might come up but at the end of the day you know we believe the town is capping out the amount that we can put towards this project. Um anything else is going to have to be a pretty uh extraordinary circumstance.

Yeah. And I actually have uh plans to uh provide what I believe to be an acceptable motion to make and then and then we can decide if if that wants to get seconded or not. But um I I actually do want the the no additional funding to be considered for this project in the motion. Um, and I also want to throw out there that I would I guess I I would propose to the council that we consider making any approval of this request for funding contingent upon the completion of the kitchen and existing platform demolition um based on uh by a certain date. And I'm I'm gonna say March 15th and ask Dante if he believes that's fair. Um I know that you have already spoken to that Dante and it sounds like if uh that's a a few days of of of work that should be starting uh by midFebruary that we could definitely assume um that even with some bad weather or some other unforeseen that you'll have uh the the area cleared and ready for new construction by March 15.

That's accurate, Mayor. I can assure you of that. Thank you. Uh, are there any questions for staff or for Dante? No.

Is there uh so so I'm going to throw this out here now. Uh, I I think the a good motion to make would be that we uh move to approve the additional funding request by Stasion Incorporated of $450,000 to be paid at the previously recommended milestones uh which we made public uh contingent upon completion of the kitchen and existing platform demolition being completed by March 15th and with no additional funding to be considered for this project. Do we have anyone uh that wants to actually make that motion? So moved. Thank you, Leo. Thank you, Councilman Keenan. Is there a second? I'll second.

Thank you very much. And um I think that was uh Councilman Dyer. Is that accurate? That was Brandon. That was Brandon. I had a 5050 chance. Dad gone it. Thank you. Councilman Smith is second uh seconder here for that motion. At this point, is there need for further discussion or debate?

So, I guess sorry, this is just a sticking point [laughter] for me because I want to make sure that we don't over over narrow it or whatever. To be clear, when we're talking, mayor about the additional funding, we're talking about direct cash from the town, but you've mentioned the facade improvement and then if there were other grants available that we would be in support of, you know, helping them achieve that. We're talking just about direct cash layout from the town for the future.

Yeah. And I'm I'm also expecting that some of that this current request is actually going to be covered by the facade some of the facade improvement award that we've received. So, um, if there are future grants that become available, um, absolutely we'll we'll be in support of those and and and and assist in in that process if and when it's necessary and if one or more become available, opportunities become available. Are you saying part of the 450,000 would be from the grant from the facade grant, not just directly from Absolutely. All right. Thank you.

Sure. Any other uh questions or comments? No.

Okay. Uh so the motion on the table uh I'll repeat for the edification of the council and the public and it goes like this. The motion is to approve the additional funding request by Sazion Incorporated of $450,000 to be paid at the previously recommended milestones contingent upon completion of the kitchen and existing platform demolition being completed by March 15th. And with no additional funding to be considered for this project, um, all in favor, please say make sure you unmute your your mics and uh, please say I. I I I I counted six. Is that everyone?

There it is. Seven. Thank you. Uh any opposed?

Fantastic. So that motion uh with my strike of my nog gavvel fist here on the table of mine. Uh that passes unanimously. Um that brings us to our announcements and reports. I'll begin with those announcements. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 9th, 2026. We have volunteer opportunities available now on the historic district commission planning commission and also as a crossing guard and uh also on the police auxiliary. If interested in any of these opportunities to volunteer for the town, please email townschool.net. That brings us to staff updates and we'll begin with anything above and beyond uh that which Joe has shared with us thus far.

That means me. Okay. [snorts] Yes. Yes, that means you. [laughter]

Uh I'd be remiss if we didn't start out by uh just uh pointing out the efforts of our public works staff uh over the past weekend. The snow I guess every snowstorm has its own unique characteristics. This one was especially especially challenging uh just because of the amount of snow that we did receive and then the amount of sleet that came shortly after this the snow started. I know I think I counted you know seven or eight inches of snow and then a good four to five inches of sleet on top of that. So again it made for for a very challenging day uh for the public works team. Uh, so just want to say thank you to to Derek and and all of his uh all of his folks there at public works uh for for a job well done. That's obviously continuing. Um, you know, the streets are open, the parking lots uh h have gotten um a decent amount of work, but I'm sure there's still a lot of cleanup that that is going to be happening over over the course of the next week. And it's still going to be uh well below freezing for the foreseeable future. So the snow is certainly not going to be melting anytime soon. Um so that said with the public works department also you know chief and uh the the police officers that work during the entire event the auxiliary staff uh you know again they everybody serves a very important role when when these kinds of events happen because you never know uh who's going to be driving around who's going to you know potentially get into an accident. Luckily we uh were able to avoid a lot of those things. But uh I I know we had several officers uh on shift and uh several auxiliary staff that that stuck around uh just to help out just in case something did happen. So again uh very very long days, very long weekends and and again we we immensely appreciate everybody's efforts. I also want to uh point out that uh BMS uh lawn and landscaping also did help out. They they supplemented our our town staff while they were focused on the roads. Uh making sure that intersections were clear and roads were clear. Uh you BMS did a heck of a job helping out with some of the parking lots and sidewalks

around town uh to to make sure that we had a jump start on those uh before uh you know people actually started moving around again. So again, thank you uh to Chris and his team at BMS. Uh yes, ma'am.

Thank you. If I can just interrupt, I I I do personally, and I know I've been talking to some of the council members about this and some of my neighbors. Uh this came down to very very good planning. Um and there was a lot of it that I know that took place at the townhouse uh amongst your directors and uh and yourself. And um uh it makes me makes me a proud mayor and also very grateful uh as a citizen. And um and the only thing they failed to do was my driveway. So, [laughter] uh, but that's a joke. That's a joke, everybody. That was a joke.

That's all I That's all I need. That was a joke. And, um, but honestly, uh, thank you to the DPW uh, workers and uh, and to the staff for for all the prep preparedness. So,

yeah, it was, like I said, it was a it was a big event. Uh, certainly a big the biggest snowstorm that at least I remember in in in my time here at Sykesville. So, I know that's not uh you know a decade plus, but uh uh I know the winters have been relatively mild. So, so this was this was a big one and yeah, I think it was it was handled very well. Um I do also want to make the make sure the the public is aware, assuming anybody's is watching, that trash will be picked up tomorrow. So, not only did the public works team do a hell of a job uh you know, with the snow, uh they kept us on schedule uh with regard to to trash pickup. So, if your regular trash day was always on a Tuesday, uh it will still be picked up as as normal. Uh tomorrow, um another item I have is just to uh make council aware, we did start the uh construction or the last little phase there with the south end streetscape. Uh some demo work was was started in the parking lot there at the distillery and Uncle Joe's and the vine. Uh there was some stakeout work that happened on Friday. And then even with the snow on Sunday and the cleanup from today, it looks like our contractors will be out there tomorrow uh to actually start some of the foundation work on the retaining wall that's going in the uh kind of behind where the parking spaces used to be. Um so again, that that project is still moving forward regardless of uh the weather.

So Joe, question. Yes, sir. Yeah, that's uh replacing like the stack stone wall that was there. Well, it's not replacing it exactly. It's going to be further back. Um so it's going to be more hillside. Yeah. So getting rid of that there. Okay, cool. Awesome. That's correct. Yeah. Uh that should help out a lot with the uh the storm water running the way it does across the the area there in front of the distillery and the sidewalk and such and a lot of wash out. So that's fantastic. Are they [snorts] doing like a drain system behind it to move it out to the sides or something to catch it and pull it out?

No, there's no there's no drain system back there. I think it's just a matter of what was in that that little catch area where the where the stone used to be used to just wash out of it. Well, if it's not going to be there, it's it would be a little bit more difficult for it to wash away. Okay.

Same thing with the rock that's kind of around that telephone pole. U you know, that won't be there anymore either. That'll all be hardcaped. Uh the only other thing I have is really just a reminder to council that next Saturday we will be uh holding our uh usually annual strategic planning session. Uh we we'll be there at the townhouse. Uh we will uh you know I'll try to keep you there for for only about four hours or so. So you know we'll start at 8 o'clock. Uh try to get you out of there before uh before lunch. Um, and in true uh Councilman Scoffield's uh honor, uh there is in fact weather uh that's uh potential for Saturday. So there will absolutely be an ice storm uh at at 8 a.m. uh to to prevent anybody from getting there right on time.

And that is all I have here is Anna. Oh, that's so sweet. That's such a sentimental uh weather report. Thank you. What was that? Councilwoman Gur. I was wondering if President Carter was gonna pick up everybody in our Mini Cooper. [clears throat] Yes. Anybody who can't make it, we'll pick you up. [laughter] Poor Jeremiah is not even here to stick up for himself. Okay. Um, fantastic. Well, that sounds like a pretty thorough update. Thank you, Joe. And, uh, that brings us to our public safety report. This is where I would normally call Chief to the podium, but he doesn't even need to get up this evening. Good evening, everyone. [snorts] Can you all hear me? Hear me? Okay. Evening, Chief. Thanks. Good evening, Chief. Yeah,

we can hear you.

Okay, great. Yeah. And uh thank you very much for the shout out to our staff. Um great coordination with Derek and public works crew. And uh like Joe mentioned, we couldn't have done it without the assistance of uh Auxiliary Lieutenant Jeff Queen and Auxiliary Sergeant Jamie Reichlin. and they were there uh from Saturday into Sunday and actually spent the night with us uh to help help manage this situation. And of course, I can't forget to mention Lieutenant Kilgore was there on a Sunday evening uh to oversee and assist. So, great team effort by everyone and I'm glad it all worked out well. Very few problems, very few uh uh criticisms from the public on our end. So, that's always a good thing. Okay, moving on to the uh public safety report. As you can see, it's a small one unlike unlike the last meeting. Uh this is just covering about two weeks, 13 days from January 5th through the 18th. As you can see, a total of 471 uh events and seven incident reports during that time frame as well. Um would certainly entertain any questions you have about any of those at this time. Dave, I have a question.

Yes, ma'am. Um, it's report number 00005. Yes, ma'am. Um, was that uh natural causes? It was very very unfortunate situation, but uh yes, natural causes. Any other questions? No sir, not from me.

Okay. Um, we had intended to give you like a sneak peek of our new mappings. There you go. Thank you, Carrie. And again, this is just intended as a sneak peek. Uh, this is what the system will look like. Again, thanks to our in-house IT expert, Lieutenant Queen. uh he has put together this this mapping system for us which I think will will be a great way to visually represent some of the uh the crimes and incidents were involved in and where they are occurring. Um I've condensed this one just again just to give you kind of a look at what it looks like. uh just to um as you can see auxiliary if if Terry will scroll through we we're focusing this one just on auxiliary uh calls for service as you can see at the top and this will be a very interactive program I may have to have Jeff there with me when we roll it out officially uh but we'll be able to scroll through and highlight uh different incidents for instance calls for certain uh uh assist other agency and community policing incidents. I know there are two that we normally report on at our at our meetings. And this is just the total for 2025. As you can see, uh just the auxiliary alone handled 177 total events and kind of gives a breakdown at the top. Again, once this system is live, we'll be able to delve dive into each one of these categories, break it down for you even further. Um it'll show nice uh heat maps as well as clusters as to where where these activities are occurring. Thank you, Carrie. And we'll be able to do this for the whole department uh break it down by by incidents by by calls for service as well as by individual officers. So, this

is going to be a great interactive system that will uh I hope help liven up our public safety reports in the future so that it's not just we're not just looking at at numbers. We can actually dive into where things are happening and how we're responding to them.

Steve, uh first of all, thank you and please send uh the council's thanks along to uh Lieutenant. I know this is something that Councilman Dyer's been dreaming um about his entire life and uh and and I'm appreciative of of him bringing it up uh in the first place and um this this is really this is great um we're moving into the to the to the current millennium with this information and the interactiveness of it. So I appreciate this. Thank you.

Absolutely. Yep. Couldn't have done it without Jeff's help. As you know, we looked at another system that just wasn't wasn't giving me what I what I was looking for. So, we moved on and with Jeff's help, we're able to come up with this. And if Carrie just wants to scroll through the remaining slides. Uh, again, it just give you different visual v visualizations as to how we can depict uh our incidents and and our crimes. And I think towards the end, we actually uh we picked a real easy one to focus on, which is crossing guard activities. uh you know our our our very loyal and dedicated crossing guard uh has done a phenomenal job for us over the last several years. You can see uh 86 u times where he he volunteered his services uh to help our our children cross the street. We have actually something special planned for Doug this year. I'm not ready to uh reveal yet, but uh he he's been uh just an absolute blessing to have and and has saved saved us from having to have a sworn officer there at these locations. Uh and

did we lose chief? We lost the chief. We just kick him out.

Always always leave him wanting more. [laughter] Well, if he's trying to log back on in the meantime, I do want to say something about our auxiliary. I'm sorry, about our crossing guard. Um, uh, Doug Doug happens to be a neighbor of mine and uh, I I went to him on a on a whim one day uh, in 2021 and and brought this opportunity to his attention. he had uh just retired and um he has been loyal and no matter the temperature uh rain and and snow. So um these are the types of community members that really are the glue and um as much as I would love to have another person join him so that that that would lighten his load, um I I still do want that. and and just because we have his loyalty doesn't mean that there's not room for for another individual to join us on that team. So, I'm just throwing that out there for the public.

Does the question is does Chief know he got booted? I think he might be back. Okay, cool. Sorry everyone. There you go.

Had an incoming call and I hit the wrong button trying to get it [laughter] off my feet. gotta love technology. Anyhow, um I think that was all I had to say about that and uh hopefully during the next meeting along with this mapping system, I'll be in a position to go over our annual stats and and discuss what we've done for the year. Um I think you'll be very happy to know that in uh in line with state and national crime trends, our our crimes have gone down as well. uh some pretty significantly. I think I mentioned to you before that our our incident reports were down as were our calls for service and uh most of the crimes that we historically had in the past are all down except for fraud, ident theft, and theft. Those are the only categories that went up, which is kind of the way things are going here lately. So, uh, I'll be more a more of a position to discuss that more depth, more in depth at the next meeting. Any questions for me?

Thank you, Chief. Going once, going twice. Okay, great, Chief. Thank you so much. Welcome. All right, that brings us to our or at least the opportunity for council commission updates and reports. Um, if anyone has something uh worthy of sharing with the public along those lines at uh I'm going to go in the order as if we were in the council chambers. So, I'll start with Councilman Dyer.

The um cable commission did not meet because we didn't have quorum. So, I have no report. Thank you, Councilman. Next in line would be to uh ask Brandon Smith, who I know Councilman Smith has not yet attended a planning commission meeting since his uh being brought forth to the council. Correct, Councilman Smith? Yes, we did not have a planning commission. Okay, very good. And that brings me to President Carter. Anything for the good of the order? I do not. Thank you.

Yes, ma'am. And uh this is uh really interesting. If you could get inside my brain right now and see me like traveling to the right of my seat, that next person on my right would be Councilwoman Gurov. Anything from Spark? Um no, I'm not Historic District Commission. So, sorry. It's all old habits may old habits. Yes, they do die very hard.

Um, so there is no I don't believe there's going to be an HDC um in January. The one in December uh looked at some wall signs and actually a really cool freestanding uh sign uh for the new station. So um definitely would encourage people to look at at that design. Those were um that was in December's and there it does not appear there'll be a January.

Great. Thank you. Um and to reiterate the announcement I made a few minutes ago, there is an opening on the planning commission. I'm sorry, on the historic district commission and the planning commission, but um just want to throw that out there and uh anyone interested, give uh give the town a call or or email me. Um, that brings me to Spark and to uh, Councilwoman Ree.

So, Spark met on Saturday to review the 2025 season and discuss events for this upcoming season. Um, and it's shaping up to be a really great year for Spark. I'm really excited for all the events. Um, so I highly recommend following Spark on Facebook, Facebook or Instagram to to see what's coming up. I mean, I'll I'll mention the the ones that are, you know, coming up in the next month or two at these meetings. Um, but also if there's like a last minute cancellation and that's the way that that quickest, easiest way to find out about it. But you can also see the events on the town's website. It's posted there. And if you're interested in learning more about Spark and volunteering, then I would recommend reaching out to parksville.net.

Awesome. Thank you, Councilwoman Ree. And that brings me to Councilman Men Keenan. Yeah, just briefly for DSC, uh we did hire a new event coordinator. He starts this week. His name is Jiren Brooks. We're excited to have him. We actually had a really good pool of candidates this time. Um and it was a really tough choice at the end, but we're looking forward to having him join the team. Great. And getting ready just putting everything starting together for the event calendar for 2026. Awesome. Thank you, Councilman. Um, before I ask for a motion to adjurnn, um, is there anything else for the good of the order? Yep. Okay. So, looking for that motion.

So, moved. Thank you, Councilman. Second. Thank you, Councilman Smith. All in favor, please say I. I. I. Fantastic. There better be no oppose because I don't have a Steeler game to get to this week and nobody wants to be mad mad at me. Listen, I got what was coming to me. we we lost severely. Uh so the the motion to adjurnn is unanimously approved and uh I thank everybody for being flexible this evening and I want to give a shout out to our clerk um for stepping up as usual and um working closely with CMC to make this possible to keep us all safe in our homes here this evening. So all right guys, have a good have a good safe rest of your week.

Thank you all very much everybody. All right, bye bye. Bye bye everyone. Thank you again.