[0:04] is 7 p.m. Thank you everybody for

[0:06] joining us. Today is Monday, July 13th,

[0:08] 2026. Um it is our mayor and town

[0:12] council meeting, the only one of this

[0:13] month. Thank you for joining us. Let's

[0:15] please stand for the pledge followed by

[0:17] a brief moment of silence. I pledge

[0:20] allegiance to the flag of the United

[0:22] States of America and to the republic

[0:25] for which it stands, one nation under

[0:27] God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:30] justice for all.

[0:32] >> That moment of silence, please.

[0:42] Okay, thank you.

[0:45] >> [clears throat]

[0:46] >> Okay, first order of business as always

[0:48] is public comment. Is anyone here signed

[0:50] up?

[0:50] >> Uh, we have one signed up for public

[0:52] comment, Mr. Chris Bushman.

[0:54] >> Thank you, Mr. Bushman. Now, see, I

[0:55] didn't see you behind Lieutenant

[0:57] Sneak.

[0:58] >> I really did. [laughter]

[1:00] >> Welcome.

[1:00] >> Good evening. Chris Bushman, 532

[1:03] Oklahoma Avenue.

[1:04] >> Here I am again. As has been noted

[1:06] before, it seems like every other time

[1:08] >> and it has been a little while, but

[1:10] there's also something has occurred in

[1:11] the meantime. So, I I wanted to

[1:13] reiterate my usual thing, which is my

[1:16] appreciation. I mean, I thanked you guys

[1:18] before, but you know, you can't do it

[1:20] enough. I mean, it's kind of like

[1:21] telling a veteran, you know, didn't I

[1:22] thank you last year? No, I appreciate it

[1:24] all the time.

[1:26] >> And what has occurred in the meantime is

[1:28] this storm that we had.

[1:30] >> Yeah. So whether it's winter storm fern

[1:32] or this nightmare that we just all went

[1:34] through, um it's a time to appreciate um

[1:37] you know, perhaps from my my own

[1:39] perspective of knowing what it's like to

[1:41] be in charge during a storm response

[1:45] like that or to be in charge the way you

[1:48] are or the way you are to to deal with

[1:50] that because as I've noted before, it's

[1:52] the kind of thing where I don't think

[1:54] people really appreciate exactly what

[1:57] kind of level of stress that brings to

[1:59] the people that are responsible for

[2:01] dealing with that response.

[2:04] You know, there's probably trees in your

[2:05] yard and everybody else's yard. Your

[2:07] power is probably out like everybody

[2:08] else's, but do you get to deal with that

[2:09] and only that? No. You got a whole town

[2:11] to deal with and that makes a big

[2:13] difference. And so that that's that's

[2:16] the reason I wanted to come here again

[2:18] and thank all of you for what you do

[2:20] because you know whether it's the chief

[2:22] and the lieutenant or Derek and and

[2:24] Jeremy certainly the people who aren't

[2:27] as visible but are critically important

[2:29] the carries and the Sarah's and the

[2:31] Barbs. I mean you know it makes it all

[2:34] happen. And so while we're all sitting

[2:36] there dealing with our own little thing

[2:38] you guys are at work you guys are at

[2:39] work. Everybody's at work and that's

[2:41] what I used to do all across the state

[2:44] and it was some of the most impactful

[2:47] work. It was also some of the most

[2:48] stressful work to be dealing with all of

[2:51] that. So that's my message for tonight

[2:53] is another big thank you on the heels of

[2:56] this our own little town mini disaster

[3:00] whatever heck it was.

[3:01] >> Yeah. It can be as small as it wants to

[3:02] be. That that was uh it doesn't need to

[3:04] be any bigger.

[3:06] >> No.

[3:06] >> Yeah. Thank you so much.

[3:07] >> That was enough.

[3:08] >> Thank you all. Thanks for your time and

[3:10] for your comments.

[3:12] >> Um, and I appreciate you coming and and mentioning that. I know that um

[3:19] it kind of took the wind out of a lot of

[3:20] people's sales um in their own homes and uh also required immediate action

[3:26] and and reaction by a lot of people and

[3:28] a lot of coordination. Um, and uh, I I'm

[3:32] here to say I'm proud of everybody for

[3:34] the job that they did for our Department

[3:36] of Public Works, for our public safety

[3:37] crew, um, and for staff here in in the

[3:40] townhouse. I know there's, um, always

[3:42] room for growth and improvement, and

[3:45] you'd like to think you're ready for

[3:46] just about anything, even though in the

[3:48] recesses of our minds, something could

[3:49] happen that we're not prepared for. Um,

[3:52] you can only practice so many things,

[3:54] but no matter what, we learn from every

[3:56] experience and every emergency, and

[3:58] there's certainly room for growth and

[4:00] improvement in this one. And uh, and

[4:01] we're going to do that.

[4:04] Okay. Uh, no further comments from the

[4:06] public at this time. We will move on to

[4:09] our first item of business, which is the

[4:11] consent agenda, which in this case this

[4:13] evening, it's inclusive of the minutes

[4:15] from last meeting um, and the

[4:17] proclamation of Parks and Recreation

[4:18] Month. I'm going to go ahead and read

[4:20] that proclamation and bust up somebody's

[4:22] bets for this short agenda's meeting

[4:25] time. Here we go. [clears throat]

[4:28] The parks and recreation month rec uh

[4:29] proclamation reads as follows. Whereas

[4:31] parks and recreation is an integral part

[4:33] of communities throughout the country,

[4:35] including in the town of Sykesville. And

[4:37] whereas parks and recreation promote

[4:39] health and wellness by improving the

[4:41] physical and mental well-being of

[4:42] residents and visitors throughout access

[4:44] to parks, trails, recreation facilities,

[4:46] and community programs. And whereas

[4:48] parks and recreation encourage time

[4:51] spent in nature, which has been shown to

[4:53] improve cognitive performance, reduce

[4:55] stress, and support overall mental

[4:56] health and well-being. And whereas parks

[4:59] and recreation encourage active

[5:01] lifestyles by providing opportunities

[5:03] for walking, hiking, sports, playground

[5:05] activities, splash pads, community

[5:07] events, and countless other recreational

[5:09] experiences for people of all ages. And

[5:11] whereas park and recreation programs

[5:14] foster childhood development through

[5:15] youth activities, environmental ed,

[5:18] community events, and opportunities for

[5:20] lifelong living and healthy lifelong

[5:24] learning and healthy living. And whereas

[5:25] parks and recreation contribute to the

[5:28] economic vitality of our community by

[5:30] enhancing quality of life, supporting

[5:32] local businesses and tourism, increasing

[5:34] property values, and making Sykesville

[5:36] an attractive place to live, work, and

[5:38] visit. And whereas parks and recreation

[5:40] are fundamental to environmental

[5:42] stewardship by preserving natural

[5:44] resources, expanding tree canopy,

[5:46] protecting wildlife habitat, and

[5:48] encouraging sustainable community

[5:50] practices. And whereas parks and

[5:52] recreation provide resilient public

[5:54] spaces that strengthen communities by

[5:57] offering places of recreation,

[5:59] gathering, wellness, and connection

[6:01] during both everyday life and times of

[6:04] need. And whereas the town of

[6:05] Sykesville,

[6:07] town of Sykesville's parks, trails, and

[6:09] playgrounds, open spaces, and community

[6:11] programming provide opportunities for

[6:13] residents and visitors to connect with

[6:15] nature, build relationships, and

[6:17] celebrate our unique community spirit.

[6:19] And whereas the United States House of

[6:23] Representatives and the National

[6:24] Recreation and Park Association

[6:27] recognize July and as Parks and

[6:29] Recreation Month, celebrating the

[6:31] essential role parks and recreation

[6:32] professionals, volunteers, and [snorts]

[6:35] advocates play in building healthy,

[6:36] vibrant communities. And finally,

[6:38] whereas the town of Sykesville

[6:41] recognizes the tremendous benefits

[6:43] provided by its parks, public spaces,

[6:46] volunteers, community partners, and

[6:48] recreation programs that enrich the

[6:50] lives of residents and visitors alike.

[6:53] Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the

[6:54] mayor and town council of the town of

[6:56] Sykesville that the month of July 2026

[6:59] is Parks and Recreation Month in the

[7:01] town of Sykesville and all residents and

[7:02] visitors are encouraged to celebrate by

[7:05] enjoying our parks, participating in

[7:06] recreational activities, supporting

[7:08] community events, and recognizing the

[7:10] dedicated staff, volunteers, and

[7:13] organizations that help make Sykesville

[7:16] a vibrant and welcoming community.

[7:19] Uh presuming there is absolutely no need

[7:21] for debate and it is part of our um uh

[7:24] agenda, our consent agenda, I will ask

[7:27] for a motion for approval.

[7:29] >> So moved.

[7:30] and a second. Got it. All

[7:32] right. So the motion is made by

[7:34] Councilwoman Brandon Smith and seconded

[7:36] by Councilwoman Alex. I'm going to do it

[7:39] so close to being perfect. Pick it.

[7:43] Have to pause still. I don't know why

[7:45] that is. Uh without need for further

[7:47] debate or questions, um is there a vote

[7:50] on the motion on the table? Please say

[7:53] I.

[7:53] >> I.

[7:54] >> Any oppose? Any abstain?

[7:56] >> I was out of town and therefore I cannot

[7:58] comment, but I do support the

[8:00] proclamation.

[8:01] >> Very good.

[8:01] >> So I'll abstain that way. Solve the

[8:04] problem.

[8:04] >> Excellent. Okay. Thank you so much. And

[8:08] that brings us to next item on our

[8:11] agenda

[8:13] is oh goodness is to touch the right

[8:18] buttons. That brings us to

[8:21] uh the next item of new business which

[8:23] is our uh public works and capital

[8:26] purchase. Um I'm going to turn that over

[8:29] to Joe and tell him how excited I am to

[8:33] hear all about it.

[8:35] >> Thank you, Mayor.

[8:35] >> Welcome. Uh so uh this is something that

[8:38] uh is actually in our capital

[8:39] improvement plan. It's basically the

[8:40] replacement of one of our zeroturn

[8:42] mowers. Um we' originally budgeted

[8:45] $15,000 for that purchase. However, we

[8:47] did investigate uh different electric

[8:50] options uh for for that potential

[8:52] replacement. We do not have any electric

[8:54] uh zeroturn mowers in our fleet at this

[8:56] point. Um so we did look through uh

[8:58] several different options. Um and at

[9:01] least at the time of our uh setting up

[9:03] the the budget uh those options were a

[9:05] little uh a little more u not quite as

[9:08] cost effective as just going with a

[9:09] traditional gas powered mower. Uh

[9:11] however, since our the adoption of our

[9:13] budget, we have uh been able to find uh

[9:15] deals with different vendors to bring

[9:17] the cost uh down on an electric option

[9:20] uh to a much more reasonable level. Um

[9:23] and we did investigate several different

[9:25] models of those. Uh we had a dealer

[9:27] actually bring in several different

[9:28] models and our our our fellows uh test

[9:31] drove several of them and we did make

[9:33] the determination uh with the staff

[9:35] report in front of you of at least one

[9:37] particular model. Uh one of the reasons

[9:39] we picked this particular brand was

[9:41] because uh they had been in the uh the

[9:43] zeroturn mower business for longer than

[9:45] some of the others. Uh I am happy to

[9:47] report at least hopefully happy to

[9:49] report uh that since the the writing of

[9:51] the staff uh report uh that particular

[9:53] model uh there was a different model

[9:55] that was was basically right in the the

[9:57] same line as this particular one at

[9:59] least from a cost perspective. Um and

[10:01] the manufacturer of that actually

[10:03] dropped the price significantly like

[10:05] $5,000 less. So because they were

[10:08] relatively the same from a operation

[10:10] standpoint, we went with the one that

[10:11] had a little bit more uh history. uh but

[10:14] now that uh basically a steel uh version

[10:18] um uh came back at $5,000 less than the

[10:20] mean grain that's in the staff report

[10:22] there. So most of the uh the cost

[10:24] analysis is is relatively the same. So

[10:26] again it's just the payback period is

[10:28] actually going to be a lot less if we

[10:29] end up going with the uh with the steel

[10:31] model instead of the the mean and green

[10:33] as shown in the staff report. Um so we

[10:35] are actually asking for additional

[10:37] funding to be allocated to the capital

[10:39] purchase. However, instead of $10,000

[10:41] we're only asking for an additional

[10:42] five. Um, and like I said, that does

[10:44] reduce the payback period. You know, we

[10:46] are estimating around a seven-year

[10:47] payback period. Uh, that's down to four

[10:49] years now, if we go with this, uh, new

[10:51] model. So, um, again, it's our first

[10:54] kind of foray into the, uh, the electric

[10:56] realm from a from a mower standpoint,

[10:58] but again, uh, our maintenance team did

[11:01] have a chance to test drive all three of

[11:02] these different models, uh, and were

[11:04] happy with any of the ones that we ended

[11:06] up picking. Um, I actually think they

[11:08] actually preferred the steel just

[11:09] because again it's a brand that they've

[11:11] heard of and they used equipment from

[11:12] before. Um, but again, like I said, the

[11:14] reason the recommendation was originally

[11:16] for Mean Green was just because they had

[11:17] a little more experience on the electric

[11:19] version. Um, so again, staff is

[11:21] recommending uh the additional

[11:23] allocation of $5,000 towards this

[11:25] capital purchase. Um, it's just the

[11:27] model is slightly different than what's

[11:29] in the staff report. So I'm available

[11:31] for any comments or questions if anybody

[11:33] has any. So, uh, given that now it's

[11:36] steel, I one of my things with it was,

[11:38] uh, if you were to work on this mo or

[11:40] need repairs on this mower, is there

[11:42] somebody local that can actually do it

[11:44] or are we going to have to

[11:45] >> Yeah, it's not Yeah, it's not

[11:47] immediately local. I think the closest

[11:49] um, uh, distributor is in Sever. Um, so

[11:53] it's, you know, 30 minutes away, 30, 45

[11:55] minutes away, give or take. Okay.

[11:56] >> Uh, for Mean Green, it's up in Hanover,

[11:58] I think, is the closest. So, it's it's

[12:00] even further away.

[12:01] >> Right. Okay. Um, and then the second

[12:03] thing I had was uh

[12:06] >> it's mostly just worried about like

[12:09] summer and temperatures and batteries. I

[12:12] mean, h I mean, how much does a battery

[12:14] for this thing cost?

[12:16] >> Like a replacement battery?

[12:17] >> Yeah.

[12:17] >> Oh, yeah. It's going to be I mean, it's

[12:19] almost like buying a new mower. Um, so

[12:21] it's anywhere between $6 and $10,000 to

[12:23] replace the the replace the batteries.

[12:24] >> And what's I mean, what's the life like

[12:27] on the batteries? And then if we run it

[12:29] during the middle of the summer and does

[12:31] that degrade the the performance?

[12:34] >> It doesn't. Again, at least from from

[12:36] what we've seen, the batteries don't

[12:37] need to be replaced. Again, they they

[12:38] will last as long as the mower lasts.

[12:40] >> The battery life on the specs is 6 to

[12:43] 9,000 hours.

[12:44] >> Yeah.

[12:45] >> So, that's specs. I work in

[12:48] >> understood. You asked about battery life

[12:50] and I'm just

[12:51] >> Yeah. But, I mean, that's that's that's

[12:53] perfect operating conditions. So, I

[12:56] mean, we've going to you're going to

[12:57] have days where that mower's out there

[12:58] at 100 100° heat. Once it starts

[13:00] dissipating all that amperage through

[13:02] it, it's going to that battery is going

[13:03] to be 120 130°. Like, it's not going to

[13:07] sit at a cool 72 and have perfect

[13:10] operating conditions. So, I'm just a

[13:14] little hesitant on the on that thing.

[13:16] >> Fair.

[13:16] >> Yeah. I [clears throat] mean, I could

[13:17] say this, too. I mean, the at least the

[13:19] battery estimate is, you know, it's

[13:20] going to run at least eight plus hours a

[13:22] day. You know, we don't mow grass 8

[13:23] hours a day. That's just not something

[13:25] that these mowers that any mower that we

[13:27] use typically does. So again, you're

[13:29] talking about, you know, somewhere

[13:30] between two and four probably on average

[13:32] per day for this mower. So even on 100

[13:33] degree days, typically we're mowing

[13:35] earlier in the in the morning. Okay.

[13:37] >> And trying to get that out of the way so

[13:38] that we're not doing it in the heat of

[13:39] the day.

[13:40] >> Okay.

[13:41] >> Just some something to keep in mind as

[13:42] well.

[13:43] >> I'm also happy to hear that it was still

[13:45] instead of

[13:46] >> being I didn't I hadn't heard of that

[13:48] before, so I was trying to do some

[13:50] research on it. It is a brand that's

[13:52] been at say municipal league meetings.

[13:53] So again anytime we go to conferences

[13:55] they always have a dealer there. So it

[13:57] is it is at least a brand that we're we

[13:59] were somewhat familiar with. But again I

[14:00] think um going with the the the more

[14:03] well-known uh brand is probably a better option especially considering now

[14:06] it's cheaper.

[14:07] >> Yeah.

[14:08] >> Is there is there warranty hel

[14:11] >> uh you know uh I didn't look at the

[14:13] warranty for steel. Um, I did know what

[14:16] it was for me and green, but I'll make

[14:17] sure that before we make any purchase

[14:18] that there is some sort of warranty

[14:19] option for at least 3 years.

[14:21] >> Thanks.

[14:22] >> So, are these batteries that we put on a

[14:25] pull out and put on a charger or is it

[14:27] are you plugging in?

[14:28] >> You're plugging in the mower. It's it's

[14:30] very similar to an electric vehicle.

[14:32] >> Okay. So,

[14:34] >> um, and just for the public

[14:36] satification, Joe, uh, the payback

[14:38] period as you're referring to it, we're

[14:40] speaking of what we're saving on an

[14:41] annual basis. That's correct. on lack of

[14:43] uh need for maintenance that the

[14:45] combustible motor engine requires um and

[14:48] the lack of um need for fuel fueling,

[14:51] refueling.

[14:52] >> Correct.

[14:52] >> Um and so we're looking at saving

[14:54] somewhere between 12 and $1,300 a year

[14:56] in just those two items. Um and then

[14:58] we're talking about the difference

[14:59] between the combustible [snorts] and the

[15:02] gas uh and the and the electric

[15:03] versions. Um making up that difference

[15:06] in in about five, you said four years

[15:08] now with the

[15:09] >> four years with the reduced price.

[15:10] That's

[15:10] >> going on. Perfect. I was happy with the

[15:13] 6.

[15:13] >> Do you know the model number of this

[15:14] still?

[15:15] >> Oh,

[15:16] it is the RZA 760.

[15:18] >> 760.

[15:19] >> Yeah, that's the 60inch deck.

[15:21] >> Okay.

[15:23] >> I'm pleased about it very very very very

[15:26] much and um I've been beating the drum

[15:28] for about 6 years now. So, um I'm

[15:30] thrilled about this purchase that we're

[15:32] about to make or hopefully about to

[15:34] make.

[15:34] >> So, just an FYI, I one one of the things

[15:36] I wanted to know was the battery

[15:37] chemistry. So, it's actually not a

[15:39] lithium ion battery. battery. It's a

[15:41] lithium iron phosphate battery, which is

[15:43] actually way safer and way better. So,

[15:46] >> glad glad we could help you out, though.

[15:47] [snorts]

[15:48] >> No, it's actually I'm glad you looked

[15:50] into that.

[15:50] >> No, that's it's it's a much safer

[15:52] battery. It doesn't have the the part

[15:54] where if it does,

[15:56] >> well, if you put the accident put a

[15:58] screwdriver through it, it won't catch

[16:00] on fire anybody.

[16:01] >> Well, it won't catch on fire [laughter]

[16:03] >> like in the car.

[16:04] >> Not like a cake, you know.

[16:05] >> Yeah.

[16:06] They're going to start you uh producing

[16:08] sodium batteries in in well they are

[16:10] producing them but they're not allowed

[16:11] to buy them here in in uh good old USA

[16:14] yet. So hopefully soon. Um it's going to

[16:18] reduce hopefully yeah it'll be reducing

[16:20] the cost of EVs and everything that uses

[16:22] them and they're safer as you just

[16:24] mentioned councilman. Uh any need for

[16:26] further questions for staff?

[16:29] So, we're looking for a motion um to

[16:31] approve the increase of the public works

[16:33] capital line item by $5,000 to

[16:35] accommodate the purchase of this new

[16:37] electric zot motor.

[16:39] >> So, moved.

[16:39] >> Thank you, Councilman.

[16:41] >> Second.

[16:41] >> Thank you, Councilman. So, the motion is

[16:43] made uh by Councilman Dyer and seconded

[16:45] by Councilman Keenan. Any need for

[16:47] further debate or any debate, I should

[16:50] say. Okay. All in favor of the motion to

[16:52] approve the increase the public or works

[16:54] capital line item by $5,000 to

[16:55] accommodate the purchase of the new

[16:56] electric ze

[16:58] engine. I'm sorry, mo mower. Mower. I

[17:01] haven't eaten yet. It's my fault.

[17:04] >> Uh please say I.

[17:05] >> I. Any opposed? Okay, great. Motion

[17:08] approves uh unanimously.

[17:13] And that brings us back

[17:16] to our next item on the agenda, which is

[17:19] um our announcements and reports. And I

[17:22] will begin with those announcements and

[17:24] state that the next meeting is Monday,

[17:26] August 10th, 2026.

[17:29] And also note that we have volunteer

[17:30] opportunities available on the historic

[17:32] district commission, the planning

[17:34] commission, parks and recreation

[17:35] commission, and as crossing guard and on

[17:38] the police auxiliary. So, [snorts] if

[17:40] anyone here or in the space of listening

[17:43] at this time or playback is interested

[17:46] in any of those volunteer opportunities,

[17:49] please email townsville.net.

[17:52] All right. Um, for more information and

[17:54] that moves us to our staff updates, Mr.

[17:57] Casantine.

[17:58] >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, just quick

[18:00] updates. I just want to uh echo the

[18:02] public comments and the statements from

[18:04] uh the mayor earlier and just say you

[18:06] know thank you to our police department

[18:08] uh public works department, our uh you

[18:10] know regular tree contractor uh OW for

[18:13] all the work over the weekend. Uh

[18:15] obviously, you know, town staff, but

[18:16] also uh you know, the merchants uh you

[18:19] know, they were hit pretty hard with uh

[18:20] with being out of power for a few days

[18:22] and seeing them come together was uh

[18:24] inspiring to some of also our residents

[18:27] and and you know, all that they had to

[18:28] go through while, you know, everybody

[18:30] was working to get uh power and

[18:31] everything back on. Um you know, we

[18:33] always like to look at these situations

[18:34] from a standpoint of, you know, how did we respond to it from a from a

[18:38] municipal standpoint? Um, and it's a

[18:40] good opportunity for us to evaluate our

[18:42] emergency operation procedures and, you

[18:45] know, hope to establish, you know, a

[18:46] continuity of operations plan. So,

[18:48] that's something that I know we've been

[18:49] working on and and we'll continue to

[18:51] update. Um, but again, just wanted to

[18:53] say thank you to everybody that was

[18:54] involved in in the uh the response on

[18:56] July 4th. Um, again, it's always nice to

[18:58] see the community come together.

[19:00] >> Thank you, Joe.

[19:00] >> That's all I have.

[19:01] >> I appreciate that. Fantastic. That's

[19:03] because you must have bet um 23 minutes.

[19:06] So, let's see. Uh, next [laughter] item

[19:08] is on the staff report list is uh that

[19:10] from our treasurer. Please, Jen. Thank

[19:12] you.

[19:15] >> So, I'm here to present in June of 2026.

[19:18] Um, this is a preliminary. We still have

[19:21] revenue coming in. So, we have we're at

[19:24] the mercy of the state. So, we have

[19:27] still um income tax revenue and highway

[19:30] user revenue that's still due to come

[19:33] in. Um, the balance sheet. If you look

[19:35] at the balance sheet, guess one of the

[19:37] biggest things to note is um the ARPA.

[19:41] We still have ARPA funds um which we

[19:44] still have some retention that is still

[19:46] due and more of the um expenses.

[19:49] >> We have 299,000

[19:51] and which should be um just spent by

[19:55] December 31st and we should be totally

[19:58] fine. Um the only other thing to mention

[20:02] is um if you look at which is different

[20:05] from FY25 to FY26 is um our miss

[20:09] miscellaneous general receipts.

[20:11] >> You'll notice it's extremely high

[20:13] compared to any other years past and

[20:16] most of it's attributed the couple

[20:18] things. One that our staff is super

[20:20] healthy. um we have $13,000

[20:24] given back to us from our light our

[20:26] health insurance compared to FY2 um five

[20:30] and then also unlike any other year we

[20:32] had $35,000 in dividend reimbursements

[20:35] from our workman's comp

[20:37] and then the only other real large

[20:39] expense was um our investment into the

[20:43] Libs Grill into the building we um

[20:46] contributed the what we um promised them

[20:50] um so we contributed the the remainder

[20:52] amount we promised them towards the you

[20:54] know our asset down there and it's

[20:56] coming along beautiful I think

[20:58] >> I believe so too

[20:59] >> and then the only other question I have

[21:01] was someone from council

[21:04] regarding what um on the

[21:07] when on the payments [clears throat]

[21:09] um it says Comcast splashpad pump and

[21:13] what that actually is it's our internet

[21:15] for our cameras that are down there and

[21:18] um the phone that if anything happens

[21:20] that they can make a phone call out. Um,

[21:23] the reason why we have it listed like

[21:25] that is because that's how it's listed

[21:27] on Comcast. Plus,

[21:30] uh, Gate House and Comcast, the

[21:32] addresses are like a couple numbers

[21:34] apart. So, that's how they decided to

[21:36] decipher between the two.

[21:38] >> We're so fortunate for their

[21:39] nomenclature system. It's fantastic.

[21:42] >> Yeah. Yes. Once I was told this was

[21:44] Comcast nomenclature, I went, "Oh, well,

[21:46] no wonder it's screwed up."

[21:47] >> Absolutely.

[21:49] you can imagine BGES is a much better

[21:52] >> so and I guess the biggest thing that um

[21:54] is great about FY26 is um with us still

[21:58] ex getting revenue in if you look at the

[22:01] bottom line [snorts] it's it's we're at

[22:02] a $65,000

[22:04] profit that is we're going to still have

[22:06] expenses but it's definitely going to

[22:09] increase as we get the highway user

[22:11] revenues and um income tax revenue.

[22:14] >> Right on.

[22:15] >> Thank you. Any other questions for the

[22:18] treasur?

[22:18] >> Oh, and uh I set up I'm sorry. Set up

[22:20] the audit for uh auditing starting the

[22:23] end of August.

[22:24] >> How's that possible? That's already on

[22:26] the

[22:27] >> horizon.

[22:28] >> Yeah.

[22:31] >> Thank you. [clears throat] Good luck

[22:32] with

[22:34] >> that.

[22:35] [laughter]

[22:36] I'm sure I'm sure it will go well. It

[22:39] always does.

[22:40] >> Gobs of fun though.

[22:41] >> Oh, I like her.

[22:42] >> Yeah,

[22:42] >> she's nice, but it's still gobs of fun

[22:44] to do it on. It's better than where I've

[22:46] been. So, I'm blessed.

[22:50] >> Um, that brings us to our public safety

[22:52] report, which this evening we're uh

[22:54] happy and lucky to have two separate

[22:56] updates coming our way. Uh, but we'll

[22:58] start with Chief.

[22:59] >> Thank you.

[23:00] >> Thank.

[23:01] >> All right. Thank you.

[23:02] >> Good evening, everyone.

[23:02] >> Good evening.

[23:04] >> And thank you, Chris and Mayor, for your

[23:06] comments regarding the uh our handling

[23:08] of the storm. Uh thankfully I did not

[23:11] have to come out because I had Sergeant

[23:12] Kirtner here and his squad. But I will

[23:15] tell you that it was a very long day for

[23:17] him. As you know, we had a parade that

[23:19] morning. Sergeant Kirtner was out early

[23:20] for and he remained working well into

[23:24] the evening. I believe he worked a 16-

[23:25] hour day that day to ensure that his

[23:28] squad members had uh back up and support

[23:31] while they dealt with the various

[23:33] issues. So, thank you for this comment.

[23:35] Appreciate it.

[23:36] >> Thank you. And uh thanks for that job

[23:38] well done. I uh had the pleasure of

[23:40] speaking with the sergeant a couple

[23:41] times that day uh both at the parade

[23:44] >> and then after that. And um I know

[23:46] earlier in the day he was uh encouraging

[23:49] the kiddos to stay hydrated down at the

[23:52] um the skate park and telling them that

[23:55] you know just because you're young

[23:56] doesn't mean you can't get like

[23:58] overheated. Um, and then all hell broke

[24:01] loose and and and it's just crazy how

[24:04] gears are shifted so quickly from that

[24:07] kind of thing to that kind of thing. So,

[24:08] yeah. So, I I appreciate him and and and

[24:10] his crew at that at his his crew that

[24:13] day.

[24:13] >> Thank you.

[24:15] >> Okay, we're going to talk about the

[24:16] public safety report. It's a big one.

[24:18] Uh, covers a little over a month as you

[24:20] can see from June 1st to July 5th. A lot

[24:23] of events, 15 over 1500 total events.

[24:26] Uh, just a few of the highlights. um

[24:28] that I'm sure you all will appreciate. A

[24:30] lot of community policing events, 32, a

[24:33] lot of foot patrols, 80, which is good

[24:35] to see the officers out and about,

[24:36] walking in in downtown as well as the

[24:40] neighborhoods.

[24:41] >> Yes.

[24:41] >> Uh 811 patrol checks, which is a lot.

[24:45] 100 traffic enforcement initiatives and

[24:47] again over 1,500 total events during

[24:50] that period. In addition, there was a

[24:53] lot of reports written. You can always

[24:55] tell when it's summertime when you see a

[24:58] lot of the reports containing juveniles.

[25:01] There was uh one, two, three, four, at

[25:04] least four reports involving uh

[25:07] dealing with juveniles in various matters. So

[25:10] >> helmets I know are some of those.

[25:11] >> Yes.

[25:11] >> Yeah.

[25:12] >> And you know, I'm glad you mentioned

[25:13] that cuz in my daily patrols throughout

[25:16] the town, I've noticed a lot more kids

[25:18] wearing helmets.

[25:19] >> I have too.

[25:20] >> Yeah. As they fly fly by my house on

[25:23] [laughter] avenue. I think we're getting

[25:24] the message out.

[25:25] >> Absolutely. The same children I've been

[25:27] noticing not wearing them are now

[25:29] [clears throat] wearing them. So, keep

[25:30] up the good work.

[25:31] >> Excellent. Thank you.

[25:32] >> Thank you.

[25:33] >> Uh I will entertain any questions you

[25:34] may have about any of the 22 incident

[25:37] reports written during this time frame

[25:39] if you [clears throat] have any.

[25:40] >> I do not.

[25:41] >> I'll go and it's not actually about a

[25:42] report. It's something that in light of

[25:45] what happened. Uh, I just want to be

[25:48] sure that you're keeping the emergency

[25:50] plan up to date in that people move on,

[25:52] phone numbers get changed, URLs become

[25:55] inactive, that you're constantly

[25:57] updating it. Have you had a chance to do

[25:59] so this year?

[26:00] >> It's funny you mentioned that,

[26:01] Councilman Dyer.

[26:04] A little birdie's told me you may ask me

[26:06] about that. [laughter] I did bring it

[26:08] with me.

[26:09] >> Excellent.

[26:09] >> We have updated it and we we we've

[26:11] started updating it. Let me put it to

[26:13] you that way. uh because I want to get

[26:15] new books out to the two council persons

[26:17] who may not have one. Um we've started

[26:20] with the updating of a lot of the names

[26:22] and positions and titles and

[26:24] information. Uh we're also updating the

[26:26] business directory we have. We've had

[26:27] several changes as you all know here in

[26:29] town. Um, my plan for that and I

[26:31] mentioned to Joe is I actually want to

[26:34] set up a separate private group within

[26:37] our NIXLE which is our mass notification

[26:40] system

[26:41] >> for all of the businesses particularly

[26:42] the downtown businesses.

[26:44] >> Excellent idea.

[26:44] >> So that we would be able to send out one

[26:46] message to all of the business owners uh

[26:49] to alert them to anything that may be

[26:51] going on here in town. I think that

[26:52] would be a good usage of that system. I

[26:54] think it's being underused right now. U

[26:57] but I that's that's the plan at this

[26:58] point and that would be incorporated

[27:00] into our emergency operations plan as

[27:02] well. So

[27:03] >> thank you very much. I you know I'm just

[27:04] happy to hear and I think the citizens

[27:06] should know your guys are on it makes

[27:08] they can sleep safe at night as I do

[27:10] knowing you're working on it

[27:11] continually.

[27:13] These things by nature have to be

[27:15] updated because people move on. Phone

[27:17] numbers change. You've got it under

[27:18] control. I'm very pleased. Thank you,

[27:21] >> Chief. You know, it's really

[27:22] interesting. Um,

[27:26] that's something I would have liked to

[27:27] have taken credit for is thinking this

[27:28] would be great for that. Nixel would be

[27:30] great for that, but of course it wasn't

[27:31] my idea. Um,

[27:33] >> you can take credit if you want.

[27:34] >> I mean, it's too late. It's too late.

[27:36] Um, but I'm wondering,

[27:39] this will be my idea only if it's a good

[27:41] one. I'm wondering if we could do the

[27:43] same, if we could create a um a contact

[27:47] list of those most vulnerable

[27:50] individuals throughout town um who don't

[27:54] have the ability to go and get ice, as

[27:56] an example to preserve their

[27:58] refrigerator and freezers in in a time

[28:00] of of 3 days of an outage. Um those

[28:04] resources were available, right?

[28:06] >> Sure. to the public um by way of

[28:08] [clears throat] people in Elders,

[28:09] restaurants and stuff in Eldersburg that

[28:11] were being so kind and um and community

[28:14] oriented, but not knowing who needed it

[28:18] and those that needed it, not having a

[28:20] way to get it. Just as an example, um I

[28:23] wonder if I know after the power's out

[28:25] so long our are uh we don't have way to

[28:27] charge our phones,

[28:28] >> right?

[28:29] >> Um and I know that not everybody has a

[28:31] phone.

[28:31] >> Sure. Um, but if we could at least maybe

[28:34] keep track somehow of give an

[28:37] opportunity to the public to add their

[28:39] list, their name and address to uh a a

[28:43] catalog of sorts that that would be used

[28:45] for uh wellness checks.

[28:47] >> Sure.

[28:48] >> Um in communities uh in times like we

[28:51] had last week.

[28:52] >> Yeah, I see where you're going with

[28:53] that. I think it's a good idea, but I

[28:55] think um the main thing is to get the

[28:58] word out to more people to sign up for

[28:59] Nixel. So, if everybody signed up for

[29:02] it,

[29:02] >> we could then get more more information

[29:05] out to more people.

[29:06] >> Agreed.

[29:06] >> And I we probably could have utilized

[29:08] the Nixl system during this recent

[29:10] event.

[29:11] >> Um, you know, just to give people

[29:13] general information or resources, things

[29:15] of that nature.

[29:16] >> We have to do a drive or something like,

[29:18] you know, just like a a voter uh

[29:20] registration drive happens in public

[29:22] places. Maybe we need to give people the

[29:24] opportunity to

[29:25] >> to get their names on that list.

[29:27] >> Okay. Farmers aren't. Yeah, I like that.

[29:30] >> We've pushed it out many times through

[29:32] Facebook for those that don't have

[29:33] internet.

[29:34] >> Continue try to get the word out through

[29:35] Facebook and or other other means

[29:38] >> and the newsletter. We haven't we

[29:39] haven't uh printed that one yet. Maybe

[29:40] we make that.

[29:42] >> Did I include that this time, Carrie?

[29:43] I'm not sure if I did. I usually

[29:44] >> We usually do.

[29:45] >> Yeah. [clears throat]

[29:46] >> Maybe if we attach it to the idea that

[29:49] we're speaking of as a result of

[29:50] improving our response.

[29:52] >> This is a great idea. I love it.

[29:53] >> Okay. The problem though is and that's

[29:55] the point about in printed form very

[29:57] people who need to know it most

[29:58] >> I know

[29:59] >> are those less likely to be on the

[30:01] therefore it needs to be in print

[30:03] >> where we can say okay there's this thing

[30:07] >> and I will rem my new renew my offer if

[30:10] you get some senior citizen who goes I

[30:12] don't understand all this stuff and you

[30:14] young kids hey I happen to know a guy

[30:16] who's a septtogenarian who'd love to

[30:18] come AND TALK ABOUT IT [laughter]

[30:19] I WILL COME drive educate these people

[30:22] Yeah. No, it's it's it's it's a worthy

[30:26] offer and it's it's something that I

[30:28] think is would be incredibly beneficial.

[30:31] Um,

[30:32] you know, how we [laughter] get the word

[30:34] out that your services are available is

[30:37] like

[30:38] >> I'm actually dismayed how often I've

[30:40] said to people, you know,

[30:41] >> yeah, I'm your age, but I this stuff

[30:43] will do. I don't want to mess I'm more

[30:46] than willing to talk. I don't want to

[30:47] mess with it.

[30:48] >> Y,

[30:48] >> you know, we've got to get clear to

[30:50] them. I made this comment before. Go

[30:52] fast. And you know if you if you drove

[30:54] your horseless carriage through town in

[30:56] 1903, someone would come out and stare

[30:59] at it. I'm pretty confident if someone

[31:01] were to ride a horse through town now,

[31:04] >> one of your patrolman would pull them

[31:06] over and go, "Stop this." Technology

[31:08] changes. You got to learn to adapt. And

[31:11] if they have they want to if they want

[31:13] to do it and don't know how, you know

[31:16] how to get them. Call me. So Carrie, um

[31:18] I I know that our uh average age here in

[31:22] Sykesville is like 42. Um that said, all

[31:26] we I'm just worried about maybe 15

[31:29] people, you know. So maybe we put in the

[31:32] newsletter,

[31:34] Councilman Dyer, you put a little blurb

[31:36] in there

[31:38] >> if you're if you're serious about this.

[31:39] >> I am serious about this. If you

[31:41] remember, I had a class here and the

[31:43] turnout was disappointing in that we had

[31:46] a lot We had fewer people than I was

[31:49] hoping for,

[31:49] >> right?

[31:50] >> On cyber security. And you know, those

[31:53] who were here thought, I never thought

[31:54] of that. Never thought of that. Well,

[31:56] I'm trying to get more people.

[31:57] >> Yeah.

[31:58] >> Senior citizens are more vulnerable

[32:00] because they don't have the depth of

[32:03] that looks like a scam. That looks

[32:05] >> absolutely

[32:06] >> And same idea. This is complicated. No,

[32:09] it's not. Once you get into it, it's

[32:11] not. [clears throat]

[32:13] So yeah, I think we tie everything to,

[32:16] you know, this is the digital way world

[32:18] that we are in as far as communicating

[32:20] these types of things for the for from a

[32:23] service perspective.

[32:24] >> Yes.

[32:24] >> Okay.

[32:25] >> It's got to be done, but I'm more than

[32:26] willing to help you make it happen.

[32:28] >> Yeah. Maybe hook up hook up with Carrie

[32:30] and she wants everybody's article by

[32:32] Friday last week. So

[32:35] >> So have time on your

[32:36] >> I didn't know I was late.

[32:38] >> Right on. Okay.

[32:40] >> Sorry.

[32:40] >> Back to you. Oh, sorry.

[32:41] >> No. So, Chief, I know we ran uh into

[32:45] officers on first also checking

[32:49] um but was surprised by the number.

[32:53] How many calls did you all receive um in

[32:58] man that day? Do you know?

[32:59] >> I honestly didn't didn't track that. I I

[33:02] can get that.

[33:02] >> We were told somewhere around 45 just in

[33:05] like the first half hour.

[33:06] >> It was It was 47

[33:08] >> within the first 45 minutes.

[33:11] >> 45 minutes. Yeah. So,

[33:13] >> just so I mean I know we're talking

[33:14] scope or whatever, but the just that

[33:16] volume and I think at that point you

[33:18] then

[33:19] >> had all of your officers out at the

[33:20] office on the on the street helping and

[33:24] >> um you know to your point there there

[33:26] were some news people downtown and you

[33:28] know one of my favorite lines was

[33:30] someone out in front of Beck saying you

[33:31] know that's just how Sesville does it

[33:33] talking about how everyone came

[33:34] together. there. I know we had, you

[33:36] know, neighbors and people on first

[33:39] pulling branches out of the road so that

[33:40] we could, you know, people could get

[33:42] down and

[33:43] >> Sure.

[33:43] >> Um, you know, while it was still

[33:44] raining, [clears throat] right?

[33:45] >> Yeah.

[33:47] >> Checking on each other and

[33:49] >> so yeah, the town I think really came

[33:51] together.

[33:51] >> That's what a good good community does

[33:52] in a crisis.

[33:53] >> Absolutely.

[33:55] >> I do have one last question for both of

[33:57] you. Um, this kind of proved that things

[34:00] could get serious. Uh, have you guys

[34:03] thought about extending the um emergency

[34:05] plan to cover continuity operations?

[34:08] Often often called coupe. What if the

[34:10] building suddenly has no roof? What if

[34:13] the police station and this building no

[34:15] longer have a roof? Doesn't have to be a

[34:17] complex plan. We're talking like a page.

[34:19] >> That's in our plan.

[34:20] >> That is in our plan. But okay, but I

[34:23] well maybe I need to go back and

[34:25] refresh, but I just want to be sure it's

[34:26] current and up to date because if we

[34:28] lose both buildings or all three

[34:30] >> I mean a lot of times coup plans go

[34:32] we'll go from A to B. Well, if A and B

[34:34] are gone, where do you go?

[34:35] >> It ought to be someplace nearby.

[34:38] >> Mhm.

[34:39] >> That's not in the line of if a tornado

[34:41] ever does touch down.

[34:42] >> I think I think your house is the

[34:44] designated third spot. [laughter]

[34:46] >> I was going to say the mayor's house.

[34:48] She's got the car. I expected that to be

[34:50] said before that was said, but I knew

[34:51] that one was coming. Yeah, there's room.

[34:54] >> Yeah, but there we need power.

[34:56] >> Well, yeah. And I was last. [laughter]

[35:00] » Oh, you were. That's right. That's

[35:01] right.

[35:02] >> That was a bizarre though thing, right?

[35:03] Cuz I thought other people in Raincliff

[35:04] were all set and you weren't. No, it was

[35:06] all of

[35:07] >> Yeah, all of Raincliff was Monday

[35:09] afternoon.

[35:10] >> It's crazy.

[35:12] >> As long as it's covered, I'm happy.

[35:14] >> It is in there. It's a good plan. Um, it

[35:16] requires updating updating on on a

[35:18] continual basis. And one thing we

[35:20] haven't done in a while, and Joe's been

[35:21] on me about this, is a drill or an

[35:23] exercise. So, uh, I haven't I'm not

[35:27] ignoring you, sir. Uh, we we do need to

[35:29] do that. If you recall, some of you were

[35:31] here back when we did it shortly after

[35:33] the plan. I think it was 2018 or 2019.

[35:36] >> Um, but it is time to do another one.

[35:38] And the more that you do that, the more

[35:39] comfortable we all get with each of our

[35:41] roles and responsibilities. And practice

[35:44] makes perfect, right? So yeah,

[35:45] >> I feel like that was Joe's first weekend

[35:47] here with us.

[35:47] >> It was I didn't know everybody's name in

[35:49] the [laughter] room. Yeah, it was good.

[35:50] >> You learned mine pretty fast.

[35:52] >> I remember.

[35:54] >> Thank you, Chief.

[35:54] >> One last thing. I just want to make

[35:56] everybody aware. We got two very

[35:57] important uh events coming up. Um the

[36:00] first is our 17th annual uh national

[36:02] night out. It'll be at the Sexville

[36:04] Freedom Fire Department. I hope

[36:05] everybody can stop by. I missed it last

[36:07] year because I was away, but I will be

[36:09] there this year from 6:00 to 9:00.

[36:11] >> What day?

[36:12] >> August 4th, I'm sorry. Yep. August 4th

[36:14] from 6:00 to 9 at the Sexville Freedom

[36:17] District Fire Department. And the second

[36:19] is our junior CSI Academy. Again, the

[36:22] 17th year, coincidentally enough.

[36:24] >> How about it?

[36:24] >> Uh will be September 20, let's say, 26th

[36:29] from 9:30 to 2:00 p.m. And I have

[36:31] Corporal Barrett helping me this year in

[36:33] the absence of Sergeant Lacy. And she is

[36:36] I know she's up to the challenge and

[36:38] will do a wonderful job. So, two very

[36:40] longunning programs that I'm proud to

[36:42] say we're we're going to continue.

[36:44] >> Thank you. I'm glad to hear that, too.

[36:45] >> Of course. [snorts] Any questions for

[36:47] me?

[36:48] >> Do I?

[36:48] >> In interest of time, I'll have

[36:50] Lieutenant Queen come up and do his

[36:53] review of the Psycholog.

[36:57] >> How's your web space?

[36:58] >> Hey, fully healed.

[37:00] >> All right. Fantastic. Welcome,

[37:02] Lieutenant

[37:02] >> Hyperoli. There you go.

[37:04] >> Yeah. Not not super glue. So, um, the

[37:08] last time I talked with y'all was

[37:09] October of last year. So, I'm only going

[37:12] to cover this year for the first, um,

[37:14] for the first six months. Um, and as you

[37:17] can see, I don't know if this is in your

[37:19] little iPads or if it's not, but um, um,

[37:22] just some atmospherics on kind of where

[37:24] we're at, where we're going. So, last

[37:26] year we ended up losing about three

[37:28] auxiliary officers, but hired two. So

[37:31] we're at eight auxiliary officers to

[37:34] date with still one crossing guard.

[37:36] Doug's doing amazing as always. So

[37:38] appreciate hiring him.

[37:39] >> So grateful for them.

[37:40] >> Yep. Yep. Um folks in the past have

[37:43] asked about tenure. Right now the

[37:45] average tenure is still four years. So

[37:48] that's going to change a little bit.

[37:50] It's going to go up uh at the end of the

[37:53] year because Trent is the one that's

[37:55] dragging the numbers down because he's

[37:56] only been here one year. Um [laughter]

[37:58] but we'll get to that in a minute. So

[38:00] we'll start off with patrols. Um

[38:02] significant increase this year in the

[38:04] amount of patrols with even with the

[38:06] same manpower uh similar manpower than

[38:08] last year. Last year we had about 43

[38:11] hours five patrols in this same period.

[38:14] This year we're up to 28 160 plus hours.

[38:19] So um message was loud and clear last

[38:22] year. Uh we're continuing to do it. Uh

[38:25] we have a very um eager and robust team

[38:28] that wants to continue to be out and and

[38:30] patrol. So uh that includes um

[38:33] patrolling

[38:34] uh as a team as well as solar patrol. We

[38:37] I don't know if you all remember we

[38:38] implemented that process about a year

[38:40] ago, rigorous process of training and

[38:42] things like that and tenure and safety

[38:44] and protocols on with the the chief and

[38:47] the team. So that has increased our

[38:50] numbers as well cuz the team would come

[38:52] out and want to do have time to do

[38:56] patrol. So they come out patrol. So

[38:57] which is good.

[38:58] >> Um with that I do want to um we'll talk

[39:03] more about uh some accommodations or um

[39:06] in a minute. But training, we'll move

[39:08] over to training real quick. It's kind

[39:10] of been stagnant since last time. Um

[39:13] only reason why is most of our folks are

[39:16] experienced. So a lot of it's just our

[39:19] or so knowledge enhancing kind of more u

[39:23] more higher I call it higherend higher

[39:25] caliber. We use police one same online

[39:27] tool that u the sworn officers use. So

[39:30] it's been great uh for for our team.

[39:32] Additionally we've only had one APO come

[39:35] in that really needed brand new

[39:37] training. So uh APO Abby. So she's come

[39:40] in and so she's taken up most of our

[39:42] training hours this this um last 6

[39:45] months.

[39:45] >> Okay. meetings uh trend has gone up a

[39:49] little bit from a meetings perspective.

[39:51] Um we've been doing a lot of support for

[39:54] grants um just some consultation working

[39:57] with our grant coordinator so Michael

[39:59] and so supporting him and just making

[40:02] sure we get the best information into in

[40:06] stats into those grants.

[40:07] >> Sergeant Schlle.

[40:08] >> Yes, Sergeant Schles. Yep. Um, also we

[40:12] have started meeting with the

[40:14] Westminster PD. Um, they are looking to

[40:18] grow their and stand up really revamp

[40:21] their auxiliary unit.

[40:22] >> So, um, we've had a couple meetings with

[40:25] them uh, directly uh, which has been

[40:29] interesting. So, it's been good. Uh,

[40:30] it's a moving in a positive direction

[40:32] both ways. A lot of knowledge transfer.

[40:34] We're we're looking to kind of partner

[40:36] with them, have them kind of shadow us

[40:38] and vice versa uh in the coming months,

[40:40] which will be uh which will be

[40:42] beneficial for both both teams.

[40:44] >> Of course,

[40:44] >> admin, it's down from last year, but

[40:46] it's nothing significant. Uh it's just

[40:48] normal business dayto-day running the

[40:51] unit. I've been able to delegate a lot

[40:53] of it's just a welloiled machine, so

[40:55] admin's kind of down, which is good. Um

[40:57] crossing guard detail. So Doug being dug

[41:00] the hours are consistent 32 and a half

[41:03] hours but that also includes some of the

[41:04] work that the sworn and the auxiliary

[41:07] officers have supported. So uh during

[41:09] that last portion of June

[41:10] >> okay

[41:11] >> um or the school year. So

[41:12] >> sure

[41:13] >> uh ride alongs again uh increased

[41:16] because we have a new officer

[41:17] requirement for them to be part of the

[41:19] unit during probation is to do ride

[41:21] alongs get to know the officers. So, um,

[41:24] again, that nothing staggering, but

[41:26] it's, you know, that's above the normal

[41:29] cuz typically we may do one or two ride

[41:32] alongs a year. So, as our veterans, um,

[41:36] like to be in their own vehicles and out

[41:38] and about supporting. So,

[41:39] >> sure.

[41:40] >> Uh, special events. So, hours increased

[41:42] by about 115% compared to last year this

[41:44] time. Um, lots of support for all the

[41:48] events. Um, so doing really well. what's

[41:51] not on here and kind of what's kind of

[41:53] under the fabric. So, we've had roughly

[41:56] four uh or f five in the last month or

[42:01] sorry, last 6 months uh accommodations

[42:04] for above and beyond. Um mainly four of

[42:07] them were weather related. So, or three

[42:10] of them weather related and then one was

[42:12] for a parking the new farmers market

[42:16] layout. So above and beyond coming up

[42:17] being creative, coming up with ideas,

[42:19] supporting, spending the night during

[42:21] the snow event, the big snow event, um

[42:24] things like that. So um a lot of good

[42:26] work there. And then we have two

[42:28] officers planning to go to the academy.

[42:30] So I need more volunteers.

[42:34] >> It's your fault you keep doing this.

[42:36] >> So [laughter] uh Yep. Yep. Which is

[42:39] good. Uh so we're looking forward to

[42:41] sending them off [clears throat]

[42:43] uh in a positive way uh in about a month

[42:45] and a half, two months hopefully. Uh two

[42:49] months. Yeah. Um and very excited about

[42:53] it.

[42:53] >> Awesome.

[42:54] >> So that is the report for uh 1 January

[42:59] to 30 June. Any issues, concerns,

[43:02] questions?

[43:04] >> Not from me. Anyone? My left or my

[43:05] right?

[43:06] >> Just thank you for all the work that

[43:08] your team It's very amazing.

[43:10] >> Cool.

[43:11] >> Just to give an example, let me just

[43:12] reiterate what you said about how their

[43:16] support is so important to us is just

[43:18] this past Friday, there was a big

[43:20] funeral in town. I don't know if you any

[43:21] of you noticed there was a firefighter

[43:23] uh laid to rest and the viewing was at

[43:25] Hate Funeral Home and unfortunately that

[43:28] day was just myself working. Barber was

[43:30] off and we had one officer working and

[43:32] they needed two people to man the post

[43:34] and that would have required us to

[43:36] abandon the station for two hours which

[43:38] I thought was unacceptable. So, uh, lo

[43:40] and behold, uh, Corporal Ian Ward

[43:42] happened to be here that day to patrol.

[43:44] I said, "Guess what, Ian? You're now

[43:46] going to be on this post and help with

[43:47] this the the closure of the roads." And

[43:49] he did did a great job. So, that was

[43:51] just just a great great timing on his

[43:54] part. and without him being there, our

[43:56] station would have been closed for 2

[43:58] hours while myself and Corporal Barrett

[44:00] stood on a roadside checkpoint to to

[44:03] block traffic. So that's just one of the

[44:05] many examples where they they're very

[44:06] beneficial to us. So thank you.

[44:08] >> And thank thanks chief for that and

[44:10] that's why we started looking at how do

[44:13] we kind of think outside the box from a

[44:14] patrol perspective and went with the

[44:16] solo patrol concept with a lot of left

[44:18] and right bounds for checking in and

[44:20] safety and things like that. So without

[44:23] that program, Ian would have not showed

[44:27] up.

[44:27] >> So he's like, "Hey, I got some hours. I need some time. I want some time. I'm

[44:31] going to come down." So happened to be

[44:34] this event that's going on. And uh so

[44:37] yeah, um great work by uh Corporal Ward

[44:40] on that one.

[44:41] >> Yeah, good good people under under you,

[44:43] sir. I appreciate you.

[44:45] >> Um so that brings us uh to the I believe

[44:48] the end of our meeting. Is that right,

[44:49] you guys?

[44:50] >> Council agenda. Oh, of course. Council

[44:52] and uh liaison uh reports. Uh anything

[44:55] from my far left here?

[44:57] >> Uh let's see. There's going to be a

[44:58] board of zoning appeals, but that's kind

[45:00] of limited. Um but it's something very

[45:02] important and they do a magnificent job.

[45:04] I'm using that as an opportunity to

[45:05] thank them for their hard work.

[45:07] >> Fantastic.

[45:08] >> So, you know, I get to listen to these

[45:10] experts who are devoted to our town.

[45:13] It's wonderful. Um let's see what else.

[45:16] We had to extend the uh contract with

[45:18] Comcast a little bit while we're trying

[45:20] to negotiate a new contract and the town

[45:23] was gracious enough to authorize that as

[45:26] one of the many. Other than that, that's

[45:28] all I have.

[45:29] >> Thank you.

[45:30] >> Uh planning commission met uh for a June

[45:33] July meeting. Uh and we the only uh

[45:36] order of business was the approval of

[45:38] the final plan for and I'm going to

[45:40] forget the name of it.

[45:41] >> Enclave

[45:42] >> at Parkside.

[45:43] >> Okay. And that's the uh the small uh

[45:46] >> 45 town home addition to Park 7.

[45:49] >> Awesome. Thank you, sir.

[45:51] >> Uh so HDC Met um does have I I don't

[45:54] know how many openings are on the

[45:56] >> There's at least three.

[45:58] >> At least three. So we need people in the

[46:00] historic district commission. And

[46:02] >> I was mouthing off too loud and for too

[46:04] long. That's what happened. Went from a

[46:06] full house to

[46:08] [snorts]

[46:08] >> and they're I think you know input would

[46:11] be great and support. I know they're

[46:13] trying to um figure out their role in

[46:18] both um length of art displays in town

[46:22] and guidance or enforcement of like

[46:25] paint colors on

[46:27] >> historic buildings. And so, um, you

[46:30] know, Joe and, um, and staff have really

[46:35] tried to help provide some guidance on things, but [clears throat] I know

[46:38] eventually if if it continues at some

[46:41] point, something will come before

[46:42] council from their request in that. But,

[46:46] um, you know, there's a a kind of a

[46:49] robust discussion going on right now of

[46:52] it [snorts] within the historic

[46:53] district. Is it the historic district

[46:56] commission's

[46:58] le ability to have oversight and that

[47:00] would come to council to ask and get

[47:01] permission for

[47:03] >> of you know art installation

[47:05] installations or art on historic

[47:08] buildings and how you know

[47:10] >> what the what the oversight there is or

[47:13] >> temporary versus permanent kind of art

[47:15] installations. And then a discussion

[47:18] around people looking to paint historic

[47:21] buildings and historic colors and is it

[47:24] their role to provide guidance and if so

[47:26] what would that guidance be or is it

[47:27] their role to enforce the use of certain

[47:30] paint colors and so there's kind of

[47:32] that's that's the discussion going on

[47:34] right now in that space.

[47:36] >> So just so everyone's aware of where

[47:38] things are.

[47:39] >> I think the discussion is ongoing to try

[47:40] to figure out exactly what that would

[47:42] look like. It's not correct. They don't

[47:44] want to create like a a very specific

[47:45] color wheel that everybody has to use.

[47:47] It's just a matter of how do we avoid

[47:49] the potential of neon green getting painted on a building somewhere.

[47:54] >> If it's Yeah. And what what's the same

[47:55] way you keep a tree from being cut down?

[47:58] [snorts]

[47:59] >> I mean, I would literally tie myself to

[48:01] a building if somebody wanted to paint

[48:03] it neon green. That's all I'm saying.

[48:05] >> Sounds like a challenge. [laughter]

[48:08] I'm not going to get in the middle of

[48:09] that one, but um yeah, I mean if people

[48:11] are interested in the discussion

[48:12] obviously it's in the in the minutes and

[48:15] things like that and um but just the

[48:17] council knows those are kind of ongoing

[48:20] discussions and I think trying to

[48:22] understand

[48:24] um their role in that in a historic

[48:26] >> I think I I I think it's a uh Thank you

[48:29] for that. Yeah. Um, I'm not so sure it's

[48:33] their lack of understanding what their

[48:35] role is. It's their desire for their

[48:38] ability to have control over certain

[48:40] things that are not not bestowed upon

[48:43] them within the current guidelines.

[48:45] >> Correct.

[48:46] >> That they want.

[48:48] So,

[48:50] I don't know if I've paraphrased that

[48:52] well or or what have you, but like I I

[48:54] do believe they understand their role as

[48:57] commissioners of the historic district.

[49:01] I think they they would prefer to have

[49:03] more control over those two items that

[49:05] you mentioned. Um, and so the the

[49:08] conversation continues.

[49:10] >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Alex. The next

[49:13] Spark meeting is Thursday, July 23rd at

[49:16] 7 p.m. And the next Sexual Cinema event

[49:19] is Saturday, August 8th, and they'll be

[49:20] showing Dog Man, which I never even knew

[49:23] was a movie until [laughter]

[49:26] the movie starts around

[49:29] sunset at Cooper Park. Uh, but come

[49:31] early for premov activities. Fun.

[49:33] >> It is quite unusual.

[49:35] [laughter]

[49:37] » My grandkids

[49:41] [laughter]

[49:43] Curiosity Pete.

[49:45] >> Okay.

[49:46] Thank you, Councilwoman. Appreciate you.

[49:49] How about you, Councilman?

[49:50] >> Yep. Um DSC uh for the events in the

[49:53] last month. We had our Junth 2026. It

[49:56] was our most successful celebration to

[49:58] date. Attendance um nearly double from

[50:01] the last year. And we had new additions

[50:03] with complimentary food, children's

[50:06] activities, and giveaways and expanded

[50:08] cultural and historic programming for

[50:09] all ages. I think it went very well that

[50:11] day. Weather was perfect. Worked out

[50:13] really well. Um, as everybody knows, the

[50:15] farmers market continues to attract

[50:17] strong crowds. Attendance data from the

[50:20] police so far estimates between 500 and

[50:23] 700 people on Main Street each market

[50:26] day. Um, which is at least 25 times the

[50:29] normal foot traffic on a Sunday on Main

[50:32] Street. Uh, let Freedom Ring Parade uh

[50:35] went off well. Unfortunately, I wasn't

[50:36] able to attend. Um, but the theme was

[50:39] back to our roots and had antique

[50:42] tractors, vintage farm equipment,

[50:44] Sykesville's ar agricultural heritage.

[50:47] Um, despite the heat wave, uh, there was

[50:50] apparently a very good crowd.

[50:52] >> There was, and I squirted most of them.

[50:54] [laughter and snorts]

[50:56] >> Uh, projects and programs. Um, the

[50:58] design committee has released a

[51:00] collection of 10 commemorative note

[51:02] cards celebrating the Gamza recognition

[51:05] and featuring Main Street artwork by

[51:07] local artist Tom Canwell. Cards are

[51:10] available at the post office, the DSSE

[51:11] office, and the farmers market. A light

[51:14] installation that is going to go between

[51:16] the DSSE building and Pasco Distilling

[51:18] has been rescheduled for the week of

[51:20] July 20th due to the storms and heat

[51:23] wave. Um, that's another placemaking

[51:27] initiative that's just representative of

[51:30] the partnership between the town and our

[51:32] Main Street program. And then the I've

[51:35] not had a chance to visit this yet, but

[51:37] the popup thrift shop at 7611 Main

[51:41] Street has apparently been a very

[51:42] overwhelming success with a lot of

[51:44] community engagement and visitor

[51:47] interest.

[51:49] >> I I thank you for that report. And I

[51:51] just had one question for Joe. Just is

[51:52] not nothing DSC related. Um but when it

[51:56] was when somebody mentioned the um the

[52:01] uh newsletter ear I pulled up the last

[52:03] one and I noticed there's a section on

[52:06] there about sports equipment in town

[52:08] parks and asking people not to leave

[52:10] them. What What is the protocol with

[52:12] regard to that? Cuz I actually noticed

[52:13] that yesterday in the park by Great Way.

[52:16] There's at least

[52:17] >> two soccer goals. That's the usual spot

[52:20] where there's there's several there's

[52:22] several pieces of equipment. Uh you

[52:23] typically if it's uh if it's something

[52:25] that our public works folks can can move

[52:28] out of the way and still know around

[52:29] then you know if it's not causing any

[52:31] problems then then we we do leave it. Um

[52:33] however if we do start getting

[52:35] complaints about it then we usually post

[52:37] the actual piece of equipment itself. If

[52:38] it's in a public area like that where

[52:40] you don't know it's a like whose house

[52:42] it actually belongs to uh we'll post it

[52:44] and then uh if it if it doesn't leave I

[52:46] think we usually give it 10 days or so.

[52:48] Um we'll we'll just take it away. Okay.

[52:50] Thanks.

[52:52] >> Thank you so much. Um any other comments

[52:55] or uh items for the good of the order?

[52:58] Going once, going twice. Right. So we're

[53:01] looking for a motion to adjourn. Thank

[53:03] you, council.

[53:04] >> Close. Motion to go in. Motion.

[53:07] >> Yeah. Close session.

[53:08] >> Yes.

[53:09] >> So at this point, [laughter]

[53:11] we don't need a motion. I'm going to

[53:13] call for recess.

[53:15] All right. [laughter]

[53:16] cuz the mayor's awake now. Okay. So,

[53:19] >> did something change on the agenda?

[53:21] >> No. No, it didn't. It did change from it

[53:23] not having one to having in my mind, not

[53:26] on paper. [laughter]

[53:26] >> Okay.

[53:28] >> Um, just like coming. Um, I'll give a 5m

[53:31] minute recess here now so we can clear

[53:34] the gallery for our close session.

Sykesville Town Council Meeting 7-13-2026

Transcript