[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.