[1:26] Good evening. It's now 5:15 p.m. and the Beller Board of Town Commissioners work

[1:31] session for September 1st, 2026 is now in order. I'm going to call the role.

[1:35] Commissioner Foss >> here, Commissioner Chismar

[1:38] » here, >> Commissioner Taylor

[1:40] » here, >> and Commissioner Hanley

[1:41] » here. >> All right, so we're all here tonight,

[1:43] which is great. Uh, our first order of business is to approve the agenda. May I

[1:47] have a motion to approve the agenda for this evening? So moved.

[1:50] » Thank you so much. Do I have a second? >> Second.

[1:52] » Any discussion of the agenda this evening?

[1:54] » I did have one. Um Mr. CR intimated that we may not necessarily need to discuss

[2:00] about the settlement in close session. I know that we've discussed them in open

[2:04] session before. Is that right, Mr. CR? >> Yeah, it's uh I have a memo here from

[2:10] the attorney general, which I'm sure isn't uh is already public information,

[2:14] so I could just read that in open session if you wanted to. This is

[2:18] strictly for the opioid. Yeah, the opioid. Yeah.

[2:21] » All right. So, we will move that to our open session.

[2:26] » Yes. So, I'll just make a motion to strike item 11 A or 11 B2.

[2:34] There you go. >> There you go. Because it's already on

[2:36] 4C1. So, >> okay. Makes sense. All right. So, we're

[2:41] going to vote on the amendment to the agenda.

[2:43] » Someone needs a second. I'll second that. We do need a second. Thank you.

[2:46] And now we're going to vote on the amendment.

[2:48] » Okay. Uh this is for the amended vote on the approval of the amended agenda for

[2:52] work session meeting town beller board town commissioners work session meeting

[2:56] September 1st 2026. Commissioner Foss >> I.

[3:01] » Commissioner Chismar >> I.

[3:03] » Commissioner Taylor >> I.

[3:04] » Commissioner Hanley >> I.

[3:05] » And Chair Eding >> I. And now we need to vote on the agenda

[3:09] as amended. >> Yes. Uh there you go for the agenda as

[3:13] amended. Commissioner Foss >> I.

[3:16] » Commissioner Chismar >> I.

[3:17] » Commissioner Taylor >> I.

[3:18] » Commissioner Hanley >> I.

[3:19] » And Chair Eddie >> I.

[3:20] » The agenda is approved. Thank you. >> Terrific. So moving on the tenative

[3:24] agenda for our next town meeting which will be September the 8th at 700 p.m.

[3:29] right here in Bellard Town Hall. The first thing we will have is a public

[3:32] hearing on resolution 1279-26 amending resolution 1246-25

[3:38] the armory fee schedule with a veterans discount. And who's presenting on that?

[3:43] Mike. All right. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. The uh we

[3:48] discussed this at the last town hall meeting where it was received and

[3:52] essentially a brief uh summary is it's a 10% discount for active duty military

[3:57] and veterans of the United States Armed Forces. And it'll be before you for a

[4:02] vote at the uh upcoming town hall meeting, a public hearing and a vote at

[4:06] the upcoming town hall meeting. >> All right. Any questions for Mike about

[4:11] that? I think it's kind of a nice gesture to make to our veteran

[4:15] community. All right. Also, under unfinished business, we have resolution

[4:19] 1279-26, the amending the resolution 124625, the

[4:23] armory fee schedule with veterans discount. I'm going to assume we don't

[4:27] have any further discussion on that matter since we just concluded it. We'll

[4:30] move on to new business which will be resolution 1280-26 the opioid litigation

[4:36] settlement authorization with IND indivor

[4:40] me I uh I have not yet drafted the resolution I should have that for you

[4:46] later this week but in a nutshell I'll read from uh the state of Maryland

[4:50] office of attorney general Anthony Brown he issued the following memo on on July

[4:55] 1st 2026 the office the office of the attorney general has reached reach a

[5:00] settlement with Nvidior, a manufacturer of opioid use disorder medication. On

[5:05] June 2025, the OAG chose not to signed into multi-state agreement with Invidior

[5:11] following the additional negotiations to OAG and Invidior have reached a

[5:16] settlement that would provide for a cash payment of $1.5 million and some change.

[5:22] Uh the same amount of Maryland share in the multi-state settlement, but in the

[5:27] form of a one-time payment. Additionally, Nvidior will provide $2

[5:31] million worth of subox suboxone suboxone and subllicade sublicade for the use by

[5:39] the state and or participating counties including Baltimore City in their

[5:43] correctional systems and they are providing instructions for ordering the

[5:48] settlement product and are available in their uh in their attached

[5:52] documentation. So, our uh our attorneys that the town has employed to take us

[5:59] through these various opioid settlements settlements uh do agree and recommend

[6:05] that the board sign on to this one as well too. So, I

[6:09] will have that resolution for you to vote on on Monday.

[6:13] » Just before we leave this, I know these are kind of pro- formal because we're

[6:17] not going to sue individually. It would be too expensive for us to do that, but

[6:21] we're going to get actual products That's what it sounds like. There's

[6:24] actually a uh there's actually an order form that they're going to make that

[6:29] available. I guess that's chief. Is that what officers sometimes carry or

[6:35] » you do? >> Okay.

[6:42] » See what's behind u administering that kind of medication.

[6:46] » Okay. >> I don't that's not the one that's

[6:48] readily available to the community either.

[6:51] » Yeah. I'm I'm curious what the purposes of those medications particularly are

[6:56] because there are some that are to be administered when someone's having an

[6:59] overdose, which is the Narcan that I'm familiar with.

[7:02] » I'm not terribly sure, but those sound like the drugs that you take instead of

[7:08] » um the drug that you're addicted to so that you

[7:11] » Yes. >> So maybe it's more for the health

[7:13] department than not necessarily for a police department. So maybe we should,

[7:17] you know, before next week. And I'm I'm just sort of explaining this partly for

[7:20] the people at home and partly for my own education um to see if this is something

[7:24] that we want to have or can we if we get it, can we give it to the health

[7:28] department because there rules on that kind of thing.

[7:30] » Center. It sounds like one of those medications that inhibits or you know

[7:34] » keeps you from >> keeps you from relapsing. Yes, ma'am. I

[7:37] think you're right. Yeah. >> Yeah. So, it's available uh to the state

[7:41] and all the participating counties including Baltimore City and the

[7:46] municipalities. So, um >> yeah, I'd hate

[7:49] » it doesn't say any reference like we're all allowed at a certain amount. I think

[7:53] it's >> Yeah, I just I just would like I'd hate

[7:57] to waste it if we could potentially give it to the detention center, but I don't

[8:02] want us to break any rules either. Um, since it is a a drug that you need a

[8:07] prescription for, I think you can't just like give it to anybody. But, um, if you

[8:10] could just look into that, chief, so we know what we can do with it and what we

[8:14] can't do with it.

[8:17] » And there's a little chart here attached that says the town of Belair qualifying

[8:23] subdivision will receive $716.50

[8:29] out of this. So there you So there you go.

[8:32] Not exactly a king's ransom, but we'll take it. All right.

[8:36] » That that is monetary, not the cost of the amount of drugs.

[8:42] » Correct. >> The in video settlement, the following

[8:45] are estimates of projected total cash payments to subdivisions.

[8:49] » Cash payments. Okay. >> These payments do not include settlement

[8:51] product available to some eligible subdivisions.

[8:54] » Okay. >> So, there you go. So, it may not even be

[8:56] clear that we're eligible, but at any rate, if we could just look into that

[8:59] because if if we are eligible or if we could uh designate the health department

[9:05] or the detention center if we can't use it, that would be great.

[9:08] » Okay. >> Any other questions on the opioid

[9:11] litigation? >> I'll have that resolution uh for you on

[9:14] on Monday. >> Thank you, Mike.

[9:16] » Okay. >> All right. Moving on to the Department

[9:19] of Public Works uniform contract, Mr. Steven Klene.

[9:22] » Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um this is for a contract to purchase or excuse me rent

[9:29] um weekly uniforms for the public works guys. Uh it's a $13,000 per fiscal year

[9:36] contract that can be extended for a period of three additional years. So

[9:42] that's why we're bringing it before you to get approval because after four years

[9:46] it would exceed $25,000 in our procurement uh threshold. Um it's a

[9:51] piggyback under Cecil County contract and uh we've already been using Lord

[9:57] Baltimore uh uniform company already. So uh we're going to just continue using

[10:02] them um moving into the future and we'd like to get your approval to do so.

[10:07] » So we currently rent our uniforms? >> Yes.

[10:10] » I did not know that. Yep. >> Learn something new every day.

[10:12] » Yes. So they uh they come and they pick them up on a weekly basis and they take

[10:16] them and they clean them. each um employees uh provided with 11 uniforms

[10:22] and uh they use five and they have the extra one. So when they bring that one

[10:26] in they have for two full weeks. Okay. >> So they launder them and then they bring

[10:31] them back and uh if there's any rips or tears they fix them for us uh and so

[10:37] forth. >> So half of them are always being

[10:40] laundered on any given week. >> Yes. Yep.

[10:43] » And it's worked out really well for us in the in the past. though.

[10:48] » What, Mr. Klein? What's our current What's the current contract cost?

[10:53] » I I don't know the exact contract, but this would be 11,000 something and then

[10:57] I have not to exceed 13,000 if there's some extra like t-shirts or something

[11:02] that we get for the guys in the summertime.

[11:05] » We buy those. We don't rent t-shirts, right?

[11:08] » But do you think this is more or less what we

[11:10] » Oh, no. This is This is the same pretty much the same.

[11:13] » Yeah, it's about almost exactly the same.

[11:19] All right. Any more questions about the uh uniform contract?

[11:24] » All right. Next is the refu truck fit out contract.

[11:28] » Mr. Klein, >> thank you. This uh kind of came up. You

[11:31] had already approved the the entire truck at your July 20th, 2026 meeting.

[11:38] Um what happened is the um person uh Grand Turk who actually builds the trash

[11:47] component on the truck wanted his own PO purchase order. Uh finance felt that

[11:53] because of the request for their own purchase order you should approve a

[11:57] contract with Grand Turk as well as we did with the other company. So, this is

[12:03] just for the actual uh the 20 yard rear loading body uh that they will mount

[12:10] onto the chassis uh that you guys already approved. And it's uh for

[12:16] $146,951. And that was all in the paperwork that

[12:20] you looked at before and were able to approve. But the finances thinks that we

[12:25] should do have your approval on this as well.

[12:30] All

[12:32] right. Any questions about the truck fit out?

[12:37] All right. Moving on to the appointment to the planning commission.

[12:44] » I don't see any. >> Wait a minute.

[12:48] » Sorry about that. Okay. >> I'm I'm working with an old copy.

[12:52] » Okay. Yeah, we've we've changed it several times.

[12:54] » All right. It's on. It's off. It's off. >> Yes, ma'am. Vicata public safety

[12:59] surveillance cameras contract and I know there's you chief.

[13:02] » Yes. Uh this is a again this is a last minute entry. We want to try to get it

[13:05] in. Um this all came about in midappril. Um BAPD and our grant our great grant

[13:11] writing team at economic development. We decided to submit a grant application to

[13:16] the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Control GOCCCP

[13:20] under the Maryland Entertainment and District Security Grant. And it's uh

[13:25] abbreviated. you'll usually see ED, Edward, David, Sam, George, EDSG. Uh,

[13:31] and this would further strengthen our Vicata AI public safety camera network.

[13:35] Uh, the process was extremely competitive. We had two weeks and this

[13:39] is the this is the kind of the game they'll give you two weeks because they

[13:42] want to see if you'll actually you're actually committed to wanting to win the

[13:46] grant award. Uh, extremely competitive. there was only $250,000 for each

[13:51] jurisdiction for the entire state of Maryland in in uh for jurisdictions to

[13:56] um submit a grant for and each jurisdiction could receive up to

[14:00] $50,000. Uh our hopes were not high at winning. Uh again, we only had two

[14:05] weeks. Uh but in remark remarkably in June, we received the notification um

[14:10] that we in fact received $21,661 award um to to help us out with the

[14:17] grant. This would fund two cameras. Uh and again in July we uh received more

[14:24] great news that we received an additional $9,110.

[14:28] So I mean it says a lot for us to be able to get that in and we're

[14:31] competitive. Uh and obviously they uh thought we submitted a great uh grant

[14:35] application. So we received a total of 30,771.

[14:40] Um and again it was great news, but the only the problem is that um that could

[14:44] only fund two cameras. Three cameras would cost us 33,768.

[14:50] So, what I'd like to do is uh fund the shortfall. Again, much like I did with

[14:54] the uh command connector, uh we'll use drug task force money to fund the

[14:59] shortfall of $2,997.60.

[15:04] So, um again, that's for the arts and entertainment uh grant and in the NOA,

[15:09] the notice of funding availability. The goal of EDSG is to strengthen security

[15:14] in Maryland's entertainment districts through collaborative efforts among

[15:18] local governments, community organizations, and law enforcement by

[15:21] supporting enhanced security and crimerevention activities. Uh EDSG aims

[15:26] to reduce criminal activity, improve crowd control, and enhance public

[15:30] safety. Uh and our uh Verata AI public safety camera system definitely is uh

[15:35] moving us in that right direction. and we filed under the category of pro

[15:40] procurement of security equipment which facilitates the purchase of surveillance

[15:44] cameras, enhanced lighting and communication tools to improve

[15:48] monitoring in hightra areas. So those extra three cameras will again reinforce

[15:53] the uh the current uh network we have and then we'll use them around the main

[15:58] street or bond street areas. That's where they're going to be deployed. So

[16:02] I'll have that I'll have that agenda item ready for presentation on the next

[16:06] meeting. >> All right. Thank you, Chief. Yes, ma'am.

[16:08] » Any questions? >> Yeah, Chief was How about the the

[16:12] operations cost for this? Is there a month more monthly fees

[16:18] with the internet? >> This will wireless connections and all.

[16:21] » Uh yeah, there there will be a wireless connection fee probably. I'll have to

[16:26] check into that, but yeah, just like the other system,

[16:28] » right? >> Yeah, we'll we'll add on to that, but

[16:30] that'll be the only fee, I believe. >> That'll be the only addition fee. Okay.

[16:35] » Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. Now we're at the appointment to

[16:40] the planning commission. >> Close session.

[16:44] » Ah, close session. All right. Commissioner liaison reports. The tree

[16:49] committee has not met all summer, but we'll be meeting I believe it's next

[16:53] week on Wednesday. So, I'm looking forward to that. And I know we are

[16:58] looking for one member. So, I'll uh put out a few feelers.

[17:05] I have a similar report to give. Both ECDC and ABC took their customary summer

[17:11] uh recess and will be returning uh in the case of ECDC uh soon. Next week.

[17:19] Yes. Next Thursday. Yes. And uh in the case of ABC next Monday. No.

[17:26] » Monday after that. Yes. Right. Monday after that. Okay. 14th should be 14th I

[17:34] think right because mon because Labor Day is super late this year which is

[17:38] which has really thrown me off. Um but anyway that that is all I have to say.

[17:42] We will be back for September.

[17:48] Committee for seniors and citizens in need did not meet in August. Historic

[17:51] preservation met. Our town council Liz presented to the commission

[17:57] uh about some proposed legislation that has to do with properties that are

[18:01] adjacent or budding historic preservation districts or historic

[18:04] district designated districts. The historic preservation commission could

[18:10] provide recommendations on whether or not a an issue at a property is

[18:15] consistent with the historic character of the uh district. So the commission

[18:20] seemed to be supportive of that. So, I think we're going to work on something

[18:23] here pretty shortly.

[18:27] » Um, the Downtown Alliance met and they're just gearing up for the barbecue

[18:32] bash that we all know is, you know, coming up. Um, also they said that, uh,

[18:38] July was a very busy month. They had a lot of things going on in town. Um,

[18:42] they're looking forward to in September. Um you've got the Bair Market um which

[18:47] is the same day as the arts festival. That's going to really give a lot of um

[18:51] opportunities for people coming into Harford County for that. And Angela, the

[18:57] Harford County Tourism Grant, $75,000, correct? And that is we can retain all

[19:07] of that. Is that what they said? because that

[19:10] » that grant was awarded by Harford County through the tourism grant process to

[19:14] directly to the Bair Downtown Alliance for marketing um specifically for the

[19:19] barbecue bash potentially some other events that I I'm not sure of or if it's

[19:24] specific only to barbecue bash. But yes, they um last year were in a partnership

[19:29] grant with another organization in town and the grant was split 8020. This year

[19:35] the alliance will retain 100% of that grant. They still applied under the

[19:40] partnership rules but the town of Bair was their partner and we provide our

[19:44] services in kind to them for the barbecue bash and um so they retain the

[19:50] full amount awarded

[19:54] and Rockfield met and they've had a very um busy season. The um weddings are up

[20:01] 37%, social events up 34%. Um that they had at the time that we met

[20:08] they had 127 active events on their calendar. So that is uh I mean they are

[20:14] full. They're also um just getting ready for um the wine festival which is I

[20:20] think that's the 26. Um and I think that's about it. There was one

[20:27] other really interesting thing that came out of um the Beller Downtown Alliance

[20:31] that one of the uh ladies Vicki that serves on that this this doesn't really

[20:36] have a whole lot to do with um it was just something that she was sharing

[20:40] about a um medical mobile van um that uh she runs um that is in Edgewood and it's

[20:49] just really it's a free clinic um and it's something that they've just gotten

[20:53] off the ground but I just wanted to let everybody everybody be aware that it is

[20:57] out there and that's just something really they're offering to citizens

[21:02] especially those that do not have any means um to be able to you know um get

[21:09] to doctors and everything else that they have this free clinic that they can go

[21:21] » um yeah the board of appeals met in that August

[21:27] I did miss that. Where was it? August 8th, 18th. Okay. They had two

[21:34] things on the agenda. Michael, correct me. I think both of them passed. One was

[21:37] the holistic living. They were looking for a professional service to put a a

[21:42] mental health therapy office on 724 Rock Spring.

[21:45] » Yes, that was a special exception. >> That was a special exception. And then

[21:48] the other one was a variance requested for uh uh CS elevated home improvements

[21:54] to reduce the required 10-ft minimum setback to one foot for property located

[22:00] in Homestead on Lynwood Avenue. And I believe

[22:02] » that was for a deck for one of the infill houses in that neighborhood that

[22:08] was uh constructed a couple years ago. And there was some discussion at the

[22:13] time about how to best lay out those u houses on the lots. And so it created

[22:19] kind of a back an awkward backyard which is essentially a sideyard that abuts the

[22:25] church property. So the the neighbor on the side of the deck is the church.

[22:30] » And that all did that also pass? >> Yes.

[22:32] » Okay. That also passed also because Yeah. I wasn't available to make that

[22:35] link. So I think we had a work session that night.

[22:37] » Yep. >> Yeah. So okay. And then there will be no

[22:41] planning commission this Thursday meeting. We had nothing on the agenda.

[22:45] The next one might be in October. >> Yes, I anticipate we will be meeting in

[22:49] October. An applicant just refiled today >> ahead of the deadline. So, we're working

[22:54] on that and then we have our um powers and responsibilities that we talked

[22:58] about last time when we had to move our meeting

[23:01] » um to the armory at the last minute, >> right?

[23:03] » To finalize those. >> Okay.

[23:07] » Just one more thing. The Cultural Arts Commission didn't meet over the summer,

[23:10] but we will be meeting next Wednesday.

[23:17] » Correct. >> Oh, sorry. That's right. This

[23:21] » September 16th. >> Yes.

[23:25] » All right. Thank you. >> All right. Having finished with the

[23:29] liaison reports, we'll move on to the stamping update.

[23:33] I'm going to reach out to a couple people about the tree committee. Um, I

[23:38] think we still have one vacancy on the planning commission and then one

[23:43] coming up in November, which is which is a little bit out

[23:48] there, but >> it's already September. So,

[23:51] » yeah, it'll it'll hit us fast. It'll come up on us fast.

[23:54] » Will you reach out to Gail Angela?

[23:59] » Yes, I've already spoken to him. Figured >> Yep. Thank you.

[24:04] We have uh two positions that are actively posted accepting applications.

[24:09] There's a a laborer in the Department of Public Works and a communications

[24:15] operator, dispatch supervisor in the police department. So, those are still

[24:20] actively accepting applications. The police dispatch communication supervisor

[24:27] posting closes on September 4th, 2026. and the labor posting closes on

[24:32] September 13, 2026.

[24:42] All right. Anything else under staffing update? We'll move on to the calendar,

[24:47] which uh we need to pick a date and time for the Howard Park Traffic Study public

[24:52] meeting in town hall.

[24:56] So, I'm thinking uh Chief and Mr. Bear UB.

[25:00] » Sure. Well, I think we talked about the Howard Park traffic studying being

[25:04] received. We posted it on the website on July 17th. I've gotten a couple

[25:08] comments. Um, nothing too major nor surprising. We have received some other

[25:13] comments about other infrastructure improvements similar. So, we've actually

[25:17] tenatively set the next neighborhood transportation management program

[25:21] meeting for October 6th, which is a Tuesday. Um, so if we wanted to uh do a

[25:28] public meeting maybe later in September just to share the um outcome and the

[25:33] findings from that traffic study, get some additional comments, we would then

[25:36] be able to take all of that to the next um NTMP meeting.

[25:42] » Okay. I think probably a good idea would be for you and the chief to let maybe

[25:46] Mike and everybody know what dates kind of work for you.

[25:50] » Um then we can see which of us can be available. I don't think we, you know,

[25:54] if all five of us aren't available, I don't think that would be a killer for a

[25:56] date because that's hard to line up. >> Um, but I think you two would be the

[26:00] most necessary parties to be there. >> Yes. And we can uh do a full

[26:05] presentation on the bindings, right? What was recommended as well as the

[26:09] traffic counts which are interesting >> exactly

[26:11] » to some folks. >> So So you want to do that outside the

[26:15] NTMP first. I think I think it would make sense because that way if we do get

[26:19] any other comments we can add them to the ones we've received and then kind of

[26:23] review them at that meeting. So I was thinking maybe

[26:26] » and then maybe Okay, go ahead. >> Yeah, like the last week September 2nd

[26:30] sec the week of the 21st or 28th be looking at that probably

[26:36] um >> 21st or 28th of September or

[26:40] » the the weeks of those >> the weeks of those okay

[26:43] » around and I realize there are other meetings that week. So, we'll um and

[26:47] Michael and I were talking about this a little bit last week about putting it

[26:51] here so that folks could see and we could also stream it out so they could

[26:56] see it on the YouTube >> right

[26:58] » channel as well. >> All right. If we have a quorum of

[27:03] commissioners, we would post the agenda and treat it like a regular public

[27:07] meeting with just this one only uh agenda item

[27:10] » and then we just welcome folks to the podium and and uh create a little signup

[27:15] sheet so we collect their information if we need to follow back up.

[27:19] » So see what works. But I I prefer the week of the 28th anyway.

[27:25] » That's fine. That's actually better for me.

[27:27] » Yeah, depends on everybody else. So I just throw mine out there.

[27:29] And then the NTMP that's a that's a daytime meeting, right?

[27:33] » Yes. >> And do we expect to make decisions? Is

[27:36] the process going to be that decisions we would make then in that meeting?

[27:40] » Well, this will be my first one since I started. So, Chief and I haven't

[27:44] necessarily talked about it yet. Uh, but I know we've been collecting comments, I

[27:49] think, since the last meeting. So, there are a few suggestions that that

[27:53] residents have made uh for similar like traffic calming, right, techniques in

[27:57] specific locations. So there's like a like a little queue of things plus, you

[28:02] know, there's probably four or five specific recommendations that come out

[28:06] of the traffic study. So we'd be talking through those possibly prioritize.

[28:11] » So would the public have input at this >> in the NTMP? Is that how we're work

[28:15] dealing? >> The the NTMP is typically done as a

[28:19] staff meeting. Okay, that's I'm just trying to let everybody It's done as a

[28:24] staff meeting because if it was for public

[28:27] comment, it seems like during the day would be very hard for people to be.

[28:31] That's why I was just wondering >> that hasn't been the past practice,

[28:34] » right? I know it has been the best practice dur has been held during the

[28:37] day, but if there is public input, >> um it would seem like it would be best

[28:42] to have it in the evening, but if it's not is that that's the way we're going

[28:45] to go through this with no public input on the

[28:48] » Well, I think that would be the idea of having the the traffic study as an

[28:51] opportunity for folks in Howard Park to specifically give input, but we do

[28:55] receive comments throughout the period from residents who have may have

[29:00] particular concerns or projects that they would like to see. So I think

[29:03] there's three or four of those as well in addition to the Howard Park. Is that

[29:10] » Are you most of the commissioners good with that approach?

[29:14] » I think I like keeping the NTMP as a staff meeting so that internally it

[29:18] doesn't have to be advertised when we quum. It's just the staff taking a look

[29:22] at things in sort of an informal manner. Um

[29:26] » I lost the vote on that a couple months ago, so I'm cool with keeping it that

[29:29] way. But no, I think having a >> and that way all the staff during the

[29:33] day can meet and discuss. But I think it's important to note that we are going

[29:36] to have a meeting in the evening where everybody can come and comment. Um, and

[29:43] generally speaking, what the NTMP does is make recommendations because the

[29:49] board has to approve funding for anything that is going to happen in the

[29:54] if it costs money. If it's something like putting up signage or or those

[29:58] kinds of things, generally we don't get involved in that. Um but anything of a

[30:03] substantial nature would be coming to the board for approval anyway. So that

[30:06] would be another opportunity for anyone to come and speak to it uh for or

[30:11] against in a public setting in the evening hours when most people are off.

[30:15] So I'm I'm comfortable with going forward this way. and and anybody that

[30:19] that will be listening or watching is certainly more than welcome to email um

[30:24] the town, call the town, >> come come come to a town hall meeting um

[30:29] which we have twice a month um the work sessions there's no opportunity for

[30:33] public comment but there's always a a time for public comment on anything

[30:37] that's of concern um at the town hall meetings. So, with that being said, I

[30:42] certainly hope anybody, you know, that wants to has something to say about this

[30:46] issue finds a way to make their voice heard.

[30:50] » And and after the Go ahead, Chief. >> No, I was going to say that after when

[30:57] we have the the public hearing on in in the evening on the on the the plan that

[31:03] after that if they have comments, they should submit them and they can be

[31:06] brought before >> I would like to have it. so they could

[31:09] be brought before up to the staff on the NTMP meeting.

[31:12] » Yes. I mean, I think that's that's the point youuded that we kind of collect

[31:15] all those comments and if there are some specific ideas or concerns and I would

[31:20] imagine also even for the Howard Park meeting that maybe everybody who speaks

[31:24] won't necessarily be limited to the Howard Park area. We may get some other

[31:28] comments as well. So, but we're always available to receive those comments and

[31:33] then it's really the NT MP meeting where we go through everything that we've

[31:37] heard, things that haven't been done yet. Obviously, there are some projects

[31:41] that have been on the list, so to speak, for a while that may not have moved

[31:45] forward for funding reasons or other other um considerations.

[31:51] » Okay. >> All right. Thanks. Right. And I I put in

[31:54] my uh chip for the week of the 28th of September as well with uh Commissioner

[31:59] Chismore. So, if we could maybe all look at our calendars, we can find something

[32:03] that works for at least most of us. >> All right. Anything else on the Howard

[32:10] Park study? >> Go ahead.

[32:12] » Do you want to do you want us to just pick a date now or send out a I can send

[32:16] an email with a recommendation or something like that?

[32:20] » I do not have my calendar. >> Okay. Sorry. All right. Well, then we'll

[32:24] send out a email with a couple dates. We'll see how it works best for the

[32:27] board. Okay. >> I think that's a great idea. And also,

[32:30] we need the chief and uh Mr. Bear to take a look at their calendar, see what

[32:34] what days and times week of the 28th work for them.

[32:38] » All right. Next, miscellaneous update on the status of the Main Street Fountain

[32:41] near the courthouse. I have I just asked about this and I heard tonight was the

[32:45] night that I was that you were going to let us know what the status is. I know

[32:50] it's been something that everybody's been watching.

[32:53] » Yes, >> great interest in this one.

[32:56] » We've been working on it and we still don't have a a definitive uh plan to

[33:00] present to you because there's many options in which we could go and right

[33:05] now we're trying to collect monetary numbers on each of those options. Um,

[33:10] one of the options, one of the problems with the existing fountain uh that we've

[33:15] been told by uh professional fountain companies and so forth is that the top

[33:20] part of the fountain uh is too big for the basin. And that's why we always have

[33:27] water that splashes on the sidewalk all the time. So, one of the recommendations

[33:33] is to perhaps exchange the existing to a smaller top, which would then um not

[33:40] splash all over the sidewalk. Problem with that is we don't know if there's

[33:44] any historic significance to that upper part that the historic people might not

[33:50] be too in tune to uh replacing. So, that's one thing we'll have to consider.

[33:56] Another thing to do would be to keep the existing top but redo the bottom basin

[34:01] and make that larger uh to then so it wouldn't splash. Um a third option would

[34:09] be to go with a a design that we have in the can uh that we prepared

[34:16] uh I don't know five years ago. It was a three-phased plan. Uh, one of the phases

[34:22] was Office Street, which is completed. Uh, Courtland Street, which has been

[34:26] completed. And the third phase is the entire front of the courthouse, which

[34:33] would require actually moving the existing fountain and and realigning it

[34:40] to make like a horseshoe and moving the steps and the walls and just kind of

[34:45] revamping the the entire front area of the courthouse. Um,

[34:52] four or five years ago that number was $300,000.

[34:56] Uh, I would think this would definitely be something that the county and the

[35:00] town should go together with since it is located on county property.

[35:05] Um, fourth option would be to continue to

[35:10] make it the Gavin Hanley Memorial Flower Garden and just that would be the

[35:16] cheapest option and the ABC would take it over and plant flowers in it every

[35:20] year because my mom loves the flowers. >> They were a huge improvement and I and I

[35:27] my thanks to Gavin for taking care of that. And I told Gavin earlier today

[35:30] that members of the appearance and beautifification committee were very

[35:34] thankful that uh he did that and uh really made a big difference, Gavin.

[35:38] Great job. [snorts] >> And that courthouse building is the

[35:43] courthouse is owned by the county. >> That is correct.

[35:45] » And they've always done the maintenance on the that building itself. And like I

[35:48] explained earlier, I'm not sure did I ever uh send the commissioners all the

[35:54] information that I received from the historic preservation committee from

[35:58] Harford County. Um that shows all the details going back about like articles

[36:04] that were written written by like the eegis and so forth of when they revamped

[36:09] them in the past. It had everyone's name. It was a program by the town of

[36:14] Bair um who listed all the names who contributed to help pay for the project,

[36:20] how much the county paid, how much the town paid. So, there's a lot of

[36:25] historical information that I think might help making future decisions

[36:30] moving forward. So, >> I don't think I've ever seen that and I

[36:33] would be curious. >> I do have that and I can definitely

[36:37] share it. I think I even have it digitally so it won't be hard for me to

[36:40] resend that. >> And it would be good to certainly get

[36:42] input from the his the uh historical society to see, you know, if there's

[36:47] significance to that fountain. We certainly don't want to just replace it.

[36:50] » One of the things that they want to do, um we're getting help now from

[36:55] Construction who actually did the armory projects for us. And Mark Guerrera is a

[37:00] really good guy and um always likes to do things uh very classy and he has a

[37:07] very good contact with the per company that we have been trying to get numbers

[37:11] from but we're getting [clears throat] shunned a little bit on that. So they

[37:15] met out there yesterday. Um, they wanted to remove Gavin's flowers and I said,

[37:20] "Whoa." Which [laughter] let's wait until at least after Labor Day and and a

[37:25] little closer to fall and then we'll lift that thing up. It's about 2,000

[37:30] pounds and they have to lift it up to see the underneath it and what they need

[37:34] to do to uh handle the plumbing and things of that nature as well as the

[37:39] basin um uh condition. Uh right now there's a a fiberglass covering over the

[37:46] concrete basin and it's breaking up and so forth. So they want to remove some of

[37:50] that um material and see what the condition of the concrete basin is. Um

[37:57] so after that's done, of course, all the bricks would need to be repointed as

[38:01] well because a lot of the concrete in between the bricks has has gotten

[38:05] removed over time as well. So, we're still in the process of uh looking at

[38:11] all the different things. It It's not an easy project. I know I saw a lot of

[38:16] social media uh comments just get somebody to do it and it's uh there's

[38:21] pictures of them moving it the last time and it was uh quite a quite a thing to

[38:26] move that whole big thing. So, >> I I did talk to somebody who was curious

[38:30] about it and I said, "Unfortunately, it's not as easy as like going to Home

[38:33] Depot and getting a new pump. it's more complicated and and um I appreciate that

[38:38] you are >> pursuing several avenues of what we

[38:42] should do. >> So and and um I could definitely bring

[38:46] the plans or I can I can probably digitalize the plans of that whole

[38:51] entire renovation and and send to them via email so you can get a better

[38:56] understanding of what I'm talking about of the the revamp of the entire project

[39:01] to redo the front of the courthouse. And of course that again would need Harford

[39:05] County approval >> counties

[39:07] » or go along with >> right hopefully their financial

[39:11] participation if if it's a $300,000 project we're going to need.

[39:15] » Yeah. >> Madam Chair, if I could just add to um

[39:17] Steve's comments, he's shared a lot about the fountain this evening and one

[39:20] of the options was um to revamp the front of the courthouse. Just for all of

[39:26] your knowledge, those um projects were previously funded through the Department

[39:31] of Housing and Community Development Community Legacy Grant Program.

[39:35] » Um and we've already completed, as Steve mentioned, phase one of the courthouse

[39:39] square is what we've called that project. So phase one was Office Street,

[39:43] phase two was Courtland Street, and phase three could potentially be an

[39:47] application for grant funding from the state to um complete the front of the

[39:52] courthouse. So there is grant opportunity for a project that's already

[39:56] been funded in phases through the state. So um that application would be due in

[40:02] June of 2027 for FY28 funding to be awarded late in the year of 2027. We

[40:10] would have several years to use it. Just as a little background on the the grants

[40:15] we've received. I love the idea of grant funding, but I would really like to see

[40:19] the fountain fix before like 2028 or something we'd be talking about.

[40:24] » Yes, there would be if we were to do community legacy grant funding and maybe

[40:29] we can do the >> we'd be looking for more flowers.

[40:32] [laughter] >> Maybe we can do something with the

[40:34] fountain and get that, you know, done and then use the grant money for the

[40:38] rest of the project. Um because fountain really is beautiful and and so many

[40:41] people have mentioned it and I'm so glad that Gavin went and put something in it

[40:46] for the Fourth of July parade because it was right there in the middle of it.

[40:50] » So >> I'm looking forward to mums.

[40:52] » Mums. Yes. >> Right. For

[40:55] » mums and pumpkins, >> little hay bears.

[40:59] We were thinking we could plant many many many um tulips in there as well in

[41:04] the main cauldron in the in the in the >> spring too which would work if we

[41:08] decided to go that way. >> Yeah. Might be our temporary solution

[41:12] for what to do with that fountain. So it it looks more attractive.

[41:16] » All right. >> The the other thing if we're going to go

[41:18] for the grant and that may that and that may not be around that money may monies

[41:23] may not be available till late 27. >> That is correct. The applications are

[41:27] due typically in [clears throat] June of 27 uh or June of each year, but in 2027.

[41:33] And the awards award notifications are typically November and December sometime

[41:38] in that time frame. >> So, we wouldn't see con even if we had

[41:41] plans, we wouldn't see beginning construction until spring of 28.

[41:44] » Spring of 28. >> So, with that, um Steve, is there

[41:49] something might want to look at a solution that

[41:52] gets us a year or two on the fountain? >> Yeah. Okay. Knowing that we may be doing

[41:58] something bigger. So something to get us through not a lot of money.

[42:02] » I think I think cost will definitely be the indicator on that. you know, how

[42:06] much would it cost to get that thing just working, you know,

[42:09] » working for two years and then while we work on better plan,

[42:13] » we've done that over and over and then this year we just couldn't get the

[42:17] plumbing correct because we broke that uh we didn't break it, but it just

[42:21] finally broke inside and we couldn't get underneath that that 2,000lb structure

[42:26] to rerun the plumbing. >> So, that may be just one of the options

[42:30] that you could Yeah. Yeah. put together. >> Absolutely. Okay.

[42:36] All right, staff comments. Mr. Cranes.

[42:42] All right,

[42:45] Angela, we're down to you. Staff comments.

[42:48] » Um, I'll just add since we're talking about grants a little bit. Um, and we

[42:52] mentioned earlier that the downtown Alliance received a Harford County

[42:55] tourism grant. Our town of Bair staff in economic development also received a

[42:59] tourism grant for the weekend of September 11th to 13th to market an arts

[43:04] getaway weekend which includes the um Harford Planair Festival, the um Harford

[43:12] Planair Quickdraw event, Belair Festival for the arts, Belair Market, and uh

[43:17] Oddird Bookshop's grown-up book fair. So, there's a lot happening that weekend

[43:22] and uh we're very grateful to Harford County and the tourism grant program.

[43:26] They awarded us $17,855

[43:30] um toward marketing that weekend and those events. So, we're working with um

[43:36] regional uh outlets to promote those events as a

[43:41] getaway weekend either for a day trip or an overnight stay, which is of course

[43:46] what funds the tourism grant bucket of money. Uh so, we're hoping to generate

[43:52] some overnight stays in the county and have those folks come to Bair to support

[43:56] our events. >> Great news.

[43:59] » Good. >> All right, Mr. Klein.

[44:01] » No, ma'am. and chief.

[44:04] » All I have is we're gearing up for the winter and fall events. It's starting to

[44:07] be starting to become that uh busy time of season and you named a few of them.

[44:12] We have Winter Wonderland, Christmas parade, turkey trot, wine fest, barbecue

[44:17] bash, uh what else? I'm sure there's probably a few more that I missed, but

[44:21] we're uh just starting to gear up. First Fridays,

[44:24] » festival of the arts. >> Festival of the arts. Yeah.

[44:27] » Um and lastly, the um we're very happy. Great teamwork on all the staff's part

[44:32] on getting the speed feedback signs up and um really happy with those. So, yep.

[44:38] And you said something about for the uh >> they're going to make a great finish

[44:42] line for the derby so we can see how [laughter] fast

[44:44] » that'll be great. >> Not saying that that played a part in

[44:49] the decision of where it was posted, but hey,

[44:55] » all right. Anything else from the staff? All right. Commissioner's comments.

[45:02] » Uh, first, what a great ribbon cutting we had for Rocky's on Maine. Uh, what a

[45:07] great addition to that northern end of town. Uh, and I spoke as we all did with

[45:13] with the business owner, Mike, there. And he has a lot of great ideas for

[45:17] expanding, you know, his operations in that in that space. And I think that we

[45:21] have some really exciting things to look forward to there. I was able to

[45:25] patronize his business a little bit and found a very cool picture of the state

[45:29] house that was presented to some member. It's not signed or there's no name on

[45:34] it, but it was presented to a member of the Maryland Senate for the 1970

[45:38] session. Um, so maybe Senator James, who knows? Um, but that was a very cool

[45:45] find. Uh, all for $7. you know, you really you you cannot overstate the

[45:49] value of some of the things that you're able to find in antique store in antique

[45:53] stores for really great prices. So, go over there, check it out. Um, I know

[45:58] that I mentioned Swing Back uh the last time that we had Commissioner's comments

[46:02] and it really is, I think, a feather in Belair's cap that we now have three

[46:06] really strong merkantal antique stores uh all within walking distance of each

[46:11] other. I think the town of Belair is quickly becoming a destination for uh

[46:16] National Antiquing Day and I think we'll have plenty of pilgrims coming uh into

[46:20] town and and patronizing those businesses and I think that's a

[46:23] wonderful thing. Uh the other thing is a quick update to the other item that I

[46:27] mentioned the last time that we had a work session. Um, two circuit court

[46:31] judges, one in Anterondo County, one in Dorchester County, uh, issued summary

[46:35] judgments blocking um, or I should be, uh, precise here, ruling the enactment

[46:43] of the ballot question, HB 2100, uh, regarding removing those standards for

[46:50] congressional redistricting that I mentioned last time, ruled the way that

[46:54] they enacted that law unlawful, but didn't block it from the ballot. They

[46:58] stayed that for a pending appeal to the Supreme Court which will be heard on

[47:03] Thursday. Both of those court uh excuse me, both of those cases will be heard on

[47:08] Thursday. So, I know I'll be listening uh to the to the stream there because

[47:13] the the Supreme Court of Maryland does allow uh cameras in the courtroom unlike

[47:17] many other uh courts. Uh so that regardless of your opinion on that, it

[47:22] will certainly make for some interesting listening. I think um you know a little

[47:27] bit of armchair baseball here. I think it I think it highly unlikely that the

[47:31] Supreme Court overturns two summary judgments from two separate circuit

[47:35] court judges that found almost identically uh the issues at at at hand

[47:41] in both of those circuit court cases were separate in some degrees but

[47:45] overlapping in many other degrees. And both of those judges found very

[47:50] similarly. And I I find it highly unlikely that the Supreme Court will

[47:54] overturn those decisions. So, chances are that that question won't be on the

[47:58] ballot this November, which as far as I'm concerned is a good thing for the

[48:02] representation of all Marylanders, but especially Marylanders who live in

[48:05] Harford County and Bair. Uh, and my my hope is that by the end of this week,

[48:10] we'll we'll know for sure.

[48:14] » Was the first week of school this week. It was very cute seeing all the kids

[48:17] over at Beller Elementary School. The flea market, community flea market was

[48:21] on Sunday. I was over there. I went over to Old Merkantile, learned all about

[48:25] uranium glass, which I thought was very cool. And then praying for good weather

[48:30] this Friday for First Fridays.

[48:35] Now, I just want to [clears throat] talk about the uh the great community

[48:40] turnout for the return to home for First Lieutenant uh Walter Baitman. Um it was

[48:44] a great turnout for the community. It was nice to see our

[48:49] our veteran come home who was to a final resting place. Um, and in light of that,

[48:55] um, there was some email received today about the missing man table. Um, I'd

[49:01] like to see and we talked about that last year. I'm not sure if we ever

[49:06] were able to get one together. Be nice if we could try and get one

[49:11] together. And I'm thinking even if we could maybe here in town hall and maybe

[49:16] even one at the armory of people coming for for for the missing

[49:21] man table. >> Do you mean for Memorial Day or for

[49:25] » Well, I think I think that day is the 18th of September is when they they for

[49:29] PMIA. >> Oh, okay.

[49:33] » Okay. >> I'll look it up and I'll get something

[49:37] together then. >> Right. see if we can get something

[49:39] together and and if we need help with that about what it what it consists of,

[49:43] I mean, either one of the legions in town will be able to help us with that

[49:47] because both of them have a missing man table right there in their um

[49:51] » Okay. >> in their cantens. So,

[49:55] » and it was um fun being a part of the opening day at Beller Elementary cuz

[50:02] Commissioner Hanley um and I and then my boys as well went

[50:07] to Bellair Elementary and so did you, Steve. Were you Beller Elementary?

[50:12] » That's right. I I thought but it was uh it was great being there and to um meet

[50:18] our new superintendent. She's lovely. She's amazing. and um and just all of

[50:23] the different, you know, chief was there high-fiving and it was it was a lot of

[50:28] fun. It was great to be a part of it. And it's just um interesting being on

[50:33] the other side. I've taught for 30 years, so being retired and being

[50:38] standing there and I was like, "Okay, I I guess I'll go home now, you know." So,

[50:42] but uh that was great. And I just um wish all of our teachers and students

[50:47] just a a wonderful school year. got some neat history on the uh bulldog, the

[50:52] cement bulldog there. I didn't that I never knew. It was some good stuff.

[50:56] You're involved in that, Commissioner Chismar.

[50:58] » Yeah, the the cement bulldog was uh commissioned by one of the fifth grade

[51:03] class, graduating classes, and it was done by uh Dub Garrett, who I worked

[51:09] with at APG, and he was a veteran, and he did sculpting with um concrete. And

[51:16] in his backyard on TW Route 22 before you get to Waw Wa on the right in his

[51:22] yard, he had gargoyles and dragons that were 20 30 feet long and stuff like that

[51:30] and and great and you know he did that for free and he just so the the monies

[51:35] that the students raised for a gift for the school because that's what it was.

[51:40] He asked him to give that to breast cancer society. So, and that that's what

[51:44] so that's what he did. So, it was he was a great veteran, great guy to work with

[51:49] and uh so anyway, that was yeah, that's what that's where that bulldog comes

[51:53] from. Well, it was certainly a terrific

[51:57] community turnout for the welcome home for Lieutenant Baitman who had been gone

[52:00] for 83 years and he will be laid to rest on Sunday the 6th. And there is actually

[52:08] a headstone already with his parents' names on it and his name. They've been

[52:13] waiting for him all these years. So, he will finally be reunited with his

[52:17] parents. Um, the first day of school at Beller Elementary was like such a great

[52:23] day. Um, such enthusiasm. The kids were all bright and shiny with their new

[52:27] shoes and their new backpacks and their new lunch boxes. Um, my favorite though

[52:33] was the student whose mother must have had a sense of humor because he showed

[52:36] up for the first day of school wearing a t-shirt that said, "Is it June yet?"

[52:43] [laughter] So, I certainly hope everybody has a

[52:46] terrific school year and u carries that enthusiasm all the way at least to

[52:51] Christmas. So, >> the year has begun. All right. Any

[52:55] further commissioners comments? In that case, may I have a motion to go

[52:59] into close session? >> Yes, Madam Chair. I move that this

[53:02] meeting will be closed under the provisions of the Maryland Open Meetings

[53:04] Act, General Provisions, Article 3, Section 305B 17 and8. The topic of

[53:09] discussion will be to consult with council to obtain legal advice regarding

[53:12] 722 South Main Street release of interest request to consult with council

[53:17] to obtain legal advice regarding the Harford Circuit Court case number C12

[53:21] CV2501030 Harford County Maryland versus town of

[53:24] Bair Maryland at all to discuss the appointment of officials to town boards

[53:28] commissions and committees. The reasons for close session discussion of the

[53:31] above topics will be because public discussion of confidential information

[53:34] and legal strategies can compromise the attorney client privilege and inhibit

[53:37] the ability of the public body to receive candid and uninhibited legal

[53:40] guidance and because public discussion of candidates names, qualifications,

[53:44] experience, and background could discourage people from applying for

[53:46] employment or compromise their privacy rights.

[53:49] » Thank you, Commissioner Taylor. Do I have a second?

[53:51] » Second. >> Thank you, Commissioner Chismore. And

[53:54] just before we take the vote and for those watching at home, once we go into

[53:57] close session, we will not be conducting any further public business. We will be

[54:01] just adjourning for the evening once we are done. And with that, Mike, we can

[54:06] take the vote. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. This is for the

[54:09] vote to go into close session. Commissioner Foss,

[54:12] » I. >> Commissioner Chismar, I.

[54:14] » Commissioner Taylor, I. >> Commissioner Hanley, hi. And Chair

[54:17] Eding, I >> We are going into close session. Thank

[54:20] you.

09/01/2026 Board of Town Commissioners Work Session Meeting at Town Hall

Transcript