[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.