[2:39] Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and
welcome. Uh the time is now 7:00 p.m.
[2:42] Before we start our scheduled
meeting, um
[2:47] we do have two public hearings on
ordinances that were already read into
[2:51] the record on the first reading,
and these are now the public hearings
[2:55] for these ordinances before the second
reading will take place on them.
[2:58] We have ordinance 1226 and 1227, so
we'll start with ordinance 1226.
[3:03] Uh 1226 concerning amending ordinance
number 1216 regarding the Amtrak railway
[3:08] railway bridge project.
It's an ordinance by the mayor and city
[3:12] council of Havre de Grace, Maryland,
adopted pursuant
[3:15] to the authority of Article 11E of the
Maryland Constitution, the local
[3:19] government article, the annotated code
of Maryland,
[3:22] and sections 33, 34, 65, and 75
of the Havre de Grace City Charter to
[3:28] amend ordinance number 1216
to approve the first amendment to the
[3:32] master property acquisition agreement
for the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge
[3:36] project, and to approve revised
schedules of city property to be
[3:40] conveyed to National Railroad Passenger
Corporation,
[3:44] known as Amtrak,
in fee simple or subject to permanent or
[3:48] temporary construction easements.
So, this is a public hearing on
[3:53] ordinance 12-26. Is anybody audience
here this evening to speak on this
[3:57] ordinance?
Yes, sir.
[4:02] Good evening. Welcome to the public
hearing. May we please have your name
[4:04] and address for the record?
>> Good evening, Mayor, council members,
[4:07] and senior staff. My name is Chip Place,
301 Cigar Loop.
[4:11] » Welcome.
>> Thank you. I have just three quick
[4:14] things on ordinance
12-26. One is I did not see any maps
[4:20] included in the
agenda item. And I think that I remember
[4:25] the prior items, it was a sliver of land
here, sliver of land there, but it would
[4:30] certainly be helpful to have maps or
surveys within the packet so the public
[4:35] can understand this better. And perhaps
by the time this comes up on the agenda
[4:39] again, that those could be provided with
the
[4:43] agenda.
Um secondly, I don't recall any
[4:47] discussion of consideration that Amtrak
is paying the city for this land. Um so,
[4:53] it would be good at at some point to to
understand what that is.
[4:57] And third,
it might have I think it might have even
[5:00] been discussed at the last meeting, but
it would be great to have a a workshop
[5:04] with Amtrak just to get a general update
on the project overall. I know there
[5:09] were some, you know, important issues
pending like the status of the Lewis
[5:14] Lane bridge, whether that had to be
reconstructed or not. So, I don't know
[5:18] if the city's working on setting
something like that up, but again, that
[5:21] would certainly be helpful. So, that's
all I have tonight. Thank you.
[5:25] » Thank you very much.
>> Hey, Mayor.
[5:28] Uh I just recently attended a meeting
with the public safety and the Amtrak
[5:33] personnel said that they were going to
be reaching out to Dr. Richie and
[5:38] setting up something to come back to not
only us, but Perryville.
[5:43] Uh so, anyway, I think they have that in
the works.
[5:46] » Okay, great. Thank you.
Thank you.
[5:50] » Okay, we're still in our uh public
hearing for ordinance 1226. Anyone else
[5:53] in the audience here to speak on 1226?
Any comments from council?
[6:00] Okay, without any further comments from
the public or the council members, I now
[6:04] close public hearing on ordinance 1226.
The time is now 7:03.
[6:11] We will go on to public hearing on
ordinance 1227 concerning amending
[6:15] chapter 25, article 4, Board of Appeals,
and article 5, Planning Commission.
[6:21] An ordinance by the mayor and city
council of Havre de Grace, Maryland,
[6:23] adopted pursuant to the authority of
article 11E of the Maryland
[6:26] Constitution,
local government article of the
[6:29] Annotated Code of Maryland, sections 33
and 34 of the Havre de Grace City
[6:32] Charter,
to amend chapter 25, article 4, Board of
[6:35] Appeals, and article 5, Planning
Commission.
[6:38] Is anybody here that in the audience
this evening to speak on ordinance 1227?
[6:46] Any comments from council?
[6:49] Okay.
Without any comments from the public or
[6:52] the council members, I will now
close
[6:56] public hearing on ordinance 1227. The
time is 7:04.
[7:08] Okay, now we begin our council meeting.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. The
[7:12] date is August 17, 2026. The time is now
7:05 p.m.
[7:18] We will now
call to order
[7:21] a council meeting with the mayor and
city council of Havre de Grace.
[7:25] Council, I will now call the roll.
Council President Boyer.
[7:27] » Here.
>> Council member Glenn.
[7:30] » Here.
>> Council member Ellis.
[7:33] » Present.
>> Council member Clark.
[7:36] » Here.
>> Council member Jones.
[7:38] » Here.
>> Council member Boger.
[7:39] » Here.
>> All council members are present. Uh
[7:43] please join me for the Pledge of
Allegiance and opening prayer.
[7:51] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America.
[7:55] And to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible, with
[8:00] liberty and justice for all.
I could ask everyone to please uh kindly
[8:04] remain standing if you don't mind. Uh
and it gives me great honor to call
[8:08] forward our friend Reverend Jean Brown.
[8:12] Good evening, sir. Thank you very much
for being here.
[8:15] » Thank you for having me.
Uh Mary was
[8:18] worried about the roads being flooded,
so she sent me.
[8:22] » We understand.
[8:25] » Let's pray.
[8:28] Lord, bless
first
[8:31] the schools,
[8:34] the students,
the teachers, the staff,
[8:38] the bus drivers.
Give all of them wisdom and knowledge
[8:42] and patience and strength and safety.
Let the students' minds be
[8:49] open
to understanding what they're being
[8:52] taught,
[8:55] and to have the knowledge
necessary to evaluate it
[9:00] completely.
Now for the council,
[9:05] wisdom and knowledge,
strength and peace,
[9:10] rest.
[9:14] Their wisdom
provides
[9:18] our safety
[9:24] and our peace.
And we thank you for these things in the
[9:28] name of your son, Jesus.
Amen.
[9:31] » Amen.
Reverend Brown, thank you so much for
[9:33] your words.
[9:51] » Okay, we're going to go to item five,
approval of the minutes. City Council
[9:55] meeting minutes of
August 3rd, 2026. Do I have a motion to
[9:59] approve?
>> So moved.
[10:02] » Second.
[10:06] » Have a motion by Council President,
seconded by Council member
[10:09] Glenn?
>> Glenn, give it to me.
[10:11] » Okay. Council member Glenn.
Questions or comments on the minutes?
[10:17] All those in favor say I.
>> I.
[10:19] » I.
>> All opposed say nay.
[10:21] City Council meeting minutes of August
3rd, 2026 are approved 6-0 in the
[10:25] affirmative.
Item B, City Council closed session
[10:29] meeting minutes of August 3rd, 2026.
Do I have a motion to adopt?
[10:35] » So moved.
>> Second.
[10:37] » Have a motion by Council member Booker,
seconded by the Council President.
[10:42] You want to read statement to the
record, Council President?
[10:46] » Um
Vote from closed session on August 3rd,
[10:49] 2026.
Topics actually discussed, the City
[10:54] Attorney, Mr. Richie.
Mr.
[10:58] Butch your eyes are named every time.
Res- Resensky?
[11:02] Adam.
Summarize the status of pending
[11:06] legislation matters. Motion um action
taken, motion by the acting Council
[11:11] President, President Booker. Seconded by
Council member Jones to authorize
[11:16] retention of outside counsel by the
Board of Appeals in the matter involving
[11:20] the Lampson property forest stand
delineation if the Board feels retention
[11:25] of outside counsel is needed. Motion
passes 5 to 0.
[11:31] » Thank you very much, Council President.
[11:35] All those in favor say I.
>> I.
[11:37] » I. All those opposed say nay.
Motion to approve closed session meeting
[11:42] minutes
carries 6-0 in the affirmative.
[11:47] Okay, we're going to go to item six,
comments from citizens. Uh this is the
[11:51] part of tonight's agenda
that if you have a comment on something
[11:55] that is on the agenda, now is the time
to do so. And if you also have anything
[11:58] you'd like to say to the council
that deals with any other matter of city
[12:02] business, now is the time to do so as
well. This is your chance to talk. So,
[12:05] I don't have any pre-filled out forms,
so I will call on the audience at large
[12:09] if they wish to address the council.
Anybody wish to address council?
[12:14] Okay, any comments from council members?
Okay, thank you very much. We will
[12:18] continue.
[12:22] And we go to item seven, appointments,
and we do have one appointment this
[12:25] evening to the Planning Commission. It's
a reappointment. Council member Jones.
[12:29] » Thank you, Mayor. I would like to um
motion to approve reappoint Ed Guarano
[12:35] uh to the Planning Commission.
>> Second.
[12:41] » Council, I have a motion by
Council member Jones, seconded by
[12:44] Council member Glenn, this is for the
reappointment of Ed Guarano.
[12:49] Questions or comments?
All those in favor say I.
[12:53] » I.
>> I.
[12:54] » All those opposed say nay.
Motion to reappoint Mr. Guarano to the
[12:58] Planning Commission carries 6-0 in the
affirmative. Thank you very much,
[13:01] Council.
[13:04] We're going to go to item eight,
recognitions.
[13:07] This evening we have no recognitions.
Item nine,
[13:11] proclamations. This evening we have no
proclamations.
[13:15] Item 10, presentations. We do have a
presentation.
[13:19] And um I'd like to call forward uh Brent
Sletsky with the workers' compensation
[13:23] presentation.
>> [snorts]
[13:26] » Good evening, sir. Welcome.
>> Evening. Thank you.
[13:29] Um it's my uh
proud honor to give you once again this
[13:33] year. Last year I got to do this and
it's it's wonderful to get to do it
[13:36] twice in a in a row. Um
the city of Havre de Grace has earned uh
[13:42] dividend from the Chesapeake employers
and
[13:44] as your agent at Wilson Albert, we're
just uh very proud to be giving this to
[13:47] your to the city. Um it really is a
testament to how uh safety and
[13:54] management uh is important to the city
and that your police department takes it
[13:58] seriously and uh your Department of
Public Works and everyone is is really
[14:02] working hard to make this kind of thing
happen. So, it is my honor
[14:07] uh to present a big check to everyone
for $135,125.
[14:15] That is
>> Man, that's a big check.
[14:16] » Very big [applause] check.
[14:20] » Well, I'll tell you what, uh
Council President, will you join me in
[14:24] receiving this check and Dr. Richie, uh
will you please join us?
[14:31] » I'd also like to mention I have George
here from Chesapeake employers and
[14:35] » Thank you. Do you want to say anything?
>> No, just thank you for the city of Havre
[14:37] de Grace for two We noticed a lot of
work up here.
[14:40] Thank you for choosing us and thank you.
I know the two individuals from public
[14:43] works and public safety here.
Tough
[14:47] businesses and we appreciate all you do.
>> Hey, absolutely. So far, so good.
[14:50] » Yes.
I don't want to jinx it.
[14:52] » Yeah, we like this one.
What's that?
[14:59] » What's
[15:02] » Come on, Joe.
>> Come on, Joe.
[15:04] » [laughter]
>> Seriously.
[15:06] » You were the number
>> Third highest church.
[15:09] » Third highest.
>> I think so.
[15:13] » Total count.
>> Total count.
[15:15] » You don't need to show us.
[15:19] » Very impressive.
[15:23] » Good work, you guys.
>> All right. I'm going to take a bunch.
[15:32] Yep, we're good.
[16:00] We recognized each other. That was a
[16:05] Thank you very much. Thank you.
[16:16] » Seriously,
it's because of your leadership that we
[16:21] can get checks like that. By
prioritizing safety first, so thank you,
[16:25] really.
>> You guys can slide that right over to
[16:27] the W line.
[16:31] » [laughter]
[16:36] » You can't use it for golfing.
>> Right. [laughter]
[16:44] » No, you too.
[16:47] » No, couldn't
get a live stream.
[16:50] » Okay.
>> So, I'll play it back for you.
[16:57] So, anyway, that's very good news. Um
you know, and again, uh
[17:03] to Dr. Richie, director of
administration, all my directors, uh
[17:06] you know, to the
employees of the city, uh
[17:09] it says a lot about how you run your
departments. Says a lot about the
[17:13] employee morale and how they uh approach
their job every day. And and like I say,
[17:16] we couldn't be any more proud. And and
so thank you very much. It's a
[17:20] It's a hefty check there. So, I'm sure
we'll find a way to put it to good use
[17:24] when we all put our heads together on
it.
[17:26] So, we're going to um
move on to item 11. We have a charter
[17:29] resolution
that is
[17:33] going to go through a second reading
here. This is charter resolution 308.
[17:38] And um
I'm going to hand this off to the
[17:41] council president.
>> Mayor, I move to introduce ordinance for
[17:46] second reading a charter resolution
number 308 concerning amending sections
[17:50] 53 and 54 pertaining to the oath of
office.
[17:54] » Second.
[18:00] » Council, I have a motion by the council
president seconded by a council member
[18:04] Booker to introduce charter resolution
308 on second reading.
[18:08] Questions or comments on the
introduction?
[18:11] All those in favor say I.
>> I.
[18:14] » All opposed say nay.
Motion to introduce a charter resolution
[18:17] on second reading carries 6-0 in the
affirmative.
[18:21] This is charter resolution number 308
concerning amending sections 53 and 54
[18:25] pertaining to the oath of office.
It's a resolution by the mayor and city
[18:28] council of Havre de Grace, Maryland
adopted pursuant
[18:31] to the authority of the Maryland
Constitution Article 11E, the local
[18:34] government article of the Annotated Code
of Maryland,
[18:37] and the Havre de Grace City Charter
section 19 amending in part sections 53
[18:42] and 54
of the City Charter pertaining to the
[18:45] oath of office.
Council, do I have a motion to adopt
[18:48] charter resolution 308?
>> So moved.
[18:51] » Second.
>> I have a motion by the council president
[18:53] seconded by a council member Clark.
Questions or comments?
[18:58] Council president.
>> Mayor, I just wanted to um let the
[19:01] public know that the purpose of this
ordinance
[19:05] is a resolution charter resolution is to
um allow the use of a notary,
[19:12] um,
for the swearing in of certain
[19:15] officials.
Um, they are for members of the city
[19:18] election board, police officers,
department heads,
[19:22] all elected officials, ethics
commission, planning commission, board
[19:26] of appeals, and the historic
preservation, um,
[19:29] commission, and the Havre de Grace
Housing Authority. Again, this allows us
[19:33] to make use of a notary, and that would
be, um, only when,
[19:38] um, it is not possible to do it, um,
publicly in a meeting.
[19:42] Thank you.
>> Thank you very much, Council President.
[19:46] Any other questions or comments?
[19:50] Council, this is a second reading on a
charter resolution, and so I'm going to
[19:53] do a roll call on this.
Council member Glenn.
[19:57] » Yes.
[20:00] » Council member Clark.
>> Yes.
[20:03] » Council member Elks.
>> Yes.
[20:07] » Council member Jones.
>> Yes.
[20:10] » Council member Boger.
>> Yes.
[20:13] » Council President.
>> Yes.
[20:18] » By roll call vote of six here in the
affirmative, city council charter
[20:21] resolution
number 308 is adopted on second reading.
[20:31] Item 12,
ordinances.
[20:33] Uh, there are no ordinances to be read
this evening.
[20:36] Item 13, old business. There's no old
business this evening. Item 14, new
[20:41] business.
We have no new business this evening.
[20:44] And that takes us to an item 15, which
is director's reports. And we're going
[20:47] to start with our director of
administration, Dr. Chris Richey.
[20:51] » Thank you, Mayor, Council, colleagues,
citizens.
[20:54] Um, so, uh, Director Johnson is absent
this evening. She did send me her, uh,
[21:00] her
uh, report to read, so I'm going to read
[21:03] that first.
The tour, the Tourism Advisory board
[21:07] will meet this Wednesday, August 19th at
10:00 a.m. in the council chambers. This
[21:12] meeting is open to the public.
The city of Havre de Grace is featured
[21:18] in Mid-Atlantic Home and Travel
Magazine's Maryland Towns and Main
[21:24] Streets issue.
This article will be posted to our
[21:27] social media platforms and shared in the
local loop newsletter to be released
[21:32] later this week.
The fall edition of the Citizen
[21:36] Connection is scheduled for release in
September.
[21:41] On Thursday, August 20th, the department
will host the Maryland Department of
[21:47] Housing and Community Development. The
itinerary includes a visit to the
[21:52] Harford Memorial Hospital site to
discuss the recently submitted grant
[21:56] application for the hospital's
demolition,
[21:59] featuring a project presentation by
Trademark Homes.
[22:04] A stop at Saint John Street and Franklin
Street to discuss the recently submitted
[22:09] grant application for tree removal,
sidewalk, and curb replacement.
[22:15] And then lastly, a tour of several
downtown retail stores followed by lunch
[22:20] at a local restaurant. And that that
concludes Director Johnson's report.
[22:26] Uh I would like to thank the city
council for approving charter resolution
[22:30] 308.
Um I do also want to thank uh Jim
[22:34] Reynolds, the city's human resources
manager.
[22:38] Also want to thank city leadership and
all of the employees for their efforts
[22:42] in making the city of Havre de Grace a
safe place to work. So last year, we
[22:48] received a dividend check of just under
$75,000
[22:52] from our workers' compensation insurance
carrier. And this year, we've received
[22:56] one for just over $135,000.
We could not have this kind of success
[23:02] without a lot of hard work by many
people. So, thank you all for keeping
[23:07] our workplaces safe.
I do offer my congratulations to the
[23:11] Youth Commission on a successful Refuel
for School event that they had this past
[23:16] weekend.
Uh there are many people that worked
[23:19] hard for this event to happen, but I
would specifically like to mention
[23:24] Julian Wolfe. He's the youth chair of
the commission and he took on a large
[23:29] role this year uh involved in
coordinating the event. So, Julian, good
[23:34] work.
[23:36] The All About Joel Billy Joel tribute is
performing at the Star Centre this
[23:41] Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
The show will likely sell out. There's a
[23:47] handful of tickets left.
Uh as a reminder, the City of Havre de
[23:51] Grace has changed ticketing vendors for
the Star Centre and Opera House shows to
[23:57] eTix.
And remember that while eTix has
[24:00] advanced ticket security features, the
only way to know for certain that you're
[24:05] purchasing a legitimate ticket is
through the venue websites, which are
[24:11] starcentremd.com
or hdgoperahouse.org.
[24:18] To enjoy a full list of all the events
going on this weekend, I encourage you
[24:22] to go to the explorehavredegrace.com
website.
[24:27] I did mention at the last City Council
meeting uh that the city is the
[24:33] recipient of a donation from the Harford
County Humane Society of a pet microchip
[24:38] reader.
DPW has installed that reader uh outside
[24:44] of the police department.
So, people who find a stray animal, they
[24:48] can uh scan the animal and if there is a
chip, there's instructions on how to
[24:53] relocate the pet to with their owner.
And then last Tuesday I had attended the
[24:59] Harmar Township public meeting at the
Opera House. And I do genuinely offer my
[25:04] thanks to the Harmar Township leadership
and their board for their thoughtful
[25:07] presentation, the work they've put into
the project, and the information that
[25:12] they provided us regarding the murals.
And this concludes my comments for this
[25:17] evening. Thank you.
>> Thank you very much, Dr. Richie.
[25:20] Appreciate the update. And we're going
to go to comments from our director of
[25:23] planning,
Mr. Jeff Townes.
[25:25] » Good evening, Mr. Mayor.
Good evening, Mayor, members of council.
[25:28] So, we have added long-term rental
registration to the MGO online portal.
[25:33] So, now folks can
register their long-term rentals on that
[25:37] portal by going to the city's website
under planning, under permits. Go on
[25:42] there, upload all the documents. So,
currently we're taking those as paper
[25:45] documents, and so obviously we're having
to maintain those records. So, we're
[25:49] hoping to do that digitally now. So,
anyone who's looking to register
[25:52] property can go online and get that done
pretty efficiently.
[25:56] Again, there's no cost for that. It's
just a registration with the city.
[26:00] And then in terms of our meetings, we
have a no planning commission meeting
[26:04] this month, and the Board of Appeals
will probably not meet next month.
[26:08] That concludes my report.
>> Thank you very much, sir. Appreciate the
[26:11] update. Thank you.
Good evening, Mr. Conway, our director
[26:14] of DPW.
>> Mr. Mayor, council, colleagues, and
[26:17] guest.
Quick update on the Somerset Manor
[26:21] sidewalk replacement project.
All proposals are due on August 31st.
[26:27] Date of award is expected on September
2nd, and contract completion November
[26:32] 30th of 2026. So,
long overdue. I'm looking forward to
[26:36] that. It's a very nice project. We're
currently receiving a uptick in um
[26:42] you know, calls from trash and recycle
being missed. And I think it's a
[26:45] combination of things. I think sometimes
we get used to the trash guy coming by,
[26:50] you know, 8:00 in the morning, and then
2 weeks later it comes by 4:30. So, so
[26:56] what we're asking from DPW is if you
could put your trash and recyclables out
[27:00] after 6:00 p.m. on the evening before
your scheduled pickup day, I think this
[27:05] will solve a lot of problems. And that
concludes my report.
[27:09] » Yes, sir. Thank you very much, uh, Mr.
Conway. Appreciate the update.
[27:13] And we're going to go to comments from
Chief Crest. Good evening.
[27:17] » Good evening, Mayor, Council, citizens.
Um
[27:20] » [clears throat]
>> school will start before our next
[27:24] Council meeting. So, I want to remind
everybody, um, sorry to be a downer.
[27:28] » Sorry about that, man.
>> [laughter]
[27:31] » Thanks.
Rest of us are like, "Yeah, they're
[27:34] going to be in the back of my kids."
>> [laughter]
[27:36] » Uh, so, uh, 8:00 uh, or August 31st,
first day of school. So, um, it is Every
[27:44] time they present out, uh, the Sheriff's
office presents out on the number of
[27:49] violations for the school bus, uh, the
stop arm cameras, it is crazy. Like,
[27:56] it's hundreds per month. And, uh
you know, uh, a few thousand per year.
[28:03] It's a $250 citation. So,
um
[28:08] and, uh
I I've had people they they send you the
[28:12] letter and, uh, the cameras have great
quality. It is still photos and a video.
[28:18] And, uh actually somebody at my church
was asking me about it and and they and
[28:24] we brought it up on my phone and I was
like, "Yep, that's you." And you're
[28:27] going by that, you know, and I was like,
"You know, what do we do?" And I was
[28:31] like, "Well, it looks like you're going
to be writing a check for $250." So, um,
[28:35] anyway,
um,
[28:37] so, just as a reminder, first day of
school, August 31st. Thank you, Mayor.
[28:44] » Thank you very much, Chief. Appreciate
the reminder.
[28:47] So, we're going to go to um comments now
from uh our council members and we'll
[28:50] start with Council member Brogan.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Uh directors, uh those
[28:55] of you here in the audience today,
citizens, I don't have any uh actual
[28:58] council council business tonight. Um I
just want to go ahead and uh
[29:02] looking forward to the Amtrak uh
presentation whenever they do come out
[29:06] here. I think a lot of folks are looking
forward to the Amtrak presentation. I do
[29:10] appreciate the citizens' remarks and
comments tonight, so thank you for that.
[29:13] Uh and then in closing, I want to thank
the Susquehanna Hose Company, the
[29:16] police, our police department, and our
first responders. Thank you.
[29:21] » Thank you very much.
We're going to go to comments from
[29:24] Council member Ellis.
>> Good evening, Mayor, council, directors,
[29:27] citizens here and at home. Um I wanted
to touch on the Refuel for School event
[29:32] as well. It was great. We've been doing
that for several years now and it went
[29:36] pretty flawless. Um I want to give a
special shout-out to the to all the
[29:41] volunteers and the police department for
sending their recruits as well. They
[29:46] were extremely helpful. They worked
super hard. They were there from morning
[29:51] till sundown pretty much and I just
appreciated all that all that help and
[29:55] the use of the van as well. That was
very helpful, saved us a bunch of money
[29:59] and uh
and time.
[30:02] Uh additionally, I want to thank the the
Orioles for sending the Oriole bird to
[30:07] town today. They visited the
luckiest light while the kids were
[30:12] drawing the uh the Oriole logo and it
was super cool just to have
[30:17] have them come to Havre de Grace, so I
appreciate them taking the time out of
[30:20] their day for that as well. And that's
all I have. Thank you.
[30:24] » Thank you very much, Council member
Ellis.
[30:27] And we're going to go to comments from
Council member James.
[30:29] » Thank you, Mayor. Um council, citizens
in the audience, citizens at home, and
[30:33] directors. Um just a couple things for
me. One, um a few weeks ago I attended
[30:39] the Golden Apple Award sponsored by
Freedom Federal Credit Union. Uh this is
[30:43] a competition that is open to educators
every year and we had a winner from
[30:48] Havre de Grace. So I want to
congratulate teacher Ashley Allguard who
[30:52] won $1,000 and with that money she will
establish the Grace Lab. Um and that lab
[30:58] is to help students with cognitive
disabilities build independent living,
[31:02] employment readiness, and community
skills. So congratulations, Mrs.
[31:06] Allguard.
I uh with my colleague um Council Member
[31:10] Ellis was at Refuel for School. Was a
great event, very hot.
[31:15] Um but it was so great to see all the
volunteers who came out to do the
[31:18] backpacking as well as to organize
backpacks um in the uh by the
[31:23] lighthouse. And I want to give a special
thanks um
[31:28] to the commission, Tracy Robertson, who
did so much, Robin, uh Alicia, Julian,
[31:35] Jennifer, and Donna, and everyone else
who was instrumental in making this
[31:38] happen. And Dr. Richie, you mentioned
Julian. Or I think that was through um
[31:43] Ms. Johnson's comments.
I thought he was an adult when I first
[31:48] communicated with him via email. I had
And then I met him and I just was like,
[31:51] "What is this child doing here?" But he
is just the level of um just
[31:57] professionalism and I mean he he just
took it up a notch. So great job,
[32:02] Julian. You did a fantastic job.
Um and then I would also like to mention
[32:07] um the Lucky Luckiest Light is having an
event this um
[32:12] on the 22nd and it is an artist,
advocate, and community panel
[32:16] discussion. They're doing some fantastic
things. So if you can, make sure that
[32:20] you attend that this weekend. Thank you,
Mayor.
[32:23] » Thank you very much, Council Member
Jones.
[32:25] We're going to go to comments from
Council Member Clark.
[32:28] » Good evening, Mayor and Council uh
fellow Council Members and directors and
[32:33] citizens here and at home. Um
I too, as well as some of my colleagues,
[32:38] attended the Refuel for School. It was
an amazing event. Um it is great to see
[32:43] um so many people coming together to
give back to the community in such a
[32:47] memorable way.
Um also with that, the Havre de Grace
[32:52] High School is doing a no-cost
back-to-school shop on this Wednesday,
[32:56] August 19th, from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00
p.m.
[33:00] Um it's gently used clothes varying in
sizing that will help with all your
[33:04] back-to-school needs. You can come by
and pick up whatever you need for your
[33:08] student. Um all items in the shop are
free. If you missed the Refuel for
[33:12] School, there will be some backpacks
that will be there that they dedicate to
[33:16] the school for that. So, there will be
backpacks with resources in them as
[33:20] well. Um
that you can get from the guidance
[33:22] office during that time.
Um also, kind of piggybacking on Chief,
[33:26] that school is getting ready to start.
So, if you see some of the kids around,
[33:30] encourage them to do positive things
this year with school.
[33:33] Um find an activity, be positive with
that. If you see a teacher or an
[33:36] administrator, maybe give them a hug cuz
it's probably going to be a little
[33:39] chaotic starting off. So, um for those
of you working in the school, you're
[33:43] greatly appreciated from a mom ready to
send my kids back. So, that is all I
[33:47] have. Back to you.
>> Very good. Thank you very much,
[33:51] Councilwoman Clark.
And we're going to go to comments from
[33:53] Councilman Glenn.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor, fellow council
[33:56] members, and residents at home.
I'll try to keep it short and sweet
[34:00] tonight. Um
I received some good news um this
[34:03] weekend from Harford County Councilman
Jacob Bennett. Um as you've been
[34:09] When I first got elected, I really
started trying to improve the gateway
[34:12] out by Stansbury Field. There's a
dilapidated trailer at 1353 Old Post
[34:17] Road.
Um I said it needed to come down, and
[34:21] Jacob called me, and um
the demolition permit has been issued.
[34:26] So, it's going to come down, and it'll
improve the gateway coming into Havre de
[34:30] Grace. And and I want to thank Jacob for
all of his concerted efforts in the
[34:34] making it happen.
Um again, we have a tourism advisory
[34:38] board scheduled for this Wednesday. I'll
continue to work with Bridget Johnson um
[34:43] to update ordinance 1031
to include replacing Visit Harford
[34:48] Incorporated, which is no longer in
operation, with Harford County's
[34:51] official designation marketing
organization as the ex special member of
[34:57] the tourism advisory board. So, um
um we're getting close to getting that
[35:01] done. So, um that was some good news.
And I want to thank uh Joe Conway. He
[35:06] took time out today to update me on the
um efforts ongoing in front of uh
[35:11] Zommick's Funeral Home. Um I knew that
we had just replaced the sidewalk not
[35:16] long ago, and I came home from vacation,
and the sidewalk's all torn up. So, uh
[35:22] apparently, um there was some flooding
going on, and they and they determined
[35:26] that some issues um well below the
ground, and and was happy to find out
[35:31] that it's a state issue. So, it's not
going to be any cost to the City of
[35:35] Havre de Grace. It's a state-funded
issue. It's going to happen, but um
[35:39] hopefully, they get that taken care of
pretty soon cuz it's it is a safety
[35:42] issue.
And that's all I have, and back to you,
[35:45] Mr. Mayor.
>> Thank you very much.
[35:48] Council member Glenn, appreciate the
update.
[35:50] And we're going to go to comments from
Council President Boyer.
[35:52] » Thank you, Mayor. Colleagues, city
staff, residents joining us here and at
[35:57] home, good evening. Um my husband,
James, and I are back from our annual
[36:01] camping trip at Assateague. And I'm
happy to report that we survived the
[36:05] jellyfish invasion um with no
significant stings. We um did see a lot
[36:11] of horses and shooting stars and the
SpaceX launch. Um but best of all, we um
[36:18] completely unplugged off grid and
relaxed, and we're happy to be back
[36:21] home. Focusing our life here in Havre de
Grace, I want to remind everyone that
[36:25] the Havre de Grace
well, Havre de Grace will Green Team
[36:29] will host the next film in their
environmental series at the Opera House
[36:33] on Wednesday, September 2nd at 7:00 p.m.
The topic, ironically,
[36:39] is about some creatures that have gotten
some bad press lately. The film, The
[36:43] Beaver Believers, is an award-winning
documentary that shares a relevant yet
[36:49] whimsical story of an unlikely group of
activists working to restore the
[36:53] northern North American beaver
population.
[36:56] In addition, the Green Team is planning
a guided walk through an area of beaver
[37:01] habitat at Swan Harbor Farm on September
23rd at 6:30 p.m.
[37:07] Both opportunities offer a great chance
to learn more about an interesting
[37:11] member of our wildlife community and how
it shapes our environment.
[37:15] I'm also pleased to inform council that
the Thanksgiving Dinner Committee has
[37:19] started organizing for this year's
dinner. We plan to deliver at least
[37:24] 1,300 meals this year.
This cherished endeavor is a great
[37:27] example of how wide Havre de Grace's
heart truly is, and I'm grateful to
[37:32] everyone who has played a role in it,
including several members of the our
[37:35] entire staff here. Thank you very much.
Anyone interested in volunteering or
[37:39] donating this year, please reach out to
either myself, Katie Arnold, or
[37:44] Community Projects of Havre de Grace.
And looking ahead, please do not forget
[37:48] about the Children's Art Festival on
September 12th from 11:00 to 2:00 p.m.
[37:53] This event at Tydings Park is a great
afternoon activity with the kids or
[37:56] grandchildren, and I hope to see lots of
folks there. And finally, the Arts
[38:01] Commission will host a fall concert
series on Thursday nights in Concord
[38:06] Park by the lighthouse, starting on
September 17th and continuing through
[38:10] October 8th. The first performers will
be 10 Karat Gold, and concerts are from
[38:15] 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
And finally, as I've said before, I am
[38:19] grateful for the trust and hard work of
everyone on this council.
[38:23] Together, we remain committed to working
with a transparency and reflect and
[38:27] respect and um to the simple truth that
guides our work that together we serve.
[38:34] Thank you.
>> Thank you very much, Council President.
[38:38] » [clears throat]
>> And we're going to go to item 17,
[38:41] business from the mayor.
Have a few things to go over real quick.
[38:44] And the first thing I want to start off
with is thanking the Council President
[38:48] for um running the August 3rd meeting in
my absence. Uh I appreciate all you did
[38:53] to keep everything going smoothly. Good
job.
[38:57] Um
and thank you to all
[39:01] Thank you to my directors and my staff
for the good job you guys did while I
[39:04] was gone.
Uh I was out of the country for 2 weeks
[39:07] with my son. We went to uh my son Will
and I went to Peru and we hiked the Inca
[39:11] Trail to Machu Picchu,
which is kind of a little bucket list
[39:14] thing we we wanted to do for a long
time. And um
[39:17] even though I was in contact with my
staff, you know, through my phone and
[39:20] emails and text messages, I couldn't
physically be here on August 3rd, but
[39:23] but um again, so I'm happy to be alive.
Happy to survive the trip. And I and I
[39:29] finally caught up on all the uh 675
emails and text messages
[39:33] that accumulate when you're on a SIM
card sometimes. But anyway,
[39:36] so a couple things that really been
weighing heavy on me and my departure
[39:41] from Havre de Grace happened the day
that John Carroll passed away.
[39:45] And
I
[39:47] I know a lot of people in Havre de Grace
knew John Carroll. And so a few people
[39:51] in this building worked with John
Carroll.
[39:53] He um he's a Maryland Municipal League
Hall of Fame recipient. Uh he was
[39:56] elected official for over 20 years
for the city of Havre de Grace. He was
[40:00] twice mayor
of Havre de Grace uh in the late 1970s.
[40:04] He stepped in when um
after for Mayor Montgomery.
[40:08] And then he came in in 2005
when David Craig became the County
[40:13] Executive um and he was the Council
President. So,
[40:16] I had the pleasure of serving with him
>> [snorts]
[40:20] » when I was on council.
Um
[40:22] probably for about 4 years, I think.
And I learned a lot from him. He was
[40:28] definitely what is uh
best about the city Havre de Grace. He
[40:32] was a gentleman in every sense of the
word. He taught me a lot.
[40:36] You know,
you you know,
[40:38] I like to think I learned from him. I
mean, he taught me about patience,
[40:41] you know, working together, uh listening
to people. He was just
[40:45] He was an old statesman.
And they don't make people like him
[40:48] anymore.
He served Havre de Grace because he
[40:51] loved Havre de Grace.
And he was again the finest gentleman
[40:56] I've ever known. And I I'll never forget
the night
[40:58] uh I was already on council, and I think
what it was was Mayor
[41:03] Mayor Dougherty
appointed him to fill Councilwoman
[41:07] Brenda Gooden's off seat,
who unfortunately passed away in 2009
[41:11] from breast cancer.
So, he was kind of like, you know, an
[41:14] experienced old pro at being on council
and and uh
[41:18] and he served well, but I felt like I
was like on council with Babe Ruth. It's
[41:21] like, you know, guys you see on TV all
the time, you know what I mean? But it's
[41:23] like So, again, to his lovely wife
Linda,
[41:27] living up there on Mount Currey, the
Babe you know, Babe Babe View Drive, um
[41:32] you know, our heart goes out to you. So,
we're I'm going to really miss John
[41:35] Currey. He was also the chair of the
Ethics Commission for the city Havre de
[41:38] Grace. And he was an excellent uh person
to have on there. So,
[41:42] John Currey, Havre de Grace legend, MML
legend,
[41:45] uh just
with him goes an era, you know what I
[41:49] mean? They don't make them like him
anymore, you know? And so, I hopefully
[41:52] uh people will step up and they'll
they'll um walk in the walk in his
[41:56] shadow one day and try to be like him.
We miss him.
[41:59] And of course, Ezra.
Um you know, I don't I know a lot was
[42:02] said about Ezra the last council
meeting, but Ezra was a very special
[42:05] person to the city of Havre de Grace,
Ezra Berger.
[42:08] Um he would come and go, come and go
with the city.
[42:12] Normally, when people come and go, come
and go, we don't let you come anymore.
[42:15] » [laughter]
>> You know, normally when you when you
[42:17] when you quit working, like, all right,
you know, you keep work, but every time
[42:20] you came back, we would just take him
back cuz we told Ezra, it's like, we
[42:23] know Ezra had a lot going on his life.
And so, every time he would come back to
[42:26] Havre de Grace, he always had a job
waiting for him at DPW. And um
[42:30] he was special like that. And uh so, we
had a great relationship with Ezra.
[42:33] But, I I don't know if a lot of people
know at home notice or not. Some people
[42:36] do. But, I'm going to bring this up only
for posterity's sake because it'll be in
[42:40] the minutes of the meeting.
But, when COVID happened and the whole
[42:44] world was going hysterical and everybody
shutting things down and City Hall was
[42:47] shut down for a couple months,
um I brought Ezra in
[42:52] and we went over um
uh me and uh Steve Gamatoria,
[42:57] um
we went over some some history books of
[42:59] Havre de Grace. A lot of pictures in it,
things like that.
[43:02] And we asked him, I said, you know,
these just these used to just be white
[43:05] panels with nothing on them.
And again, many of you may know this,
[43:09] but some of you at home watching don't.
These panels were painted by Ezra
[43:13] Berger.
And he got enough in his head and in his
[43:16] mind to think, okay, I can I can see a
Havre de Grace scape cuz I wanted these
[43:20] panels to
you know, just kind of like capture
[43:23] Havre de Grace history of the last
hundred and some years.
[43:25] And he went with the flow on it. Um
and I think he did a wonderful job. And
[43:30] one of the panels, it says his name and
and and the date and, you know, says it
[43:33] was painted during the COVID pandemic.
But, he painted, I believe, around April
[43:37] of 2020.
And so, um
[43:42] Well, so now we obviously can't tear
down City Hall. I mean, this is like,
[43:45] you know, but the funny thing is I do
have pictures. Uh
[43:48] I have to dig them out on my phone, but
he set up a scaffolding. And you can't
[43:52] tell by sitting there, but if you look
at it, this was just a white ceiling and
[43:56] he kind of painted it to make it look
like clouds. And I swear he looked like
[43:59] Michelangelo up there on his back
painting the Sistine Chapel. It was so
[44:02] great to see him up there. So,
um if anyone sitting at home is a fan of
[44:06] Ezra's work and you haven't been here um
you know, just come to city hall one day
[44:10] and just say, "Hey, I'd like to see the
city council chambers." And Ezra's work
[44:13] doesn't have to be a council meeting.
You're welcome to come and take a look.
[44:16] This is a public building.
And uh it's Ezra's public art.
[44:19] And so uh I think he did a really good
job and I just wanted to put I just
[44:22] wanted to say that so it goes on record
so it'll his work will never be lost in
[44:26] this
chamber. So, we all miss Ezra and uh
[44:29] deeply and it
and and it hurts, you know, so um
[44:34] but we're lucky that his artwork is
everywhere in Havre de Grace. I mean,
[44:37] even when you come down 155 and
first thing you see is that bridge and
[44:41] and uh so we have a lot to be thankful
for.
[44:44] And finally,
um
[44:47] well, I finally one more thing. Uh I do
want to thank the members of the Youth
[44:50] Commission for pulling off another
fantastic uh Refuel for School event
[44:54] down at Concord Point Park. I dropped by
for a little bit on on Saturday and uh
[44:59] the volunteers were all working very
hard and the volunteers' friends were
[45:01] there, too.
So, it's not just volunteers, it's
[45:03] volunteers' friends. And so, thank you
very much because
[45:06] it means a lot to the kids and the
backpacks that they were giving away,
[45:11] I had a chance to open them up and look
at them.
[45:13] It's actually all the stuff they need.
You know, they need that, you know, box
[45:15] of tissue paper to give to teachers.
You know, and give, you know, all the
[45:19] hand sanitizers and things like that.
So, that's we collect that stuff all
[45:21] throughout the year. You have no idea
how many boxes of tissue paper we go
[45:24] through in classrooms. So, all the
things they were giving kids, the the
[45:28] notebooks, the uh the pencils, the
pencil bag carriers are all things that
[45:32] kids really need. So,
thank you to the uh Appleby Foundation
[45:35] for helping us out this year with a very
generous donation and all the volunteers
[45:40] for the um Youth Commission. So, that
was that was a huge undertaking. Thank
[45:43] you.
And finally, I need to end tonight's
[45:47] my comments
with a Civil War story.
[45:51] Please bear with me for about 2 minutes
because the Civil War story has a Havre
[45:53] de Grace connection
uh which is very important to the point
[45:57] I'm getting at.
So,
[46:00] I'm going to try to truncate
>> [laughter]
[46:03] » a big battle into like a 2-minute
segment here, but
[46:06] in July of 1864,
the Union Army was south of Richmond,
[46:11] southeast of Richmond,
and history calls it the Siege of
[46:15] Petersburg.
General Grant was bogged down in
[46:18] Petersburg for almost 10 months.
How he got there
[46:22] was just
a mess. Petersburg was a town where four
[46:27] southern railroads had a junction,
and it was the main supply for the
[46:31] Confederate Army, and General Lee needed
to hold it at all costs.
[46:34] And General Grant's army was going to
try to take it at all costs.
[46:39] But Lee, General Lee found a a type of
warfare tactic that I wouldn't say was
[46:44] brand new, but it was new for the time
period,
[46:47] and it became known as trench warfare.
And
[46:51] 60-some years later, the world the whole
world will know what trench warfare is
[46:54] in World War I.
But Grant learned a valuable lesson in
[46:57] Cold Harbor not to do a head-on attack
against the Confederate forces in
[47:01] trenches.
He lost 7,000 men in 20 minutes in that
[47:05] attack.
And so, um,
[47:07] when they got to Petersburg, it was a
stalemate.
[47:11] Of course, the Union Army under General
Grant had many more soldiers
[47:15] than the Confederate Army,
but the Confederate positions were
[47:18] pretty entrenched and very well
defensible.
[47:22] Well, a colonel in the
in a Pennsylvania regiment who had coal
[47:25] mining experience, and so did his men,
came up with an idea to dig a mine
[47:31] underneath the Union lines into the
Confederate lines.
[47:35] And when he dug his 531-ft mine, they're
going to put 4 tons of gunpowder under
[47:40] it, and they're going to blast the
Confederate position,
[47:43] and then they're going to charge and
break the lines, and hopefully that'll
[47:45] release the Siege of Petersburg, and
you know, the Confederates will scatter,
[47:49] and then they march on to Richmond, and
and the war will be over.
[47:54] I can tell you that General Grant and
General Meade, his the guy right under
[47:57] General Grant, were kind of skeptical
about it, but they thought, "Well, it
[47:59] gives the guy something to do for a
while. Let him dig a mine."
[48:03] All these boys from Pennsylvania, they
dug a mine.
[48:05] And it went all the way under the Union
lines into the Confederate lines. The
[48:08] Confederates had no idea
that this mine was about 50 ft
[48:12] under their lines, and the Union Army
kept putting gunpowder. They put 8,000
[48:16] lb of gunpowder
right underneath the Confederate
[48:20] fortifications.
And at 4:44 in the morning on July 30th,
[48:25] 1864,
they lit it
[48:28] and created a huge crater,
about 170 ft wide,
[48:32] about 35 ft deep.
It came known as the Battle of the
[48:35] Crater.
Now,
[48:38] this is where the local connection comes
in.
[48:43] The Ninth Corps, the Federal Ninth
Corps, had many, many divisions under
[48:46] the command, but one division, there was
only one division there
[48:49] that was a United States Colored Troop
regiment.
[48:53] General Burnside, Ambrose Burnside,
picked that regiment to lead the charge
[48:57] once the dynamite went off.
It was quite an honor
[49:01] to lead a charge. So, the crater would
blow up, and the United States Colored
[49:04] Troop regiment division, the entire
division, would take that crater.
[49:07] And they were training for 2 weeks.
And in 2 weeks training,
[49:12] the Colored regiment knew to go around
the crater
[49:15] and to attack the positions and then
break through the lines and even take
[49:18] Petersburg if they could. They They
trained specifically for this event.
[49:23] And then the day before the the day
before the event,
[49:26] General Meade went to General Grant and
said, "I'd rather have a white division
[49:29] lead the charge."
I know it sounds like discrimination on
[49:33] the surface, but the way these two
generals were thinking was, "We only
[49:36] have one Colored Troop regiment out of
all these divisions. If we send them
[49:40] into a suicide mission, people are going
to think we did it intentionally."
[49:43] It wasn't because they didn't think they
could do the job, they just
[49:47] they didn't want all the radical
Republicans in DC saying, "You
[49:49] slaughtered all these men
intentionally." That wasn't the point.
[49:53] It blew the crater
and it's and
[49:56] the
the regiments that came in first, they
[49:58] didn't train. They went into the crater
instead of around it and they got
[50:02] massacred.
The explosion itself killed 350
[50:06] Confederates,
but almost 4,000 Union soldiers were
[50:09] killed in that crater. It was a
disaster. It was one of the biggest
[50:11] disasters of the Civil War.
Finally,
[50:15] Burnside did have permission to send in
the color troop division that was
[50:18] training for it.
[50:21] But because of the
enfilade coming from the Confederates,
[50:25] they had to go into the trench
to get to it and so long story short, it
[50:29] was just it was a disaster.
But unlike
[50:33] the soldiers in the white regiments, the
color troop regiments,
[50:36] they knew when they went engaged into
combat
[50:39] that the Confederate Army had a policy
that any color soldier taken captured in
[50:45] a federal uniform with a gun would be
summarily put to death.
[50:49] And many of them were.
And so,
[50:52] the men who fought
in the United States color troop
[50:55] regiment knew when they went into that
crater when Burnside gave the order that
[50:59] the odds of coming back were very slim.
So, the Battle of the Crater was one of
[51:03] the worst
poorly executed
[51:07] battles of the Civil War and Petersburg
siege lasted another eight months. All
[51:11] that work to dig that mine
and it failed and many good men were
[51:15] killed.
But one man survived. Well, not one, but
[51:19] several survived.
His name was Lewis Hill.
[51:23] He survived. He was a from the United
States color troop regiment. He's from
[51:26] Havre de Grace.
He lived to fight in the Battle of the
[51:29] Crater and he actually lived to fight
his way out of it.
[51:33] Lewis Hill reached the rank of corporal
in the Union Army, which is pretty good.
[51:40] He survived the Civil War, came back to
Havre de Grace and worked his farm and
[51:43] died
in the year 1904.
[51:49] And he's buried in the cemetery
just
[51:53] very close to where Blenheim Farm Road
and Chapel Road meet, the second
[51:56] entrance, what we call the second
entrance of Bulle Rock. There's a little
[52:00] wooded area around that area and it's
known as the Johnson Hill Cemetery.
[52:04] Old-timers in Havre de Grace, that grew
up around here a long time ago, often
[52:07] referred to it as the old graveyard or
the burying ground near Evan's Corner.
[52:12] It's on the Harford County land map as a
cemetery, but
[52:17] if you went there today to look at it,
you'd you'd have a hard time figuring
[52:20] out it's a cemetery because it's
overgrown with weeds and trees and and
[52:24] thickets and
there you can tell it's a cemetery cuz
[52:28] some areas of collapsed ground where
there used to be a grave probably.
[52:31] Here's some pictures of it up here.
Um we believe there's over 20 burial
[52:35] sites there.
But one grave in particular that got the
[52:39] attention of the Alfred B. Hilton
Foundation
[52:43] is the grave of Mr. Louis Hill.
And luckily, the grave of Louis Hill is
[52:49] one of the few that is very well
preserved um
[52:52] and it does denote that he served in the
United States Colored Troops Regiment.
[52:57] So it's
there we believe there could be more
[53:01] veterans Civil War veterans up there.
And the cemetery is dilapidated and it
[53:06] and the Alfred B. Hilton volunteers,
they just really want to get up there
[53:09] and take a good survey of the cemetery
and and and mark all the graves and find
[53:14] out who's buried where and
you know
[53:17] try to make sense of everything.
Problem is is like I said, there's a lot
[53:22] of brush, fallen trees and stuff like
that. So
[53:25] what we want to do and and it's not the
only one either. There's another one on
[53:28] the end of Chapel Terrace.
Uh used to be an old church that's no
[53:32] longer there and there was an old
cemetery out in the woods uh that needs
[53:35] to be kind of like looked at again. And
there's one on the end of Elizabeth
[53:38] Street called Cedar Hill.
And we believe that in all these
[53:41] cemeteries there could be veterans
buried there, especially veterans of the
[53:44] United States Colored Troop Regiment.
So, I went out with some of my with Dr.
[53:49] Richie and Adam Rutschinski and and Sue
Nappi, who is a volunteer in the Alfred
[53:53] B. Hilton Foundation the other week.
And the reason I tell the story is
[53:59] I feel and I hope I I I I think everyone
feels this way that, you know, anyone
[54:03] who wore the union of the uniform of the
Union
[54:06] and fought to preserve our country, you
know, their their grave shouldn't be
[54:09] dilapidated and and in mud and and
overgrown trees. Their their grave
[54:13] should be clean and well-preserved and
documented. So,
[54:16] I am issuing an executive order.
I'm not going to read the whole
[54:20] executive order to you, but basically
the executive order
[54:23] is allowing the city to partner with the
Alfred B. Hilton Foundation and we're
[54:27] going to use some of our DPW resources
like dump trucks and chainsaws and stuff
[54:31] and help clear some of the logs and
trees out of the way of these cemeteries
[54:35] so the people can get in there like the
volunteers and the members of the Alfred
[54:39] B. Hilton Foundation can get in there
and properly document these graves and
[54:43] see what they can find if there's any
other veterans
[54:45] that are buried in in any graves that
are marked unmarked or falling apart or
[54:49] in disrepair.
So, again, don't have to read the whole
[54:51] executive order to you, but it will be
executive order 2026-02.
[54:56] And so, it will allow
the city to work with the Alfred B.
[55:00] Hilton Foundation and try to clean these
cemeteries up. So,
[55:03] I say it's important. The city of Havre
de Grace is a Havre is a city that
[55:06] embraces our veterans.
And these men are veterans, too, of a
[55:10] great war.
So, I'm sorry for being long-winded, but
[55:14] um
I just wanted everybody to to be aware
[55:17] of of what's going to be happening in
the next couple of weeks and
[55:19] and hopefully, you know, 6 months from
now, 8 months from now, when it's all
[55:22] cleaned up and we make sense of things,
maybe we can do a follow-up report and
[55:25] let everybody know what we find up there
and and um
[55:28] and the condition of things. So, it's
just the beginning.
[55:32] So, with that said, again, I thank the
Council President for running the
[55:35] previous meeting on August 3rd and and
my staff for taking care of the home
[55:39] front. And with that said, can I get a
motion to adjourn?
[55:42] » Second.
[55:45] » A motion by Council member Glenn, second
by Council President.
[55:48] All those in favor say I.
All opposed say nay.
[55:52] Motion to adjourn carries 6-0 in
affirmative. The time is now 7:53. Thank
[55:56] you very much everybody and we'll see
you
[55:58] a couple weeks after Labor Day. Thank
you. Good night.