[0:09] Alright, we're gonna bring this meeting back to order.

[0:13] Alright, good evening everybody.

[0:14] Welcome to the Queen Anne County Commissioners meeting.

[0:16] This is a public meeting

[0:17] that is being aired live on our local cable television

[0:19] station, QAC TV seven.

[0:21] These media broadcasts provide county citizens an

[0:24] opportunity to watch and review

[0:26] our scheduled public meetings.

[0:27] In addition to our live audience this evening,

[0:29] we are providing remote options for citizens to watch

[0:31] and participate in county commissioner meetings.

[0:34] Citizens Citizens may watch our meeting live on our website

[0:37] at qac.org/live,

[0:39] or on our public access governmental television channel

[0:42] provided by Breeze Line Cable Services.

[0:45] Citizens may also participate

[0:46] by joining the live Zoom meeting by going

[0:48] to qac.org/public comment

[0:51] and citizens may also email comments

[0:53] to public comment@qac.org.

[0:56] All comments received will be summarized

[0:58] during the present public comment period.

[0:59] On tonight's agenda. We acknowledge everyone's participation

[1:03] and by attending you acknowledge

[1:04] that this session is both recorded and aired present.

[1:07] Public comment will be taken

[1:08] and is limited to three minutes per person.

[1:10] If you do care to speak,

[1:11] please sign up at the information table in the lobby.

[1:14] Comments longer than three minutes can be submitted in

[1:17] writing for the commissioner's review.

[1:18] We will now stand and be led in the Pledge

[1:20] of Allegiance by commission.

[1:21] President Jim Marin.

[1:24] I pledge Allegiance to the flag

[1:26] of the United States of America

[1:29] and to the republic for which it stands,

[1:31] one nation under God

[1:34] and indivisible with Liberty Justice for all.

[1:46] Okay, that brings us to the approval of the agenda

[1:49] and the minutes for this evening.

[1:50] So the agenda for today's meeting March,

[1:52] or excuse me, may the 26th, along

[1:55] with the regular session minutes,

[1:56] the closed session minutes, and the sanitary commission

[1:59] minutes for May the 12th have been circulated for review.

[2:03] We also circulated the minutes from the FY 27 budget

[2:06] informational sessions last week on May 18th,

[2:11] 19th and 20th.

[2:13] Any additions or corrections to any of the minutes

[2:16] or the agenda?

[2:17] Motion to add one agenda item on tonight's agenda.

[2:21] Okay, second. All this in favor? Aye.

[2:25] Motion to approve tonight's agenda as amended

[2:28] and all minutes as submitted.

[2:30] Second. All those in favor?

[2:32] Aye. Aye. No session.

[2:38] Okay, thank you Commissioner.

[2:39] So we just had a closed session under the general provisions

[2:43] article section three three F 3 0 5 B eight

[2:46] to discuss potential litigation

[2:48] and under section 3 3 0 5 B one

[2:51] to discuss boards and commissions.

[2:53] And I believe we do have one appointment

[2:56] to make for boards and commissions.

[2:58] So We received a letter from our board

[3:01] of licensed commissioners, our liquor board,

[3:03] and they voted unanimously

[3:04] to support the reappointment of gene ransom.

[3:07] So I moved to reappoint gene Ransom

[3:09] to fill the vacancy on the board of licensed commissioners,

[3:12] our liquor board, and also we're

[3:14] appointing him as the chairman of the board.

[3:15] This chairman will expire on June 30th, 2030.

[3:19] Second. We have a motion in a second.

[3:21] Any discussion on the second topic? Seeing none.

[3:25] All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed?

[3:28] So moved.

[3:29] Alright, thank you commissioners.

[3:32] So next we have press public comment.

[3:34] So this is the general press and public comment period.

[3:36] We have a number of hearings tonight, so

[3:39] I don't know if anybody's signed up for, we

[3:41] Have no one signed up.

[3:42] Would anybody like to speak? Seeing none,

[3:44] we'll post press and public comment.

[3:49] Okay. Commissioners, we can go into the legislation

[3:51] portion of tonight's agenda.

[3:52] So that would be Tab seven.

[3:58] So under tab seven, item one, pages one through two,

[4:01] we have the comprehensive water

[4:02] and sewer plan, public hearing for the Marlin Farms

[4:06] and Dominion sewer service area designation.

[4:09] So Mr. Thompson, this is a A map amendment

[4:13] to include the Marlin Farms

[4:15] and Dominion sewer service area map in the comprehensive

[4:18] water and sewer plan.

[4:19] This is a area of public health concern.

[4:21] It's been designated such since 1984

[4:24] and this map amendment is required in order

[4:27] for the public works staff

[4:29] to pursue a public health exemption from the Smart Growth

[4:32] Coordinating Committee for an extension of public sewer

[4:35] outside of a growth area.

[4:37] Mr. Thompson? Ready?

[4:39] This is a public hearing being held

[4:40] by the county commissioner Queen Edge County 5:40 PM

[4:44] Tuesday May the 26th.

[4:45] 2026 in the commissioner's meeting room Liberty Building

[4:50] 1 0 7 North Liberty Street, central Maryland.

[4:53] The purpose of the hearing is

[4:55] to consider amending the Queen Edge County 2011

[4:58] comprehensive order and service plan.

[5:01] In addition to the hearing

[5:02] and informational presentation was made on Tuesday,

[5:06] May 12th, 2026.

[5:09] The proposal being considered is the Marlin Farms

[5:12] and Dominion service sewer service area map.

[5:17] The amendment seeks to adopt the service area map

[5:20] for the Marlin Farm subdivision

[5:22] and the community of Dominion.

[5:24] The map was removed from the draft 2011 comprehensive water

[5:28] and sewer plan due to political concerns as

[5:32] to the actual need to service these communities

[5:36] as were the southern can.

[5:38] Island sewer service area maps which were sub

[5:42] southernly amended back into the plan 2014

[5:46] there in question have been have been noted as areas

[5:50] of public health concern since at least the 1984

[5:53] comprehensive water and sew plan

[5:56] and every subsequent plan since

[6:00] text brief briefly defining the problem remains in the

[6:04] 2011 plan.

[6:06] The service area, we carry a s sewer service designation

[6:10] of S3 to anticipate service in four to 10 years.

[6:16] And the project will require a subsequent map map amendment

[6:20] to S two should the project proceed.

[6:23] Copies of the proposed amendment have been available in the

[6:26] county commissioner's office

[6:28] or electronically through a request to

[6:31] Allen quimbee@qac.org.

[6:35] All hearing sites are accessible to individuals sign, lack

[6:38] of interpreters and assistive listening

[6:40] systems are available.

[6:42] Part of record the proceeding will be a certificate

[6:44] of publication indicating that notice

[6:47] of the hearing was published for

[6:49] two successive weeks in the Bay.

[6:51] Times of record. Observer, I signed up. You

[6:55] Signed up.

[6:56] You want that? Your Thanks.

[6:57] Do you have anything? You wanna say? Anything? No.

[6:59] Commissioner, unless you have any questions?

[7:02] Nobody signed up. Nobody's signed up. Nobody signed up.

[7:05] Nobody wants to speak on this.

[7:07] Okay, I don't Anyone have any questions up here?

[7:12] Can we hold it for two more weeks?

[7:15] Oh, that was quick and easy. Thank you

[7:16] Alan, you got to go first.

[7:19] There you go.

[7:21] You living good or something?

[7:22] There you go. Hey, you wanna put that in there?

[7:25] Just, alright.

[7:26] Thank you Mr. Quimbee. Yep.

[7:29] All commissioner's. Moving right along.

[7:31] Item number two on page five.

[7:32] This is a public hearing on county ordinance 26 0 4

[7:36] use is allowed to occupy in excess of 65,000 square feet

[7:40] of gross floor area in the airport protection in Kent Island

[7:43] Gateway District.

[7:47] So Mr. Thompson, you've got the legal ad there.

[7:49] You wanna read that please?

[8:04] All right. This is a public hearing being

[8:09] held May the 26th.

[8:11] 2026 at

[8:14] 8:50 PM regarding

[8:20] county ordinance 26 0 4.

[8:23] A bill entitled an act concerning uses allowed

[8:29] to occupy an excess of 65,000 square feet

[8:35] of gross floor area in the airport protection

[8:39] in Ken Island Gateway

[8:46] District in Queen Ann County for the purpose

[8:52] of allowing boat sails and repair

[8:54] and Marinas occupied more than 65,000 square feet

[8:58] of crow floor area in the airport protection in Ken Island

[9:02] Gateway AP KIG district in Queen County

[9:08] by amending section 18 one

[9:11] dash 34 D three, the code of public local law,

[9:15] the Queen Ann County.

[9:18] This the proposal received a favorable recommendation

[9:23] from the Queen Ann County Planning Commission.

[9:30] All hearing sites are accessible

[9:31] to individual with disability.

[9:34] Speakers will be limited to three EE for written testimony.

[9:39] Can be submitted all

[9:40] before the hearing date to the county commissioners.

[9:46] No one's signed up. Is there any public comment?

[9:51] Do You all have anything you wanna say?

[9:54] I don't have anything specific to say in the amendment,

[9:56] but I just wanna introduce you

[9:57] to Mary Ellen, our senior planner.

[9:59] She's been on with us since June,

[10:01] but this is the first time in front of the board.

[10:03] So I wanted to have her introduced,

[10:05] but I don't think you probably,

[10:07] do you have anything in addition to No,

[10:09] unless you have any questions?

[10:10] Nope. Thank you. Welcome. Thank you.

[10:14] You wanna vote on it? I'll leave it over. Okay.

[10:19] Alright, we'll leave it open for two more weeks. Thank you

[10:27] Stephanie.

[10:27] There wasn't no time sensitive with that. Is there? Alright.

[10:32] Not that I, No, nothing Okay. That I'm aware.

[10:35] Not that I Two weeks is not gonna hurt anybody.

[10:41] I don't think so. I Ready?

[10:45] So we leave? Yep. Our item. Hold

[10:48] On. I'm sorry.

[10:49] Hold on. So is it okay to hold that out for two weeks

[10:53] or is there a time issue?

[10:56] Are you here represent for Ryan?

[10:58] So I'm here for Ryan, yeah. Okay. Is there a time concern?

[11:01] Not that I am aware of, no. Okay.

[11:03] Okay. Okay. We, okay, so we'll have a vote. You there is

[11:07] Put You on the spot. Ask me a question.

[11:10] It's recorded now. There you go.

[11:13] Alright, commissioners item number three then

[11:16] as public hearing on county ordinance 26 0 7.

[11:18] This is for non-residential floor area in the Waterfront

[11:22] Village Center district.

[11:23] This is 26 0 7, page number six in

[11:29] tab seven, item three.

[11:31] Mr. Thompson, This is a public hearing being held

[11:35] Tuesday May the 26th.

[11:36] 2026 at 5:50 PM in the county Commissioner meeting room

[11:41] Liberty Building 1 0 7 North Liberty Street.

[11:45] The hearings to receive public comment on county ordinance

[11:49] number 26 0 7 A bill entitled an ACT

[11:53] concerning non-residential floor area ratio in the

[11:58] Waterfront Village Center Zoning District in Queen Edge

[12:01] County for the purpose

[12:03] of increasing the BuyRight maximum non-residential floor

[12:07] area FAR from 30% to 40%

[12:11] in the Waterfront Village Center.

[12:14] WBC zoning district

[12:16] removing the non-residential floor area bonus in the WBC

[12:21] district and generally modifying

[12:23] and addressing non-residential floor area ratio in the

[12:27] Waterfront Village Center zoning district in Queen S County

[12:32] by amending section 18,000 1, 26 F two

[12:36] and N one A of the code of public local laws

[12:39] of Queen S County.

[12:42] The proposed ordinance received the favorable recommendation

[12:45] from the Queen Anne County Planning Commission.

[12:48] Copies of the ordinance have been available at the county

[12:50] commissioner's office and on the, at the county website

[12:55] speakers were limited to three minutes.

[12:57] Each written testimony of any length can be submitted on or

[13:01] before the hearing date to the county Commissioner's Office

[13:03] 1 0 7 North Liberty Street, Centerville.

[13:07] All hearing sites are accessible, individual

[13:09] with disabilities, sign language interpreters

[13:12] and assistive listening systems are available.

[13:16] Part of the record of this proceeding will be a certificate

[13:18] of publication indicating that notice

[13:20] of the hearing was published

[13:22] for two successive weeks in the Bay Times's record observer

[13:27] and as well as the recommendation

[13:29] of the Queen Hans County Planning Commission.

[13:32] No one signed up for their any public comments with respect

[13:37] to county ordinance 26 0 7.

[13:42] Real quick, just wanna ask the question.

[13:43] So we're going through the, via the moratorium,

[13:47] we're changing obviously commercial apartments

[13:49] and they're not gonna be commercial apartments.

[13:51] Will that automatically, if these were to pass through, will

[13:54] that automatically, will that language update automatically

[13:57] that they would be nonconforming at that point?

[13:59] Or how would that work? If they're called commercial

[14:01] apartments but they won't exist in the re

[14:03] they'll be residential.

[14:04] They won't be considered commercial any longer.

[14:06] So they still would be applied in the same manner. Okay.

[14:09] As the commercial apartments stand now in the code.

[14:12] Right. Okay. Yes. Alright.

[14:16] Any other questions for the public?

[14:20] You want to, should have done this on the other one,

[14:22] but for the public watching, what is this?

[14:25] The nuts and bolts of this amendment?

[14:29] The nuts and bolts would be per changing the FAR

[14:35] to from 30 from, excuse me,

[14:38] 30 to 40, 30%.

[14:39] 30% to 40%. Which means what? To the general public.

[14:43] Ah, so the floor area ratio is a sum

[14:47] of all floors, including basements

[14:49] and upper floors divided by the total floor area.

[14:52] So that is, bless you. Thank you.

[14:55] So what that means that, that regulates the floor,

[14:59] the building size on a lot.

[15:02] So by increasing the floor area ratio,

[15:07] the building mass, so to speak, can be larger on, on a,

[15:11] on a building site.

[15:13] But also the, the other regulations, the

[15:18] design criteria, parking regulations

[15:21] and the other design guidelines,

[15:23] critical area storm water requirements would still

[15:25] prevail on this site.

[15:28] Okay. Alright. Yeah.

[15:31] Were you looking for a specific project?

[15:33] Well, no, I was looking for how that 30

[15:36] to 40 relates to the public. Okay.

[15:39] That's all. And, and if I also make for, for the public

[15:41] as well the, there are other,

[15:45] this is also consistent

[15:46] with many other commercial zoning districts, if I may,

[15:50] on the town center, urban commercial, suburban industrial,

[15:53] light industrial, Grayson, neighborhood,

[15:55] commercial suburban industrial,

[15:58] and the airport protection Kent

[16:02] Island gateway districts.

[16:03] And those are all also have 40%.

[16:04] So they're all at 40%. Yes sir.

[16:06] So we're just bringing this up to what everything else is.

[16:08] Yep. Yes. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. Appreciate it.

[16:10] We're gonna hold that for two weeks.

[16:11] Okay. Two Weeks. Moving on.

[16:14] Alright commissioners item four on page seven.

[16:16] This is public hearing on county ordinance 26 0 8.

[16:19] This is for commercial apartments in the Waterfront Village

[16:22] Center zoning district.

[16:24] And the objective here is to add additional provisions

[16:27] to allow commercial apartments within that district

[16:29] to locate the commercial apartment dwelling on any same

[16:32] floor, including the first floor.

[16:34] So not necessarily the top floor, it can be any floor.

[16:38] Planning commission also sent a favorable favorable report

[16:41] to the commissioners on this amendment.

[16:43] So Mr. Thompson,

[16:46] Thank you.

[16:47] This is a public hearing being held by the county Mr.

[16:50] Queenan County, Tuesday,

[16:52] May 26th, 2026 at 5:55 PM

[16:56] and the county commissioner meeting room Liberty Building

[16:59] 1 0 7 North Liberty Street, Centerville, Maryland

[17:03] hearings receive public comment on proposed county ordinance

[17:07] 26 0 8 ACT

[17:10] concerning commercial apartment in the Waterfront Village

[17:13] Center, WVC zoning district in Queen Ance County

[17:18] for the purpose of allowing commercial apartments on any

[17:21] floor, including the first floor in the waterfront billing

[17:26] center zoning district,

[17:28] and providing such commercial apartments

[17:31] shall be located on the same floor by amending section

[17:35] 18 1 26 F

[17:39] Four Of the code of public level laws

[17:41] of Queen Anne County.

[17:43] The proposed ordinance received a favorable recommendation

[17:46] from the Queen Anne County Planning Commission

[17:49] at their April 9th, 2026 meeting.

[17:52] Copies of the proposed orders have been available at the

[17:55] county commissioner's office

[17:57] and on the county website speakers will be

[18:00] limited to three minutes.

[18:01] Each written testimony of any length can be submitted all

[18:05] before the hearing date

[18:06] to the county commissioners 1 0 7 North Liberty Street.

[18:10] Bel. All hearing sites are accessible to individuals

[18:13] with disability sign language interpreters,

[18:16] and assistive listening systems are available.

[18:19] For the record of the proceeding will be a certificate

[18:21] of publication indicating that notes

[18:23] of the hearing was published

[18:25] for two successive weeks in the Bay Honor Director Observer,

[18:30] as well as the recommendation

[18:32] of the Queen Ann County Planning Commission.

[18:37] No one signed up for this either.

[18:39] Is there any, anybody have any public comment

[18:43] with respect of the county?

[18:44] 1 26?

[18:48] I'll take a stab at this one for the public.

[18:50] Okay, so on,

[18:52] I'll just take a a four story building right now.

[18:55] First floor has to be commercial.

[18:57] This allows that first floor to be apartments,

[19:01] which somewhere in that building, the same amount

[19:03] of square footage would be considered commercial.

[19:05] It could be the top floor,

[19:06] the second floor or the third floor.

[19:08] Correct? Correct. There you go. 1.8, fuck on.

[19:11] Alright, so there's no, there's no,

[19:13] we're not adding more apartments than

[19:15] what the zoning is is set at.

[19:17] We're just moving around where you're open

[19:20] commercial area could be correct.

[19:22] It's, it is allowing more flexibility.

[19:24] And this would just be in,

[19:26] in the waterfront village center district, right?

[19:30] Yes. So I got a feeling we're gonna start

[19:31] And then WBC is located where it's,

[19:34] there's only one WBC of the county.

[19:36] It's in the Kent narrow. That's the

[19:37] Kent narrow. Yes sir. Yep. Okay.

[19:38] And this will allow them, which I think is a good idea,

[19:42] is use some rooftop space, fourth floor space for the views.

[19:46] So yes sir, no problem there. Any other questions?

[19:50] Good guys. Okay, thank you.

[19:53] We'll hold this for two more weeks. That's what I,

[19:56] We good?

[19:58] Okay. Alright, continue.

[19:59] We have a few more of these and these are all citizen

[20:02] sponsored text amendments by the way.

[20:03] So that's why it's taking a little time.

[20:04] We have these all stacked up here,

[20:06] but item five on page eight,

[20:08] public hearing on county ordinance 26 0 9.

[20:11] This is amendments

[20:12] to the transfer development right standards.

[20:16] The objective here is to amend the transfer

[20:19] development right standards to allow for a transfer

[20:22] or parcel, which is designated

[20:24] as open space following the conveyance of development rights

[20:27] to be subdivided through the administrative subdivision

[20:29] process to accommodate lot line adjustments,

[20:31] but not to be reconfigured to create a new lot.

[20:36] Alright, Mr. Mr. Thompson?

[20:39] Thank you. This is public hearing being held

[20:41] by the county commissioner

[20:43] of Queen Anne County County Tuesday, may the 26th.

[20:46] 2026 at 6:00 PM in the county commissioner's meeting room,

[20:51] Liberty Building 1 0 7 North Liberty

[20:53] Street, central Maryland.

[20:56] The the hearing is with, with respect

[20:59] to county ordinance number 26 0 9

[21:03] a bill entitled an Act Amendments

[21:06] to the Transfer Development Rights TDR standards in Queen

[21:11] Edge County, Maryland for the purpose

[21:14] of amending the transfer development rights standards

[21:17] to permit a transfer

[21:18] or partial, which is designated open space following the

[21:23] conveyance of development rates to be subdivided

[21:26] through the administrative subdivision process

[21:29] to accommodate lot line adjustments

[21:32] but not to create additional lots

[21:35] and generally addressing subdivision

[21:37] of open space in Queen S County by mending section

[21:41] 18 1 1 0 1 A

[21:43] and 18 1 1 0 4 A of the code of public local

[21:47] local laws of Queen Hands County.

[21:50] The proposed ordinance received a favorable recommendation

[21:53] from the Queen Hands County Planning Commission at their

[21:56] April 9th, 2026 meeting.

[21:58] Copies of the ordinance have been available

[22:01] to county commissioner's office prior to the hearing

[22:05] and also online on the county website.

[22:09] Speakers be limited to three minutes each written testimony

[22:12] of any length can be submitted all before the hearing date.

[22:16] All hearing sites are accessible, individuals

[22:18] with disability language interpreters

[22:21] and assistive listening systems are available.

[22:24] For the record of the proceeding will be a certificate

[22:26] of publication indicating that notice

[22:29] of the same was published in the Bay Times record observer

[22:33] for two successive weeks prior to light hearing, as well

[22:37] as the recommendation

[22:39] of the Queen Edge County Planning Commission.

[22:42] Jeffrey Thompson.

[22:46] Thank you Mr. Toon.

[22:47] You want to come up here? Commissioners

[22:50] Thought he'd give Mr. Thompson a break without anybody

[22:52] testifying you were wearing him out.

[22:58] This bill is really about being able to

[23:01] permit administrative subdivision,

[23:03] which is really just a lot line adjustment

[23:05] between two adjoining property owners for TDR open space.

[23:09] Important to note there could be no reconfiguration

[23:12] of the open space, no additional lots, no changes

[23:16] or restrictions applicable.

[23:17] The only thing we're asking is to be able change ownership.

[23:20] When you look at the, the map of the restricted lands

[23:25] that was attached by Ms. Jones on the staff report that went

[23:28] to the planning commission, nothing changes.

[23:30] It may, it remains exactly the same

[23:34] and it, we need,

[23:35] as she pointed out in her report on page three, flexibility

[23:39] because you never know where you're gonna draw

[23:41] that line back when these, these open space

[23:44] areas were created.

[23:45] Nobody thought they might ever even sell their farm.

[23:47] Now we're trying to sell 'em. Where do you cut the line?

[23:50] And you might want to cut it along and stream bed.

[23:53] You might want let all the farm field to go on one parcel,

[23:55] on the woodland on another parcel,

[23:57] might wanna run down a hedge row.

[23:58] You're gonna take into consideration the roads on the farm.

[24:00] It's just a common sense amendment to allow people

[24:04] to subdivide their farms in a way that makes sense.

[24:07] I mean that's really what it comes down to.

[24:10] I really came up thinking he might have some questions,

[24:12] but that's, that's really it in a nutshell.

[24:17] Anyone else sign up? Anyone else?

[24:19] Sign up a

[24:24] want me to stand and sit wherever you're comfortable seat.

[24:28] Alright. By the way, commissioners,

[24:30] the signup sheet was taken away before we came in.

[24:34] I think Mr. Parker and I both wanted

[24:35] to sign up, but it wasn't there.

[24:36] So I, okay,

[24:41] Commissioners, good evening.

[24:42] Jay Stead, queen Anne's Conservation Association.

[24:47] My comments on ordinance 26 0 9 are gonna mirror my comments

[24:51] on 26 10.

[24:54] I'm gonna recommend a a no vote on this for right now,

[24:57] but with an asterisk behind it,

[25:00] which I'll come to at the end.

[25:02] But just for the record,

[25:03] we're not gonna be voting tonight at all.

[25:04] I understand. Yeah, and I,

[25:06] I'm gonna submit some additional things later on.

[25:09] In any case, both the TDR program

[25:12] and the N-C-D-N-C-D program represented an agreement

[25:17] between the landowner and the county.

[25:19] When these landowners signed up for it, they knew

[25:21] what they were getting into.

[25:23] They sold their development rights

[25:25] or transferred their development

[25:27] rights, whatever the case is.

[25:29] And that's now included in their deed.

[25:31] And so I understand what Mr. Thompson wants to do

[25:34] by moving the lot lines,

[25:37] and I'm not necessarily opposed to that,

[25:39] but I also fear that you're opening up Pandora's box

[25:42] because even though the open space may not be reconfigured

[25:45] by moving the lot lines, you could open the door

[25:48] for land use abuse in the way that you could open it up for

[25:55] not only farm uses, which are already in our code,

[25:59] but non-farm uses.

[26:01] And if you look in our code at just the non-farm uses

[26:04] that could be allowed on farmland.

[26:06] You could have things like tennis courts,

[26:09] lighted tennis courts, pickleball courts, all this stuff

[26:12] that could ultimately be added.

[26:14] And so you've got landowners right now

[26:16] who have purchased property in either one

[26:19] of these programs thinking

[26:21] that this is deed restricted open space

[26:23] and may end up having to deal with something later on.

[26:27] Commissioner McLaughlin, you'll know full well on this just

[26:30] with the landfill proposal over outside of Centerville.

[26:33] All those people knew what they were signing up

[26:35] for when they bought that property.

[26:37] And now years later they're saying, oh no,

[26:39] we don't want a landfill.

[26:41] Imagine something non-farm related coming into the equation

[26:45] at this late date.

[26:47] You're gonna have this room filled

[26:48] with people saying a bunch of NIMBYs.

[26:50] And I'm always on the side of the NIMBY saying, you know,

[26:53] we don't want this next to us

[26:54] or we don't want that in our neighborhood.

[26:57] And so I just feel like you're opening up Pandora's box,

[27:03] the asterisk part.

[27:06] I believe there's a way to solve this.

[27:09] I'm not opposed to lot line adjustment.

[27:11] And what I'd like is the opportunity to work

[27:15] with Mr. Thompson on both these ordinances and try

[27:19] and come up with a, with a solution

[27:21] that takes away the non-farm,

[27:26] the non-farm abuses that could occur

[27:29] if we're gonna have lot line adjustments.

[27:31] Where does that end? Right now?

[27:33] There's 10,000 acres in both of these programs divide

[27:37] by 128 landowners.

[27:39] If you allow it for them,

[27:40] you're gonna have to allow it for everybody.

[27:42] And so with that, I'll end it.

[27:44] And unfortunately I'll have to repeat some of this on,

[27:47] on the next, the next ordinance.

[27:50] Yes.

[27:54] You wanna come back up Jeff,

[28:00] This Joseph, so she can answer once

[28:02] and much of what he had to say.

[28:03] But you have the same restrictions

[28:05] on the land before and after.

[28:06] Jeff, can you sit down please?

[28:08] Just so the microphone, we can't

[28:09] Get the Chance the mic get you.

[28:10] We can't hear you on tv. Thank you.

[28:13] You have the same restrictions

[28:14] applicable before and after.

[28:16] Nothing different. Nothing changes.

[28:18] That's the whole reason we drafted it.

[28:20] The way we draft drafted it.

[28:21] Whatever you can do now, you can do

[28:23] after whatever you can't do now, you can't do

[28:25] after just that period.

[28:27] It's just that simple. All we're changing ownership.

[28:30] We're drawing a line both sides

[28:32] of the line in, in the open space.

[28:34] There's subject to the same covenants. There's no change.

[28:39] Stephanie? Yes. So

[28:41] I mean I'm, I'm listening what, what I heard from Mr.

[28:44] False, that is the uses

[28:46] and that is somewhat concerning, right?

[28:49] Is is there,

[28:51] So there's no change in the use that can be

[28:54] put on open space.

[28:55] There's no what There's no chain from when going

[28:58] through an admin process, if the text amendment was

[29:01] to succeed, there would be no change on the uses

[29:03] that would be permitted within that open space.

[29:06] So any acreage that is in open space is restricted

[29:09] to only the uses listed in 18 one dash 12, which is,

[29:12] But does that dash 12 have pickleball courts

[29:14] and lights and it has

[29:15] Recreational uses.

[29:17] But that's something if they essentially wanted to do now

[29:20] that they, they could,

[29:24] it also includes shooting clubs.

[29:27] It includes all your standard farm,

[29:29] farm accessory dwelling units.

[29:34] It goes on to talk about also your,

[29:41] your mine's up to five acres.

[29:44] So there are uses that are not considered, you know,

[29:46] your traditional farming uses,

[29:49] but they are inclusive included in that language

[29:53] where it does allow the, that use within the open space. So

[29:56] Basically all you're suggesting is that if that you,

[29:59] you kind of drill down into this

[30:02] and perhaps maybe eliminate some of those non-farm uses.

[30:07] What I'm suggesting is this, I understand what Mr.

[30:11] Thompson's dilemma is on.

[30:12] He mentioned a geologic feature on his land.

[30:16] That makes perfect sense to me

[30:17] because there might be a strip of land that is unusable

[30:20] for a farmer or whatever.

[30:21] And so I understand the need, the desire

[30:24] to move the lot line.

[30:26] All I'm suggesting is in circumstances

[30:28] where you're gonna move the lot line that some

[30:32] of those other uses of which Stephanie's mentioning along

[30:34] with a whole long list of others which aren't mentioned

[30:38] should be taken off the table

[30:40] because these landowners made an agreement with the county.

[30:45] The agreement's there, we get that.

[30:47] Let's just try and tighten things up so there's no abuse

[30:50] And they're not changing the agreement.

[30:51] That's the whole point.

[30:53] We're not trying to change the agreement at all.

[30:55] Well then you should have a problem, problem if you want

[30:57] to change, if you want to change the uses

[31:00] that are permitted in the open space,

[31:02] you should do it for everybody.

[31:03] I mean if it's that important,

[31:04] if you don't want it when I cut the line,

[31:06] why would you want it now if you weren't gonna allow the

[31:08] subdivision, they could do it now I'm just cutting the line.

[31:11] No greater use, no lesser use. Exact same use.

[31:14] So if you really want to change the uses in the open space,

[31:17] then do it but do it for everybody.

[31:20] I don't see why you would isolate on the,

[31:22] on the subdivided piece.

[31:24] And would it apply to both pieces subdivided

[31:26] or does the person that keeps half of the open space

[31:28] that say he could still do it?

[31:29] He could always do. It's, it's only the person

[31:31] that was granted that, that it doesn't make any sense.

[31:35] So Stephanie gonna be open for two weeks.

[31:37] Could you bring back, has this ever happened where one

[31:39] of these uses has actually gone in come to fruition to come

[31:44] to fruition on one of these particular spaces in North?

[31:47] Just in general? In in general

[31:48] For the entire, for Space County?

[31:50] Yeah. Just curious to see

[31:51] The non-farm uses, Correct?

[31:53] Yeah. Could you bring that back? Yes. Alright.

[31:57] That's all I had. Alright. Is there any other

[32:00] Public comment with respect to county ordinance

[32:04] 26 0 9?

[32:08] I feel like we're gonna get the same comments.

[32:09] Gonna be like Groundhog Day on the next one, right?

[32:12] Well with this, like I said,

[32:13] we're gonna leave it open for two weeks.

[32:14] You're gonna look that up for us

[32:16] and if you guys wouldn't mind talking to each other

[32:20] and within the next two weeks

[32:22] I, no, and he actually, he actually did call me

[32:25] and I suggested he talked to Stephanie and Amy

[32:27] because I just don't see it.

[32:29] I still don't see, right.

[32:30] You know why special conditions would go

[32:33] Before, after.

[32:34] But I, but but you make a good point

[32:36] and I don't disagree with that.

[32:37] Is that maybe some of these issues should not be,

[32:39] be permitted because the, the whole point

[32:41] of you move in somewhere and you think this is what you got

[32:43] for life and then you turn around and

[32:44] I get that. So, and that may be so, and that,

[32:46] And that's what I'd like to see is how often does

[32:47] that happen to where is it a problem?

[32:49] Is it not a problem? Is it something we should look at?

[32:51] Well there's one that struck me was you said five acre

[32:53] mining my, but that's there now.

[32:55] So that's how they did up there in price.

[33:00] The, the the solar five at a time. Oh boy. But

[33:03] It's maxed at the five acres as I remember

[33:05] Until you go to a major.

[33:07] Right.

[33:09] But I don't know that you could do a major in No you

[33:11] cannot do a major, you cannot do a major on space on the

[33:13] open stretch on de district.

[33:16] Very good. All

[33:19] Since we're both gonna be speaking on the next

[33:20] One Right there. You had

[33:23] Somebody else.

[33:24] So actually, so this is actually a first too by the way.

[33:26] 'cause we've never had, is it two commenters

[33:28] that's sitting at the same table

[33:29] Together? You had another comment? I think our

[33:30] Drew We we have something else.

[33:32] Could I, could I get you guys

[33:34] something to drink while you're here? He

[33:36] On the neck, he's on the next one. This is very Parker.

[33:38] I'm on the next one but it might help him.

[33:40] I comment on this one as well. I'm Willard.

[33:45] There you go. Thank You. Are you ready to start?

[33:47] Okay, well he's, do you want to comment?

[33:50] He wants 26 10 or you wanna comment? 26 0 9. It gonna

[33:55] Be same thing.

[33:56] It's gonna be the same thing.

[33:57] It has addresses the same issue and concerns that have been

[34:00] Raised.

[34:01] You wanna put it on oh 9 26 0 9,

[34:02] his testimony. It's up to you all.

[34:04] Yeah, we can readopt it for 26 10. Yes.

[34:07] Maybe Go ahead

[34:09] and Willie Parker from Parker Katz in East

[34:12] and I represent Ann Goodman

[34:16] and her husband Jamie, who owned 14 acres of land adjacent

[34:21] to 150 acres

[34:23] of open space in the Meadows Edge subdivision on Dean Road.

[34:28] They wish to buy a portion of that property.

[34:32] An organic farmer wishes

[34:34] to buy the remainder of the property.

[34:36] They can't do it currently under the ordinance without this,

[34:39] the amendment that we're proposing in 26 10.

[34:43] It's open space on a non-contiguous subdivision.

[34:49] Mr. T's concerns I think are unfounded when you actually

[34:54] read the deeds of easement between the landowners

[34:58] that created these open space

[35:01] areas on non-contiguous subdivisions.

[35:05] And the county passive recreational

[35:10] uses are permitted such as arboretums, hiking nature areas,

[35:15] wildlifes sanctuaries, public

[35:17] and private parts, garden plots, beaches

[35:21] surface mining is not listed here in the document.

[35:26] And the document says where there's conflicts

[35:29] between the ordinance

[35:31] and the document, the deed of easement easement,

[35:34] that's a perpetual easement on the land.

[35:37] The stricter document applies.

[35:40] So the county has anticipated the possibilities

[35:45] of more intense

[35:47] or less conservative conservation oriented

[35:52] uses on these open spaces by the creation of the,

[35:56] of the deed of easement.

[35:59] The administrative subdivision process is an exhaustive

[36:04] multi-agency input into that process.

[36:07] And they can certainly put restrictions,

[36:10] additional restrictions if need be.

[36:13] But I, I suggest to you that the area of dirt that's covered

[36:17] by the deed of easements is not gonna change.

[36:21] Their restrictions are not gonna be changed.

[36:24] Mere ownership of portions of that dirt will change so

[36:28] that adjoining landowners can share in the

[36:31] ownership of the land.

[36:34] Happy to answer any questions that you have.

[36:37] Thank you. Can you submit the information you have?

[36:40] 'cause I don't have that

[36:43] One of the recorded needs of easement.

[36:45] Yeah. Can I give it to Mr. Thompson? Yep. Yep.

[36:50] Perfect. The younger Mr.

[36:53] So Pat, I guess I guess we'll start with 26 10

[36:56] and let you Stephanie.

[36:59] Stephanie one.

[37:01] Yeah, so in your books commissioners item

[37:02] number six, page nine.

[37:03] This is county ordinance 26 10 amendments

[37:05] to the non-contiguous development NCD standards.

[37:10] Okay. This is a public hearing being held

[37:13] by the county commissions of Queen S County

[37:16] Tuesday May the 26th.

[37:18] 2026 at 6:05 PM in the county commissioner meeting room

[37:22] Liberty Building warns seven North Liberty

[37:25] Street Centerville.

[37:26] The hearing's on proposed county ordinance number 26 10

[37:31] A bill entitled and that concerning amendments

[37:35] to the non-contiguous development NCD standards in Queen

[37:40] Anne County for the purpose

[37:41] of amending the non-contiguous development standards

[37:46] to allow a non-contiguous

[37:48] and developed parcel, which is designated open space

[37:52] to be subdivided

[37:53] through the administrative subdivision process

[37:56] to accommodate lot line adjust adjustments

[38:00] but not to be reconfigured or to create new lots

[38:04] and generally amending

[38:05] and addressing the subdivision of open space

[38:09] created on non-contiguous

[38:11] and developed parcels under the Queen Edge County

[38:14] zoning ordinance by amending section 18,000 1 98 at the code

[38:19] of public local laws.

[38:21] This proposed ordinance received a favorable recommendation

[38:24] from the planning commission after April 9th, 2026.

[38:28] Meeting copies of the ordinance have been available

[38:31] to the county commissioner's office

[38:34] and on the county website speakers will limited

[38:37] to three minutes each written testimony that any length

[38:41] may be submitted all

[38:42] before the hearing date to the county commissioners.

[38:45] All hearing sites are accessible.

[38:47] The individuals with disabilities sign language interpreters

[38:50] and assist system listening systems are available.

[38:54] For the record of the proceeding will be a certificate

[38:56] of publication indicating a notice of the saying,

[39:00] which published for two consecutive weeks prior

[39:03] to the tonight's hearing, as well as the recommendation

[39:06] of the Queen Edge County Planning Commission.

[39:11] Jeff, you've signed up.

[39:13] Do you want to have anything else as I Yeah,

[39:16] I will.

[39:17] Yeah, I'll speak and Mr. Parker asked if he could come up.

[39:19] The way this particular version came about was

[39:23] Mr. Parker filed on behalf

[39:26] of the Goodman's a proposed amendment

[39:28] that would have permitted the subdivision

[39:31] of the developed parcel open space.

[39:35] I then, on behalf of Shirley Schaeffer, filed an amendment

[39:37] of the same section in order to permit the subdivision

[39:41] of the non-contiguous parcel, which is the transfer parcel.

[39:45] And you transfer the rights over that parcel

[39:48] clearly in conflict.

[39:50] So then I drafted one on behalf of the grays trying

[39:53] to incorporate both of our wants and needs.

[39:56] And then Ms. Jones corral us all together

[40:00] and we tweaked it

[40:02] and it became what I ended up calling the reconciliation lag

[40:05] of three competing text amendments.

[40:08] And that way she didn't have to deal with, you know,

[40:10] what's good and what's bad.

[40:12] We all kind of agreed this was the best solution

[40:14] and that's, that's what we're here to consider tonight.

[40:19] Well, but Mr. Walker said about it is a deja vu

[40:23] 'cause it's, it's the same thing except for of course

[40:27] TDRs are about critical area and NCDs about upland.

[40:31] That's the only difference.

[40:32] So we're trying to make the same amendment that I proposed

[40:36] for TDRs, for non-contiguous, both the transfer

[40:39] or parcel and the receiving parcel.

[40:41] That's it's, but it's the same pitch.

[40:44] We aren't reconfiguring, we aren't creating any new lots.

[40:47] We just want to be able

[40:48] to subdivide it only administratively

[40:50] with an adjoining lot owner.

[40:51] So it's a lot line adjustment.

[40:53] No real change, you know, other than that, to be honest,

[40:58] it's, it's, it's the same pitch I could give to you again.

[41:01] But there's really no need.

[41:04] It's just one's, one's critical

[41:06] area and the other's up them.

[41:08] But it's, it's to allow is,

[41:11] and Stephanie again, Ms. Jones again in her report

[41:14] for the non-contiguous point, it's about flexibility.

[41:16] It's given us the flexibility

[41:17] to cut those lines on a farm in areas

[41:20] where it makes sense to cut those lines.

[41:22] On our personal farm, there's literally a branch

[41:24] with a ditch that's 50 feet deep.

[41:27] Barry Waterman owns the adjoining property.

[41:29] He can't get across there, not in any vehicle.

[41:31] And he's gonna have a lot of guts if he goes down

[41:34] and tries to get up the other side.

[41:36] So back when we did our subdivision 25 years ago,

[41:40] his predecessor, predecessor didn't pay for the land.

[41:44] I created an easement that gave us all the use of the land.

[41:46] So right now I have all the use hunt fish timber

[41:50] till it do anything we want to do on it.

[41:53] I just want to fix it. I mean, so my,

[41:55] for my personal on the TDR, it's a fix it question.

[41:58] Same for people with the NCDs.

[42:01] I mean they need a reasonable way to carve, you know,

[42:03] those lines between their respective

[42:05] parcels in a way that makes sense.

[42:08] This use issue very did point out.

[42:10] I mean those covenants I've written, God knows how many

[42:13] of 'em they talk in terms of passive recreation.

[42:16] So I'll de depend on Ms. Jones to report back

[42:18] to you what that really means.

[42:19] 'cause I don't think it includes pickleball,

[42:21] fortunately I don't think it includes that at all.

[42:23] So, but whatever it is, it's allowed now if you want

[42:26] to address it, you ought

[42:28] to address it in total not piecemeal

[42:30] as a result of this legislation.

[42:32] This legislation is doing nothing

[42:33] but allowing parcel person A to buy from person B

[42:39] and he's got the same rights, responsibilities

[42:41] and obligations as as the original person

[42:46] that coveted the property.

[42:47] It just, we're not asking

[42:49] to change anything other than ownership.

[42:51] So when you look at those maps over what's eased in this

[42:53] county, nothing changes.

[42:55] The restrictions don't change, we can't move the lines.

[42:58] It is what it is. And other than you're allowing two

[43:01] adjoining property over there,

[43:02] transfer parcel back parcels back and forth.

[43:06] Did you want to Comment on,

[43:08] I only thank you.

[43:11] I only want to say

[43:12] to complete the record on this public hearing on 26 10,

[43:16] if you can incorporate my comments on

[43:18] 26 0 9, I'm happy with that.

[43:21] You got it. If you wanna sit down.

[43:24] Yep. I'll just reiterate some

[43:29] of the comments that I made earlier without going

[43:31] through the full pitch, I'm opposed to it.

[43:35] I believe it does open up Pandora's box.

[43:42] There's 128 landowners between those two programs.

[43:46] If we allow it here, we're

[43:47] gonna have to allow it for everybody.

[43:48] And maybe that's okay, but what's the end game of this?

[43:52] Are we gonna allow landowners

[43:53] that enrolled in these two programs

[43:55] to just routinely change their lot lines?

[43:58] I mean, is this something that it was already

[44:00] agreed to by the county?

[44:02] Mr. Thompson wants to renegotiate those terms

[44:05] a few years, a few years from now.

[44:07] Are we gonna renegotiate it again?

[44:10] Like what's the ultimate end game here?

[44:12] So I just, I think there's some unintended consequences here

[44:15] that I hope we can try and figure out.

[44:22] Yeah, I'll just,

[44:24] and I'll, I, I'm glad that you'll leave the record open

[44:26] because I think what I'll do is try

[44:27] and draft something up over the next couple days

[44:30] that address both Mr. Thompson and Mr.

[44:32] Parker's comments and submit that for the record.

[44:35] I just have one last comment on that comment.

[44:38] It's not really opening Pandora's back.

[44:40] We're here for a tax amendment.

[44:42] I'm asking you to allow all those people,

[44:44] we aren't here about my property if it's Goodman property,

[44:47] we're just saying it's the right thing to do for everybody.

[44:50] So he suggested it could open it.

[44:52] I'm asking you to allow everybody to do that.

[44:54] That's why I'm here. It's not a Pandora's box issue.

[44:58] It's, we got all this open space out there.

[45:00] Why shouldn't those landowners be, as long

[45:02] as they're not reconfiguring changing the restrictions

[45:04] applicable to it, what difference does the county have

[45:07] in and who owns it?

[45:10] Some same restrictions. Nothing changes other than other,

[45:14] And again, I, I agree there are circumstances

[45:17] where those lines could be adjusted.

[45:19] I'm not disagreeing with it.

[45:20] I'm just saying that there are, there needs

[45:22] to be some restrictions so

[45:23] that we're not ultimately creating an abusive,

[45:26] abusive practice here.

[45:28] But we're gonna put that on Stephanie's shoulders

[45:31] and find, you know,

[45:33] I think we have a good idea of what we don't wanna see.

[45:36] And you know, with the intent of open space before

[45:40] and with the changes, we don't wanna see certain things

[45:43] that you wouldn't have saw seen

[45:46] when you first made the open space.

[45:47] So that, that's a concern.

[45:49] Did you have one last That's what I think one

[45:50] Last Comment.

[45:51] That's a very quick comment.

[45:52] What the landowners agreed to

[45:55] and committed themselves to when they signed these deeds

[45:58] of easement for open space was the restrictions on land.

[46:04] They did not enter into some agreement with the county

[46:08] that said, only I can own that property.

[46:11] Or only one person can own all of it.

[46:13] That wasn't part of it.

[46:15] In fact, some of the deeds of easement actually allow for

[46:19] subdivision, but ordinarily

[46:23] approval is needed to do that.

[46:25] This is the process to gain the approval.

[46:29] So we're not changing any commitment that Land L owners made

[46:33] with regard to how the land is restricted.

[46:37] Thank you. Well we're gonna leave it open for two weeks.

[46:40] Stephanie's gonna vet this for us and bring it to us

[46:43] and we'll go from there.

[46:45] Do you just Thank you gentlemen.

[46:46] Just to confirm, you want the same for the TDR

[46:49] and the NCD open space?

[46:50] Yes, please correct the numbers for both. Okay,

[46:53] Great.

[46:54] Yeah, I suspect the TDR is even more restricted just

[46:58] because you're in the critical area.

[47:00] Alright, thank you gentlemen. Thank

[47:02] You.

[47:03] Thank you. Alright, thank you everybody.

[47:05] Alright commissioners, item number seven.

[47:08] On pages 10 through 15,

[47:09] we have public hearing on county ordinance 26 12.

[47:12] This is the queen of County Forest Conservation Act,

[47:14] chapter 18 two of the code of public local laws.

[47:17] This particular amendment has been prepared by staff.

[47:20] We have a presentation here.

[47:21] This is a fairly comprehensive update,

[47:24] so I'll let Mr. Thompson read the legal ad

[47:26] and we can do the presentation to advise

[47:29] and inform the board and the public at large.

[47:32] So

[47:34] This is a public hearing being held

[47:36] by the county commissioner of Queen Edge County Tuesday,

[47:39] May 26th, 2026,

[47:42] 6:10 PM in the county commissioner meeting room,

[47:45] Liberty Building 1 0 7 North Liberty Street, central

[47:49] Maryland with respect

[47:51] to camp proposed county ordinance 26 12 a bill titled

[47:56] an Act concerning the Queen Ash County Forest

[47:59] Conservation Act.

[48:00] Chapter 18 two of the Code of Public Local Laws

[48:04] for the purpose of repealing

[48:07] and replacing chapter 18, two of the code of pub,

[48:12] code of Public Local Laws of Queen Ann County,

[48:15] the Queen Ann County Forest Conservation Act,

[48:18] bringing the Forest Conservation Act in compliance

[48:21] with Senate Bill 5 26 in house Bill 1511,

[48:26] which articulate numerous changes to MA

[48:30] Maryland National Resources.

[48:32] Title five, forest and Park.

[48:35] Subtitle 16, forest Conservation

[48:38] section five dash 1601 through five dash 1612

[48:44] provided for definition rules of interpretation and purpose

[48:48] provided for application

[48:49] of the provisions amendments thereto

[48:52] provided for qualified professional general requirements

[48:56] of the declaration of intent

[48:58] provided for forest stand delineation for

[49:00] as conservation plans repairing buffers for retention

[49:05] at forestation and reforestation, providing

[49:09] for local conservation funds fee in lieu

[49:12] and payments by credits

[49:14] to an approved forest mitigation bank providing

[49:18] for native tree species, species, financial security,

[49:23] protective agreement

[49:24] and standards for protection of trees, providing

[49:28] for variances, inspections

[49:30] and commercial timber harvest, providing for violation

[49:33] of penalties and generally addressing the regulating

[49:37] and protecting forest resources in Queen Ann County

[49:42] by repealing and replacing chapter 18, two of the code

[49:45] of public local laws of Queen Ann County.

[49:49] The copies

[49:52] of the ordinance have been available to county wishes.

[49:55] Office order seven North Liberty Street General Maryland

[49:59] during regular business hours

[50:01] and on the county website speakers were limited

[50:04] to three minutes each written testimony length,

[50:08] but could be submitted on

[50:09] before the hearing date to the county Commissioners.

[50:12] While hearing sites are accessible, individuals

[50:15] with disabilities sign language, interpreters

[50:18] and system less than any systems are available.

[50:21] For the record of this procedure will be a certificate

[50:24] of publication indicating that notice

[50:27] of the hearing was published for two successive weeks prior

[50:31] to the lights hearing in the Bay Times record observer,

[50:36] no one has signed up to testify.

[50:43] Do you have anything you want to?

[50:44] Yeah, first I'd like to say thanks

[50:47] to our entire department.

[50:48] This is kind of a full entire department kind of work,

[50:51] so I'm gonna let Doug give the presentation,

[50:53] but everyone I think in the office

[50:55] deserves credit on this one.

[50:58] All right, good evening, Doug Summers County planner.

[51:01] This evening I just want to provide

[51:04] a brief presentation on proposed Forest Conservation Act

[51:07] update and text amendment 26 12.

[51:11] Very quick background between 2019

[51:14] and 2022, several state level legislative measures

[51:17] and directives resulted in a comprehensive statewide

[51:20] forest analysis and study.

[51:23] Out of the study, two bills were passed

[51:25] by the Maryland legislature in 23 and 24.

[51:28] The legislation led to a policy shift

[51:31] for the state from no net forest canopy loss to a net gain

[51:34] of forest canopy.

[51:36] These goals are to be met through a combination

[51:39] of initiatives that include strengthening

[51:41] of the Forest Conservation Act

[51:43] and several other forest oriented programs

[51:46] monitored at the state level.

[51:48] The deadline for implementation

[51:50] of the Forest Conservation Act code updates has been set

[51:53] for July 1st by the state.

[51:59] For the Forest Co Conservation Act applicability will remain

[52:02] the same as it applies to site plans, subdivisions

[52:06] and grading and sediment permits.

[52:08] There are some changes to exemptions

[52:10] that have been in introduced to include

[52:13] reduction in the scope of inter-family transfers.

[52:16] There's an exemption from a forest forestation requirements

[52:18] for solar projects

[52:20] and there's a few new exemptions related

[52:23] to stream restoration and residential housing.

[52:26] One of the biggest changes is a

[52:28] one-to-one reforestation rate.

[52:30] So essentially if you cut a tree, you have to plant a tree.

[52:33] The only exception

[52:34] to this standard would be within the growth area

[52:37] and with multifamily housing projects in which the rate is

[52:41] reduced to one half, to one

[52:43] another substantial chain is riparian buffer requirements.

[52:47] Any un forested riparian buffers on a property

[52:50] that's falls under the Forest Conservation Act has to

[52:55] a forest or reforest or that has a forest

[52:58] or reforest requirements, would need to completely plant the

[53:02] un forested length of their buffer.

[53:08] A couple other additional changes include the county must

[53:11] now approve any clearing within priority forest areas.

[53:16] There have been new areas added to that list.

[53:19] Public notification is required for all forest crop plans.

[53:23] The forest stand delineation types have been expanded.

[53:28] Judicial review process has been introduced at the state

[53:31] level and there's been a proposed fee

[53:33] and lie rate increase

[53:35] to ensure the county meets state

[53:37] mandated canopy requirements.

[53:39] This rate has been aligned

[53:40] with the current critical area rate eight.

[53:45] So in preparation for these changes,

[53:47] the planning department has been busy reviewing

[53:49] and updating documentation on all forest

[53:52] conservation easements in the county.

[53:55] We have collaborated, collaborated with our GIS team

[53:58] to create new environmental layers

[54:00] and to map all existing easement areas.

[54:03] The department has revised worksheets, checklists,

[54:06] and other related legal documents

[54:08] and the team has worked diligently drafting county code

[54:11] language based on the state's ordinance and annotated code.

[54:16] DNR has provided essentially approval on our language

[54:21] and it received a planning com favorable planning

[54:24] commission recommendation.

[54:26] The last thing we did was evaluate those current fee in lieu

[54:29] rates, which have remained unchanged since the mid nineties

[54:33] to ensure they generate sufficient funding

[54:35] to meet state mandated canopy goals.

[54:37] While fee in lieu is typically only

[54:40] accepted when all their priority measures have been

[54:42] exhausted or cannot be reasonably met on site,

[54:45] it's important that the rate accurately reflects the amount

[54:48] needed to achieve the program goals.

[54:51] This kind of, this includes the kind

[54:54] of presentation at this time we seeking adoption of 26 12

[54:58] to include a new technical manual and approval of any

[55:02] or updated fee and lie rates.

[55:09] Are there any public comments?

[55:10] Anybody have any public comment with respect

[55:13] to county moving 26 12.

[55:19] Okay, any questions? No. Great work on this. No.

[55:24] All righty. We hold it open for two.

[55:26] I can note we are the first probably on the shore

[55:28] to get this moving, so

[55:30] that's also I think a thing that should be

[55:32] Mentioned.

[55:33] Well done. Very good. Yeah, very good.

[55:34] We typically, we, we, we have always, we've always expected

[55:37] that, I mean, I just assumed he just

[55:41] put if he came in and said We're ninth.

[55:44] Thank you. Yeah, we never want to be behind ban.

[55:48] That's no doubt. You guys, you are for now.

[55:52] Two or three more.

[55:54] All right, thank you commissions. Thank you.

[55:57] Alright, we have two more legislative

[55:59] items for consideration tonight.

[56:02] Item eight, pages six through 18.

[56:04] We have county ordinance number 26 0 5 supplemental

[56:07] standards for gas stations.

[56:09] The objective of this ordinance is

[56:11] to amend the required distance

[56:13] and point of measurement from which entrance

[56:15] and exit from a property that contains fuel pumps,

[56:17] underground fuel storage, tanks and islands.

[56:20] Canopies and, and canopies are required

[56:22] to be from the intersection.

[56:24] So that's the intent of this ordinance.

[56:26] Another citizen sponsored text amendment, it is here

[56:28] for your introduction

[56:30] and I will say that the planning commission did not have a

[56:34] favorable report on this particular

[56:35] Yeah. Amendment. I'll, I'll

[56:37] Introduce that one.

[56:38] Okay, thank you commissioner. And I'll

[56:39] Take the next one.

[56:40] Okay. Alright, moving on.

[56:42] Number nine, item nine pages 19 through 21.

[56:46] This is county ordinance 26 0 6,

[56:48] maximum impervious surface ratio in the Suburban

[56:51] Commercial District.

[56:53] Also, this was for introduction.

[56:54] The intent of this text amendment is to increase the maximum

[56:57] and impervious surface ratio for commercial

[56:59] and industrial uses in the SC district

[57:02] that were operating prior to December 31st, 2025 from 0.45,

[57:06] 45% to 0.80 80%.

[57:10] I wanna reduce 26 0 6

[57:11] and also I'll mention that this also did get an unfavorable

[57:14] recommendation from the plan commission, those two.

[57:16] So we'll have hearings for those two bills

[57:21] June 30th.

[57:22] June 30th. Okay. Alright. Thank you.

[57:26] Alright, thank you both Stephanie and Mr. Thompson.

[57:29] Excellent. So that concludes all the

[57:31] legislative items for this evening.

[57:34] We can move into the presentations

[57:35] portion of the agenda now.

[57:37] Absolutely. All right. So if you wanna turn

[57:39] it over to tab number six.

[57:41] Tab six, item one, item one, page one.

[57:45] We have our friends for the motorcycle

[57:47] safety awareness month.

[57:49] And gentlemen, you wanna come on up.

[57:50] We have Ken Eaton, executive director of Abate of Maryland

[57:54] for Proclamation 26 0 9.

[57:57] And please Ken, introduce your, your guests here.

[58:00] I have with me today. Gloria Callie, a longtime member

[58:06] of a Bay of Maryland

[58:07] and resident here of Queen Annes County.

[58:08] And Mark Ner also not quite as longtime member, but a while

[58:13] and in a resident here in Queen S County.

[58:16] Excellent. I'm also a resident,

[58:17] but it's kind of like the air club for men.

[58:19] I'm also the executive director for the state.

[58:24] Alright. As a resident

[58:27] of Queen Anne County would expect

[58:28] nothing less from you that Right.

[58:32] Do you want us to proclamation first

[58:35] Or you guys I can, I can speak real quick.

[58:36] Do your presentation. Yeah, I can speak real quick.

[58:38] I don't have a formal presentation for you,

[58:40] but May is Motorcycle Safety

[58:43] and Awareness Month across the country.

[58:46] So we joined together with organizations like ourselves

[58:50] who are state motorcycle organizations or other clubs

[58:52] and riding groups that go throughout the country requesting

[58:56] proclamations such as this

[58:57] and awareness events throughout the country so

[59:00] that we can raise awareness

[59:02] and safety concerns about motorcyclists.

[59:05] And it's really not just about telling the car drivers

[59:08] to look for us, it's about telling the motorcyclists

[59:12] to make sure you're ready for your ride

[59:14] and make sure that you follow all the rules

[59:15] and regulations as well as the cars.

[59:18] So we all wanna just share the road.

[59:20] Tomorrow we'll have our last MVA branch

[59:26] awareness event.

[59:27] We did three across the state, one in Hagerstown,

[59:29] one in Salisbury, and tomorrow we'll be in southern Maryland

[59:33] having the MVA officials, Chrissy Nier will be there

[59:36] and we'll have some of the local,

[59:38] Just a brief description of, of that,

[59:41] that event. One of them,

[59:43] Really what we do is show up at the branches.

[59:48] The motorcycle safety program from MDOT is there

[59:52] and has some literature that they can share with people

[59:54] to raise awareness for motorcyclists and,

[59:57] and motorist a beta Maryland will have a table there so

[1:00:01] that we can share what we do throughout the state.

[1:00:05] The, like I said, Chrissy Niger will be there and,

[1:00:08] and present some awards to, to basically a be

[1:00:13] and other organizations will have some

[1:00:16] regional politicians show up.

[1:00:17] There's been a, a new law passed this year that we,

[1:00:21] we helped with that added a question

[1:00:26] to the pool of questions

[1:00:27] for driver's licensing exams in Maryland.

[1:00:30] So previously there's I think 130 plus

[1:00:35] or minus questions that come are available in the pool of,

[1:00:39] of licensing in general, not just motorcyclists in Maryland.

[1:00:42] The law that got passed this year requires

[1:00:44] that at least one question

[1:00:46] that shows up on everyone's exam is about

[1:00:48] motorcycle safety and awareness.

[1:00:51] At least we got one in there

[1:00:53] And there's no sense in trying to remember the other ones

[1:00:55] because it probably won't appear on the test again.

[1:00:59] You're right. But thank you very much for once again.

[1:01:03] Sure. Recognizing Maya's Motorcycle and Safety

[1:01:06] and Awareness Month here in Queen S County.

[1:01:07] We really appreciate it. Awesome.

[1:01:10] All right. Well I have the privilege of,

[1:01:12] of reading the Proclamation 26 0 9,

[1:01:15] whereas safety is our highest priority for the streets

[1:01:18] and roadways of our county.

[1:01:20] And whereas Queenan County is proud to be a supporter

[1:01:22] of motorcycle safety, education and awareness

[1:01:26] and whereas motorcycles are a common

[1:01:28] and economical means of transportation

[1:01:30] that reduces fuel consumption and roadway wear

[1:01:33] and contributes to a significant way to the relief

[1:01:38] of traffic parking congestion.

[1:01:41] And whereas it's especially meaningful that the citizens

[1:01:43] of county be aware of motorcycles on the roadways

[1:01:46] and recognize the importance of motorcycle safety.

[1:01:49] And whereas the members of the Midshore chapter of Abate

[1:01:52] of Maryland Incorporated continually promote motorcycle

[1:01:55] safety education

[1:01:57] and awareness to the general public in our county and state.

[1:02:01] And whereas all roadway users should unite in the safe

[1:02:04] sharing of roads throughout Maryland.

[1:02:07] And whereas we encourage all motorists

[1:02:09] and citizens to join together in an effort

[1:02:12] to improve the safety and awareness on our roadways.

[1:02:15] Now therefore, WEA County commissioners

[1:02:18] of Queen Anne County proclaim the month of May, 2026 to be

[1:02:23] known as Motorcycle Safety Awareness month.

[1:02:27] I gotta Dial this up a little bit here

[1:02:30] for you real quick,

[1:02:35] but my dentist is not watching this

[1:02:40] just kind of helps secure it in your folder.

[1:02:45] I think it's important, you know, you get this warm weather,

[1:02:49] you're gonna see more riders out there

[1:02:51] and unfortunately you have situations where somebody

[1:02:54] made a bad decision one way or another

[1:02:57] and somebody gets hurt.

[1:02:58] So somebody used to ride.

[1:03:01] I appreciate your efforts statewide. Here you go.

[1:03:04] Thank you. Alright.

[1:03:06] And my normal PSA do not put your

[1:03:09] grass clippings in the road.

[1:03:11] Oh my God. It's

[1:03:12] Against Queen Ends county law.

[1:03:15] I just wrote through some on what mark did you,

[1:03:17] I yell at my neighbor all the time

[1:03:18] and he goes back out and puts 'em up.

[1:03:20] We don't get many

[1:03:20] motorcycles down the road, but it's

[1:03:21] important. People don't even realize it.

[1:03:23] You want your cuttings to go back on your grass anyway.

[1:03:25] Yeah, it's, it's healthier for the grass.

[1:03:27] Yeah. I've stopped probably just the last two weeks, three

[1:03:29] or four times telling people, you know,

[1:03:30] it's against the law, you know, so we give,

[1:03:33] Give their address.

[1:03:34] I can send 'em a letter. Thank you very

[1:03:37] much guys, for your efforts.

[1:03:39] Thank you. Thanks again. Thank you. Yep.

[1:03:40] Have fun. Be careful out there.

[1:03:42] Thank you. Okay,

[1:03:47] commissioners, our next presentation is from Katie Dilley,

[1:03:51] make Your Behavioral Health.

[1:03:52] She's the CEO Sarah Fegan Midshore Behavioral Health.

[1:03:56] She's the BHC. That's our update. I believe we have.

[1:03:59] Yeah, here it's up on the screen presentation.

[1:04:01] It's also in your books on pages two through 36. Sir.

[1:04:04] Tab six, item two. Oh wait,

[1:04:05] We can click. Okay, great.

[1:04:06] Come on up. Even Better. Hello?

[1:04:09] Yeah, Sarah Good evening. Good evening.

[1:04:13] Thank you for having us. Hello.

[1:04:16] As you said, my name is Katie Dilley.

[1:04:18] I have the pleasure of serving

[1:04:19] as the Chief Executive Officer at Mitchell Behavioral

[1:04:22] Health, and I'm joined this evening by Sarah Fagan.

[1:04:25] Hi everybody. I'm Sarah Fagan,

[1:04:27] behavioral health coordinator, child

[1:04:29] adolescent, young adult population.

[1:04:32] So we have presented a very involved

[1:04:35] PowerPoint this evening.

[1:04:36] We will move through it swiftly, so,

[1:04:39] and if you have questions along the way,

[1:04:41] we're happy to take them.

[1:04:43] We just appreciate the opportunity to be here.

[1:04:45] This is our annual presentation.

[1:04:48] I'm excited that we could get on the calendar for the month

[1:04:51] of May, given that it is Mental Health Awareness Month,

[1:04:55] which this is the 77th year

[1:04:58] of mental health awareness month.

[1:05:00] So it's really an honor to be here during this time to

[1:05:05] give you our annual update

[1:05:06] and also ask for your support with our letter of agreement

[1:05:11] to continue to serve

[1:05:12] as your core service agency in the coming year.

[1:05:14] Great. So just a a little bit about our

[1:05:19] organization, I'm actually gonna kind

[1:05:21] of move through these quickly.

[1:05:23] One of our newer installments into our sort

[1:05:27] of organizational infrastructure is really identifying

[1:05:31] our core values.

[1:05:32] So just in the last couple of years, we worked

[1:05:35] with our board of directors to enhance not only our mission

[1:05:38] and vision, but to identify integrity, collaboration,

[1:05:42] progressive leadership, and a advocacy

[1:05:44] as our four real pillars of our organizational values.

[1:05:51] This year, I wanted to include just a snapshot.

[1:05:54] Sometimes folks get a little confused in terms of

[1:05:57] what exactly RA Behavioral Health does

[1:05:59] and where we fit in the system of care.

[1:06:01] We are not a direct service provider.

[1:06:04] We are a regional organization that

[1:06:08] that oversees the providers in, in the network of care

[1:06:13] of mental health and substance use services.

[1:06:16] We have the pleasure of, of receiving oversight

[1:06:19] and guidance from the Maryland Department of Health,

[1:06:22] the Behavioral health Administration,

[1:06:24] and we also work very closely in collaboration with all five

[1:06:27] of our health departments in the region to procure

[1:06:30] and oversee that system of care.

[1:06:33] So we thought it'd be helpful to bring

[1:06:35] that image to you all.

[1:06:37] Just to give a little bit more context to kind of

[1:06:39] where we fit into the system

[1:06:41] of care Annually.

[1:06:47] We have grown fairly significantly over the years

[1:06:52] with the amount of funding that we procure

[1:06:55] and oversee that comes through our organization

[1:06:58] and comes back out into the community.

[1:07:01] So we have this past year, we are right around close

[1:07:06] to 26 million in grant funds, both a combination of state

[1:07:10] and federal dollars that we are responsible for overseeing

[1:07:16] and monitoring that comes into the community of care.

[1:07:24] So the services that are supported by those grant dollars,

[1:07:27] this is a nice snapshot.

[1:07:28] There are several that we oversee.

[1:07:33] We've tried to break it out to be a little bit more, kind

[1:07:36] of easy to digest.

[1:07:37] So just some pockets of overarching services that we manage

[1:07:42] are the crisis and wellness

[1:07:44] and recovery services in the region.

[1:07:47] We have funding that's specific for our adults

[1:07:50] and our aging population.

[1:07:53] We have funds that support our specialty populations.

[1:07:56] For example, individuals that require interpretation

[1:08:00] to receive behavioral health services.

[1:08:02] We procure those dollars to clinicians in the region

[1:08:05] that can provide that service.

[1:08:08] We also are the regional core service, not in addition

[1:08:13] to being the core service agency, the continuum of care.

[1:08:16] So we oversee funding for homeless services

[1:08:19] for all five counties,

[1:08:21] and we manage the round table on homelessness.

[1:08:24] So we do receive funds from the Department of Housing

[1:08:27] and Community Development, as well as the Housing

[1:08:29] and Urban Development federal organization.

[1:08:34] We have expanded significantly in the last few years our

[1:08:38] funds to support our child and adolescent

[1:08:40] and young adult population.

[1:08:42] And then one sort of niche program

[1:08:46] that Midshore Behavioral Health does have.

[1:08:48] And most of the local authorities, as in the state, do not

[1:08:52] as, we have a specialized forensic mental health program

[1:08:54] where we work with individuals

[1:08:56] that are involved in the criminal justice system,

[1:08:59] that have behavioral health needs.

[1:09:04] And some of these services are not just five counties.

[1:09:07] We do procure and oversee all nine counties of some funding.

[1:09:11] For example, our state opioid response dollars.

[1:09:15] We oversee that for all nine counties on the shore, as well

[1:09:18] as funding for our crisis response system

[1:09:22] and those program services.

[1:09:23] So those, that's a little bit unique.

[1:09:26] And we do closely work with all nine counties to make sure

[1:09:31] that those services are doing what they're supposed to

[1:09:33] and the communities.

[1:09:35] But we are the primary responsible entity to oversee them.

[1:09:42] A lot of opportunities to get involved.

[1:09:44] For, for those of you here in the room

[1:09:46] and those of you watching online, we have several spaces to,

[1:09:50] to convene our providers as well as community members

[1:09:54] and individuals with lived experience.

[1:09:57] Our work groups are something that we're very known for.

[1:10:01] We've added several over the years that really kind

[1:10:05] of are specific to a population or a need.

[1:10:09] A couple of newer groups

[1:10:11] that we've brought into the fold recently is we have a group

[1:10:15] specifically for our autism providers and autism resources

[1:10:20] and a group that is on the horizon for the coming year

[1:10:24] as we will be establishing a A veterans work group as well.

[1:10:32] All righty. I'm gonna go through some regional highlights.

[1:10:36] You can go to the next one. Yep.

[1:10:38] I'm gonna start with crisis response highlights.

[1:10:41] Eastern Shore Crisis Operation Center.

[1:10:43] It, they provide frontline crisis support for nine counties.

[1:10:47] In fiscal year 25, there were 8,435 calls that came in.

[1:10:52] And then for fiscal year 26, just the first six months,

[1:10:55] there were 3,671 that came in.

[1:11:00] There was a crisis interv

[1:11:01] intervention training that was facilitated.

[1:11:04] And in fiscal year 25, 23 individuals were trained.

[1:11:07] And then in six months, the first six months

[1:11:09] of 26 30 individuals were trained.

[1:11:12] We're also pushing out the 9 8 8 initiative a lot.

[1:11:16] And this is through samhsa, it's the suicide

[1:11:18] and crisis hotline.

[1:11:21] You can receive, you can text, you can call.

[1:11:25] It's really convenient for the youth especially.

[1:11:28] What's the response time on that? Oh,

[1:11:30] It can vary.

[1:11:31] We're working on that.

[1:11:34] Is is is texting faster?

[1:11:37] I dunno, I don't know the statistics on the text response

[1:11:40] if it's faster necessarily.

[1:11:42] There are some hot, the hotline averages can vary.

[1:11:47] I know that we have had some issues with how swiftly

[1:11:52] calls have been responded to

[1:11:54] and we're working with the administration

[1:11:55] and also at the federal level to make, you know, try

[1:11:58] to work out those kinks.

[1:12:02] I don't know the answer in terms of the text versus call,

[1:12:04] but we can follow up on that.

[1:12:07] I do know that one thing that recently was reintroduced

[1:12:10] to the 9 8 8 hotline was the press three option

[1:12:14] that had been removed.

[1:12:17] It is now back, which is the, the option for our individuals

[1:12:20] that are L-G-B-T-Q or and

[1:12:25] and have a call that's more in that nature

[1:12:28] that they can press three, that

[1:12:29] that option had been removed temporarily and it is back.

[1:12:34] So that's a positive thing.

[1:12:36] Did they remove the survey? The survey,

[1:12:40] Every survey request at the end?

[1:12:42] I don't think they'll be removing that necessarily.

[1:12:47] But that is, you know, 9 8 8 is something

[1:12:49] that is governed primarily from our federal partners.

[1:12:52] And then we are at the local level work with hotlines that

[1:12:57] are the provider of that service.

[1:12:59] So we have two providers on the shore,

[1:13:02] our primary hotline on the Shore's life crisis

[1:13:05] based out of Salisbury.

[1:13:07] And then affiliated Ante group manages the backup 9, 8, 8

[1:13:11] lines for the shore.

[1:13:15] So now we're gonna look at the mobile crisis

[1:13:17] team dispatches.

[1:13:19] That's a five year comparison.

[1:13:20] The bottom line, the green line is Queen Anne County

[1:13:24] specific fiscal year 25, there were 70 dispatches.

[1:13:27] And so far for fiscal year 26 there have been 60.

[1:13:34] And then there's also the mobile response

[1:13:36] and stabilization services,

[1:13:38] which is a little different from the regular,

[1:13:40] if you just call it regular crisis number.

[1:13:43] So this team is approximately eight weeks in duration.

[1:13:46] They provide intensive services to children, adolescents,

[1:13:49] and their support networks.

[1:13:50] And this is available in eight

[1:13:51] or six of the eastern shore counties.

[1:13:55] And we recently have applied

[1:13:56] for it to be in all of the counties.

[1:13:59] There's some grant dollars. Yes. Okay.

[1:14:04] So this is a newer program to Metro Behavioral Health

[1:14:07] and as well as to the state of Maryland.

[1:14:09] So the community support partnerships is funding

[1:14:13] that has come through the out

[1:14:15] of Maryland's blueprint dollars dollars

[1:14:17] to be earmarked specifically

[1:14:19] for our consortium on coordinated community supports,

[1:14:23] which is funding for behavioral health service expansion

[1:14:25] in our public schools.

[1:14:27] So Queen Annes County has benefited

[1:14:30] significantly from these dollars.

[1:14:32] We've been able to grow your provider

[1:14:35] networks substantially.

[1:14:36] That's serving your youth in the schools.

[1:14:40] And I have to say, Rachel Soff is here.

[1:14:43] Rachel is our hub liaison.

[1:14:46] So she is part of a two person team that is responsible

[1:14:50] for overseeing and implementing this program.

[1:14:53] We have a wonderful governing structure to make sure

[1:14:56] that the services are doing what they have signed up to do

[1:15:00] as well as an advisory council, which is comprised

[1:15:03] of families as well as youth that have lived experience

[1:15:07] and have received services.

[1:15:08] So it's just remarkable.

[1:15:11] We're very pleased that we've been able to secure

[1:15:14] our grant moving forward this year.

[1:15:17] So we're hopefully getting ready to

[1:15:19] be contracting with our provider network.

[1:15:22] And we do represent all five mature

[1:15:24] counties with that funding.

[1:15:30] I apologize. So

[1:15:31] what is the 1025 students in the tier one through three?

[1:15:35] Meaning the severity level?

[1:15:37] No, those are the individuals that were served.

[1:15:40] So a thousand students in Queen Annes County.

[1:15:46] So they met with counselors.

[1:15:49] Yep. Providers, yes. Provided by

[1:15:53] Besu Behavioral?

[1:15:54] No, no, we're not, not, we're not a provider.

[1:15:56] We have Pro right. A provider network that is funded, who's

[1:15:59] Our provider in the county. We

[1:16:01] Have multiple, I think there's not nine

[1:16:04] in Queen Annes County,

[1:16:06] nine different groups serving the county provider groups.

[1:16:11] Not all of them are funded through these dollars.

[1:16:14] There were some in place that were, had contracts

[1:16:16] with the schools already

[1:16:18] before these dollars became available.

[1:16:20] This is just allowed for those to those services

[1:16:24] to expand greatly

[1:16:26] and also include substance use services as well.

[1:16:31] So it's been, it's been tremendous to see,

[1:16:34] To see the impact.

[1:16:35] So, so this portion,

[1:16:40] how long have, has it been available? I mean, is it,

[1:16:43] We're going into our third year of services.

[1:16:48] These dollars had been earmarked in the

[1:16:51] budget for several years.

[1:16:52] It took a long time to figure out how to get them pushed out

[1:16:55] and available into the counties.

[1:16:58] We were selected as actually a pilot group.

[1:17:02] So we were one of the first groups in the state to be able

[1:17:05] to have these funds come into the counties, which is great.

[1:17:09] So we're, we're a little ahead of the curve with that,

[1:17:12] which has been wonderful.

[1:17:14] The challenge is that the, the, that the need is so great

[1:17:17] and, and the funds are somewhat

[1:17:18] limited in the budget climate.

[1:17:21] So we have had to do quite a bit of advocacy

[1:17:24] to preserve this funding.

[1:17:27] 'cause the last thing we wanna do is

[1:17:28] to see services that are working.

[1:17:30] Well go away because, just because of the funding source.

[1:17:35] So I'm, I'm just trying to wrap my head around this.

[1:17:38] It's a lot the nine different, they're not nine different.

[1:17:41] I think there could be more than it might think.

[1:17:43] It might actually be 12 total. I would like to get the exact

[1:17:46] Numbers for you.

[1:17:47] So 12 clinicians, but 12 different

[1:17:49] Provider groups? Yes.

[1:17:51] So it could be 50 25 or, I mean

[1:17:57] He's talking about the, the number

[1:17:58] of clinicians. Yeah. Oh, I,

[1:17:59] I don't know how many clinicians that speaks to,

[1:18:02] but there are, several

[1:18:05] of the providers can provide services by way of telehealth.

[1:18:09] So it really opens up a spectrum of a lot

[1:18:12] of different providers to be available.

[1:18:14] How many individual clinicians that supports, I

[1:18:18] would have to look into that.

[1:18:20] I don't know if we know that off the top of our head. No

[1:18:22] Worries.

[1:18:23] So a lot of the thousand

[1:18:27] students could be weekly,

[1:18:30] so they have like a weekly session at the

[1:18:33] school? Am I understanding?

[1:18:34] It could be, yeah. Yeah, it

[1:18:35] Varies.

[1:18:36] So Tuesday at 11 o'clock that, that's actually good. It's

[1:18:40] Very good.

[1:18:41] Yeah. And so it provides three tiers of services.

[1:18:44] So there's sort of broad tier one,

[1:18:48] which is more community and kind of educational

[1:18:51] and sometimes can involve families.

[1:18:53] And then as we move to up to tier three, which is really

[1:18:56] that one-on-one where enhanced clinical support.

[1:19:00] So we have in several different models

[1:19:05] of care, evidence-based practices are supported under these

[1:19:08] dollars and are actually required to be

[1:19:11] provided to be eligible for the funding.

[1:19:14] So there's been a lot of investment from the national center

[1:19:18] to, to make sure that

[1:19:20] what these dollars are supporting are going to vary quality

[1:19:25] providers with refined skills that are,

[1:19:28] are expected to be delivered.

[1:19:30] So tier three is one on one more

[1:19:32] Intensive? Yes.

[1:19:34] And it could be virtual or in person.

[1:19:36] Yep. Thank

[1:19:39] You.

[1:19:40] Yeah. And this is done in very close collaboration

[1:19:42] with your, your leadership in the schools.

[1:19:46] All the providers are vetted through your superintendent

[1:19:50] and your mental health team.

[1:19:52] And then we, we make sure to do all of sort

[1:19:55] of the ground level monitoring and, and site visits

[1:19:59] and ensuring that these providers are actually doing

[1:20:02] what they've set out to do in their, in their proposals.

[1:20:07] But it's a pretty complex procurement process.

[1:20:10] They make a supply year, I can imagine year, year over year

[1:20:12] for these dollars and a lot of administrative lift

[1:20:16] to just make them available.

[1:20:19] But that's our job and it's okay. That's what we do.

[1:20:23] Great. I will say out of the first group of dollars

[1:20:27] through the consortium funding, we were able

[1:20:29] to earmark money to have a formal needs assessment done

[1:20:33] for the region across the lifespan.

[1:20:35] So that was wonderful

[1:20:36] because those dollars would not be available given

[1:20:39] the current budget climate.

[1:20:41] So we did contract with an organization

[1:20:44] called Do East Partners to partner with our organization

[1:20:48] to do a full spread assessment, which actually

[1:20:52] was this time last year coming to a close end, we wrapped up

[1:20:56] that needs assessment at the end of June of fiscal year 25.

[1:21:00] And wanted to highlight just a couple things that came out

[1:21:03] of that assessment that are, may, may be of interest.

[1:21:07] So no surprise that top two things

[1:21:10] that showed up really across the board were,

[1:21:14] or top three housing needs, mental health services

[1:21:17] and transportation, which we know is a,

[1:21:20] a very complex issue on the shore.

[1:21:26] Lots of concerns just

[1:21:27] around mental health and substance use.

[1:21:30] Most counties in the mid shore reported concerns

[1:21:33] around alcohol consumption as a primary

[1:21:36] substance use concern.

[1:21:38] So mind you, this is information that was reported

[1:21:42] by community members so that that voice is so critical

[1:21:46] to inform our work.

[1:21:48] So really you're hearing straight from your community

[1:21:51] members with these survey results.

[1:21:55] We pulled out a couple things specific to behavioral health

[1:21:58] that came up out of Queen Annes county residence.

[1:22:02] So as I mentioned, that piece around alcohol was brought up.

[1:22:07] Also just concerns around depression

[1:22:11] and just mental health in general.

[1:22:15] One thing that I think we're on a path

[1:22:18] to see our provider network starting to grow

[1:22:21] and get a little more traction

[1:22:22] with infrastructure in the county.

[1:22:25] But there that really there the ratio of residents

[1:22:30] to provider availability in the

[1:22:32] county is challenging.

[1:22:35] So, you know, a lot of, we find that a lot

[1:22:38] of members are going to neighboring counties

[1:22:41] to receive services like Talbot County.

[1:22:44] So we're working on that.

[1:22:45] We've actually had quite a bit of movement in the last year,

[1:22:48] especially with substance use providers of different forms,

[1:22:53] different levels of care coming into the county.

[1:22:55] So that's positive movement.

[1:23:00] Alright. Alright.

[1:23:04] So suicide prevention.

[1:23:06] We have a Midshore Suicide coalition

[1:23:08] and this is in partnership with Channel Marker.

[1:23:11] The goal is to provide education and awareness.

[1:23:15] A few events

[1:23:16] and I'll just put

[1:23:18] forward Events.

[1:23:22] We'll just start with the events. So we had Kevin Hines,

[1:23:24] if you guys have ever heard of him.

[1:23:26] He had a Stay Alive presentation.

[1:23:28] We've established the Lethal, a Lethal Means subcommittee

[1:23:32] out of the Darkness Walk.

[1:23:34] And then they were having a community event at the Queen

[1:23:37] AIDS County YMCA on June 5th.

[1:23:39] And that's from four to seven bridging our community

[1:23:43] building hope and connection.

[1:23:45] It, it's going to focus on youth wellness

[1:23:48] and there is gonna be a presentation

[1:23:49] by Matt Reynolds, if you've ever heard of him.

[1:23:51] Yeah. He's in an internationally known speaker, a gentleman

[1:23:55] with lived experience, actually a survivor of suicide.

[1:23:57] Same with Kevin Hines. So Right.

[1:23:58] And his, his niche is really working with, with students.

[1:24:02] So we're excited to welcome him here at the,

[1:24:05] at the Y here in Centerville next week.

[1:24:07] That's great. Alright.

[1:24:13] And there's some more on suicide prevention.

[1:24:15] This is in regards to gun safety.

[1:24:17] During fiscal year 26,

[1:24:19] Midshore Behavioral Health initiated a firearm

[1:24:22] safety and awareness campaign.

[1:24:24] I mentioned earlier, crisis intervention training.

[1:24:27] There's been over 900 gun locks and safe distributed

[1:24:32] and then there's some data right there comparing deaths

[1:24:37] by firearms versus other lethal means.

[1:24:39] And in Maryland there were 599 suicide deaths.

[1:24:43] 45% of those involved firearms.

[1:24:45] And that's up 1.8% from 2022

[1:24:52] and then going purple together.

[1:24:53] We host this every year.

[1:24:56] We switch around the counties, you know, to try

[1:24:58] to include everybody and make it accessible.

[1:25:01] This past year, September 27th,

[1:25:03] it was at the Churchill Park here in Queen Anne County.

[1:25:06] There was approximately 40 community resource vendors

[1:25:08] and 150 attendees.

[1:25:10] This is a really, really fun event that families

[1:25:13] and kids are invited to and it truly really is fun.

[1:25:16] It's a great way to bring awareness to this topic.

[1:25:25] This one, You want me to do this? Yeah. Okay.

[1:25:28] So the Rural Advancement of Maryland Peers,

[1:25:30] this is a new program that we just received grant dollars

[1:25:34] through the Department of Labor to support.

[1:25:37] This is really highlighting our workforce

[1:25:40] and our peer support network, getting them trained

[1:25:44] and certified to be able

[1:25:45] to get into the behavioral health workforce.

[1:25:48] Since this, they are recognized for incredible work

[1:25:52] and the training is off, often cumbersome and expensive.

[1:25:56] So we have secured these dollars for the next two years

[1:26:00] to hopefully train 15 individuals

[1:26:03] to become certified peer support

[1:26:04] specialists, which is great.

[1:26:07] We are also working closely

[1:26:08] with the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center.

[1:26:11] They also receive some dollars

[1:26:13] through this grant opportunity.

[1:26:15] So we'll be doing some things in

[1:26:16] close partnership with them.

[1:26:21] I'm gonna jump through a couple of these just

[1:26:23] 'cause I'd like to get to more Queen Annes County

[1:26:25] specific highlights.

[1:26:28] One thing I will share, these are sort

[1:26:30] of high level highlights.

[1:26:33] We've been doing a lot of work

[1:26:35] with your leadership in the judici judiciary space here in

[1:26:39] the county in partnership with Kent County.

[1:26:43] We meet monthly, we're looking at doing a potentially a

[1:26:47] pilot diversion project,

[1:26:49] which we actually just submitted a grant

[1:26:51] for hopefully getting funding for that today

[1:26:54] that would support individuals that are in a need

[1:26:59] of mental health support that are in detention

[1:27:02] to have an alternative location to either

[1:27:06] complete their sentence time

[1:27:07] or just have some stabilization during their detention.

[1:27:13] So fingers crossed. But we've done a lot of great work.

[1:27:16] I know that Judge c Cville

[1:27:18] and Judge Knight, we're also piloting a project

[1:27:22] where we are receiving with the permission

[1:27:25] of the petitioners, anyone who is filing

[1:27:29] for an emergency petition for an indi, a loved one

[1:27:32] or a person in their neighborhood

[1:27:34] or a friend, that we are getting a referral to follow up

[1:27:37] with that support network

[1:27:39] to offer our services when someone is in need of that level

[1:27:43] of emergency petition intervention.

[1:27:45] So that's a new initiative we started within the last

[1:27:49] quarter and it's been very successful.

[1:27:57] Okay. Just a couple of our signature events.

[1:28:00] We annually host a sequential intercept model

[1:28:04] mapping conference.

[1:28:06] We have done this for the last 14 years.

[1:28:09] That's looking at how individuals move in

[1:28:11] and out of the, the criminal justice system

[1:28:14] and where we can divert them from incarceration.

[1:28:18] We just hosted our,

[1:28:20] I guess it was our 15th annual across the lifespan

[1:28:23] conference I wanna say.

[1:28:26] And this year's focus was suicide prevention

[1:28:28] across the lifespan.

[1:28:30] And as Sarah mentioned, we are looking forward

[1:28:33] to our going Purple event, which

[1:28:35] of course is coming up in September.

[1:28:39] Oh, I don't know what just happened. Sorry.

[1:28:42] Speedy. This year we had a couple of new

[1:28:47] signature events that were folding into our

[1:28:51] other events that we put on.

[1:28:52] We are doing Good Samaritan law training in the counties.

[1:28:56] We just got some funding

[1:28:57] to do this specifically in the coming

[1:28:58] year in Caroline County.

[1:29:00] This year we did it in Talbot.

[1:29:02] And we have a workforce excellence program

[1:29:05] that we've started out of our continuum of care leadership

[1:29:09] that has another class coming up here in Caroline County.

[1:29:13] We started down in Dorchester.

[1:29:15] So we're moving that program through the counties.

[1:29:21] And of course we love a good visit from our state

[1:29:23] partners and colleagues.

[1:29:25] So this is just kind of highlighting a couple

[1:29:27] of visits we hosted over the last year.

[1:29:29] We had the leadership of the consortium,

[1:29:31] which we just touched on in the National Center

[1:29:34] for School Mental Health came in August.

[1:29:38] We had our partners through the Office of Prevention

[1:29:41] and Promotion through BHA visit us at our across the

[1:29:44] lifespan conference.

[1:29:47] We have strong relationships

[1:29:48] and partnerships through the Maryland Office

[1:29:50] of Overdose Response and that work.

[1:29:54] We've touched on the governor's office for crime control

[1:29:57] and prevention and policy.

[1:29:59] That's something that the state is really putting a lot

[1:30:02] of attention behind is just how we're meeting the needs

[1:30:05] of individuals

[1:30:06] that get involved in the criminal justice system.

[1:30:11] So let's turn it back over to Sierra.

[1:30:14] So some Queen Anne County highlights already

[1:30:16] mentioned the going purple.

[1:30:19] Each county is a local care team.

[1:30:21] I attend Queen Anne County local care team.

[1:30:24] Katie is the board president

[1:30:25] of the Queen Anne County Local Management Board.

[1:30:29] Let's see. We work very closely

[1:30:30] with the Queen Anne County Local Addictions Authority.

[1:30:35] I already said the forensic mental health team participates

[1:30:38] in the Queen Anne County Problem Solving court.

[1:30:41] And we just did a volunteer day at Queenstown Landing,

[1:30:44] which was in Queen Anne County, which was really fun.

[1:30:46] We did bingo, karaoke was a hit

[1:30:49] veterans group, all sorts of stuff.

[1:30:52] We tried to alternate counties with our volunteer day too.

[1:30:55] So, okay.

[1:30:59] Some new initiatives on the horizon.

[1:31:02] You may have heard that Maryland passed legislation

[1:31:06] to adopt an assisted outpatient treatment program.

[1:31:09] The Eastern Shore is part of a pilot one group,

[1:31:14] or phase one group, I should say, for

[1:31:17] rollout of this program.

[1:31:19] So it's all nine counties of the Eastern Shore, along

[1:31:22] with Anne Arundel County.

[1:31:23] Baltimore City are scheduled to go live on July 1st

[1:31:28] with implementing assisted outpatient treatment.

[1:31:31] There's been a lot of work that's gone into this,

[1:31:35] but there's still a lot that we don't know

[1:31:38] until the program really gets off the ground.

[1:31:40] This would allow for an additional opportunity for

[1:31:46] family members or loved ones are concern concerned community

[1:31:49] members to file an order to

[1:31:55] have an individual be engaged in their outpatient treatment

[1:31:58] for their, their beha, serious and persistent mental health.

[1:32:01] This is just for adults.

[1:32:03] There's a lot of requirements

[1:32:05] and criteria to be eligible to receive an order.

[1:32:10] The shore, we are hoping to have at least

[1:32:13] two care coordinating teams.

[1:32:16] We haven't gotten confirmation on

[1:32:18] that from the administration,

[1:32:20] but as soon as we know who our care coordinating teams are

[1:32:23] for individuals that have an assisted outpatient treatment

[1:32:26] order, we will certainly be working closely with them.

[1:32:31] And our rural health transformation program.

[1:32:34] So the competitive funding

[1:32:36] for the behavioral health service expansion dollars,

[1:32:38] were due today at 2:00 PM

[1:32:40] and I'm glad that to say that, that we submitted.

[1:32:44] So we put in a few,

[1:32:47] I think really interesting transformative

[1:32:49] partnership requests.

[1:32:51] So holding hope there.

[1:32:53] Those dollars have a lot of different

[1:32:57] initiatives tied to them.

[1:32:58] But of course behavioral health is the one

[1:33:00] that we're focusing on.

[1:33:01] So we have some three priority areas around mobile,

[1:33:05] mobile treatment expansion, suicide prevention,

[1:33:08] and as well as our diversion initiatives.

[1:33:11] So we're, we'll see, we'll hopefully here over the summer

[1:33:16] if we've been able to have those dollars be awarded.

[1:33:27] Okay. And then here we have some statistics.

[1:33:29] These are Medicaid claims.

[1:33:32] So mental health consumers was 1,655.

[1:33:36] Queen Anne County represents 16

[1:33:38] or represented 16.2% of the mid shore individuals.

[1:33:42] And then for substance use, it was 769 consumers

[1:33:46] with the highest utilization areas.

[1:33:48] Mental health, it was outpatient services, 95%.

[1:33:51] And then for substance use, it was labs, which was 68%.

[1:33:59] And then this is the point in time count.

[1:34:01] This is through the continuum of care,

[1:34:04] the Homelessness Prevention Services

[1:34:06] that Katie mentioned earlier.

[1:34:07] So the point in time is a count of sheltered

[1:34:09] and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on

[1:34:12] a single night in January.

[1:34:15] HUD requires that they do an annual count.

[1:34:18] So this year it was 27 sheltered, which would be emergency

[1:34:22] or emergency shelter or transitional housing.

[1:34:25] And then one unsheltered, which is a place

[1:34:27] that's literally not met for a person to live in.

[1:34:36] And we just thank you for your support

[1:34:40] and this is how you can get ahold of us.

[1:34:42] If you have any questions, we're happy

[1:34:43] to take additional questions as well.

[1:34:47] That was very comprehensive. Thank you.

[1:34:49] Thank you. We didn't even read it all.

[1:34:50] That's a great report. No, it's a lot

[1:34:51] of information we appreciate. We appreciate your time. It

[1:34:54] Is a lot.

[1:34:55] I don't know how you keep it straight.

[1:34:59] Yes. Alright. We also have the fiscal year 2027 letter

[1:35:02] of agreement for Right.

[1:35:03] Your consideration tonight as well.

[1:35:05] It's an action item. Tell Oh

[1:35:06] Yeah.

[1:35:07] Yes. Great presentation. Oh, thank you. Very good.

[1:35:10] $168 million Rural Health Transfer

[1:35:14] Transformation grant.

[1:35:16] That was due today or the paperwork was due today.

[1:35:20] Does that, that's

[1:35:21] For the pillar two, the 160 eight's broken up

[1:35:24] into some clumps.

[1:35:25] Only eight. Only 16 million of it is for behavioral health.

[1:35:31] Is any of that going towards can be used

[1:35:34] for the $5 million MA match for the USDA?

[1:35:39] No, it can't be used for that.

[1:35:42] It's federal. Federal funds. Yeah. Oh, I know.

[1:35:45] Can't use federal to match federally.

[1:35:51] So I Are you speaking?

[1:35:54] Are you, I can you want me to?

[1:35:57] You're just addressing your email from the other day.

[1:36:00] Yeah. Come on up Bryce. Yeah.

[1:36:10] Can you kinda lay that out for, for us?

[1:36:14] I'm Sorry. Could

[1:36:15] You kinda lay that out for us?

[1:36:16] What your thoughts are on the cross?

[1:36:19] Was it crossroads at, in Dorchester?

[1:36:22] Oh, so short. So Katie

[1:36:24] and I have been talking about

[1:36:25] what other options there might be for use

[1:36:27] of this USDA funding for youth services.

[1:36:31] I had met with the USDA team

[1:36:32] and also had discussions with the congressman's office on

[1:36:36] what truly the parameters of that funding are.

[1:36:39] If there's any flexibility in there,

[1:36:40] if the PHP stuff doesn't work out.

[1:36:44] Katie and I had a meeting with the CEO Kara, what,

[1:36:48] two weeks ago, Carol Morris, a couple weeks ago.

[1:36:51] They are looking to build a, a outpatient center per se

[1:36:56] for mental health services out of Cambridge.

[1:36:59] And they were looking for additional capital funds

[1:37:01] to complete that facility.

[1:37:02] And there's a number of services that

[1:37:05] will fulfill services across the lifespan

[1:37:07] to include youth services and,

[1:37:09] and according to the USDA team,

[1:37:11] that sounds like it's a possibility as long

[1:37:13] as we're addressing youth mental health needs in the region.

[1:37:17] And they would start serving, I think around age.

[1:37:20] I think it was five years old enough. Five.

[1:37:21] Yep. So is it essentially a, it's, it's, is it,

[1:37:27] it's not A-P-P-H-P.

[1:37:28] It's more of a,

[1:37:35] you go in for an hour and then you, you have therapy

[1:37:37] And you leave.

[1:37:38] It's not partial hospitalization. No.

[1:37:40] But they would have multiple levels of care available there.

[1:37:44] But partial hospitalization is not one of them.

[1:37:46] And and what would they be,

[1:37:48] what would be the I don't have the, the care,

[1:37:50] I don't have their, I don't have the full list,

[1:37:51] full proposal, but it was what PRP outpatient

[1:37:55] Mental Health. Outpatient mental health.

[1:37:57] And to do some, I think some education and training.

[1:38:00] They're gonna have an industrial kitchen there

[1:38:03] and hopefully do some, some sort of

[1:38:06] Life skills.

[1:38:07] Does it have to be built in Cambridge?

[1:38:08] Could it be built in Easter?

[1:38:09] That's something that's been in the Queen County.

[1:38:10] That's something that's been in the works

[1:38:12] since before COVID

[1:38:14] To to do it there in Cambridge.

[1:38:16] Yeah. Do they have another, they have

[1:38:17] another facility that way they

[1:38:18] Have a facility right here in your

[1:38:20] backyard in Centerville.

[1:38:22] Is it being utilized as well as the new place could be.

[1:38:26] Oh yes. That, that's a provider

[1:38:27] that serves all five counties.

[1:38:32] So I know there's a lot of specific information that's

[1:38:35] provided in the correspondence as well.

[1:38:37] I didn't bring any of that with me. 'cause

[1:38:39] I That's okay. That's

[1:38:41] All right.

[1:38:42] It's just an option for your consideration. Yeah. And yeah,

[1:38:45] There's, and you know, other things

[1:38:46] to consider is maybe looking at extending it

[1:38:50] to more than one provider, if that was an option,

[1:38:54] or if there's a provider that might need vehicles.

[1:38:58] And then we talked about that.

[1:38:59] Yeah, the USDA team was pretty clear

[1:39:01] that the capital funding could be used for vehicles.

[1:39:03] Any capital equipment tied to that.

[1:39:05] If there was specific, for example,

[1:39:06] on a lab equipment that you might want.

[1:39:09] There was a lot of flexibility there.

[1:39:11] But the, the, the key is the operational piece.

[1:39:15] And of course, the match is still a concern.

[1:39:18] Can a provider or somebody else meet

[1:39:20] that match the 25% match that's required by USDA?

[1:39:27] So is is universal Maryland completely out

[1:39:32] of the picture for the, the second floor of the ER

[1:39:37] at Cambridge to be a PHP?

[1:39:40] That is my understanding.

[1:39:42] But they're, they're exploring

[1:39:43] how they can expand their outpatient services

[1:39:47] to also support the entire lifespan.

[1:39:50] But the partial hospitalization is not something

[1:39:53] that right now they're looking at,

[1:39:54] they're looking at expanding their intensive outpatient

[1:39:57] treatment program as well as reestablishing the hope is

[1:40:01] to reestablish their bridge clinic, which

[1:40:06] I don't wanna speak on behalf of Shore

[1:40:08] Regional, but, so And when you say

[1:40:09] intensive, do you mean inpatient?

[1:40:11] No, you mean intensive outpatient?

[1:40:13] Yes, intensive outpatient to include providing that

[1:40:17] for children and adolescents.

[1:40:18] Right now they have intensive outpatient,

[1:40:20] but it only serves adults.

[1:40:22] Adults. But they are looking to expand it to serve youth,

[1:40:27] but that's not partial hospitalization.

[1:40:30] The complexity with partial hospitalization is the

[1:40:33] requirement to provide education to have school

[1:40:39] provided while youth are attending the PHP.

[1:40:42] So youth, PHP is a much harder service

[1:40:46] to lift up.

[1:40:48] So right now, my understanding is that's not

[1:40:50] what they're entertaining.

[1:40:52] It's not the priority.

[1:40:53] And to add to that,

[1:40:55] they don't need capital funding for that.

[1:40:56] Right. The facility in Cambridge is set up

[1:40:58] to accommodate something like that.

[1:41:00] Yeah. Where we're, our hands are kind of tied

[1:41:03] with this USDA funding for capital funding.

[1:41:10] Now of course, there could be creative ways to put it out

[1:41:13] for interest so providers could respond.

[1:41:19] I think we were just trying to provide you some options

[1:41:22] of current capital projects that we know are underway.

[1:41:31] Thank you. Sure. Appreciate it.

[1:41:34] Yeah, appreciate all you do. Seriously.

[1:41:36] It's a, it's a tough job.

[1:41:39] Well, we have good partners

[1:41:42] and we appreciate your support.

[1:41:44] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:41:45] Appreciate the presentation. Thank

[1:41:47] You.

[1:41:48] All righty. We get a Motion with it?

[1:41:50] Sign the letter. Yeah,

[1:41:51] I make a motion to sign the letter for FY 27.

[1:41:56] Great support. Second.

[1:41:59] Got a motion. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed?

[1:42:02] So moved. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:42:04] You Thank you. Thank you.

[1:42:13] All right, commissioners, we can move into the

[1:42:15] action items for this evening.

[1:42:16] First we have from the Department of Public works,

[1:42:18] under tab number two we have one item, pages one

[1:42:22] through seven item one pages one through seven.

[1:42:24] This is for the Board of Education administration building

[1:42:27] over at the Vincent on Vincent Street Lot 19 B.

[1:42:31] And this is a, a plat

[1:42:33] and a deed of dedication to transfer

[1:42:35] that particular 4.7 acre parcel of land.

[1:42:39] Or the new board of education administration building is now

[1:42:43] occupied by the board of Ed over to the board

[1:42:45] of Education members.

[1:42:47] And that's a traditional thing.

[1:42:48] So Lee Edgar's here if you have any questions about

[1:42:50] that, but that's a transfer.

[1:42:51] I'll also mention too, that we did just receive notification

[1:42:55] from the Maryland IAC.

[1:42:57] They voted to approve the transfer of their former

[1:43:00] headquarters down on Chesterfield Avenue back

[1:43:03] to the county commissioners.

[1:43:05] So they're working through some miscellaneous details,

[1:43:07] but that'll be coming back our way here in the

[1:43:11] next month or so.

[1:43:12] That's right. I move

[1:43:16] to execute the de transferring ownership

[1:43:17] of lot 19 B adjacent to one 15 Vincent Street Center

[1:43:20] of Maryland to the Board of Education of Queen Annes County.

[1:43:23] Second, we have a motion. Second. Any discussion?

[1:43:26] Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye a.

[1:43:29] Aye. Opposed? One absent.

[1:43:34] Thank you commissioners. Thank you. Alright,

[1:43:35] Thank you commissioners.

[1:43:36] Thank you Lee. Thanks for being here.

[1:43:37] Next meeting will be daytime, right? That's

[1:43:39] Right. Thank you.

[1:43:42] That's right. All right, commissioners,

[1:43:44] we got some action items to cover here this evening as well.

[1:43:47] They're under tab number three.

[1:43:50] So if you wanna flip to tab number three, item one,

[1:43:54] pages one through 10.

[1:43:55] This is a petition to intervene in Maryland Public Service

[1:43:58] Commission case number 9 8 6 8.

[1:44:01] So there's been an application filed for a certificate

[1:44:04] of public convenience to construct three co-located solar

[1:44:08] generating facilities totaling 9.98 megawatts.

[1:44:13] This is on 6 74 acres of property just outside here

[1:44:17] of Centerville on adjacent to the 3 0 1 3 0 4 interchange.

[1:44:22] It is within the town's growth area

[1:44:25] and the town of Centerville's tier two growth area.

[1:44:29] This is a clear attempt

[1:44:31] to circumvent standards found in both Maryland code public

[1:44:35] utilities codes and our zoning code

[1:44:38] and our planning staff has recommended

[1:44:40] that we intervene in this particular case

[1:44:42] because it's inconsistent with the spirit of all of our

[1:44:47] objectives here with solar projects.

[1:44:51] I moved to file a petition to intervene in the application

[1:44:54] of TPE MD QA 15

[1:44:57] A-L-L-C-T-P-E-M-D, QA 15 BLLC

[1:45:01] and TPE MD QA 15 C-L-L-L-C for a certificate

[1:45:06] of public convenience and necessity

[1:45:08] to construct three co loaded solar voltaic generating

[1:45:11] facilities totaling 9.98

[1:45:13] megawatt in Queen Anne County, Maryland.

[1:45:14] Case number 9 8 6 8

[1:45:17] Second.

[1:45:18] We have a motion to second any discussion.

[1:45:20] Oh, what do you begin, right? Yeah.

[1:45:25] Yeah. Amy, give the Reader's Digest version

[1:45:29] of what's going on here broadly and,

[1:45:32] but this case specifically in

[1:45:33] Queen Annes County, if you could,

[1:45:35] The concern with this case, and the reason that I've come

[1:45:39] before you with this request to intervene, is the fear

[1:45:44] of the precedent that would be set by not

[1:45:48] directly interacting with the CPCN process at this point.

[1:45:53] When 9 31,

[1:45:57] the Renewable Energy Act was passed last year and we had to

[1:46:02] accordingly update our solar provisions.

[1:46:07] We all kind of came in line with

[1:46:12] the siting standards as outlined through that legislation.

[1:46:18] Basically utility scale solar is

[1:46:22] permitted to be cited in accordance with those standards.

[1:46:26] And community solar projects are

[1:46:31] have a lighter standard since the update of our code

[1:46:35] and since the approval of

[1:46:39] the renewable energy legislation,

[1:46:41] we've predominantly seen community scale solar projects.

[1:46:45] We have not seen utility scale projects like we had seen

[1:46:49] prior to Senate Bill 9 31.

[1:46:53] This bill rather,

[1:46:55] this proposal is located at the intersection of Route 3 0 1

[1:47:00] and 3 0 4 and it is in the town's designated growth area.

[1:47:05] Tier two. During the negotiation of

[1:47:10] that legislation last year, we successfully

[1:47:16] put a prohibition on major

[1:47:20] solar development within the town's growth areas.

[1:47:23] What this project is, is a combination of three

[1:47:29] co-located community solar projects

[1:47:32] that in its entirety basically constitutes

[1:47:37] a major utility scale project.

[1:47:41] So what I did was put that

[1:47:46] in writing to the public service commission, that I found

[1:47:51] that the application as submitted

[1:47:55] was a pretty clear attempt to circumvent some

[1:47:59] of the key standards that were negotiated in very

[1:48:04] long and hard fought battles

[1:48:07] during the previous legislative session.

[1:48:10] And I really called upon,

[1:48:12] hopefully the Public Service Commission to,

[1:48:16] to make some kind of a determination as to whether

[1:48:18] or not they also were going to deal with

[1:48:21] what looked like a complete,

[1:48:23] a clear circumvention of the standards. I mean,

[1:48:26] This is blatant, I mean,

[1:48:29] I felt that it was, and I felt that

[1:48:33] I had enough legal ground through consultation

[1:48:36] with our planning attorney to put in writing that when

[1:48:41] it lands in the county, we would treat it as

[1:48:45] one comprehensive major

[1:48:49] solar energy generating system rather than three separate

[1:48:52] community solar projects.

[1:48:54] So in an attempt to get a determination on

[1:48:59] that very interpretation that

[1:49:03] would be applicable to any other project

[1:49:06] that we might see in any of our growth areas,

[1:49:11] and also wanting to make sure

[1:49:13] that we're following the letter of the law as

[1:49:18] was dictated to us through the last legislative session,

[1:49:21] we wanna make sure that

[1:49:22] that interpretation is also going to be supported.

[1:49:26] Because my concern is that

[1:49:29] we might see other applications like this

[1:49:32] or other applications that I haven't thought of yet

[1:49:35] that are also circumventing some of those standards.

[1:49:40] Yeah, you, you take a 400 acre farm

[1:49:42] and you just do 40 10 acre solar projects,

[1:49:45] you still have a 400 acre farm

[1:49:46] of solar at the end of the day.

[1:49:47] But like we, it circumvents our personal property tax on

[1:49:51] utility grade solar, which goes back to farm preservation.

[1:49:54] Not to mention Kent County has a project over there

[1:49:58] that was developed into solar.

[1:49:59] That was their last piece of priority growth area

[1:50:02] that had water and sewer to it.

[1:50:05] So they solar, they lost it, they put solar there.

[1:50:08] This is a priority growth area for Centerville.

[1:50:10] We we're having all these conversations about moratoriums

[1:50:13] and we won't be able to build on the island.

[1:50:14] We're gonna have to build into towns.

[1:50:15] But then we're, if we take that town land

[1:50:17] and put solar on it, we can't build on it,

[1:50:19] which is where we would have to build.

[1:50:20] So there's a lot of things going on here

[1:50:22] that are just bad about all this honestly.

[1:50:25] And the town did submit a letter, so we submitted a letter

[1:50:30] and the town of Centerville did

[1:50:32] likewise in accordance with the complete list,

[1:50:35] deter the completeness determination deadline,

[1:50:38] which the public utility law judge established the

[1:50:42] application was found to be complete.

[1:50:44] But as a result of the letters that were submitted,

[1:50:48] there was a request that the applicant submit a brief

[1:50:52] that addresses the points that were raised in our letter.

[1:50:56] And this intervention is meant to, if we intervene,

[1:51:01] we will have an opportunity to al also submit a brief in,

[1:51:06] in the deadline that is established

[1:51:08] by the public utility law judge.

[1:51:10] So I think it's important

[1:51:11] to be engaged in that conversation.

[1:51:14] And the town of Centerville is considering intervening

[1:51:18] as well, but they,

[1:51:21] their council does not meet until next week.

[1:51:25] Very well. We have a motion and a second.

[1:51:28] Any further discussion? Seeing none.

[1:51:31] All those in favor signify saying aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed?

[1:51:34] Abstained. So moved.

[1:51:38] Alright. Thank you Amy. Thank you commissioners.

[1:51:41] Our next item, item two pages 11 and 12.

[1:51:45] We have drafted a resolution number

[1:51:46] 26 0 7 for your consideration.

[1:51:48] This is to initiate a temporary moratorium on the approval

[1:51:52] or processing of applications for data centers.

[1:51:56] This has been a big issue around the state of Maryland.

[1:51:59] I think there's at least six other jurisdictions

[1:52:01] that are considering similar pauses for development activity

[1:52:06] for data centers, for obvious reasons, their energy usage

[1:52:09] and necessity for large, large areas and farms.

[1:52:12] So this is a, would be an effort for us to work

[1:52:16] with the zoning team and draft

[1:52:17] and craft appropriate designations

[1:52:20] and standards for this type of use.

[1:52:23] In, in Queen County, we really don't have anything

[1:52:25] that fits the, the mold currently for, for data centers.

[1:52:29] So for your consideration, this is 12 months,

[1:52:36] I move to adopt resolution 26 dash seven

[1:52:39] temporary moratorium on the approval of processing

[1:52:41] of applications for data centers.

[1:52:43] Second. Second. Got a motion to second. Any discussion?

[1:52:46] Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye.

[1:52:49] Aye. Opposed?

[1:52:52] That counts as it an aye. Okay. Five. Oh.

[1:52:55] Alright. Thank you commissioners. Thanks Amy.

[1:52:57] Thank you Amy put that on your list as well

[1:53:00] for new assignments.

[1:53:03] Alright, thank you.

[1:53:04] We've already been working on this one, so

[1:53:07] you're happy to have a break.

[1:53:11] Alright, Commissioners we have next we have a series of

[1:53:16] conservation research re conservation reserve enhancement

[1:53:20] program, agreements of sale, and Mr.

[1:53:23] Joe Pippin's here from as well.

[1:53:25] He's prepared these so we can, I'll, I'll try

[1:53:27] to summarize these, but these are all ready to be submitted

[1:53:30] to the Department of Natural Resources

[1:53:32] for review and final approval.

[1:53:34] That includes agreements of sales, project agreements,

[1:53:36] and all those have to be signed by the county commissioners.

[1:53:39] All the funding for these programs are

[1:53:41] provided by the program open space,

[1:53:43] no county funds are being utilized.

[1:53:45] So with that brief introduction,

[1:53:47] item number three on pages 13 through 27 is an agreement

[1:53:51] of sale and project agreement

[1:53:53] for the big Oak Big Oak Farm LLC.

[1:53:56] This will add 97.5 acres to, to the CREP

[1:54:01] totals that we have in Queen Ians County.

[1:54:03] Alright, so I'm gonna change your agenda up a little bit.

[1:54:06] I move to execute each

[1:54:08] of the conservation reservation enhancement program,

[1:54:12] easement agreements of sale

[1:54:13] and project agreements for the following properties owned

[1:54:17] by Big Oak Farm LLC, the agreement owned by Robert

[1:54:22] and Dean raci

[1:54:23] and Catherine raci Eastman successors to the co-trustees

[1:54:27] of the trust created by the last will

[1:54:29] and testament of Robert E. Dean

[1:54:32] and owned the one owned by Mardel View Farms, LLC

[1:54:37] and the one owned by Alice M. Kirby

[1:54:40] and Brenda Cheryl Kirby.

[1:54:43] Second We have a motion and a second.

[1:54:47] Any further discussion? Aye,

[1:54:49] Well thought out.

[1:54:50] Seeing none. All this in favor signify by saying aye a.

[1:54:53] Aye. Opposed? Goodnight Joe.

[1:54:56] Good seeing you, Joe. Great job. Thanks

[1:54:59] For coming by.

[1:55:00] Keep 'em coming. That's right.

[1:55:02] All right, well that concludes action items

[1:55:04] 3, 4, 5, and six.

[1:55:06] So, okay, moving on. Item number seven, pages 76 through 88.

[1:55:10] We have the Bay Bridge run 2026 MOU between us

[1:55:14] and the Maryland Transportation Authority

[1:55:17] for the event on November 8th of this year,

[1:55:20] I move to execute the memorandum of understanding

[1:55:23] with the Maryland Transportation Authority

[1:55:25] for the annual Bay Bridge run scheduled

[1:55:26] for November 8th, 2026.

[1:55:29] Second. Got a motion a second. Any discussion here?

[1:55:33] I hope they can get it in the weather. C rates.

[1:55:35] I hear you. All this in favor signify by saying Aye.

[1:55:40] Aye. Aye. Opposed? AB saying five Oh.

[1:55:43] Alright. Thank you commissioners.

[1:55:44] Item eight on page 89 is a request for

[1:55:48] economic development incentive funding

[1:55:49] for Tide Water Direct.

[1:55:51] This is for the EDIF commission.

[1:55:53] Recommended the approval of $1,599 in grant funding for

[1:55:59] forklift training for Tide Tidewater Direct.

[1:56:02] I move to approve the disbursements $1,599 from the

[1:56:06] Economic Development Incentive Fund, workforce Fund

[1:56:08] for forklift training for to Tidewater direct LLC.

[1:56:10] This disbursement of funds is contingent upon a signed

[1:56:12] agreement between Economic Development Incentive Fund

[1:56:15] Commission and the Tidewater Direct

[1:56:16] and will outline the conditions of the agreement

[1:56:18] and performance of the project.

[1:56:19] Second, got a, a motion in a second. Any discussion?

[1:56:28] The, so I, I have a question regarding this, this ask

[1:56:32] and the one after the ask, please come on up.

[1:56:36] Heather,

[1:56:37] You were that close.

[1:56:39] You were that close. It

[1:56:40] Was good to stand up.

[1:56:42] So I know that originally when

[1:56:45] we introduced this program years ago, it was obviously one

[1:56:49] of the main drivers, correct me if I'm

[1:56:51] wrong, was job creation.

[1:56:53] Yes. Okay. So I mean, I, I'm just,

[1:56:57] I'm simply playing the devil's advocate.

[1:57:00] I mean, anything that we can do that helps businesses

[1:57:03] that already employ Queen County citizens and,

[1:57:07] and so this first ask of the $1,500 for the training,

[1:57:11] again, is an easy ask.

[1:57:16] I don't see all it does is really just take Quinan County

[1:57:20] employees that work there already

[1:57:22] and just train them to operate a forklift.

[1:57:25] Right? So we have two portions

[1:57:27] of the economic development incentive fund.

[1:57:28] I think it was in 2022 after COID lightened up.

[1:57:32] We had some money that we were unable

[1:57:34] to get out the door related to job training.

[1:57:37] So this, the commission voted to move

[1:57:39] that into the economic development incentive fund specific

[1:57:42] to workforce training.

[1:57:44] And the goal of it is, it can be an existing employee,

[1:57:47] but to, to skill them up so that they are able

[1:57:50] to make greater wages because they have a certificate

[1:57:53] or some sort of skill.

[1:57:55] So some of the thing, we haven't done a lot of these,

[1:57:57] so I understand your confusion.

[1:57:59] Some of the other ones that we've done, we've done one

[1:58:01] for PRS and that was like management training

[1:58:06] and then we have another one in play

[1:58:08] for like human resources and management training.

[1:58:11] So those then provide them with a skill, a certificate

[1:58:15] that they could stay employed there

[1:58:16] and receive more in wages and

[1:58:18] or they're more marketable should they

[1:58:20] leave that organization.

[1:58:21] Not that that's what we're advocating to do,

[1:58:23] but, so there is about, it was 250,000 that was allocated

[1:58:27] to this workforce training.

[1:58:28] And we have slowly

[1:58:30] but surely little bits at a time given out.

[1:58:33] Okay. That's a good explanation and I appreciate it.

[1:58:37] That's all I have.

[1:58:41] Okay. Seeing no other

[1:58:45] discussion, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

[1:58:48] Aye. Opposed? Five O.

[1:58:51] Alright, thank you Commissioners. Thank you Heather.

[1:58:53] Stay right there. We have number item number nine on

[1:58:55] pages 90 and 92.

[1:58:57] This is another request for EDIF funding for Aging Stronger.

[1:59:02] And they are purchasing a body composition device

[1:59:05] that provides precise body composition

[1:59:07] and bone health assessments that support early intervention

[1:59:09] and healthier aging.

[1:59:11] This is a total cost to this project is $55,000.

[1:59:15] They're requesting $50,000 in EDIF funding

[1:59:19] to support the purchase.

[1:59:20] And they currently employ one full-time staff member,

[1:59:23] three part-timers and they're gonna hopefully get another

[1:59:26] additional full-time position

[1:59:29] sometime over the next three years

[1:59:30] to support their business down.

[1:59:37] I move to approve the Economic Development Incentive Fund

[1:59:40] conditional loan up to 50,000 to the aging Stronger

[1:59:44] for their purchase of the DSA device.

[1:59:46] The disbursement of funds

[1:59:48] is contingent upon a signed agreement

[1:59:50] between the Economic Development Incentive Fund Commission

[1:59:53] and Aging Stronger outlining the terms

[1:59:55] and conditions of the funding

[1:59:56] and the project's performance

[1:59:58] as submitted in the economic development incentive

[2:00:01] fund application.

[2:00:04] Second. Got a motion to second Any other discussion?

[2:00:07] So me again? So we're committing up to $50,000

[2:00:13] for this business to purchase a piece of equipment loaning

[2:00:17] It's a loan.

[2:00:18] Yeah. Okay. Conditional loan. Yeah.

[2:00:19] Okay. I I understand that component of it with the hopes

[2:00:23] that in the next three years

[2:00:24] they're gonna be able to hire one person.

[2:00:27] Okay. Alright. That's all I have.

[2:00:35] All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? No abstained.

[2:00:40] 4 1 4 1. Alright.

[2:00:43] Alright. Thank you commissioners. Thank you Heather. Thank

[2:00:45] You.

[2:00:47] All right, commissioners. Item number 10 on pages 93

[2:00:49] to 103, this is the termination of open space easement

[2:00:54] and amendment of deed

[2:00:55] of forest conservation easement for Mr.

[2:00:57] Clifford Higgs.

[2:00:59] This owner is requesting approval to dissolve cluster lots,

[2:01:03] 2, 3, 4, and five and a private road Garson lane.

[2:01:07] And he's proposing to create a slide lot number two

[2:01:10] at six acres.

[2:01:12] So this is all permitted within that zoning district

[2:01:14] and the, they were allowed one slide lot

[2:01:17] based on the acreage.

[2:01:19] So the cluster lots were being dissolved.

[2:01:21] The slide lot technique does not require open space.

[2:01:24] That would get terminated as well.

[2:01:27] And all the open space that was required with the,

[2:01:29] with the original cluster lot subdivision.

[2:01:32] So that's where we are.

[2:01:36] I move to execute the termination of open space easement

[2:01:39] and the amended deed of forced conservation easement

[2:01:42] for the Clifford Higgs minor subdivision plan.

[2:01:45] Second. You got a motion? Second. Any discussion?

[2:01:48] Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye.

[2:01:51] Aye. Opposed? So moved.

[2:01:53] Alright, thank you commissioners.

[2:01:55] And our last item tonight, we have a desk item.

[2:01:58] This is from the Y River Oyster Program.

[2:02:02] This is a letter from Mr. Bruce Abel

[2:02:04] Bruce, the last man standing.

[2:02:06] Oh, last man standing request requesting continuing

[2:02:09] funding support of the Y River Oyster program.

[2:02:12] Their request currently is for $55,000

[2:02:15] to match funds they have raised by the community

[2:02:17] and to increase the spat plannings by an additional 15

[2:02:20] to 20 million spat on shell over three acres.

[2:02:27] So you're so far year to date, how much have you raised

[2:02:32] Year to date?

[2:02:33] About $110,000.

[2:02:35] $110,000. Just from the neighborhoods down? Yes

[2:02:38] Sir. That's

[2:02:38] Correct.

[2:02:39] Just from the public. Gotta love that.

[2:02:43] And you're asking for 55,000 correct. From us.

[2:02:47] So you're gonna be doing about $165,000

[2:02:49] worth of spat on shell

[2:02:52] Total? Yes

[2:02:53] Sir.

[2:02:54] Yeah. And how many

[2:02:54] Acres in, in one year?

[2:02:56] How, how many acres would that

[2:02:57] Track?

[2:02:58] There's each, each boat, each vessel.

[2:03:01] Well I'm saying if $165,000 is gonna buy

[2:03:04] how many acres of seeding?

[2:03:05] Nine acres. Nine acres. Wow. Okay.

[2:03:11] Per our, so, so since, since you were so graciously

[2:03:15] approved funding last fall,

[2:03:17] we've more than doubled the number

[2:03:20] of homeowners that are involved.

[2:03:23] Families and the, and the dollar amount.

[2:03:26] So the program's really taking off, we're doing well.

[2:03:30] Each barge you're committed to a barge or,

[2:03:33] or we shared a barge.

[2:03:34] You met our matched our funding last fall

[2:03:39] and together we will plant one barge

[2:03:45] next week, two weeks, sorry, June 6th.

[2:03:48] And each barge will filter about a million plus gallons

[2:03:53] of order per day.

[2:03:54] So what we're asking now is to do two more barges.

[2:03:59] So we've raised more than that 50 plus thousand dollars.

[2:04:03] And that's what we're asking you to help match us.

[2:04:07] So we can do another 2 million gallons per

[2:04:10] day filtration.

[2:04:13] Those that don't know it, the Y river is a sanctuary,

[2:04:15] so these cannot be harvested.

[2:04:17] And sooner or later, you know, when they mature out,

[2:04:21] you know, hopefully in the next, you know, three

[2:04:23] to five years, the spat will be coming off of those and,

[2:04:26] and flowing out into Eastern or Eastern Bay

[2:04:29] and attaching out there on, on some of the other beds

[2:04:34] that have not been that lucky.

[2:04:36] So, you know, I think it's an investment in the future.

[2:04:38] It's, it's like what we do for the farms.

[2:04:41] You know, once, once those oysters mature, we don't have

[2:04:44] to spat on shell anymore.

[2:04:46] We move more towards, you know, helping other bar,

[2:04:50] other oyster beds.

[2:04:52] So Mr.

[2:04:54] Abel, you can be Harvested.

[2:04:56] Yeah. Correct. These can't be right.

[2:04:58] Mr. Abel, can you explain the process

[2:05:00] for our viewers on how do you do all this?

[2:05:05] So you buy the spat from Horn Point,

[2:05:08] So Correct.

[2:05:09] So no, not from Horn Point.

[2:05:11] So what we did, we, we went out

[2:05:13] and got the community involved first.

[2:05:16] Okay. And their donations, we will accumulate,

[2:05:21] we're a nonprofit, we're Midshore Community

[2:05:26] Foundation is our sponsor.

[2:05:29] So we work with them, we'll take the money

[2:05:31] and then we'll buy them from a grower, not Horn Point.

[2:05:36] It's actually seed to shock if you wanted to know that.

[2:05:41] Seed to shock. Correct.

[2:05:42] There's a, there's a same company that's doing

[2:05:46] the seeding in Eastern Bay for the state of Maryland. So

[2:05:51] You're, you're not putting them in tanks.

[2:05:54] They're grown in tanks for the fat to go on the,

[2:05:56] they're grown in tanks, they're Shell

[2:05:58] Is in, they've already done that.

[2:06:00] That's correct. They've already done that for you?

[2:06:02] That's correct. That's correct.

[2:06:07] And how big are they when you put 'em on the barge?

[2:06:10] Are they dime size or?

[2:06:12] No, microscopic size. Microscopic size.

[2:06:16] But this past April we did go down

[2:06:18] and we scuba dive down.

[2:06:21] Oh. Took samples from our last planting.

[2:06:24] We're very happy with the results we've talked,

[2:06:28] we will be taking that data

[2:06:30] and presenting it to Noah as well as

[2:06:36] ORP and kind of helping us assess that.

[2:06:39] But we're very happy.

[2:06:40] We've seen three, four oyster real oysters on that are

[2:06:45] that used to be spatter now oysters, one

[2:06:48] and a half to two inch size oysters.

[2:06:50] That's great. So it's, it's working.

[2:06:55] How many people have been involved in the program with,

[2:06:58] with, with you guys and, and raising the money?

[2:07:02] There's a handful, like five.

[2:07:04] But you mean how many people?

[2:07:05] But, but there's a, again, there's

[2:07:09] over 70 families.

[2:07:12] Okay. That's the number I was looking for

[2:07:14] And probably 20 to 25 others that are involved,

[2:07:18] but just want information.

[2:07:21] Okay. How, and that is about 22%

[2:07:25] of the homeowners on the Y River. Okay.

[2:07:30] How, how deep is the, are the oysters in,

[2:07:35] how, how deep would the water

[2:07:36] Now the, the perfect depth is 15 to 18 feet.

[2:07:41] I didn't know that. That's interesting.

[2:07:44] Alright. Why is that the sweet spot?

[2:07:47] I'm Sorry, what's that? Is that, that's

[2:07:48] the sweet spot for

[2:07:50] Well that's, that's recommended. That's what

[2:07:51] You got. That's what you

[2:07:52] Got.

[2:07:53] That came from the DNRN. Ah, yeah. And, and Noah

[2:07:57] Actually.

[2:07:58] Right. Which we're not going to do.

[2:08:01] So the, the locations are determined by the DNR.

[2:08:05] We are not picking those locations comes from side scan

[2:08:10] information that came from Noah so that we,

[2:08:15] that we, and they know that we're replacing the spa

[2:08:20] and Shell is suitable for growth and, and success.

[2:08:26] So because it's a sanctuary are are they going

[2:08:29] to allow you to turn them up

[2:08:34] after a few years to get the sediment off

[2:08:36] of them to bring them back up?

[2:08:38] There's a word for that. And I forget what it,

[2:08:40] You only need to do that where the, where the,

[2:08:42] When they're right. When they're adults.

[2:08:44] No, when they're dead. When they're dead.

[2:08:46] You're, you're removing that sediment

[2:08:47] so you can plant new spat onto the shelves.

[2:08:51] So hypothetically if the reef is

[2:08:53] alive, you don't have that set. You,

[2:08:55] You don't have to do that. Right,

[2:08:56] Right.

[2:08:57] So, yeah.

[2:09:00] Alright, well I mean, I guess, you know, I'll make a motion

[2:09:03] that we award the Y River Oyster program

[2:09:06] $50,000 second.

[2:09:10] We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?

[2:09:13] Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye.

[2:09:16] Aye. Aye. Opposed? Abstained five.

[2:09:20] Oh, very good. Thank

[2:09:22] You very much. Yes, thank

[2:09:23] You Mr.

[2:09:24] Abel. I was, there's another program

[2:09:28] that our people are doing

[2:09:30] Where They're, they're putting

[2:09:34] The baskets.

[2:09:35] Yeah, yeah. You gotta have enough salinity.

[2:09:37] So like in the river you get up too much fresh water,

[2:09:40] you know, he's down by the mouth of the river,

[2:09:42] So, so he gets enough salinity. Yeah.

[2:09:44] And I'm sure he gets, you know, you're

[2:09:45] Talking about the baskets.

[2:09:46] Yeah, It's a great program.

[2:09:50] It's the MGO program primarily it,

[2:09:55] it's an educational program

[2:09:56] so outta each basket you're getting a, a small number

[2:10:00] of spat actually.

[2:10:01] So Sure.

[2:10:03] Rivers estimates that you're gonna get 250

[2:10:06] spat out of each basket. We did

[2:10:11] Millions, 20 million.

[2:10:13] Right. So. Right.

[2:10:15] It's it, but it's a great program and I fully support it.

[2:10:19] And then you can bottom leasing where you can,

[2:10:21] somebody can basically rent

[2:10:24] The acreage And acres

[2:10:25] and just put the baskets on the bottom

[2:10:27] or float 'em, you know, it just depends on where they are

[2:10:29] and what the salinity's doing. So, yeah.

[2:10:32] Yep. How many folks do you think did the basket

[2:10:34] program just guessing?

[2:10:37] I, I, I couldn't guess. Goodness.

[2:10:39] What, what number I throw out might be Yeah, totally off

[2:10:43] QAC, channel seven did a piece on

[2:10:45] and jumping by the name of Bill who, who

[2:10:49] raises oysters from the baskets office peer.

[2:10:52] And he's got a total of 12

[2:10:55] and they start a spat in a small little basket and,

[2:10:58] and then they progressively get older.

[2:11:00] You're seeing an oyster that's four years old

[2:11:03] that's grown on the bottom of the bay

[2:11:05] and his are the same size after a year and a half.

[2:11:08] So the water clarity around his peer is amazing. Grass.

[2:11:12] The nutrients or something. Huh?

[2:11:14] The nutrients are on a higher level.

[2:11:17] I, I would recommend that you, that you, yeah.

[2:11:19] Watch that segment on QAC, channel seven.

[2:11:22] It's fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.

[2:11:25] Thank you. Well,

[2:11:26] You know, I, I think that the five

[2:11:29] of us up here sitting here, you know, did a lot

[2:11:31] for the farms and I think this is another way, you know,

[2:11:35] you know, the farms are in great shape

[2:11:37] and we, we will continue with that.

[2:11:39] But if we can get the Y River to explode with oysters

[2:11:43] and then move away from it, I think, you know, that's,

[2:11:45] that's a, that's a good thing for everybody. Good thing

[2:11:48] For everybody.

[2:11:49] Honestly, I'm surprised that you're the only

[2:11:51] ones that have approached us.

[2:11:53] Well, they've raised the money. That's what I'm saying.

[2:11:55] You know, they, they, they have the skin in the game

[2:11:57] and, you know, almost at a two to one rate.

[2:11:59] And I think that that's commendable by far.

[2:12:03] So, thank you Bruce. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.

[2:12:05] Thank you. Thank you for saying be the last man. Yeah.

[2:12:08] Thank you. At least it wasn't worth nothing.

[2:12:10] That's a, a good thing.

[2:12:11] Alright, well, no press of public comment. Nothing to read.

[2:12:15] We're we're good to go. So, round table.

[2:12:19] You wanna go, boss? Yeah.

[2:12:21] So all the high schoolers are graduating this week

[2:12:25] for Queen Anne County and Ken Island High School.

[2:12:28] So to all of the graduating seniors,

[2:12:31] we're all very proud of all of you.

[2:12:33] So congratulations and go do great things.

[2:12:36] Number three, Go past me,

[2:12:40] Patrick, you ready? Got

[2:12:44] Anything?

[2:12:45] I've been approached strangely, not strangely, by a number

[2:12:49] of teenagers asking if we would

[2:12:54] do a mental health town hall,

[2:12:59] which I was really, I'm,

[2:13:03] you know, I'm taking it seriously.

[2:13:05] Okay. So I'll I'll let you guys know. Yeah.

[2:13:08] I'm not sure what, how it would work.

[2:13:10] Would it be at the high school?

[2:13:11] Would it be at the fire department?

[2:13:16] And their thoughts are is that it should be over the summer,

[2:13:21] because if you wait till school, then if anything comes out

[2:13:24] of it that's proactive, we'd like to give the school time

[2:13:29] to, to think about it and implement it.

[2:13:32] Sure. And the, the yellow card program

[2:13:36] that's being done at Talbot is the gold standard.

[2:13:39] So we'd like

[2:13:41] to encourage the public school to look into that.

[2:13:44] Awesome. So cool. You ready, coach?

[2:13:48] Yes, sir. So,

[2:13:49] transportation planning meeting tomorrow at five

[2:13:51] 30 at the Ken Island Library.

[2:13:53] Residents can review the draft region now

[2:13:57] 2027 Transportation Improvement Program and provide comment.

[2:14:01] This plan aligns with the MO

[2:14:04] Consolidated Transportation program.

[2:14:07] Juneteenth Festival is coming up for Canard on June 13th.

[2:14:10] It starts at 8:00 AM with a Father's Day haircuts

[2:14:14] and a continental breakfast followed

[2:14:16] by the parade at 10 o'clock.

[2:14:17] Grayville Community Center's also doing the Juneteenth

[2:14:21] 19th or the 13th? Where'd you say?

[2:14:23] June 13th. Okay. For the Canard Festival. Okay.

[2:14:26] Graceville Community Center's also having a Juneteenth

[2:14:29] celebration on the 19th from four to eight.

[2:14:34] We celebrated Emergency Medical Systems week last week.

[2:14:38] And congratulations to Sierra Gardner named BLS Clinician.

[2:14:42] That's basic life support of the year.

[2:14:45] And Sarah Tory was the Advanced Life

[2:14:48] Support clinician of the year.

[2:14:51] There's still time to review, there's still time to,

[2:15:01] there's actually a few days still left over.

[2:15:03] Jim, if you don't mind.

[2:15:04] The Shrink Rack program is accepting bags at the

[2:15:09] Grayville Transfer Station,

[2:15:10] and you can receive your bag from West Marine, either one

[2:15:14] of our libraries, ACE Hardware Stevensville,

[2:15:18] the town Hall building in Centerville.

[2:15:21] Just as a reminder, you have to take the zippers

[2:15:23] and the vents off.

[2:15:26] And then last I want to share the fact that I got to attend

[2:15:31] yesterday's Maryland State two, a baseball game

[2:15:35] where Ken Island High School, varsity baseball

[2:15:40] competed against Hereford for the two-way State Classic.

[2:15:44] They lost three to two with two outs in the bottom

[2:15:46] of the seventh inning on a,

[2:15:49] a walk off a blooper into right field.

[2:15:51] But this is the first time in 18 years that

[2:15:55] at a Queen Ance County high school baseball team has

[2:15:58] attended the state playoffs.

[2:16:00] So kudos to those young men.

[2:16:02] There was actually three freshmen on the team,

[2:16:05] so very, very deep.

[2:16:07] But I, I wanna attribute the success

[2:16:09] of the baseball programs at both our high schools

[2:16:12] to the youth baseball programs

[2:16:14] that are feeders into those programs.

[2:16:17] We're turning out some great kids that are playing the game,

[2:16:20] so kudos to Jack Cheney, the coaching staff

[2:16:25] for the Ken Island High School boys varsity baseball team.

[2:16:28] And of course, the young men that fought very, very hard

[2:16:31] to get to where they were last night

[2:16:33] and just could make it happen in the two outs.

[2:16:37] Runner on first two balls, two strikes,

[2:16:41] and the next pitch.

[2:16:43] Just a blooper in the right field. And, and Hereford won.

[2:16:45] Played a good game. They won on a walk off,

[2:16:47] but kudos to those boys

[2:16:49] and I look forward to watching them come in the future.

[2:16:51] I think they're only graduating two or three seniors

[2:16:54] and they have two freshman starters.

[2:16:56] So this is gonna be a great program. Great job boys.

[2:16:59] And we look forward to watching you guys do it.

[2:17:00] And again, next year. That's all I have.

[2:17:04] I I, I don't have anything to add,

[2:17:05] but you may want to give the lacrosse team a

[2:17:07] Shout out to.

[2:17:08] Yeah, oh yeah. A also too, the lacrosse team, they went

[2:17:10] to their, their state championship game.

[2:17:13] They fell short as well.

[2:17:15] But again, and making it to the,

[2:17:18] the state championship game huge for all the school,

[2:17:20] all the, the two A schools in the state of Maryland

[2:17:23] and make it to that championship game, win it or lose it.

[2:17:26] It's a huge accomplishment.

[2:17:28] So absolutely to Bobby Willie and his coaching staff

[2:17:31] and the Ken Island boys varsity lacrosse team.

[2:17:34] Very good. Yep.

[2:17:37] Good. I just wanna give a shout out for the senior summit,

[2:17:40] you know, ah,

[2:17:44] you gotta love our seniors.

[2:17:45] That's all I got to say. I appreciate everything they do.

[2:17:47] And they had over 850 people show up. Food is great.

[2:17:51] Event was great. Great weather. I'm very, very proud of 'em.

[2:17:55] I'm happy to sit on that committee with them. And with that,

[2:18:01] Make a motion to adjourn.

[2:18:02] Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Thank you very much.

County Commissioners Meeting || 05/26/2026

Transcript