[0:03] Good evening everyone and welcome to the August 10th mayor and town council

[0:07] meeting for Sykesville. Today um is August 10th and we will call the meeting

[0:11] to order at 7:02 and uh stand for the pledge of allegiance followed by a brief

[0:16] moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[0:22] United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation

[0:27] under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. That moment of silence.

[0:43] Thanks everybody.

[0:47] All right. So, the mayor's power is out and um I'm sure I'm not the only one,

[0:53] but you get you get a beach hair mayor for the night and uh this is uh without

[0:58] a blow dryer. Okay. >> So, is mine.

[1:02] » Yes. [laughter] Thank you for that. Thank you for that.

[1:06] So, our first order of business is public comments. Do we have anyone

[1:09] signed up? >> No one signed up for comment. That being

[1:12] said, we'll move on to our consent agenda, which this evening is inclusive

[1:15] of the minutes from July 13th's meeting and the reappoint of Paul Miller to the

[1:20] board of zoning appeals for a three-year term expiring August 2029. Are there any

[1:25] requests from council to um uh make any were there any amendments to the minutes

[1:31] before we move on? Yes. And everybody here at the table is aware of that? Yes.

[1:35] Okay. So, that being said, um if unless there's any concerns or questions, we'll

[1:39] keep this as a consent agenda and ask for a motion to approve.

[1:42] » So, move. >> Thank you. [clears throat] Second.

[1:44] » Thank you. There's a motion to approve. The consent agenda is made by councilman

[1:48] Dyer and uh seconded by a councilwoman a picket. All in favor, please say I. I.

[1:56] Any opposed? All right. So, that is accepted and uh made part of history

[2:02] forever unanimously. We move on to new business, right?

[2:06] » Yes. Thank you. Move on to new business which is the proclamation for the house

[2:10] plant capital of Maryland. Um and I we will dis disc consider and discuss and

[2:16] uh act on this proclamation and I will now read it. House plant capital of

[2:21] Maryland proclamation. Whereas Botanagal has become a destination for house plant

[2:26] enthusiasts welcoming visitors from across Maryland and neighboring states

[2:31] to the town of Sykesville. And whereas through workshops, educational classes

[2:36] and community events, Botanagal promotes corticulture, plant education and

[2:42] community engagement. And whereas house plants contribute to health and wellness

[2:46] and a stronger connection to nature and Botanagal's foundation is horicultural

[2:51] therapy in horicultural therapy helps make those benefits accessible to the

[2:55] community. And whereas Botanagal is a woman-owned business on psych schools

[3:00] main street and Hannah Brookfield owner is a certified horiculturalist and

[3:06] certified horicultural therapist. And whereas the town of Sykesville continues

[3:11] to champion unique small businesses that strengthen Main Street, encourage

[3:16] tourism, and foster community pride. And whereas this designation as house plant

[3:22] capital of Maryland helps establish Sykesville as Maryland's premier

[3:26] destination for houseplant lovers while supporting local businesses and a

[3:31] vibrant downtown. And whereas recognizing Sykesville as the house

[3:35] plant capital of Maryland celebrates entrepreneurship, horicultural

[3:39] education, the town's commitment to creating memorable experiences for

[3:44] residents and visitors alike. Now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor

[3:49] and town council of the town of Sykesville that Sykesville is the house

[3:53] plant capital of Maryland and residents and visitors are encouraged to visit

[3:58] Botanagal and the other shops in town to enjoy house plants and the health and

[4:03] wellness benefits that they provide. Uh is the council ready to uh have a motion

[4:09] to pro uh approve this proclamation? >> I have so move.

[4:13] » Thank you councilwoman. >> Second. Thank you, council president.

[4:17] Any need for debate or combo? I didn't think so. All in favor of uh this

[4:22] proclamation calling Sykesville, Maryland the house plant

[4:28] capital of the state, please say I. >> I. Any opposed?

[4:32] » Fantastic. Unanimously approved. >> And I saw there's an event on Saturday

[4:37] 12 to 4. Is there a specific time frame where you're going to be presenting

[4:40] anything or >> We are definitely going to either be

[4:43] repeating this proclamation. Um or I'm hoping that maybe we might

[4:48] have a surprise speaker for it, but that's totally up in the air and I'm

[4:52] just going to say that again for the second time staff and see if we can't

[4:57] get a special person to come and read it. Otherwise, no matter what me,

[5:01] » it's not you. [laughter] >> No, it's not you. You are not You are

[5:04] not second in line. Um, but I will tell you that uh that event is going to take

[5:10] place on a closed Oklahoma Avenue and um uh closed to traffic on Oklahoma Avenue

[5:16] and it's going to be lots of fun, lots of fun activities and um a chance for um

[5:22] a celebration and uh and selling lots of house plants and enjoying one another's

[5:27] community. So, uh time for uh the council's participation for for for our

[5:32] participation in this um proclamation will be soon like to the beginning to

[5:38] the start of it. I have to confirm things with with Hannah.

[5:42] » It is August 22nd. >> August. Yes. Oh, apologies. Thanks.

[5:45] » Sorry about that. Yeah. Um okay. So that brings us to more announcements and

[5:51] reports. And I'll begin with the fact that our next mayor and town council

[5:54] meeting will be held on Monday, September 14th, 2026. We have volunteer

[5:59] opportunities galore. They exist on the historic district commission, the

[6:04] planning commission, parks and recreation commission, police auxiliary,

[6:08] and we are seeking additional crossing guards. Uh if anyone is interested in

[6:12] volunteering with the town, please email townsville.net

[6:16] for more info. That brings us to our staff updates and Joe says he's got a

[6:20] page worth of them. So, let's hit it. >> Lots of updates. So, I'm going to go

[6:24] ahead and say sorry for the uh the the uh the time bet this today.

[6:29] » Um I did want to address right out of the gate the u I guess the let's just

[6:32] say the number of unusually strong storms that have been rolling through

[6:35] the area. Uh we have seen several comments about tree trimming and things

[6:39] along those lines. And I I just want to report that, you know, the town did get

[6:42] a little more aggressive this year, especially after the July 4th storms um

[6:46] uh to to I guess better get a better handle on road tree trimming or tree

[6:50] trimming tree trimming along roadways. >> Um one of the first roads we did was

[6:54] Sandusky Road and just tonight another large branch fell on Sandusky. So tree

[6:59] trimming can help reduce risk, but it does not eliminate risk. So, anytime a

[7:03] significant storm does come through, there's always going to be the potential

[7:06] for uh for debris in the road or branches that fall. Um, also want to

[7:11] make the public aware that BG does have a tree and vegetation maintenance

[7:14] program. So, again, they are they go around and trim around their own lines.

[7:18] It's not something the town does. It's not something, you know, our contractors

[7:21] typically do. Um, so again, it's we we'd like to we try to stay on top of it and

[7:27] we try to eliminate as much risk as possible, but again, it's there's always

[7:30] going to be the potential for for something like this to happen,

[7:32] » right? >> So again, we apologize for everybody

[7:34] that's without power tonight. Uh, now uh that being said, uh, several uh, town

[7:40] related updates. Uh, want to make council aware that staff has been

[7:44] working with our consultant on our zoning ordinance rewrite. Again, that's

[7:47] been a process that's been ongoing for quite some time now. Uh we are uh

[7:50] finally to a point where we're about ready to ask council to refer that

[7:55] document that's we've been working on over to the planning commission so we

[7:58] can actually start the public process of vetting that. Um it is a rather

[8:02] substantial, let's just say update to our zoning and subdivision regulations,

[8:06] mainly our subdivision regulations. If anybody's actually taken the time to

[8:09] look at what our subdivision code looks like right now, it's by basically 10

[8:12] pages within our code. That is dramatically under uh let's call it

[8:17] underregulated. Um, so we've taken a lot of time to try to get that um, uh,

[8:22] beefed up and also mirror what the county actually requires. Um, so again,

[8:26] we partner with the county for a lot of our technical reviews. So again, if our

[8:29] process mirrors theirs, uh, it just makes that process a lot a lot easier, a

[8:34] lot more uh, cohesive. Um, so certainly probably I'm thinking in the October or

[8:38] one of the October meetings, potentially in one of the September meetings, uh,

[8:42] we'll have our consultant give a very brief presentation to council to at

[8:45] least get that ball rolling. uh then it'll be referred to planning commission

[8:48] and planning commission will kind of take it from there and when they're

[8:50] comfortable with it they'll refer it back to council obviously for adoption.

[8:54] Um I also want to mention that Carol County has been working on or is about

[8:58] to work on an update to the freedom master plan. Um and again there is an

[9:03] online survey that's available for anybody that lives in the Freedom area

[9:06] or visits the Freedom area to take the survey and provide feedback on what you

[9:10] want to see as part of that update. So again, we want to give uh Carol County a

[9:14] plug there because they help us out uh quite a bit uh with their planning

[9:17] staff. So again, anything we can do to encourage participation in that process

[9:21] um would be greatly appreciated. >> It does have some false advertisement

[9:24] that it's only going to take a few minutes. It took me a lot longer, like

[9:28] 15. >> Depends on how much feedback you

[9:30] » Well, I gave a lot. >> Yeah, that's good.

[9:32] » Thank you. Um also on the the planning route uh here in the next few meetings

[9:37] we'll also have u an update to the water resource elements of our um

[9:42] comprehensive plan. So again this is something because the town uh really is

[9:47] served water and sewer by Carol County. Carol County takes the bulk of that

[9:51] information updates it themselves and then we kind of adopt it you know based

[9:54] on what they've seen and what they've updated. Um, uh, every community goes

[9:58] through their own process, uh, uh, you know, with that type of update because

[10:02] most of them have their own water and sewer systems. However, because we're

[10:05] pretty much reliant on the county outside of storm water, um, it's it's

[10:09] really, okay, county, you tell us what we need to we we need to update.

[10:13] » Um, so again, because it is a a comprehensive plan amendment, it does

[10:17] require a public hearing at council. Uh, so again, we'll begin advertising that

[10:21] shortly and uh, make sure that council has all that information before we're

[10:24] ready to adopt. That'll that'll probably be the second meeting in September.

[10:27] » Okay. Thank you. >> Um, speaking of storm water, both of our

[10:31] storm water projects are, let's just call it, substantially complete. Uh, the

[10:34] one on Norwood is is fully complete. Central Avenue, we're still waiting on a

[10:38] a backwater lid for the u uh the uh the inlet that's that's there at the corner.

[10:43] But both of them are operating. Um, so again, I've actually been out now in two

[10:47] storms watching storm water flow freely into both of those structures. uh the

[10:51] amount of storm water that comes down Church Street is significantly uh less

[10:54] than what it had been in the past. Again, we'll continue to monitor to make

[10:58] sure that, you know, we don't have some of the same issues that we've had um at

[11:01] least at that one inlet at the end of Church Street. Um so, that's all good

[11:06] news there. >> Um see, what do I want to do next? Um,

[11:11] we did get some uh some feedback from we uh we were able to work with a a

[11:16] consultant uh or a consulting uh firm on uh the speed cameras on Springfield

[11:22] Avenue. Um, you know, again, there had been some back and forth with several

[11:25] different companies and we finally got one to come out and actually do the

[11:28] study. Uh they they had a device that was out monitoring the roadway for over

[11:33] a week or I think it was a week, it was seven days [clears throat]

[11:36] and they they it basically came substantially lower from a uh number of

[11:42] citations that it would actually pick up than uh they would authorize a a more

[11:46] permanent solution there. So again, they basically told us that, you know, you

[11:49] just don't have enough citations that would justify actually adding a speed

[11:53] camera on Springfield Avenue. Um, we did reach back out to them to see if there

[11:57] was other areas in town that could potentially be evaluated that were still

[12:01] within the radius of uh um Sykesville Middle School. Uh, and I believe they

[12:05] have agreed to do that. Uh, but again, I think the number of citations that are

[12:09] required uh to have one of those cameras installed is I think we're still going

[12:13] to fall well below what that >> according to the vendor themselves.

[12:16] » According to the vendor, that's correct. >> Yeah.

[12:18] » So, what are our options like what because we definitely hear anecdotally a

[12:24] lot of concern. And I know when I walk that corridor, it's

[12:28] » yeah, >> it just feels like people are going

[12:30] » I I think the only other thing and again um you know again there's probably lots

[12:35] of options that we can do if the town wants to purchase our own speed camera

[12:37] but again that comes with its own uh uh potential limitations. You know again we

[12:42] have to have staff time to actually monitor all that and again that would

[12:45] you know potentially make it not not worth it. Um, we still have this uh safe

[12:50] streets for all grant that has been u let's just call it on my radar for for

[12:54] quite a while now. We did just get an extension on that grant. So, we have

[12:57] plenty of time to actually complete that project. Uh, one of the things that that

[13:00] grant can do is actually uh evaluate intersections and figure out if there

[13:04] are uh spot improvements that can be made to make uh more let's just call

[13:09] pedestrian friendly uh improvements. Um, and again, typically with those that

[13:14] includes bumpouts and uh uh things like that around the intersection, and

[13:19] typically that does slow traffic down around those types of intersections. Um,

[13:24] so that's always an option. Now, again, this is a planning grant. It's not a

[13:26] capital grant. So, again, it would uh potentially show us what could happen at

[13:30] those uh those intersections, but again, the uh the actual improvement would have

[13:33] to be something that either the town would look for additional funding for um

[13:37] or just pay for through our capital process. Yeah, I don't know that I I

[13:41] would say we need to do the speed camera, but definitely

[13:45] » some kind of speed >> something that we can do to just ensure

[13:49] Miller Cooper and this and the middle school are

[13:52] » more at, you know, that we're more at ease with our kids being in the in that

[13:56] space. >> I feel that way about Spout Hill, but

[13:58] I'd be anxious to see um what the find the real findings would be

[14:03] » in the immediate fix or the immediate response to it.

[14:08] Can't we do one of those signs that we have up one Oklahoma that will blink

[14:12] your >> blink the speed?

[14:14] » Sure. >> Yeah. I mean that that's always an

[14:15] option. We can do that just >> be relatively inexpensive as a

[14:20] » Can I interject? >> Sure. Absolutely.

[14:22] » Well, we have two speed trailers that we deploy all over the town. So, and we

[14:26] often deploy those on Springfield, >> particularly right before school starts

[14:30] and during school. So we can we can easily deploy them which you know

[14:34] records the data of all cars traveling through that zone and alerts people that

[14:39] you know they're violating [snorts] a speed limit.

[14:42] » Is there something that you feel like would be from your experience and I mean

[14:47] in this in this space that you feel like we could do that could help there? Well,

[14:53] engineering, as Joe mentioned, is one way, but uh education and enforcement,

[14:56] it's continuing to get the word out that uh you know, the speeds are high there

[15:01] and and have our officers focus on on that corridor and conduct enforcement

[15:06] activity. That's that's the way you slow people

[15:09] » or the rumple strips or something to kind of say, hey, in this zone,

[15:14] » yeah, >> you know, like an awareness piece.

[15:18] » Those speed humps come with their own set of set of issues. Um, but that would

[15:22] be something you would all have to discuss. But

[15:24] » she mentioned rumble strips. I'm not I >> Those are the portable ones that you

[15:28] » No, no, no. Um, if you driven up 97 recently, they just

[15:32] » at um at the two intersections, they have these strips. They're not speed

[15:35] bumps. They just made a lot of noise. They make you kind of And that alone I I

[15:40] you know, I noticed myself. I went from speed limit down to below the speed

[15:43] limit cuz I heard a bump. Well, because then you're getting a warning that

[15:46] you're in a school zone and then kind of coincides with the sign and the and the

[15:49] speed limit like right there. >> What I'm saying is even if you're at the

[15:53] speed limit you hear, you kind of slow down. Well, if you're over, you

[15:56] hopefully slow down even more and >> they won't impede traffic. They're just

[16:00] they're only about that wide, but they're enough to make a sound.

[16:04] » Yeah, that's more of what I was, you know, either divots in the

[16:07] » They've proven to be effective. >> Yeah. And I and I think with the

[16:09] potential grant funding and evaluating intersections, you know, this could be

[16:12] one of the one of the options that could be implemented.

[16:16] » And didn't we also weren't we also speaking that we were surprised at the

[16:19] speed limit that was allowed on Springfield at that and maybe there's a

[16:24] way we can drop the speed limit in that space.

[16:27] » Yeah. And again, I think I think uh if I'm not mistaken, Obre might be 30 miles

[16:31] hour as well. >> It's 25. Sorry.

[16:34] » It's very it's a very hard 25. >> Don't want to confuse the public. So I

[16:37] think so Springfield Avenue might be the only 30 mph road in all of town. Um you

[16:43] know I think the last time we had a conversation with state highways they

[16:45] you know they basically said hey we let the locals kind of set the set the speed

[16:48] limit there. So if that is something that the

[16:50] » so that's an immediate something we could do start and then look at whether

[16:55] even cuz I think I do like the rumbles I mean just the rumble strips that just

[17:00] you know at the beginning coming into it and then coming up that hill to just be

[17:04] like >> you know before the crosswalks and space

[17:08] to just say hey >> sure I would say this on 97 there's no

[17:13] cars at the intersection no cars around me but I find myself when I go over them

[17:17] I slow Mhm.

[17:19] » No, I don't even need to cuz I'm not ex But that's the point. It's like I heard

[17:22] a bump. Oh, take my foot off the gas. Oh, I'm doing I'm doing five below the

[17:26] speed limit. Must speed back up now. >> It works.

[17:29] » Mhm. >> So, we'll continue looking at options

[17:32] for for Springfield Avenue. Definitely. >> Thank you.

[17:35] » Uh well, speaking of around Springfield Avenue, uh our project on Cooper Drive

[17:40] to improve the parking lot and some of the storm water in Cooper Park. Um that

[17:44] project is um let's moving through the phases of approval from a uh from a

[17:49] review standpoint in Carol County. Uh we anticipate getting that if not later

[17:53] this month, certainly early in September. Um so that that project will

[17:57] be ready to bid and hopefully go to construction by October so that by the

[18:00] time we hit next spring um we have a nice new parking lot so that people

[18:04] don't have to park in the basically in the ditch along Cooper Drive any longer.

[18:08] Um and then lastly, uh quick update on the station. Uh nothing official on on

[18:14] opening dates. So I don't I'm not going to know that. [laughter] Um I will say

[18:18] that, you know, they are making progress. They just had their rough in

[18:21] electrical and framing inspections done. Uh they had a partial uh plumbing

[18:25] inspection that got approved. Um so again, they're they're making progress.

[18:29] It's just a little slow going and they're making sure they're I guess

[18:32] dotting all the eyes and crossing all the tees out there.

[18:34] » It's definitely like the most common uh question. It is

[18:39] » in town as to when it's like >> like we don't we're not talking roads or

[18:45] construction or even power. It's when when is Lib's Grill opening.

[18:49] » Non-citizens flag me down and going hey [laughter]

[18:53] I don't even live in our town but I want >> I want when's Libs Grill going to open

[18:59] and where are they going to park? >> Yes.

[19:01] » Those are the >> they go they go hand in hand. Yeah.

[19:05] those questions. >> And uh that was the last update I have.

[19:09] » Awesome. Thank you. >> The entire page.

[19:11] » Wow, that wasn't that bad actually from a timing perspective. There you go.

[19:15] That's kind of wearing out there. The pen. So give it a try.

[19:19] » That is my pen running out. >> It's um

[19:23] » too many Jen John. >> I had it in here and I just dropped it.

[19:28] » Uh that brings us to our treasurer's report, please. Thank you, Jen.

[19:34] So, uh, July is like most of all, the beginning of the new year, so, uh, we're

[19:40] in between with the revenue, so there's not a whole lot of revenue.

[19:43] » Um, but I will report that we just got over $500,000 of, uh, property tax

[19:48] revenue, and then we're getting the county agreement, which should be around

[19:51] 250,000, but I'll report on that next month.

[19:53] » Excellent. >> And then the expenses are the everyday

[19:57] running the town expenses. There's nothing too. It's pretty much the same

[20:02] as 2025 kind of >> drum mundane stuff.

[20:06] » It's a rough July. It's always a rough July.

[20:10] » Well, we appreciate mundane. >> Yeah, insuranceances and all that

[20:14] » once in a while. >> Memberships, all that's all due.

[20:17] » Any questions for you, Treasure? >> Nope.

[20:21] » Yeah, I was pretty bored reading it. I I down here fell asleep. Yeah, I looked

[20:24] and was [clears throat] talking to Joe and I'm like I really don't know to to

[20:27] report other than I'm excited that we just got income tax revenue that I'm so

[20:31] glad you shared that >> I didn't know it had come in yet cuz it

[20:35] » it's coming right now. It's pending. It's over 500,000 property tax revenue.

[20:40] » Property tax revenue. I just said income tax [laughter] first. But yeah.

[20:44] » Okay. Good. Thank you. >> Thanks.

[20:45] » All right. Um keep up the good news. >> Um brings us to our public safety

[20:50] report, Chief, for July 6th to August 2. Yes, ma'am. All right.

[20:53] » And I will try not to bore you with my report.

[20:55] » I feel like August 6 or uh July 6th was like forever ago. When I went back and

[21:00] read, I was like, "Oh my god, the 4th of July and the storm, all of that." Thank

[21:04] you. >> Although boring is good in police.

[21:06] » Yes. Yes, it is. >> All right. Well, we'll talk about uh as

[21:09] you said, the public safety report covering July 6th to August 2nd. A

[21:12] little under a month. As you can see, a lot of total events over a thousand

[21:18] 1,112 to be exact, which is kind of like our barometer. If there's more than a

[21:23] thousand events during a month, that's that's a busy month.

[21:26] » U but nearly half of them were patrol checks. So, um as you can see, community

[21:31] policing is up thanks to some of our newest officers who are doing a lot of

[21:35] good community policing reports as have you as you've seen. Uh really nothing

[21:40] else. I did want to mention house checks. There was only five during this

[21:43] period, but we have done a lot of those throughout the summer because of course

[21:46] the people travel and that's a service that we provide to people. you know,

[21:50] anytime they're away from their home, they come in, drop off a a form, and we

[21:54] we conduct uh checks of their house while they're away. So, um but that's

[21:58] been pretty steady throughout the throughout the summer.

[22:02] » What does that entail when you do a house check? Is it just a driveby or do

[22:05] you get a patrol check? The officer are encouraged to get out if they see

[22:08] anything unusual. You know, usually they let us know if there's going to be

[22:11] lights on or if there what cars are parked in the driveway, if there's

[22:14] anybody visiting. So, you we expect the officers to check, you know, I just

[22:18] drive by and say, "Oh, it looks good." You know, so

[22:20] » Lieutenant Kilgore scared the hell out of me one night cuz [clears throat] he

[22:24] thought I left that morning and I wasn't leaving till the next morning. And he

[22:27] was out on the front porch with his flashlight and I was like, I'm home.

[22:32] » So, yes, they do get out of their car. Okay.

[22:34] » Yeah. [laughter] >> So, it's just not a driveby. That looks

[22:36] good. >> It's not supposed to be. So, yeah.

[22:38] Right. >> Okay. Good service. Thank you.

[22:41] » Absolutely. Uh, as you can see, there were a lot of reports written during

[22:45] this period, 19 to be exact. If you have any questions about any of those, be

[22:49] more than happy to answer those for you. >> So, Chief, I have a question. Um, just

[22:53] kind of a followup from the trends we were checking out when we started

[22:57] talking about the assisted living potential across the street um across

[23:01] 32. noticing a couple more calls on this time again and not sure if maybe it

[23:07] would be helpful at some level of interval to just kind of keep us updated

[23:12] as you did before on kind of are are the nursing homes and rehab homes in the

[23:18] community causing extra work or I think your reports seem to indicate they were

[23:24] going down. >> They were going down. Yeah. But I see a

[23:26] couple on this report. So I'm just kind of curious if that's something useful

[23:31] for us to track and be aware of. And >> I also think it's so um uh reliant upon

[23:37] the population. >> Mhm.

[23:39] » That that are there sometimes for only 90 days and um some with more behavioral

[23:44] issues than others. But >> well, one of these is an allegation of

[23:48] staff on patient. >> Yes.

[23:50] » Which is more cons Yeah. Which I mean all of them are concerning.

[23:53] » It is. But I've I've had a I don't mean to contradict you, Councilwoman. I I had

[23:57] had a conversation um with um the new administrator over there. She's still I

[24:03] guess I could still say new. It's been under a year. Um probably closer to

[24:07] seven or eight months. Um and uh very on top of things. And she had mentioned to

[24:12] me that all it takes is for uh and it doesn't have to be someone who is

[24:18] cognitively completely intact to say that this person did this to me. And so

[24:24] it's um when you read it, it seems to be like, okay, well, if somebody is alleged

[24:28] that, >> you know, somebody was that a staff

[24:31] person put their hands on them or something. Um and I'm just thinking

[24:34] about my own mother right now and how sure.

[24:37] » Yeah. So it may be some not that that's a good thing. We want all of the

[24:42] patients to feel comfortable and feel safe, but um but so I'm just throwing

[24:46] that out. >> Well, some the other one I think was

[24:48] patient on patient. >> Yes. Um, so just, you know, it just kind

[24:52] of do we want to keep track of that? Is it something that

[24:56] » I think it's something that maybe we could get a quarterly like if if it

[25:00] starts to become trendy. Yeah. Yeah. >> Sergeant Lacy was actually keeping up on

[25:05] that for us until he left. But >> um, we can pick it back up and give you

[25:10] the report next. >> And especially with the expectation that

[25:13] maybe something more will go on over at Warfield. Yeah. you know, with a similar

[25:18] population. And we're trying to understand the impact on your guy, you

[25:22] know, on your uh staff of of those kinds of things happening within the town.

[25:27] And, >> you know, just does it take away from

[25:30] the needs of the residents of, you know, the citizens in the town and just so

[25:34] we're kind of mindful that you you're getting the resources you guys need to

[25:39] » right on. Sure. >> To support that. So,

[25:41] » absolutely. >> Thank you.

[25:42] » Of course. >> Anything else? Any other questions? I do

[25:46] have one. Um, >> sorry. It's the one of the out of um

[25:52] area calls assist other agencies. >> Um, ends in 7793.

[25:59] » Is that the Manchester one? >> At Old Hanover Road in Westminster,

[26:03] which is >> the officer was on his way to work.

[26:05] » That's what I was asking. Yep. Thanks. >> Thank you, Leo.

[26:11] » That's it. >> I actually have one question. the

[26:15] reckless endangerment case involving explosives on Warfield Avenue.

[26:18] » Since this is Jan January, >> July 6th, that means it was post the

[26:23] celebr celebratory uh illegal activity. >> Um can you tell me more about it?

[26:29] » Yeah, I think it was actually July 12th that it was reported. So, it was

[26:33] sometime after 4th of July. Apparently, uh the persons responsible hadn't had a

[26:38] chance to fire off all their fireworks on the 4th of July. said they decided to

[26:42] do so on the on the 12th. They chose an area over there uh off near Warfield. Uh

[26:49] we got called uh we did find the still smoking uh box of fireworks there. Um

[26:57] our officers called the fire department because of the fact that they were still

[27:00] smoking. We didn't want to handle them or get near them. They were still, you

[27:03] know, potentially unexloded. Uh, and so we we seized them and um destroyed them

[27:11] appropriately, but >> okay.

[27:13] » Yeah, unfortunately weren't able to determine who they were. Nobody was

[27:16] around by the time we got there, but >> they probably waited for the driest day

[27:18] after the rain stopped, too, to shoot the old buildings with the fireworks.

[27:23] » Thank you, Chief. >> Of course. Of course.

[27:25] » Uh, I did want to mention uh two things actually. The power is on in that

[27:30] neighborhood you you asked me about. We'll have to check that for us. So,

[27:33] that's good news. National Night Out was a a huge success and thank you to those

[27:37] of you who who came by to see us. We we did well the uh

[27:42] » Lions Club ran out of hot dogs, of course.

[27:44] » It wasn't No, no, it wasn't you. It was >> But within [laughter] the first hour,

[27:49] » it was fairly quick. >> It was really quick.

[27:51] » It was kind of hard to gauge the size of the crowd, but it was a good crowd. You

[27:53] know, we always have a good turnout there. Very supportive community

[27:56] » uh with all our partners up there. Uh we gave away a lot of stuff. Um so it was a

[28:00] good night. Yeah, very good night. >> Thank you, Chief. Well, and Chief, I

[28:04] think I want to recognize it's not in town, but that's your that's our event.

[28:08] » It is. Yeah, we're the primary us and uh the fire department are the primary

[28:13] sponsors of that. So, >> apparently a long time ago was held here

[28:16] in town. I don't know if anybody here remembers that. One of our parks.

[28:20] » It just wasn't an ideal location for doing that. So, um the the fire

[28:24] department grounds is a perfect location for that. And we have a lot of support

[28:28] there from uh Paula who helps coordinate it from the fire department.

[28:33] She does a lot of that work for us and all we kind of have to do is show up and

[28:37] set up our tent and give away stuff. So it's

[28:39] » and then she doesn't want any credit. She disappears into the crowd every time

[28:43] and Yeah. >> Right. No, she's wonderful. She's

[28:45] wonderful. >> This it was a great event for families.

[28:48] Saw a lot of family with kids and you know a lot of community partners with

[28:53] tables and information getting out. So >> I want the chopper back.

[28:56] » I want MSP's chopper back. >> Used to be good when we had them.

[28:59] » That was three years ago. That was fun. Yeah, it's it's kind of hard to get them

[29:02] to commit. >> Yeah,

[29:03] » they are committed to come into our junior CSI.

[29:05] » Okay, now we're cooking. >> Yeah. So, that's September 26th, if I

[29:08] haven't mentioned that yet. >> Where will they land?

[29:10] » Uh at the middle school. Of course, you have to have the fire department there

[29:13] anytime the helicopter lands. It has to be called a training event. Uh that's

[29:17] how they justify the the expenditure of flying.

[29:21] » Well, they're training a lot of tubies. So,

[29:23] » that's right. >> They might need to land there for real.

[29:26] That's an excellent training opportunity.

[29:27] » It is. Absolutely. Absolutely. And mayor, one last thing. And uh you had

[29:31] mentioned, I think we had corresponded about

[29:34] » the Maryland Highway Safety Office. Yes. >> Would you like me to just go through

[29:38] that real take me one? >> Thank you. I I cut you off from do I

[29:41] disallowed it the last time even though I asked you to come prepare for it.

[29:44] Thank you. >> Of course. Someone had brought up uh our

[29:47] usage of the Maryland Highway Safety Office overtime. I just want to explain

[29:51] that a little bit to you. Each year, uh, Sergeant Slayer applies for these grants

[29:56] through the Maryland Highway Safety Office. And therefore, basically the

[29:59] three pri priorities of the Maryland Highway Safety Office. That's DUI

[30:03] enforcement, distracted driving/ seat belt enforcement, and speed enforcement.

[30:08] So, we get um overtime funds for each one of those categories. So, anytime one

[30:13] of our officers have has to sign up for it while they're off, it's an extra

[30:17] person out working that that that detail. uh they have to sign up and then

[30:21] keep track of their stats and then Sergeant Slareth has to report that back

[30:24] to the Maryland Highways off safety office each year. So for 2025 and this

[30:29] is the the totals we did for DUI enforcement we had 43 vehicle contacts

[30:34] which means basically we stopped 43 vehicles uh during which 53 citations

[30:40] were issued for a total of 27.5 hours. That was the total amount of overtime

[30:47] amount that was was allocated for that for that one category. For distracted

[30:52] driving, we had 56 vehicle contacts, 83 citations were uh given out and about

[30:58] 29.5 hours total. Speed was 65 vehicle contacts, 87 citations, and again about

[31:05] 31.5 hours. >> Okay.

[31:07] » And then for 20 26, we're on a similar path for that. uh it's about the same

[31:12] amount of hours. And so that's Does that explain what the officers are doing out

[31:16] there? Absolutely. Very much so. >> While they're out there on each one of

[31:19] these particular uh priorities, they're actively looking for if they're on DUI

[31:24] enforcement, they're actively looking for DUI violators. If they're on the

[31:28] seat belt enforcement or distracted driving, they're actively looking for

[31:31] people using their cell phones or not having their seatelt on. And speed is,

[31:36] you know, speaks for itself. They're looking for speed violators. And can you

[31:39] explain um you explained it to me privately in an email when I asked this

[31:43] question, but someone else might have the same question. How is the number of

[31:47] uh engagements be less than the number of violations?

[31:51] » Because sometimes multiple violations are observed. If an officer stops

[31:55] somebody for even if it's for speed or or seat belt or or DUI um and they

[32:01] observe other violations during the course of their investigation, it's they

[32:04] have the discretion whether to write multiple citations. Mhm. And is there

[32:08] ever a time um or I guess there is, but how frequently would somebody be um

[32:16] contacted? Would there be a approach and and contact and a violation not um

[32:24] » um I mean that happens with any kind of enforcement. Sometimes we think we see

[32:28] something and we don't. I mean that there's certainly mistakes made, but the

[32:32] officers are all, you know, very very well trained, very good at looking for

[32:36] these violations. So generally I think if they see a violation that's that's

[32:40] what they're stopping them for and that's what the enforcement action is is

[32:43] for. But again we make mistakes. Sometimes it looks like the person may

[32:48] not have their seat belt on and when you stop them oh I had it on officer. It was

[32:52] right here. You know and we didn't see them putting it on at the last second as

[32:55] we're approaching. So that certainly happens.

[32:57] » It is a reminder for us all to >> snap it, buckle it, click it. That's the

[33:01] word. Click it. um before we put the car in reverse or or drive from a public

[33:06] parking lot. >> Sure.

[33:07] » Yeah. >> Absolutely.

[33:08] » Because you never know when Sergeant Schlleth is going to be [laughter]

[33:11] sitting somewhere. >> Absolutely.

[33:14] » Thank you. >> Quick question for these initiatives.

[33:18] They the officer has to say I this my initiative today is going to be seat

[33:23] belt or my initiative is going to be DWI. I don't think they have to say

[33:27] that, but I think as a general rule, as part of their their dialogue, when they

[33:31] approach a vehicle, uh they'll they'll let them know that they're out there

[33:35] working this particular enforcement action during that day, just so the

[33:38] person understands why they were stopped.

[33:40] » Okay. >> Sure.

[33:41] » Because I mean, for a seat belt, that's an easy and then you approach the

[33:45] vehicle and you know that the driver may be possibly intoxicated. Now, you have

[33:51] right something else. >> Sure. Sure. One thing can always lead to

[33:54] to others and often does. >> Well, I do appreciate you explaining

[33:58] that to the council and um uh and to the public, whoever's listening.

[34:02] » Thank [clears throat] you, >> Sandy. Anything else for me?

[34:05] » Not for me. Anyone? >> Great.

[34:07] » Thank you, Chief. >> Thank you.

[34:08] » Appreciate you. >> All right. Uh that brings us to council

[34:14] and commission liaison updates. If there are anyone any that anyone wants to

[34:19] share, start on my right and just start talking if you got something. Yep. Um

[34:24] DSC uh let's see here. We've got the sip on summer coming up on September 19th

[34:30] and tickets and signup geniuses live for volunteers. Uh farmers market is still

[34:36] doing gang busters. I was down there about 9:30 9:45 and people are fighting

[34:41] for parking spaces and >> metaphorically [laughter]

[34:46] not quite not quite but it was coming close. Um let's see. Uh the DSC has

[34:52] completed the design of a new series of town pole banners uh featuring the Great

[34:56] American Main Street Award seal. They're currently in production and will be

[35:00] installed soon. Uh the 7611 Main Street popup is thriving and welcome welcoming

[35:07] new vendors and attracting residents and visitors alike. Uh there was a donation

[35:13] this I think was it this past weekend or several days ago to um

[35:16] » Saturday >> to barrierfree in the amount of uh

[35:19] $4,000 from proceeds from the popup. So >> and 76 cents

[35:24] » and yes and 76 cents. Yes. Thought we'd round up but no.

[35:29] » Yeah. No, that was really that's that's awesome. Just if I can interject, the um

[35:33] » Barrierfree offers services to the neurode divergent adult population um in

[35:38] Carroll County um and across into Howard and and Montgomery, but they come here

[35:42] to Sykesville um and many of them participate in the program uh with funds

[35:48] or at least supplemented funds that are um supplemented by Maryland um Medicaid

[35:55] um through the Department of Rehab Services and um the governor

[36:01] uh new governor's budget for this fiscal year um dramatically slashed a lot of um

[36:08] um funding specifically for the exact type of services that barrierfree

[36:15] provides. And so many of these um uh many of their folks, many of their

[36:20] participants um you know have to come out of pocket otherwise um and don't

[36:26] have the out of pocket. And so Barrier Freeze um owners and operators uh

[36:31] executive director and um director of operations there um don't get paid. They

[36:38] they're they are not taking a uh a paycheck so that these individuals can

[36:42] continue to participate. And when um when downtown sexual connection caught

[36:47] wind of that and paired it nicely with a new popup um so yeah, that was it was a

[36:52] good sense of community and I just wanted everybody to know that's what was

[36:54] going on. Mhm. >> Yeah, the pop-up at 7611 is doing very

[36:58] well and literally it's the kind of place go in every week. There's going to

[37:02] be something different, a lot different. So, it's a good place to go into

[37:06] regularly. And then finally, uh you've probably seen the lighting installation

[37:10] that's um between the downtown Cyell connection building and the Pasco

[37:14] Distillery Building. Um that was a great partnership between the town and the DSC

[37:19] and um provided through the um Main Street improvement program facade

[37:24] improvement funding. So appreciate the town working with us on that.

[37:28] » Yeah, it looks good. >> That's it.

[37:31] » Thank you, Alex. >> All right. Next park meeting is

[37:35] Thursday, August 27th at 7 p.m. The next cinema event is Saturday, September

[37:40] 12th, and we'll be showing The Goonies. >> Yes.

[37:42] » Good one. Classic. as the movie starts at 7:30 at Cooper Park, but come early

[37:47] for a premovie activity starting at 6. Um, I do want to point out that Spark in

[37:52] the town recently installed six interpretive signs on the linear trail

[37:56] um kind of showcasing the natural landscape. It's on the side towards um

[38:00] Ora by the outdoor classroom. So, if you had a chance to check it out yet, I

[38:04] highly recommend it. And then the last thing is that um I wasn't able to attend

[38:08] dog van, but I >> I was just going to ask you about that.

[38:10] [laughter] >> How was the turnout?

[38:12] » But I I think I saw um I think they had pretty good turnout and I think I saw

[38:16] that um Andrew Jacobs did a K9 demonstration.

[38:18] » That's awesome. >> With with RER, so I just wanted to I

[38:21] guess give a shout out a site or there it is. [snorts] Yes. Thank you, Alex.

[38:26] » Thank you. >> Thank you.

[38:28] » So, uh historic district commission met um and as you pointed out, we still have

[38:33] openings. So definitely encourage uh community members to join the historic

[38:37] district, talk to you about maybe an appointment. Um but we did have a lively

[38:43] discussion. Um, as I shared, they were kind of looking at

[38:48] um what role the historic district

[38:52] commission could should play in um

[39:01] regulation of paint colors of houses or businesses and buildings in in the

[39:07] historic district as well as uh artwork and kind of installation times and

[39:14] whether something's temporary or permanent and

[39:16] » is that a role? Um, >> and so, uh, we did have, uh, someone

[39:21] speak, although in in our commission meetings there's usually not space for

[39:26] public comment. Um, the commissioners did allow it on this particular one. Um,

[39:32] and you know, there was a it was a good conversation, I think, uh, for the

[39:35] commissioners to hear from people that would be impacted by those kinds of

[39:40] decisions before it came to council for us to even look at,

[39:43] » um, and look at at that level or their compromises or their opportunities for

[39:49] partnership and things like that. It was shared uh through and Leah correct me if

[39:54] I get this wrong but um with the downtown Sykesville connection there's a

[39:58] look at an entertainment >> oh an arts and entertainment district

[40:05] designation right >> that would um kind of help support the

[40:10] growth of arts um >> in in the in that area at least on the

[40:15] main street side of it. Um and so I think there was some interest in, you

[40:20] know, are there collaborations, are there partnerships, are there ways to

[40:24] incorporate um the historic district, some of the commissioners into that so

[40:29] that you know there's not a place that comes to the council for changing

[40:35] um their guidance or or their what they have purview over. Um, and then I think

[40:41] the discussion kind of got into uh the historic district commission being able

[40:47] to provide references or guidance around paint colors as opposed to instituting

[40:52] fees or control over paint colors that people had, but that there are people

[40:56] who buy historic homes and then say I I I you know, how do I find a paint color?

[41:02] How do I know? Um, and so there was kind of a desire to provide guidance if

[41:06] people would like it. >> Right. So that's kind of where the

[41:09] discussions I think ended up. Um and just you know thank everybody for um

[41:16] kind of their feedback and for the community to kind of provide some input

[41:21] to the commission on that level. And I think it was a good discussion versus

[41:24] something needing to come to us to kind of formalize stuff that I don't know

[41:28] that we we need to be getting into. So >> cool. I appreciate you. Thank you. Mhm.

[41:33] » Um I'm going to jump in just because I'm

[41:37] going to forget if I don't do it now. Um speaking of psychouts,

[41:41] uh from Councilwoman Pickicket, I almost forgot that I wanted to give our one and

[41:45] only Sarah Patterson a psych out. Um, Joe can fill in the blanks for me

[41:50] because I'm blanking on the details, but I know basically what happened was

[41:54] someone had a very positive experience with a matter and I'll let Joe pick up

[41:59] from here. But Sarah was on the receiving end of a of a gratitude and

[42:04] thank you. And um, and I always like to hear when when one of ours are doing a

[42:08] good job enough to like get a thank you. So,

[42:10] » and anytime there's a a positive comment online, we always like to point those

[42:14] out. [laughter] the the town got a I believe it was a

[42:17] Google review about uh an experience at Millard Cooper Park in the splash pad

[42:22] and the process by which the uh I guess the family went in renting a pavilion

[42:27] and Sarah helps coordinate that with the town. So um so again yeah they they were

[42:32] very happy with with Sarah's performance as you know we all are on a daily basis

[42:36] in the town. >> Yes. Well a psych out to Sarah Patterson

[42:38] if you're listening Sarah because I know this is what you do every Monday.

[42:42] [laughter] >> She actually does listen. She does. She

[42:45] does. >> Way to go, Sarah. [laughter]

[42:48] » All right. You're up. >> I have nothing. All right. Thank you.

[42:51] » I have nothing. [laughter] >> This uh Thursday is the U cable uh the

[42:58] Carol County Cable Regulatory Commission meeting. If you have an issue of general

[43:02] interest, no, you're not we can't help you. They're not showing enough

[43:06] Australian little football. But if you have something like our neighborhood has

[43:10] problems with continual outage, you have called the cable administrator after

[43:14] calling Comcast and and people don't understand what's going on, contact me.

[43:18] I can help. But if um you know, we're doing contract negotiations because

[43:24] we're reaching the end of one contract. So if there's some general comments you

[43:28] wish to make, please pass them on to me. You have my address now at the town. And

[43:33] um that's it. >> Thank you, Councilman Dyer. Appreciate

[43:36] you. Uh so going once, going twice. Going to

[43:40] ask if there's a motion to adjourn this lovely meeting at uh 7:45 and a half.

[43:45] » So moved. >> Thank you, Councilman. Second.

[43:47] » Thank you, council president. All in favor of adjournment, please say I.

[43:50] » Any opposed?

Sykesville Town Council Meeting 8-10-2026

Transcript