Calvert County Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting – October 28, 2025
Calvert County Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting – October 28, 2025
The Calvert County Board of Commissioners held its final meeting in the historic courthouse on October 28, 2025, before moving to a new county administration building. The meeting included proclamations, approval of compensation review board recommendations, authorization of state legislation requests, a board of health presentation on chronic diseases, and a work session on potential rural legacy area expansion. Public comments addressed veterans, election integrity, and constitutional oaths.
Proclamations & Recognitions
- Election Hero Day – Recognized November 3, 2025, as Election Hero Day to honor election officials, staff, and poll workers. Gail Hatfield (Director, Board of Elections) accepted the proclamation. Commissioner Grasso praised the Board of Elections for ethical, secure operations.
- Operation Green Light (NACo) – Recognized November 4–11, 2025, as Operation Green Light Week to support veterans and active military. Patricia McCoy (Vice Chair, Calvert County Commission for Veterans and Military Families) accepted. Veterans in attendance were acknowledged.
- National Veterans Small Business Week – Recognized November 3–7, 2025. Kathy McAdams (Business Retention Specialist) and several veteran business owners spoke, including Jeff King (Varium LLC), Jennifer Foxworthy (Inspirationally Speaking LLC), Mark Brickle (U.S. Marine), and Ed Sullivan (Civil Air Patrol). They thanked the county for supporting veteran entrepreneurs.
Consent Calendar
- The agenda was approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Robert Estes (speaking for himself) encouraged the board to continue exploring rural legacy expansion, suggesting a middle option that avoids the 45-day Chesapeake Beach review.
- Susan de Zurich (speaking for her family) thanked commissioners for compassion after a house fire. She also asked all commissioners seeking re-election to swear to uphold their constitutional oath and require the Sheriff’s Department to do the same, expressing concern for democracy.
Discussion Items
Compensation Review Board (CRB) Recommendations
Ashley Staples Reed (Office of the County Administrator) presented the 2025 CRB report. Vice Chair Matt Cox and Chair Donna Zupancic detailed recommended salary increases: Treasurer to $115,000 (full-time), County Commissioner President to $58,000, County Commissioners to $53,000, Board of Education Chair to $8,500, members to $7,500. Benefit changes included retirement/pension parity for the Treasurer and retiree health insurance for commissioners after 10 years without age restriction. Commissioner Grasso asked about methodology (comparison to Charles and St. Mary's counties). The board voted unanimously to accept the recommendations and thank the CRB.
2026 Requests for State Legislation
County Attorney John Norris presented ten legislative requests. Items 1–4 and 6–10 were approved together: (1) bond authority for capital projects; (2) incentives for tech investment/job growth; (3) submission of compensation review board salary recommendations; (4) dedicated funding for community safety (emergency services tax); (6) LOSAP death benefit increase; (7) authority for sheriff to prevent large unpermitted parties (e.g., VRBO raves); (8) name change to Calvert Health Medical Center; (9) longer contracts (up to 20 years) for long-term infrastructure; (10) excise tax relief for aging/disabled populations. Item 5 (tobacco barn tax credit) was taken separately after Commissioners Hance and Hart recused themselves due to potential personal benefit. Commissioner Ireland argued the good of preserving rural character outweighed the conflict. The motion carried, allowing submission of legislation to enable tax credits for barns subject to tobacco buyout on agriculturally assessed land.
Board of Health – Chronic Disease Presentation
Jennifer Moreland (Director of Community Resources), Dr. Teniza Mose (Health Officer), and Tammy Halterman (Supervisor, Health Promotions) presented on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer in Calvert County. Key data: 225 cardiovascular deaths in 2023; 35.1% of adults have high blood pressure; 36% obese; diabetes death rate 27/100,000 (higher than state and national averages); 10.2% diagnosed with diabetes; lung cancer incidence higher than state. Health department programs include the Healthy Heart Ambassador Program ($15,000 annual funding), Prevent T2 Diabetes Prevention Program (12-month, average 16.5 lb weight loss), Living Well with Diabetes (6-week), and cancer screening/treatment access. Recommendations: continue seeking funding, collaborate on social determinants of health. No formal action was taken.
Work Session – Rural Legacy Area Expansion Options
Amalia Pleak Tam (Environmental Planner), Jen David (Rural Planner), and Ron Marnie presented four options for expanding the Rural Legacy Area (RLA) in the mid-eastern part of the county. Options ranged from 3,520 acres (Option 1, only tier 4 properties) to 13,948 acres (Option 4, including tier 3 properties and within one mile of Chesapeake Beach, triggering a 45-day municipal review). Key issue: if tier 3 properties are included, they may need to be redesignated as tier 4 by the state, potentially reducing development rights. The state has not yet resolved the interpretation. Commissioners requested:
- Hold town hall information sessions to educate landowners on all preservation programs (RLA, MOF, county program).
- Improve maps with landmarks and identify large remaining tracts.
- Include landowners who have participated in RLA to share experiences.
- Obtain a definitive answer from the state on the tier 3/tier 4 conversion issue before proceeding.
- Target a 2027 application if the timeline cannot be met for 2026.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimously approved the Compensation Review Board recommendations (motion by Commissioner Hart, second by Commissioner Cox).
- Approved submission of state legislation requests 1–4 and 6–10 (motion by Commissioner Grasso, second by Commissioner Cox).
- Approved submission of tobacco barn tax credit legislation (Item 5) after recusal of Commissioners Hance and Hart; motion by Commissioner Ireland, second by Commissioner Cox.
- No formal decision on rural legacy expansion; staff directed to pursue public outreach and seek state clarification on tier issues. A future work session will follow.
- Moved to Executive Session at 12:10 PM to discuss personnel and real property matters (General Provisions §3-305(b)(1)(i) and (b)(3)).
Meeting Transcript
Welcome you to the October 28th, 2025 meeting of the Calvert County Board of Commissioners. At this time, I'd like to ask Pastor Holland if he would come forward and give us an invitation, please. Lord God, we thank you for this day that you have given to us and for this chance to gather to plan to celebrate and lure to decide the things going on in our county. Lord, we thank you for your provision and protection for our county for the low crime rate that we have here in this in Calvert County. And Lord, we pray for the violence and uncertainty that still exists here as well as throughout our state and our country. Lord, we pray for the government shutdown. And Lord, we pray that you bless those who are caught up in the midst of this, who are suffering because of it. And Lord, we pray that you bring a resolution to this situation. Lord, as we enter this time of Halloween and All Saints Day, Lord, we remember those who have passed on before us. Lord, for relatives, for loved ones, for associates, for heroes and saints who have gone on before. Lord, we trust you for life and we trust you in death. And Lord, we look forward to the day when the dead in Christ shall rise. But Lord, we pray for your providence over this time. Bless these proceedings, bless those who are here today, and may all things be done to glorify you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. So thank you, Reverend Holland. Reverend Holland comes to us from Dunkirk Baptist Church. Appreciate you coming down visiting with us today. Some of you may not realize it, but we're setting a look, we're making history here today. Today is our last meeting in this building. We're going to be moving to the new building for our next meeting. And just thought it was a time to look back on history a little bit about this courthouse. The heart of county government has been in this courthouse for over three centuries. We moved in the county government started in this courthouse in the 1730s, as near as we can tell. And Calvert County's story began in 1654. That's when we were actually formed, the government. Early sessions moved around all kinds of different places before eventually settling in Battletown, which was later called Calvertown. In 1725, the Calvert County seat moved to Williams Old Fields, where a new courthouse was completed around 1732, which is where we are today. So it would have been presided over by the county justices, effectively the county commissioners, who were prominent local planters and officials appointed under the proprietary proprietary Maryland government. Exact records of the meeting were lost in the 1882 fire, but it likely involved opening the new courthouse and continuing local court business, such as land disputes, minor criminal cases, deeds, taxes, and road maintenance. As a part of a small rural county with only a few thousand residents, just think about that. There were only a couple thousand residents in Calvert County back then. These officials were the backbone of early governance. At the time, Calvert's economy revolved around tobacco. In fact, if you look back in the Charter of Maryland, Maryland was formed to grow tobacco to send back to England. If you look back to all the old churches, their ties when they uh asked to build a new church, their ties to the state government were in pounds of tobacco. Stores, everything revolved around tobacco in Calvert County back in those days. In 1730, Maryland enacted stricter inspection laws on tobacco. Issues that surely reached Calvert's County commissioners. Colonial expansion, trade regulation, and local governance were the hot topics of the day. The first courthouse burned in 1739 and was rebuilt in 1749. The British then burned that building during the War of 1812. How many of you knew that we were so active in the War of 1812? In July 1814, the British marched through the county, destroying homes, damaging crops, and burning the courthouse, jail, and a warehouse. A third courthouse rose in 1816. And for more than a century, it has stood as a living record of democracy and community in action. In 1777, the commissioners of the tax established to assess and collect property taxes. So that's where it all started in 1777. Don't blame us.
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