The Board of County Commissioners held a regular meeting on March 3, 2026, starting at 10:00 a.m. After the invocation and pledge, the agenda was amended to move a budget adjustment to new business and to add a briefing from Amazon Web Services (AWS) regarding a potential data center project. The meeting included a proclamation, a Board of Health session on the Destination Wellness program, approval of consent agenda items (with one item moved), action on tax differential rates for two towns, a budget reallocation, a presentation from the College of Southern Maryland, a briefing on data center exploration, and public comment. Commissioners also gave reports and moved into executive session.
Good morning. Welcome to the March 3rd meeting of the Board of Calvert County Commissioners. We're going to start our meeting off with an invocation. With us this morning, we have Pastor Reverend Jones of Oliver United, Mount Olive United Methodist Church. Good morning, sir. Good morning. Let us pray. Loving and gracious Creator, we come this morning first to say thank you. Thank you for life. And as we come from this rushed and hurried world, we come just to reflect upon your goodness in our lives and upon what you will provide for us in the future. Today we ask your blessings upon this body that as they deliberate that they may do so with wisdom from above, with discernment that allows them to block out the noise, to hear the facts, and to lead and to govern in ways that will enable generations to come to realize that men and women sat in those seats and made decisions that impacted generations to come. God, we ask you to bless this nation, bless this state. Bless our armed forces and all those who are serving as we are grappling with this conflict of war. God be with us, forever keep us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. And to the Republic in which he stands on nation on God. Invisible. Reverend Jones, thank you for joining us this morning, sir. Do you have any events coming up at your church you would like to talk about? Or okay. Oh, I move that we move consent agenda number three, Department of Finance and FIJEC. Facilities project adjustment to new business item three and add presentation item number two to include a briefing from a potential data center project and approve and adopt the amended agenda as further amended. Second. So we have a motion and a second to approve the agenda discussion. None. So I just want to take a moment. Um there was a lot of um chatter on social media yesterday about data centers. And we uh want to try to clarify some of that. So the agenda item that was added in order to meet the um open meetings act. Uh we didn't get confirmation until less than a 24-hour notice that's required to be able to change the agenda without doing it here. So it was probably six o'clock last night that we actually got that confirmation, so that's why that exists. Um public services. Oh, I'm sorry. I was ahead of myself. So all in favor of approving the agenda with the changes made. Uh say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries. All right. Takes us to public service announcements. Uh the first thing we'll talk about is a whole blood field transfusion program. Um, Calvert County's participation in lower teeter type O positive whole blood field transfusion program in partnership with Public Safety's Emergency Medical Services Division and Calvert Advanced Life Support. Development of this program was accelerated following an incident in 2022, in which Deputy James Flint sustained a gunshot wind while pursuing a suspect. Flint received life-saving blood after arriving at Calvert Health Medical Center without the availability of whole blood at the hospital. He likely would not have survived. With this initiative, Calvert County becomes a fifth pre-hospital EMS agency in Maryland into 270th nationwide authorized to administer whole blood in the pre-hospital setting. The program allows specially trained EMS clinicians to administer FDA approved whole blood to critically injured or ill patients before they arrive at the hospital dramatically improving survival rates. To commemorate the program's launch of blood drive in honor of Hometown Hero Flint will be held in partnership with ANOVA on Wednesday, March 11th from 10 a.m.