OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Board of Carroll County Commissioners Open Session - November 13, 2025

County Commissioners & Boards — Thursday, November 13, 2025
BodyCarroll County, Maryland
SessionCounty Commissioners & Boards
DateThursday, November 13, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:13:23

Transcript — Verbatim
9:38

Good morning.

9:43

Um, open session for the Curry Commissioners.

9:47

And as we always like to do, we will start with a Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.

10:03

And to the Republic, which is one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice are all.

10:32

And we'll start with priority, Carol, and I think we start on the left.

10:37

Come on the left.

10:39

I don't want to steal your thunder.

10:41

I thought I'd wait until you all talked about this, because we all participated in a lot of wonderful things last week.

10:46

Started off last Thursday night at the land trust center, and several of us were there and we learned all about what we're doing with ag preservation in our beautiful county where agriculture is a priority and we want to maintain in our whole county the uh views of what we want in Carroll County, which is um to protect our way of life.

11:04

And I think we um we enjoyed that that uh annual dinner.

11:08

And then we had um what day of the week was that?

11:12

Tuesday of this week.

11:14

Um Secretary Coker from Department of Commerce, Secretary of the State, was here in in uh Westminster, and you guys can talk about what you did, but we had a breakfast here for them for him to welcome him to Carroll County and his team, and then he did some visits up in in Westminster.

11:29

But I met them up with them down in Sykesville and visited th um some businesses of new business and some that I've already known of.

11:36

One is uh Zio Z I keep saying this wrong, Zidio Tech at Warfield, unbelievable um new business we have down there in the in the um Warfield complex.

11:47

They make high-tech um machinery that basically uh takes breath and respiratory stuff and can detect different things in the air, whether it is a biological agent that is it's bad or some kind of disease, and it the technology is still being tested, but it's unbelievable if it would work um in some of our public places and in our hospitals to detect um airborne illnesses and airborne pathogens.

12:16

Then we went to um Northwood Grumman and visited, uh they're looking at expanding down there and they're doing a lot of wonderful things.

12:22

They've got some uh new technology, not new, older technology that they usual nuclear subs that they possibly could end up using for um fueling data centers instead of power lines going across our our uh our beautiful farmland.

12:36

So the fact is that the the the technology is there and hopefully um cooler heads will prevail at the FERC level, or smart heads will prevail and start mandating that we use some of these new technologies to um power our data centers like these small nuclear reactors versus um power lines.

12:53

Uh and then we also went to Patopsico distillery.

12:56

Unfortunately, it was wonderful um listening to what they did during COVID and turning their alcohol into hand sanitizer, but they have great spirits down there.

13:05

Unfortunately, I had to leave after uh 20 minutes and I didn't get to enjoy their spirits.

13:09

But um so the secretary got to see all the good things that were going on in um Carroll County.

13:13

And then yesterday we had the two days ago.

13:18

We had uh Veterans Day, and I just was we have a list here of all the schools that had presentations for veterans to honor our veterans, and I'm in awe.

13:26

I I love the fact that we have school on Veterans Day, and that we every school pretty much I mean lists of every school honoring veterans, bringing in their families, bringing in their community members.

13:36

I know that my grandkids in Massachusetts are off that day.

13:40

Well, we want to be here and honor our veterans and know what Veterans Day is all about, and our schools do a phenomenal job of that.

13:46

In addition to all the different people in the community that do that as well.

13:49

But especially we need our our youth to remember the sacrifices that were made for our freedoms today.

13:55

Uh and the one that we went to yesterday, the Veterans Breakfast, um, was for Bridging Life, which is our former Carroll Hospice.

14:03

We've been doing that for about 15 years.

14:06

Very finite program again.

14:08

Uh we used to have a number of World War II veterans there and Vietnam veterans, and we were down to one 96-year-old or 99-year-old uh World War II veteran and just three, I think we're Vietnam veterans.

14:20

So we're losing those folks quickly, but we um want to make sure that we do not forget, and we don't in this county.

14:28

But the one thing that Bridging Life mentioned yesterday, uh our hospice, is that we are and we this has been for many years.

14:34

We are number one in quality, and we are number one in utilization in the state of Maryland.

14:39

And I think we're high nation nationally.

14:41

So we have got one of the best hospice programs anywhere.

14:45

And I was on the board for 10 years, and I can vouch for it.

14:47

It's a wonderful place, and they do honor their veterans as well.

14:50

And then on on actually on Veterans Day, many of us went all over the county to different functions.

14:55

We have flags for our heroes.

15:00

And if you drive up Route 32, they had several sets of flags this all along.

15:03

And all week the wind's been blowing, and those flags have been beautiful, just blowing in the wind all along Route 32 for our heroes.

15:10

And we had a program at um Haight Funeral Home on Veterans Day morning.

15:15

So lots of wonderful things going on in our county, and I will turn it over to you guys.

15:19

Well, thank you very much, Commissioner.

15:21

Good morning, everybody.

15:22

I'll be uh as quick as I can because I know we have a lot to get to today.

15:25

Uh so first is Commissioner Krebs had mentioned uh along with uh us uh everybody up here, but I had a wonderful time at the Carroll County Land Trust Preservation Dinner.

15:32

I won't go too much into detail about that because I know that uh Commissioner Gordon will certainly have some words about that.

15:38

But I do want to uh highlight and compliment uh Jackie Roquet, who works for the county in agricultural preservation.

15:43

She gave a phenomenal presentation at the dinner about the Ag Preservation Program, as well as highlighting the farms and uh those who own them who are entered into the program over the course of the past year.

15:53

So I certainly want to commend her for that.

15:55

Uh second of all, I had the pleasure of attending the annual Christmas fair at Pleasant Valley Fire Company over the weekend.

16:00

Wonderful, enjoyable experience with the good people as always, uh full of vendors with incredible talents and more.

16:06

And uh they had this really awesome model train display that they set up every year.

16:10

And this year in particular, they also had two additional Lagol Lego model displays as well, which I thought were really awesome.

16:16

Uh so third, along with uh Senator Justin Reedy and Taunty Town Mayor Chris Miller, Mayor Pro Tem, Rachel Miller, Police Chief Baker, and Major Mitchell, I had the honor of attending the Veterans Day ceremony at the Hesson Snyder American Legion in Tawnytown.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Master Planning███████████████15%
Public Comments█████████████13%
Community Engagement███████7%
Planning Commission███████7%
Procedural█████5%
Housing████4%
Zoning Regulations████4%
Age Restricted Housing████4%
Agricultural Preservation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Board of Carroll County Commissioners Open Session - November 13, 2025

The Board of Carroll County Commissioners held an open session on November 13, 2025, at 9:00 AM in the County Office Building, Room 311. The meeting included a proclamation, approval of multiple contracts and purchases, and a lengthy debate on deferral ordinances affecting development in the Freedom District. Four deferral ordinances were approved on a 3-2 vote each, pausing certain applications for 3 to 8 months while the county studies zoning code changes. Public comment addressed both the deferrals and recent allegations against the Sheriff.

Proclamation & Presentations

  • National Youth Homeless Awareness Month: Commissioner Gordon read a proclamation declaring November 2025 as National Youth Homeless Awareness Month in Carroll County. Carly Long, Continuum of Care Coordinator, and Milo Riddle, President of the Youth Action Board, spoke about the issue and ongoing collection drives for hygiene items and winter gear. The proclamation was adopted unanimously.

Consent Calendar & Routine Approvals

  • Contract Renewal – Congregate Meals: Approved unanimously to renew with Business Food Solution Inc. in an amount not to exceed $200,000. The contract covers meals at five senior centers; approximately 30,000 meals were served in FY25.
  • Contract Renewal – Home Delivered Meals: Approved unanimously to renew with Meals on Wheels of Central MD, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $185,500. About 19,598 meals were provided in FY25.
  • Contract Award – 2025 Pipe Culvert and Storm Drain Rehabilitation: Approved unanimously to award to Pleasants Construction, Inc. (Clarksburg, MD) for $1,892,900. The project involves cured-in-place pipe lining at 163 locations on 52 roadways, saving an estimated $1.9 million compared to full replacement.
  • Revised TrailBlazer Routes: Approved unanimously to modify two Westminster bus stops (Purple and Black routes) effective January 1, 2026, saving time while maintaining deviation options to Carroll Hospital and City Hall.
  • Carroll Transit System Safety Management Plan: Approved unanimously. The annual update includes minor performance target adjustments and the addition of summer skills training for drivers.
  • Contract Award – Freedom District Water Treatment Plant Plate Settler Parts: Approved unanimously to award $99,690 to Parkson Corporation (Cleveland, OH) for replacement parts to refurbish plate settlers that treat return water to Liberty Reservoir. This extends the life of the equipment by 12–15 years.
  • Approval to Purchase – Two (2) 2026 Ford F-350 Crew Cab 4WD Trucks: Approved unanimously at $109,902 from Hertrich Fleet Services, Inc. (Howard County contract). These replace 17-year-old trucks used by Facilities for towing and salt hauling.
  • Approval to Purchase – One (1) 2025 Ford Transit-350 Cargo Van: Approved unanimously at $143,200 from Atlantic Machinery, Inc. (VA Sheriff’s contract). The van will be used to transport and operate the county’s sanitary sewer inspection camera.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • On Deferral Ordinances: Multiple speakers opposed the deferrals, arguing they harm predictability, investment, and housing supply. Speakers included Richard Williams, David Bowersox (representing Zable family), Scott Colliner (seeking age-restricted housing), Mike McCann (engineering firm principal), Bruce Harvey (Williamsburg Homes), Jason Van Kirk (Elm Street Development), John Bowers, Clark Schaefer, and others. They cited negative impacts on county budget, housing affordability, and business climate. A few speakers supported the deferrals, notably Sarah Penn (via phone) and Kathy Martin, who argued that self-storage and cluster subdivisions have not followed the master plan and threaten community character and safety.
  • On Sheriff Allegations: Three in-person speakers (Natalie Sanchez, Josh Wilhide, Andrew Manning) and one phone speaker (Catherine Adelaide) addressed recent allegations of sexual misconduct by Sheriff James T. DeWies. They urged the board to support an independent investigation and to use its funding authority to hold the sheriff accountable. Commissioner Kiler had earlier read a statement from Major Justin Baker requesting an investigation by the Maryland State Prosecutor.

Discussion Items

  • Priority Carroll (Commissioner Comments): Commissioners shared highlights from the prior week, including a visit by Maryland Commerce Secretary Harry Coker Jr., Veterans Day events across the county, the Carroll County Land Trust Preservation Dinner (honoring Lippy Brothers Farms with 81,426 acres preserved toward a 100,000-acre goal), and a solar project denial by the Public Service Commission (Chaberton project on Fanny Dorsey Road).
  • Deferral Ordinances (Major Discussion): Commissioner Krebs led a detailed presentation explaining the history of the Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan, the 2014–2018 zoning update process, and how current zoning definitions (e.g., self-storage, cluster subdivisions, retirement villages, planned commercial centers) have deviated from the plan. She argued that public health, safety, and predictability require a temporary pause to align zoning with the master plan. The other commissioners debated legality, fairness, and economic impact. Commissioner Vigliotti opposed, citing lack of emergency and potential lawsuits. Commissioner Gordon questioned process transparency (ordinances delivered late) and suggested grandfathering projects in the pipeline. Commissioner Kiler supported the deferrals, emphasizing safety issues (fire department letters) and the need for design standards in age-restricted communities. Commissioner Guerin expressed concern about process but ultimately voted for the deferrals, pressing for timely study. Each of the four deferral ordinances passed 3-2 (with Vigliotti and Gordon voting no) for varying durations:
    • Self-storage facilities: 3 months
    • Cluster subdivisions: 6 months
    • Retirement villages/homes: 6 months
    • Planned commercial centers: 8 months
  • Motion on Grandfathering: A motion to direct staff to develop grandfathering language for projects already in the pipeline was defeated 2-3 (with Krebs, Kiler, and Guerin voting no).
  • Direction to Staff: The board directed staff to begin drafting code changes for the four areas, using existing work sessions (e.g., a scheduled work session on age-restricted housing) and drawing from other counties' standards.

Key Outcomes

  • Deferral Ordinances Approved: Four separate ordinances were approved (3-2) to temporarily pause processing of applications in the Freedom Designated Growth Area for:
    1. Self-storage facilities (3 months)
    2. Cluster subdivisions (6 months)
    3. Retirement villages/homes (6 months)
    4. Planned commercial centers (8 months) Public hearings will be scheduled as quickly as possible, preferably in the evening in the Freedom District.
  • Grandfathering Motion Defeated: The board declined to include grandfathering provisions at this stage, but staff may present options for consideration after the public hearing.
  • Staff Directed to Draft Code Amendments: Staff will use work sessions to develop proposed zoning text amendments for self-storage, cluster subdivisions, retirement villages, and planned commercial centers, aligning them with the Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan and incorporating best practices from other jurisdictions.
  • All Contract Awards and Purchases Approved Unanimously: As listed under Consent Calendar.
  • Proclamation Adopted Unanimously: November 2025 as National Youth Homeless Awareness Month.
  • Public Hearing Scheduled: Details for the public hearing on the deferral ordinances to be announced; board expressed intent to expedite.

Administrative Session & Next Steps

  • The board moved into closed session for land acquisition.
  • Agenda for November 20, 2025, includes a drawing for the Passport Program winner, Board of Health meeting, bond sale results, and multiple spending authorizations.
  • A work session on age-restricted housing is scheduled for 1:00 PM on November 20.
  • Commissioner Krebs will host the weekly podcast on November 16.
  • The board noted the Thanksgiving holiday and adjusted the schedule accordingly.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. Um, open session for the Curry Commissioners. And as we always like to do, we will start with a Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence. And to the Republic, which is one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice are all. And we'll start with priority, Carol, and I think we start on the left. Come on the left. I don't want to steal your thunder. I thought I'd wait until you all talked about this, because we all participated in a lot of wonderful things last week. Started off last Thursday night at the land trust center, and several of us were there and we learned all about what we're doing with ag preservation in our beautiful county where agriculture is a priority and we want to maintain in our whole county the uh views of what we want in Carroll County, which is um to protect our way of life. And I think we um we enjoyed that that uh annual dinner. And then we had um what day of the week was that? Tuesday of this week. Um Secretary Coker from Department of Commerce, Secretary of the State, was here in in uh Westminster, and you guys can talk about what you did, but we had a breakfast here for them for him to welcome him to Carroll County and his team, and then he did some visits up in in Westminster. But I met them up with them down in Sykesville and visited th um some businesses of new business and some that I've already known of. One is uh Zio Z I keep saying this wrong, Zidio Tech at Warfield, unbelievable um new business we have down there in the in the um Warfield complex. They make high-tech um machinery that basically uh takes breath and respiratory stuff and can detect different things in the air, whether it is a biological agent that is it's bad or some kind of disease, and it the technology is still being tested, but it's unbelievable if it would work um in some of our public places and in our hospitals to detect um airborne illnesses and airborne pathogens. Then we went to um Northwood Grumman and visited, uh they're looking at expanding down there and they're doing a lot of wonderful things. They've got some uh new technology, not new, older technology that they usual nuclear subs that they possibly could end up using for um fueling data centers instead of power lines going across our our uh our beautiful farmland. So the fact is that the the the technology is there and hopefully um cooler heads will prevail at the FERC level, or smart heads will prevail and start mandating that we use some of these new technologies to um power our data centers like these small nuclear reactors versus um power lines. Uh and then we also went to Patopsico distillery. Unfortunately, it was wonderful um listening to what they did during COVID and turning their alcohol into hand sanitizer, but they have great spirits down there. Unfortunately, I had to leave after uh 20 minutes and I didn't get to enjoy their spirits. But um so the secretary got to see all the good things that were going on in um Carroll County. And then yesterday we had the two days ago. We had uh Veterans Day, and I just was we have a list here of all the schools that had presentations for veterans to honor our veterans, and I'm in awe. I I love the fact that we have school on Veterans Day, and that we every school pretty much I mean lists of every school honoring veterans, bringing in their families, bringing in their community members. I know that my grandkids in Massachusetts are off that day. Well, we want to be here and honor our veterans and know what Veterans Day is all about, and our schools do a phenomenal job of that. In addition to all the different people in the community that do that as well. But especially we need our our youth to remember the sacrifices that were made for our freedoms today. Uh and the one that we went to yesterday, the Veterans Breakfast, um, was for Bridging Life, which is our former Carroll Hospice. We've been doing that for about 15 years. Very finite program again. Uh we used to have a number of World War II veterans there and Vietnam veterans, and we were down to one 96-year-old or 99-year-old uh World War II veteran and just three, I think we're Vietnam veterans. So we're losing those folks quickly, but we um want to make sure that we do not forget, and we don't in this county. But the one thing that Bridging Life mentioned yesterday, uh our hospice, is that we are and we this has been for many years. We are number one in quality, and we are number one in utilization in the state of Maryland. And I think we're high nation nationally. So we have got one of the best hospice programs anywhere. And I was on the board for 10 years, and I can vouch for it. It's a wonderful place, and they do honor their veterans as well. And then on on actually on Veterans Day, many of us went all over the county to different functions. We have flags for our heroes. And if you drive up Route 32, they had several sets of flags this all along. And all week the wind's been blowing, and those flags have been beautiful, just blowing in the wind all along Route 32 for our heroes. And we had a program at um Haight Funeral Home on Veterans Day morning. So lots of wonderful things going on in our county, and I will turn it over to you guys. Well, thank you very much, Commissioner. Good morning, everybody. I'll be uh as quick as I can because I know we have a lot to get to today.

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