Board of County Commissioners Open Session – June 18, 2026
Board of County Commissioners Open Session – June 18, 2026
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners convened on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in Room 311 of the County Office Building. The meeting included a proclamation, several public hearings, grant approvals, and discussions on land-use and planning items. Key decisions included approval of multiple grants, a delay on a Mount Airy annexation comment letter, and authorization to proceed to public hearing on the Water Resources Element.
Proclamation
- Park and Recreation Month (July 2026): The Board proclaimed July 2026 as Park and Recreation Month. Director Bob Hicks and new staff introduced summer programs, including Park Pursuit and Neon Nights Pickleball.
Consent Calendar (Routine Approvals & Unanimous Actions)
- FY2027 Program Open Space Allocations to Municipalities: Approved allocation of $340,820 to four municipalities (Hampstead, Manchester, Mt. Airy, Sykesville) for park projects, as recommended by the Maryland Municipal League. (Motion carried unanimously)
- FFY 2025-2027 (Year Two) Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant: Approved application and acceptance of $9,815 in federal funds with a $2,454 in-kind match for hazmat training. (Motion carried unanimously)
- Adoption of the State of Maryland Forest Conservation Technical Manual: Approved resolution to adopt the state’s technical manual as the guidance document for forest conservation. (Motion carried unanimously)
- FY27 Children’s Cabinet Interagency Fund (CCIF) and ENOUGH Capacity Building Application: Approved submission of the reissued application and acceptance of an additional $56,739 in CCIF funding for programs including housing navigation, suicide prevention, youth engagement, internship transportation, and after-school enrichment. (Motion carried unanimously)
- PY 2026/FY 2027 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Grants: Accepted formula grants totaling $658,220, plus summer youth grants ($21,630 Governor’s Summer Youth, $168,930 DORS, and $9,900 DJS) to support employment services for up to 55 youth and four justice-involved youth. (Motion carried unanimously)
- FY 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant: Approved submission of AFG application ($2,494,000 total, $226,727 local match) for PFAS-free turnout gear for 580 personnel, and SAFER application ($137,500, no match) for behavioral health, peer support, and resiliency training. (Motion carried unanimously)
- Contract Award – Hampstead Valley IV Stormwater Management Facility Retrofit: Awarded contract to Kinsley Construction, LLC for $1,349,025 (lowest of three bids) for a stormwater retrofit providing 25 acres of impervious surface restoration credit. (Motion carried unanimously)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Public Hearing on Forest Conservation Amendments (Item 4): One caller, Alex Foto (Law Office of Gene Macy Nelson), representing Shirley Appleby and John Cremalone, expressed general support for the updates but requested that the county not allow fee-in-lieu of mitigation and that off-site mitigation be required within the same watershed. No other public comments were received.
- Public Hearing on CDBG Family Shelter (Item 6): No public comments were offered in person or by phone.
- Mount Airy Annexation No. 47 – Watersville Road (Item 11): Five speakers addressed the Board:
- Ralph Ghent (2510 King’s Forest Trail, Mt. Airy) raised concerns about the town holding its public hearing before receiving county and state comments, and questioned the compatibility of a large athletic complex with the R1 zoning designation.
- Michael Rash (2508 King’s Forest Trail, Mt. Airy) opposed the annexation, citing the proposed 1,135 parking spaces (nearly double the Walmart/Safeway complex), water usage claims, and urged the Board to attend the Mt. Airy Town Council vote on August 3.
- Tim Park (petitioner, Elite Baseball LLC) stated that the traffic study showed no impact on level of service, water usage would be equivalent to 2–4 homes (no irrigation for artificial turf), and the parking plan has been reduced to 567 spaces. He noted that the project is a vision, not a final site plan.
- Brian McKenna (petitioner) added that similar sports complexes are often located near residential areas and that the facility would serve the community.
- David Bowersocks (attorney for petitioners) argued that the county’s role is limited to statutory criteria, that the use is permitted in R1, and that the planning commission lacked key information (e.g., traffic study) when making comments. He requested that the Board’s comment letter reflect objective factors.
Discussion Items
- FY25 CDBG Family Shelter Renovation and Relocation Update (Item 6): Jenny Graybill (HSP) reported that the new shelter at the COVE opened March 31, 2026, and has served 12 households (15 adults, 19 children). Improvements include natural light, larger kitchen/laundry, private computer lab, and increased tutoring participation. The Board closed the public hearing and kept the record open for 10 days.
- ENOUGH Program Briefing (Item 7): Ayden Almony presented results from a community resource fair in Union Bridge (April 2026) with over 40 vendors and 200–250 attendees. Survey findings showed top needs: food, child care, and housing; top barriers: transportation, not knowing where to go, and cost. Next steps include a planning committee and an interest survey at food distributions. The Board was briefed for informational purposes only.
- Mount Airy Annexation No. 47 – Watersville Road (Item 11): After extensive public comment, Commissioner Guerin moved to delay action on the comment letter until procedural concerns (town holding public hearing before receiving county comments) are adequately addressed. The motion carried unanimously. The Board directed staff to work with the town to resolve the process issues.
- Water Resources Element (WRE) Introduction (Item 12): Staff presented the required WRE update, which evaluates drinking water supply, wastewater, and stormwater for the county and all eight municipalities. The plan does not obligate any jurisdiction to specific actions. Commissioner Kiler requested future briefings on PFAS, lithium, and emerging contaminants. The Board approved proceeding to public hearing.
- Text Amendments to Chapters 155 and 158 – Planned Commercial Centers (Item 13): Commissioner Kiler expressed concern about removing residential accessory uses from planned commercial centers, preferring to develop design guidelines instead. After discussion, the Board voted to take no action at this time, allowing the deferral to expire and the ongoing overlay district study to proceed. The motion carried unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Public Hearings Closed: The Board closed the public hearing on Forest Conservation Amendments (record open 10 days) and the public hearing on the CDBG Family Shelter (record open 10 days).
- Delay on Mount Airy Annexation Comment Letter: Action on the comment letter for Annexation No. 47 (Watersville Road) was delayed until procedural compliance with state law is confirmed.
- Water Resources Element: Approved to proceed to public hearing; date to be scheduled.
- No Action on Planned Commercial Center Text Amendments: The Board declined to adopt the proposed amendments, preferring to await the overlay district study.
- All Grant Approvals and Contract Award: Passed unanimously as listed in the Consent Calendar.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Thursday, June 18th, 2026 open session for the Board of Carroll County Commissioners, as we always do. We'll begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silent reflection. Hope everybody is doing well today. And our first item, as always, is Priority Carroll and Commissioner Krebs, I do believe you are up first this week. Thank you. And since I forgot my glasses, I really can't revisit here, but I'm gonna just go for memory. They're kinda nerdy. I think I remember since I was just there. So um last evening we had a um meeting with State Highway at Liberty High School, and it was it's about the bridges that are gonna be going over Liberty Reservoir project. And they were trying to get feedback from the public and it was an excellent, excellent meeting. They described the situation that replacing the bridge decks, and it's a it's a key route for us into Baltimore County. A lot of people work there. So they were asking people in the public like that travel that way whether they'd rather have a longer delay and have one lane going each way, or they have a short shorter period of time that it would be closed. But it would be it'd have to go around. They had all the different scenarios um out there. It's all on their website and uh there were a lot it was very well attended, but they're looking for feedback. It's not happening until 2028. Um but it's gonna be a disruption. Um but they really have analyzed the different scenarios and asked people, you know, which was best to them. And most of them said have it done close it for one once and for all, get it done shorter period of time and be done with it. But they're looking for feedback and they're trying to they're um our own transportation sector uh um Brian Bokeh was there because they're worried about the the roads in the neighborhoods being used as cut throughs, which that's what people will probably do, and how we can make sure we maintain the traffic and the safety in those neighborhoods. So I was very impressed with the the level of detail that they were um looking at and had already looked at and then the the issues that people brought up. So anyone that's listening if they use the route uh the over the reservoirs, it's two bridges, they're gonna do them both at the same time. Not until 2028, but they're really trying to plan this. Um and the safe routes getting around to down into Baltimore County to Owing's Mills and whatever. So uh on the website the whole presentation is there on the uh state highway website. And um forget which section it is. I'm gonna send it out on the email blast, but um look under Liberty Reservoir Bridges over l over Liberty Reservoir should be a lot of information there and looking for feedback. All right, thank you. Good morning, Carroll County. Uh just so uh the brief comment coming off of the emergency services advisory council meeting last night. It was uh the chairman Rick Baker's last meeting. Um he uh is termed out as chairman of ESAC and uh just in the on behalf of the Board of Carroll County Commissioners and all Carroll County residents just to thank Rick for all his service. He has been with ESAC since the beginning uh since the enabling legislation started in Annapolis, probably back in 2018. That's how long he's been involved with it. And everybody who is involved with uh CC Visa and DFEMs um is very familiar with Rick. He's an amazing man. Yeah, his service to the county goes back decades first as a volunteer with Mount Ari volunteer fire company. He he served as country um and then he uh in various roles and then he uh has been with ESAC again for for over for over six years really. And our thanks to Rick Baker and everything that he's done. He has really and truly been um so effective and so much uh credit needs to be given to him for all his work and everything that he is uh he's done for the county. And on that note, uh they did elect uh new chairman, uh the new chairman of ESAC will be Tim Legore. He's a former chief of Winfield Community Volunteer Fire Company, a longtime chief. And um and then they elected uh Blaine Wright, who's a citizen rep to ESAC as the vice chairman. So we're very excited for both those individuals. Thank you for for Tim and Blaine to step up and try to fill that role. Everybody agrees that it's gonna be tough shoes to fill because Rick has done such an amazing job. But uh my congratulations and and thanks to Rick Baker and my thanks and congratulations to the two new electees to guide ESAC through the next couple of years. It is going to be a pivotal few years.
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