Carroll County Board of Commissioners Open Session – September 3, 2026

The Board of County Commissioners convened on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in Room 311 of the County Office Building. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance and Priority Carroll comments from each commissioner, followed by a series of recognitions. The board then considered seven action items—including contract renewals, land preservation approvals, grant applications, and a program open space amendment—all of which were approved unanimously. A work session on recreation and parks field restoration occupied the latter half of the open session. No public comments were made during the designated period. The board concluded the open session and moved into closed session for land acquisition.

Consent Calendar

• Contract Renewal – Avolve Software ProjectDox® ePlan SaaS – Renewed in the amount of $84,445.80, as approved in the FY27 adopted budget. Motion carried unanimously.
• Exercise Option to Purchase – MALPF (Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation) – Final approval granted for three properties to participate in the state program: Aloha Farm, LLC (102.54 acres, Woodbine); Edward Harrison and Jill Turner (111.43 acres, Mt. Airy); and Karen Hecht and Gregory Eaton (25.2183 acres, Woodbine). The county contributes 40% of easement costs (budgeted $1.33 million annually) and the state 60%. Motion carried unanimously for each.
• Exercise Option to Purchase – Rural Legacy Program – Approved the purchase of a conservation easement on the Jacob B. Fisher and Mary G. Fisher property (140.905 acres, Hampstead) for $1,031,941.08, funded entirely by state Rural Legacy grant funds. Motion carried unanimously.
• Grant – Maintenance Training for Green Stormwater Infrastructure – Approved submission and acceptance of a $25,000 Chesapeake Bay Trust Outreach and Restoration Grant to sponsor a two-day Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals Level 1 Green Infrastructure Training for up to 45 attendees (county, municipal, and private landscape staff). No county match required. Motion carried unanimously.
• Grant – Willow Pond Replanting – Approved submission and acceptance of a $10,000 DNR Adaptive Management grant for replanting approximately one acre of trees at Willow Pond (Westminster) to replace trees that did not survive the initial 2022 planting. No county match required. Motion carried unanimously.
• Amendment to FY2027 Program Open Space (POS) Annual Program for Town of Manchester – Approved a scope change for the Christmas Tree Park Pond Area Refurbishment project: removing a new pavilion and instead resurfacing the existing tennis court with a pickleball overlay and performing pond refurbishment at Christmas Tree Park and Piney Valley Park. Funding allocation remains $85,205. Motion carried unanimously.

Discussion Items

Priority Carroll – Commissioners shared updates and announcements: Commissioner Kyler noted a Manchester Valley student crossing incident on Route 30, a state inquiry about speed cameras on state highways, and support for the 4-H Fair and volunteer fire departments. Commissioner Gordon highlighted back-to-school safety, a road construction project on MD 27, a Little Free Library in Westminster, Genova's 50th anniversary, a new book by Farm Museum staff, and a scam alert regarding fraudulent county government emails. Commissioner Guerin urged safe driving around school buses, road crews, and farm equipment. Commissioner Krebs reported on the Bill Murphy Veterans Independence Shuttle unveiling, the 911 Remembrance Run, and state-level data center and energy grid discussions. Commissioner Vigliotti added recognition of the Community Media Center's Hometown Media Award for coverage of the 128th Carroll County 4-H & FFA Fair, and presented a proclamation declaring September 2026 as Preparedness Month in Carroll County, accepted by Director Hawkins and staff from the Department of Emergency Management.

Work Session – Recreation and Parks Field Restoration – Director Bob Hicks and staff presented an overview of the relationship between the Department of Recreation and Parks and the 11 volunteer recreation councils, including governance, field inventory conditions, usage data, and challenges. Key points included:

• The county provides basic mowing and electricity; rec councils handle additional maintenance and improvements.
• Field conditions were self-reported by councils as good, fair, poor, or not usable; many school fields are in poor condition and are not maintained by the school system.
• Rec councils face space constraints, especially with high school fields not consistently posted in the online scheduling system (Event Manager), and competition from after-school programs (e.g., daycare) limiting gym availability.
• The board allocated $5 million in the FY27 budget for field restoration. Discussion centered on establishing criteria for prioritizing improvements—such as adding new fields versus upgrading existing ones, regional needs, and leveraging shared infrastructure (e.g., adding gym space to new schools like Liberty High School). Commissioners agreed to email their criteria to staff for compilation and further discussion at a future open session.
• The advisory board is already examining indoor space issues, with a report expected in October.

Key Outcomes

• All action items (Items 2–7) were approved unanimously with no public comment. Votes were recorded as follows:
  • Item 2: Motion by Commissioner Guerin, second by Commissioner Gordon. All in favor.
  • Item 3 (three properties): Separate motions and seconds; each carried unanimously.
  • Item 4: Motion by Commissioner Gordon, second by Commissioner Krebs. Unanimous.
  • Item 5: Motion by Commissioner Kiler, second by Commissioner Krebs. Unanimous.
  • Item 6: Motion by Commissioner Kiler, second by Commissioner Gordon. Unanimous.
  • Item 7: Motion by Commissioner Guerin, second by Commissioner Krebs. Unanimous.
• Work Session (Item 8): No formal vote taken. Staff directed to compile commissioner criteria for field restoration priorities and bring back for discussion. A meeting with Carroll County Public Schools regarding gym availability and joint-use opportunities will be pursued.
• Closed minutes from August 27, 2026 (cybersecurity) were approved unanimously.
• The board moved into closed session for land acquisition after agenda review.

Note: A public hearing on proposed zoning amendments (Cluster Subdivisions, Accessory Dwelling Units, Retirement Villages/Retirement Homes) was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. the same day but is not covered in this open session transcript.