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Record of Proceedings

Charles County Board of Fire Rescue Commissioners Meeting - January 16, 2026

County Commissioners & Boards — Friday, January 16, 2026
BodyCharles County, Maryland
SessionCounty Commissioners & Boards
DateFriday, January 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:26:18

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:30

Welcome everyone to the January 2026 meeting of the Charles County Board of Fine Rescue Commissioners.

0:36

My name is Lynn Gilroy, and I am the chairman.

0:40

I also represent the Charles County Volunteer Fireman Association.

0:44

With me tonight are some of the other members of the board.

Speaker 2

0:54

Thank you, Mr.

0:55

Chairman.

Speaker 1

0:56

To my left is Ms.

0:57

Natasha Sugar Perry, who is a governor's appointee.

Unassigned speaker

1:01

Thank

Speaker 3

1:01

you, Mr.

1:02

Chairman.

Speaker 1

1:03

Mr.

1:03

Robert Ansel is also a county commissioner appointee.

1:07

Thank you, Mr.

1:08

Chairman.

1:09

And finally, we welcome to the uh membership here.

1:13

County Commissioner Amanda Stewart representing the Charles County Commissioners.

1:17

Ms.

1:18

Stewart.

Speaker 4

1:21

Good evening, everyone, and happy new year.

Speaker 1

1:23

Happy New Year, and thank you for attending.

1:28

Okay, we'll get right into our agenda.

Unassigned speaker

1:32

And

Speaker 1

1:32

it's a pretty extensive

Unassigned speaker

1:34

one.

Speaker 1

1:38

First is the appointment or reappointment by the Charles County Volunteer Fire Association for the Executive Board.

1:50

Get the computer to work.

1:51

We're all right.

1:52

There we

Unassigned speaker

1:53

go.

Speaker 1

2:01

All right, we have a letter from the Charles County Volunteer Fireman Association addressed to Miss Carol DeSoto, clerk to the County Commissioners.

2:10

Purpose of this letter is to advise County Government that Mr.

2:14

Lynn Gilroy was elected to represent

Unassigned speaker

2:17

the

Speaker 1

2:18

Charles County Volunteer Fire Association as the executive committee chairman.

2:22

And to represent the Charles County VFA at the Board of Fine Rescue Commissioners through December 2026.

2:31

Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.

2:33

If you require further information, please contact me at and she gives a phone number signed by Richard Bowie, President Charles County Volunteer Fire Association.

Unassigned speaker

2:50

Somehow okay,

Speaker 1

3:00

now I got a

Unassigned speaker

3:01

problem.

Speaker 1

3:11

Next we have the reappointment by the Charles County EMS Association to the Executive Committee.

3:16

Bill, do you have that letter

Unassigned speaker

3:18

up?

Speaker 2

3:19

I do, Mr.

3:20

Chairman.

3:20

Uh this is also addressed to uh Miss Carol DeSoda, uh Clerk of the County Commissioners, uh dear Ms.

3:27

DeSoto.

3:28

Uh purposes letters to advise County Government that Mr.

3:31

Abern Bill Deer was elected to represent the County Charles County Association of Emergency Medical Services Incorporated as the Executive Committee and to represent the CCAEMS incorporated at the Board of Fire and Rescue Commissioners through December 2026.

3:47

Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.

3:49

If you require any information, please contact me.

Speaker 1

3:58

Thank you, Bill.

3:59

I'm back up again.

4:01

This time we have the election of the chairperson.

4:04

It's that time of year.

4:07

We uh elect the chairperson and the vice chair from the membership.

4:13

This time we'll open the nominations for chairperson.

Unassigned speaker

4:18

Uh

Speaker 2

4:18

nominate uh Lynn Gilroy for chair.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fire Department Operations█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Procedural███████████████20%
Budget Equity Analysis███████9%
Procurement and Contracts██3%
Capital Improvement Program██2%
Public Health██2%
Education██2%
Engineering And Infrastructure█1%
Building Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Charles County Board of Fire Rescue Commissioners Meeting - January 16, 2026

Mr. Chairman Lynn Gilroy presided over the meeting, which included board members Natasha Sugar Perry, Robert Ansel, and County Commissioner Amanda Stewart. The agenda covered appointments, elections, financial reports, and multiple capital requests for vehicle and equipment replacements. Several items were approved or tabled for further clarification.

Appointments and Elections

  • The Charles County Volunteer Fire Association reappointed Lynn Gilroy as its representative to the Executive Committee through December 2026.
  • The Charles County EMS Association reappointed Bill Deere as its representative to the Executive Committee through December 2026.
  • Lynn Gilroy was unanimously elected Chairman of the Board of Fire Rescue Commissioners.
  • Bill Deere was unanimously elected Vice Chairman of the Board of Fire Rescue Commissioners.

Consent Agenda

  • The minutes from the December 18, 2025 meeting were approved by voice vote.

Discussion Items

  • LOSAP Board Report (December 2025): The report had not been received from county government; Chairman noted that payments and investments were ongoing.
  • Benedict Volunteer Fire Department – Replacement of Ambulance 58: The department requested approval to purchase a demo unit for $471,959. Discussion revealed that $40,000 for the stretcher and stair chair would need to come from O&M funds (not apparatus allowance). The request was tabled to allow revision of the funding breakdown. It will return next month.
  • Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department – Replacement of EMS Command Vehicle: Approved to replace a 2008 Ford F-250 with a 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe ($84,331.87) and waived the 30-day layover. Funds from non-tax account.
  • Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department – Replacement f Car 3: Approved a 50-50 fire/EMS split for a 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe ($84,331.87 total) and waived the 30-day layover. Funds from O&M accounts.
  • Westlake Volunteer Fire Department – Replacement of EMS Utility 12: Approved to replace a 2016 Ford F-150 with a 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe ($81,165.80) and waived the 30-day layover. Funded from apparatus escrow.
  • Westlake Volunteer Fire Department – Replacement of Utility 12: Approved to replace a 2016 Ford F-150 with a 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe ($88,375.83) and waived the 30-day layover. Funded from O&M funds.
  • Bryan's Road Volunteer Fire Department – Acceptance of Donated UTV from Hughesville: The department requested acceptance of a 2005 Polaris Ranger UTV and purchase of a trailer ($3,500). Due to unspecified funding source for the trailer in the letter, the request was tabled until next meeting for clarification.
  • Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department – Construction of Pole Barn Storage Building: Requested $65,000 (split fire/EMS) from building allowance funds for a 30x40 pole barn and interior renovation of existing garage. The request was tabled until the next meeting (no immediate action).
  • Dentsville Volunteer Fire & EMS Department – Temporary Metal Storage Structure: The department informed the board of a $20,000 temporary building (paid from non-tax funds) to house Engine Tanker 15. Discussion ensued about whether this required a capital acquisition plan; the board accepted it as a letter of information, noting it is temporary and not a permanent modification.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved and waived 30-day layover: Waldorf EMS Command Vehicle (unanimous), Waldorf Car 3 (unanimous), Westlake EMS Utility 12 (unanimous), Westlake Utility 12 (unanimous).
  • Tabled: Benedict ambulance 58 (for funding revision), Bryan's Road UTV donation (for trailer funding clarification), Hughesville pole barn (no second motion needed; deferred).
  • Information accepted: Dentsville temporary structure (as letter of information).
  • Attendance report: Chairman will forward attendance report for 2025 to County Commissioners per policy.
  • Volunteer coordinator report: Noted passing of former Chief George Hayden, installation of officers, grants awarded to five departments for wildland firefighting, and cadet program progress.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome everyone to the January 2026 meeting of the Charles County Board of Fine Rescue Commissioners. My name is Lynn Gilroy, and I am the chairman. I also represent the Charles County Volunteer Fireman Association. With me tonight are some of the other members of the board. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my left is Ms. Natasha Sugar Perry, who is a governor's appointee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Robert Ansel is also a county commissioner appointee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And finally, we welcome to the uh membership here. County Commissioner Amanda Stewart representing the Charles County Commissioners. Ms. Stewart. Good evening, everyone, and happy new year. Happy New Year, and thank you for attending. Okay, we'll get right into our agenda. And it's a pretty extensive one. First is the appointment or reappointment by the Charles County Volunteer Fire Association for the Executive Board. Get the computer to work. We're all right. There we go. All right, we have a letter from the Charles County Volunteer Fireman Association addressed to Miss Carol DeSoto, clerk to the County Commissioners. Purpose of this letter is to advise County Government that Mr. Lynn Gilroy was elected to represent the Charles County Volunteer Fire Association as the executive committee chairman. And to represent the Charles County VFA at the Board of Fine Rescue Commissioners through December 2026. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter. If you require further information, please contact me at and she gives a phone number signed by Richard Bowie, President Charles County Volunteer Fire Association. Somehow okay, now I got a problem. Next we have the reappointment by the Charles County EMS Association to the Executive Committee. Bill, do you have that letter up? I do, Mr. Chairman. Uh this is also addressed to uh Miss Carol DeSoda, uh Clerk of the County Commissioners, uh dear Ms. DeSoto. Uh purposes letters to advise County Government that Mr. Abern Bill Deer was elected to represent the County Charles County Association of Emergency Medical Services Incorporated as the Executive Committee and to represent the CCAEMS incorporated at the Board of Fire and Rescue Commissioners through December 2026.

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