Howard County Council FY 2027 Capital Budget Work Session #1 - April 15, 2026
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Howard County Council FY 2027 Capital Budget Work Session #1
On April 15, 2026, the Howard County Council held its first FY 2027 Capital Budget Work Session, a hybrid meeting to review capital project proposals for Police, Fire and Rescue, Agricultural Preservation, Water, Sewer, Storm Drainage, and Bridges. The session lasted from 10:00 a.m. to approximately 4:30 p.m. Councilmembers Opel Jones (Chair), Christiana Rigby (Vice Chair), Deb Jung, Liz Walsh, and David Yungmann participated. The council reviewed project highlights, asked questions, and discussed funding priorities.
Discussion Items
Police
- Animal control design moving ahead with construction expected in FY28. Councilmember Young raised concerns about the Oracle building lease (ending in three years) and the need for a central police station, possibly in Columbia. Chief Ban stated there have been no recent discussions on a central station or lease renewal, but gateway master plan conversations have begun.
Fire and Rescue
- Chief Wallace presented five ongoing projects and one new (Fire Station 16). Highlights include:
- Armory conversion to fire headquarters (Phase 1 ~$5.9M, late summer 2028) and logistics facility (Phase 2).
- Fire Station 15: Land transfer from Board of Education approved, with MOU for EMT pathway program expanding to 60 students.
- Fire Station 7 (Banneker): Feasibility study underway for potential rebuild on existing site due to insufficient land for relocation. Councilmember Young advocated for upgrades rather than full replacement, citing historic importance and community attachment.
- Fire Station 16: New project for land acquisition in western Ellicott City/Turf Valley area to address response time challenges. Councilmember Yungmann noted a service gap ("donut hole") around Folly Quarter and suggested a medic-only facility; Chief Wallace preferred a full station but was open to discussion. He also mentioned that water tanks for rural fire protection (40 operational, 4 more planned for FY27) are sufficient, costing ~$330-340k each.
- Councilmember Rigby inquired about the fire fund's long-term outlook; the fund is modeled through 2032.
Agricultural Preservation
- Joy Levy reported that the county has preserved 16,200 acres via 174 easements (including state and dedicated easements, ~23,400 acres total). A 66-acre Harrison property adjacent to a previous acquisition was settled in January 2026, filling a "donut hole." Councilmember Young asked about expanding AgPres to eastern Howard County; a work group chaired by Kathy Hudson will begin meeting, aiming for recommendations by November 2026. Councilmember Yungmann noted the challenge of land value (cap at $40,000/acre vs. higher eastern prices).
Water
- Joseph Cabeda presented a $52.2M ask for sewer and $18M for water projects. Highlights:
- Lead and copper program: 829 public-side lines of unknown material remain; county is reaching out to homeowners for private-side identification.
- Clarksville water tower: Discussions with Howard County Public School System about siting on River Hill High School land are at the beginning stage. Councilmember Young emphasized early land acquisition.
- Water and sewer master plan expected by end of 2026; capacity exists for 60,000 more people.
- Longfellow water main replacement: Phase 1 to be completed by end of 2026; Phase 2 will be bid later this year. Elliott's Oak Road repaving will follow phase 1 completion.
Sewer
- Dryers (biosolids): Currently operational after engagement with manufacturer; safety interlocks and preventive maintenance being addressed.
- Flow equalization project: Delayed one year due to procurement delays for engineering design; funds moved to FY28. Councilmember Yungmann expressed frustration with the procurement timeline.
- Deep Run Shallow Run interceptor: Contract 1 going to bid spring 2026; contract 2 procurement planned for FY27.
Storm Drainage
- Total request $27.1M for FY27. Key topics:
- Green streets program: Permeable pavement removal at Columbia Gateway Drive example.
- Private stormwater ponds: Councilmember Rigby discussed HOA financial challenges and proposed a revolving loan program; county historically has not funded private pond repairs due to legal hurdles (liens, title complications). Councilmember Yungmann noted that asset management needs to incorporate long-term infrastructure costs.
- Cedar Lane Park stream restoration: Public meetings held; design alternatives presented; underground stormwater management under one field likely; waiting on feedback from Recreation & Parks. Councilmember Young requested project details.
- MS4 permit: County is in compliance; next permit cycle unknown but likely similar to large municipalities. Councilmember Young questioned the effectiveness of bay restoration efforts given the Susquehanna River dam sediment issue.
Bridges
- Inspection program includes 65 large, 60 small bridges and 50 retaining walls per year. Councilmember Yungmann questioned the need for $1M additional new money for project 3053 (bridge repairs) given low historical spend and high bond issuance. DPW explained that infrastructure aging and cost escalation necessitate higher funding, but Yungmann remained skeptical.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; the session was informational for budget development.
- The council will continue work sessions on other capital project categories in the future.
- Staff committed to providing additional details on Cedar Lane Park stream restoration, private pond financing options, and further analysis on central police station feasibility.
Meeting Transcript
This webinar is being recorded and summarized. Right. You know what? I will I will hold please. Bingo will be incoming. Yeah, that's what I was looking for actually this morning. Good morning, everyone. You okay? I don't think I'm tall enough to please don't fall. Please don't flip over the table on uh streaming and broadcast. I'm not promising I won't. I won't laugh. So it can be two. Good morning, everyone. This is the council's first FY 2027 Capital Budget Work Session. The proceeding this morning is a hybrid meeting, which is being conducted in person and via WebEx teleconference. The public may view the FY 2027 Capital Budget Work Session through live stream on the County Council website. At this time, I'm going to do a roll call of the council members. Here. Miss Young. Here and welcome to FY27. Mr. Youngman. Here. Miss Walsh will be joining us shortly, and I am Opal Jones. Our agenda today includes the following capital project categories. Police, fire and rescue, ag press, water, sewer, storm drainage, and bridge programs. We will now proceed with our agenda. If we're gonna be after lunch, we'll try to give you that heads up as we go throughout this budget work session. So first up, we have police. If you guys want to join us. And for my colleagues, we have approximately 30 minutes for this section. We're gonna start with brief highlights. Um one to two minute highlight as we have been together uh for our eighth budget. Um we are quite familiar with what police do versus our first year. Uh so we'll take uh brief highlights from police, one to two minutes, and then we will begin our rotations of question and answer. Good morning. Good morning. Um Major Terrence Ban. I'm ready to proceed. Okay, wonderful. Um so we usually do a round of questions. Um we today we'll start numerically. We'll start with Miss Walsh, who will be joining us shortly. So we'll come back to her when she gets here. Um and so next is me. I just want to say thank you for all your service. Um I know there's been some challenges recently, as we we've all uh seen uh in the media. I know internally you are dealing with a whole lot, and we can continue to appreciate your service and all you do, not only uh for your local communities, but for Howard County and the state, and we really appreciate everything. Um and we'll have Ms.
openpublica.com