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Board of County Commissioners of Washington County, Maryland
Open Session Minutes
March 10, 2020
MOMENT OF SILENCE AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
A moment of silence was observed, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by the full
assemblage.
CALL TO ORDER
President Jeffrey A. Cline called the regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of
Washington County, Maryland, to order at 9:13 a.m. at 100 West Washington Street, Room 1113,
Hagerstown, Maryland, with the following members present: Commissioners Wayne K. Keefer, Cort
F. Meinelschmidt, and Randall E. Wagner (Vice President Terry L. Baker was absent).
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Commissioner Meinelschmidt, seconded by Commissioner Wagner, moved to approve the minutes of
March 3, 2020. The motion passed unanimously (4-0, Commissioner Baker was absent).
CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION
Commissioner Wagner, seconded by Commissioner Meinelschmidt, moved to convene in closed
session at 9:14 a.m. to discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline,
demotion, compensation, removal, resignation or performance evaluation of appointees, employees,
or officials over whom this public body has jurisdiction; or any other personnel matter that affects one
or more specific individuals; to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice on a legal matter; and to
comply with a specific constitutional, statutory, or judicially imposed requirement that prevents public
disclosures about a particular proceeding or matter, in accordance with Sections 3-305(b )(1), (7), (13)
of the General Provisions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The motion passed
unanimously.
In closed session, the Commissioners discussed the potential appointment of specific individuals to a
local services board over which the Commissioners have appointing authority; discussed specific
employment recommendations and matters with staff as well as appointment, assignment, and re-
assignment, promotion, compensation of specific employees; discussed and received legal
advice/information on certain employment and contractual matters and provided direction to Counsel
with respect thereto. Additionally, the Commissioners discussed matters which are protected by
attorney-client privilege and/or the work-product doctrine and received legal advice on said matters.
Present during closed session were Commissioners Jeffrey A. Cline, Wayne K. Keefer, Cort F.
Meinelschmidt, and Randall E. Wagner. Also present were Kirk C. Downey, County Attorney/Interim
County Administrator; Krista L. Hart, County Clerk; Kendall Desaulniers, Deputy County Attorney,
and at various times Dave Hays, Director, Emergency Services; Tom Brown, Assistant Director,
Emergency Communications; Rachel Brown, Director, Human Resources; and Eric Paltell, Esquire
(Vice-President Baker joined the meeting at 9:43 a.m.).
RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION
Commissioner Meinelschmidt, seconded by Commissioner Keefer, moved to reconvene in open
session at 10:08 a.m. The motion passed unanimously.
COMMISSIONERS' REPORTS AND COMMENTS
Commissioner Meinelschmidt commented on House Bill 737, which has been amended in Annapolis.
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OPEN Session, March 10, 2020
Commissioner Wagner recognized staff for their involvement in the Press Conference on the
Coronavirus and the Home Show.
Commissioner Cline also thanked staff for their involvement in the Press Conference and the citizens
for the support.
REPORTS FROM COUNTY STAFF
Division o(Emergencv Management
Dave Hays, Director, recommended the reclassification of Brian Albert to the Assistant Director of
Communications, Grade 16, Step 1, $64,397; and the reclassification of Charles Brown to the
Emergency Manager, Grade 15, Step 11, $87,048, for a $5,408 net change.
Commissioner Wagner, seconded by Commissioner Meinelschmidt, moved to approve the
reclassifications as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr Hays; President Gerber, Smithsburg Emergency Services; Dale Fishack, President, Washington
County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association; and Dave Chisholm, Emergency Services, provided
the Board with an update on the finances within the Smithsburg Fire Department.
CITIZENS' PARTICIPATION
Dr. Boyd Michael, Superintendent, Washington County Public Schools, provided the Board with
information regarding the necessity of School Counselors and requested support for the Board of
Education's budget.
FORMAL APPROVAL OF ZONING MAP AMENDMENT RZ-19-006 (Heritage Huyett
LLC}
B. Andrew Bright, Assistant County Attorney, requested that the Board formally approve the Decision
granting rezoning RZ-19-006 as requested by Heritage Huyett LLC, and to enact an Ordinance to
Amend the Zoning Map for Washington County, as approved following the public hearing of February
11, 2020.
Commissioner Wagner, seconded by Commissioner Keefer, moved to formally approve the Decision
granting the rezoning RZ-19-006, and to enact a Public Ordinance to Amend the Zoning Map as
requested. The motion passed unanimously.
(Ordinance No. ORD-2020-05 is recorded among the Acts, Ordinances, and Resolutions of
Washington County and the original is in the County Commissioners' Office.)
NATIONAL ROAD MUSEUM-REQUEST OF HOTEL RENTAL TAX FUNDS
Richard Keesecker, Vice President of the National Road Museum, and Tiffany Ahalt, Volunteer,
presented a request for funding support from the Hotel Rental Tax fund in the amount of $7,500, for
direct expenses associated with the National Road Museum Exhibits project.
Commissioner Keefer, seconded by Commissioner Meinelschmidt, moved to approve the request for
funding support from the Hotel Rental Tax fund in the amount of $7,500 for the National Road
Museum, as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
REJECTION OF BID (PUR1454} FOR MATTRESS AND BED BASE REMOVAL,
DISPOSAL, AND RECYCLING
Brandi Naugle, Buyer, Purchasing, and Dave Mason, Deputy Director, Solid Waste, presented the
recommendation to reject bids for Mattress and Bed Base Removal, Disposal and Recycling due to
the bids' exceeding the estimated budget. The estimated cost per mattress was $5/mattress, based on
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OPEN Session, March 10, 2020
the proposed bid, the cost of each mattress would be over $15/mattress. Ms. Naugle also presented
the request to rebid the project with a modified scope of work at a later date to resolicit prices.
Commissioner Wagner, seconded by Commission Meinelschmidt, moved to reject the bids for the
Mattress and Bed Base Removal, Disposal and Recycling as presented, and to rebid with a modified
scope of work as requested. The motion passed unanimously.
TERMINATION OF FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL FOR POTTENTIAL SALE OF
PROPERTY
Todd Moser, Real Property Administrator, and Jeb Eckstine, Volunteer Fire Department,
recommended approval of the termination of the first right of refusal clause in a potential sale of
property located at 18005 Tilghmanton Road, Fairplay.
Commissioner Wagner, seconded by Commissioner Meinelschmidt, moved to approve the request as
presented. The motion passed unanimously.
FISCAL YEAR 2021 GENERAL FUND BUDGET PRESENTATION
Sara Greaves, CFO, and Kim Edlund, Director, Budget and Finance, presented as discussion,
information as it pertains to the FY2021 (FY21) General Fund Budget for various departments, to
include a discussion on Personnel Requests.
The Commissioners discussed the preferred method surrounding the process of the General Fund
Budget review. The Commissioners requested that Ms. Greaves and staff provide the Board with a list
of priority recommendations, to include outside agency requests.
Division of Information Technology
Josh O'Neal, Director, presented the proposed FY21 budget for the department, which consisted of a
request in the amount of $1,106,850 in Operating Expenses, a 3.8% increase from FY20. Under the
department of Wireless Communications, Mr. O'Neal has requested $916,280, a 6.39% increase.
Division of Budget and Finance
Ms. Greaves presented the proposed FY21 budget for the Division, which consisted of a request in the
amount of $54,240 in Operating Expense, zero change from FY20. Additionally, Ms. Greaves
presented the request for personnel within the Department of Budget and Finance.
Under the Purchasing Department, Ms. Greaves has requested $21,400 in Operating Expenses, a
18.32% decrease from FY20.
Under the Central Services Department, Ms. Greaves has requested $128,300 in Operating Expenses,
a .70% decrease from FY20.
Ms. Greaves also discussed the budget requests for Grant Management, Community Funding, and the
Gaming Fund, to include revenue projections.
ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Wagner, seconded by Commissioner Meinelschmidt, moved to adjourn at 11 :58 a.m.
The motion passed unanimously.
Krista L. Hart, County Clerk