The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County held their regular business meeting Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the Chesapeake Building in Leonardtown and opened by presenting four proclamations. The recognitions included National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Case Management Recognition Week, Domestic Violence Prevention Month, and National 4-H Week.
Commissioner John O’Connor brought up the recent concerns from not only citizens, but our volunteers in Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s Counties, due to the amount of increasing medical in St. Mary’s County, which the county has been relying heavily on Mutual Aid from Calvert, Charles, and even Prince George’s County for ambulances to respond to medical calls in St. Mary’s County.
Within the first week of October, St. Mary’s has been slammed with medical calls constantly to the point of all volunteer stations in our county not having enough ambulances to respond, or staffing and medics to assist., and more recently, ambulances from Waldorf, Hughesville, St. Leonard, Hollywood, Leonardtown, Mechanicsville, Solomons, and Dunkirk have been dispatched, or have responded to Valley Lee, Lexington Park and Ridge to assist with calls.
He stated that recently the EMS call volume has dramatically increased with blame on no one other than being a high-risk area, and due to that, this caused some extended delays for ambulances to arrive.
O’Connor stated there will be a solution hitting the streets to make a difference within the next 24 to 48 hours.
O’Connor speaks in the video below at 1:07:38 if you would like to watch and listen.
The Commissioners approved a change in the Pre-Trial Services Coordinator position with the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center (SMCDRC) Pre-Trial Services Program from a grant-funded employee to a full-time county employee position. The Pre-Trial Services Program has been a model program for the state.
The Commissioners approved a $210,231 grant application from the State of Maryland for Sheriff’s Office to request continued funding the School Resource Officers (SRO) in St. Mary’s County Public Schools, as required by the Maryland Safe to Learn Act of 2018.
The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County accepted a $5,000 grant award for waterway improvements, which will be used by the Department of Recreation and Parks for small reimbursement requests related to minor repairs to various County boat ramps and wharves as needed.
The Commissioners approved a $393,218 grant award for the St. Mary’s County Department of Aging & Human Services for continued funding through the Older American’s Act.
The Commissioners approved a Department of Natural Resources Waterway Improvement Grant Fund Agreement for $800,000 to go to the Department of Public Works & Transportation. This funding is to dredge St. Patrick Creek, which has a history of shoaling and sediment buildup.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County is Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020. There will be no meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13. Commissioner agendas can be found on the county website each Friday before the Commissioner Meeting.
Commissioner decisions and related public documents are available on the county government website in BoardDocs. St. Mary’s County Commissioner Meetings may be viewed live Tuesday mornings on SMCG Channel 95 or as a replay Friday nights at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are also available for on-demand viewing on the St. Mary’s County Government YouTube Channel.
