The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County held their regular business meeting Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the Chesapeake Building in Leonardtown and opened at 9 a.m. with a Public Hearing for the Office of the County Attorney on the disposition of public property.
The Commissioners presented three proclamations for Economic Development Week, Red Ribbon Week for the Health Department and Red Ribbon Week for the Southern Maryland Young Marines.
The Commissioners recognized the completion of three turf field projects in St. Mary’s County. The virtual Ribbon Cutting video highlighted the successful projects and features remarks from Commissioner President Randy Guy, CAPT John Brabazon, Commanding Officer, NAS Pax River and Arthur Shepherd, Director, Department of Recreation and Parks.
The Commissioners approved a new ordinance entitled “Pollution Prevention and Illicit Discharge, Detection and Elimination” with an effective date of Jan. 4, 2021. The Ordinance is intended to prohibit and, through detection, require the county to take actions to eliminate any identified or reported pollutants.
The Commissioners then heard from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office on several agenda items. The Commissioners approved the grant submission for the FY2022 State Aid for Police Protection (SAPP) program, project MD2230, from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth and Victim Services.
Major Michael Merican addressed the Commissioners with an increase for the Safe to Learn – School Overwatch Program because funding to the Sheriff’s Office has been increased from $130,000 to $135,025. The Commissioners unanimously approved the request.
Funding for grants of $154,411 from St. Mary’s County Health Department and St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Detention and Rehabilitation Center for Jail Mental Health Services, PATH, and the Five County Project was approved.
Sheriff Tim Cameron briefed the Commissioners on funding to support the St. Mary’s County Sheriff s Office (SMCSO) Youth Gun Violence Task Force Program to reduce youth gun violence, injuries and crimes committed by youth with firearms in St. Mary’s County. The Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant This grant funding will be used for the purchase of PredPol Software technology and integration of same with the county’s existing Information Technology architecture and also for the purchase of audio, video, and print mediums to promote awareness and education related to firearm safety. The Commissioners approved the grant of $100,000.
Stephen Walker, Director of Emergency Services, received approval of a plan of action for supplemental staffing and the purchase of an ambulance to support the delivery of Emergency Medical Services with the Volunteer Rescue Squads in St. Mary’s County using largely the Cares Act in the amount of $552,992.00.
The Commissioners convened as the Board of Health and received community-related COVID-19 updates from Dr. Meenakshi Brewster, County Health Officer.
The final agenda item was a request to establish a resolution from the County Attorney to allow some citizen filed complaints to be anonymous or to have names kept confidential when so requested. The Commissioners approved the resolution.
The Commissioners will host a Public Forum Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room in Leonardtown. The public is invited to participate in person, over the phone or by sending an email. For those attending in person, face coverings are required. For more details about the forum, please visit the county website
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County is Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. 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.
