Sykesville Council Directs Fundings Towards Building Purchase, Police See Uptick in Behavioral Health Calls
Citizen Report: The top take-aways from the Sykesville Town Council Meeting on July 10, 2023.
New Business
The Town Council’s first order of new business was to Consider/Discuss/Act on the update to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Sykesville and the Downtown Sykesville Connection. In 2021, MOU started with annual updates. This year in May 2023, the Town advanced the DSC $500,000 to purchase a building. The Town will now fund the $50,000/year, that previously went to the DSC, to credit the loan for the purchase of the DSC building. The Council unanimously passed this update to the MOU.
Safety Report
Chief Spaulding provided the Public Safety Report for the time period from June 6-July 3 with 965 events. Spaulding highlighted a few items that Councilpersons questioned. There was an arrest of a juvenile male for an assault on a young women Sergeant Lacey. Video footage was available to identified the person. The juvenile will be charged though Department of Youth Services. In addition, there were two catalytic converter thefts both Toyota Prius, which is a common car for this type of theft. Sgt. Lacey discovered a link that might tie these thefts to other investigations in other jurisdictions.
Spaulding and the Council were very pleased and proud to congratulate Corporal Michael Schlaerth was officially awarded Top Cop in Maryland at the Maryland Municipal League Conference on Tuesday June 27th.
The Sykesville Police Department will participate in the National Night Out on August 1st. Governor Moore’s office contacted Spaulding to state that he may attend.
The 14th annual CSI Academy will be held on Saturday, September 16th, 9:00am-3:00pm in Cooper Park for 20-30 middle schoolers.
The Council raise concern over the increase in behavior health calls. Councilperson Guroff suggested holding education and training for the Council and Staff on first aid, AED, Narcan, Stop the Bleed and mental health awareness. This could be extended to businesses and the community.
Town Manager Update
Water/Sewer Work
Town Manager, Joe Cosentini provided update in regard to the water/sewer work on Springfield Avenue and Main Street. On Springfield, the sewer work is just about complete. The water line replacement focused on a temporary water line that was installed and caused a couple of water line breaks. Pressure was relieved by working in sections. The end of September is targeted for completion of the work on Springfield. Then the State will start storm water work.
The work on Main Street is mostly complete. They are currently working on individual building connections for another 3 weeks. Then work will begin on concrete sidewalks and other clean-up which should be completed end of July to mid-August. Paving will start in September.
Additional Updates
Communication Issues
The Council mentioned that were issues with lack of text/email notifications of water shutoff as well as trash/recycling changes for the holiday week. Cosentini will look into how to best resolve these communication issues.
Cannabis Research
Councilman Al Grasley will be attending the MML Cannabis Symposium to learn about the new State law for selling of Cannabis for recreational use. Grasley is taking the lead to gather information at the Symposium, from other Towns, and additional research. He will bring information back to the Council to consider. The Town Attorney, Elissa Levan stated that the Town can put a moratorium on the selling of cannabis until the ordinance is in place.
Free Online Safety Course
On August 4th, 1:00pm-3:00pm at the Town House, the Town and Magic will hold Safety in the Digital Age to help community members navigate the internet. This workshop is free and will include login safety, identifying scams, securing your device, how to safely browse the internet and much more. Register at https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/S3t_w1n_ZenD3N7q2CTQvw
Announcements
The Town has volunteer opportunities available on the Historic District Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Police Auxiliary. Email town@sykesville.net for more information about volunteering with the Town.
Closed Session
The Council moved to closed session pursuant to the General Provisions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Section 3-305(b): (7) to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice on a legal matter in regard to the Warfield Contract.
To view this meeting in its entirety, go to https://www.facebook.com/carrollmediacenter/videos/960114305258917 or view below.
The next Town Council meeting is Monday, August 14, 2023.
