Town Council Meetings

Town of Sykesville Dear 7547 Main Street, Sykesville, MD 21784 Town House p: 410.795.8959 f: 410.795.3818 Stacy Link, Mayor townofsykesville.org Joseph Cosentini, Town Manager Jennifer Livesay, Town Treasurer Kerry G. Kavaloski, Town Clerk OFFICIAL MINUTES OF JANUARY 27, 2025 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING NO. 25-01 The Council meeting of the Town of Sykesville was held on Monday, January 27, 2025. Mayor Link called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. in the Town House Council Chambers. Mayor Link led the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence. PRESENT: Mayor Stacy Link, Council President Anna Carter, and Council Members Mark Dyer, Alan Grasley, Elizabeth Guroff, Leo Keenan, and Jeremiah Schofield. STAFF: Joseph Cosentini, Town Manager Kerry Kavaloski, Town Clerk Michael Spaulding, Police Chief Jennifer Livesay, Town Treasurer PUBLIC COMMENTS: There were no public comments. CONSENT AGENDA: • Minutes from December 9, 2024 • Minutes from December 16, 2024 • Minutes from December 19, 2024 • Appointment of Amy Poet to the Parks and Recreation Commission for a three-year term, expiring April 2028 MOTION: Council Member Grasley motioned to approve the items on the Consent Agenda. Council Member Dyer seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS: I. Annual Presentation by the Downtown Sykesville Connection Julie Della-Maria, Executive Director of the Downtown Sykesville Connection (DSC), presented a report of what the DSC accomplished in 2024. During this presentation, Mayor Link and Ms. Della-Maria presented two youth Farmers’ Market volunteers and three members of Girl Scout Troop 1290 with certificates of appreciation. II. Consider/Discuss/Act on Resolution NO. 2025-01 allowing alcohol at Downtown Sykesville Connection events  Joe Cosentini, Town Manager, explained that this is the standard annual resolution allowing alcohol at the Art and Wine Festival, Sippin’ on Summer, Beer Festival, and select Sundays at the Farmers’ Market. Council Member Guroff explained that though the street is closed, and walk-through tickets are requested, the public can still access Main Street and go to the merchants without a ticket. MOTION: Council Member Keenan motioned to approve Resolution NO. 2025-01 allowing alcohol at Downtown Sykesville Connection events. Council President Carter seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS: • The next meeting is Monday, February 10, 2025. • We have volunteer opportunities available as a Crossing Guard, and on the Police Auxiliary. Email town@sykesville.net for more information about volunteering with the Town. o Mayor Link announced that all volunteer positions on Commissions are full. • Staff Updates o Town Manager Updates: Mr. Cosentini announced that all of the paid employee positions are full as well. He thanked the Public Works employees for keeping up with the snowplowing and all their other duties. The retractable bollards will be removed from the streetscape project due to budget constraints. The engineer contractor is working on the phasing for construction. The work on Main Street is likely to be delayed as to no impact the busy season for merchants. The first FY2025 budget revision will be introduced at the February 10 meeting. o Treasurer’s Report Jennifer Livesay, Town Treasurer, presented the December 2024 Treasurer’s Report. She explained that historic building utilities were separated to properly show the different buildings, and the Gate House porch repair is included in this report. These will both be reflected in the budget revision. The expense in capital outlay streets was upgrades and investment in the roadways. Ms. Livesay explained that December’s revenues were lower than expenses, and there was a large payment to MD State Retirement and LEOPS. Property taxes are received in January. o Public Safety Report  Chief Spaulding introduced David Ulrich, a newly sworn in officer. Officer Ulrich is going through his field training. Chief Spaulding will be participating in the Polar Bear Plunge with several other Sykesville officers. Chief Spaulding presented the Public Safety Report for the period of December 2, 2024, through January 20, 2025. There was a total of 1,752 reports including 26 assist other agencies, 37 community policing events, 30 incident reports, 74 foot patrols, 956 patrol checks, and 99 traffic enforcement initiatives. Chief Spaulding explained that the person in incident #00236 did have a valid carry permit for their gun; however, they cannot lawfully carry a firearm while intoxicated. There are no suspects for incident #00244 with the fleeing dirt bikes. Sergeants Lacy and Schlaerth spearheaded the Toys for Tots donation drive with two very large boxes of toys collected. Officers Hoppa and Jacobs both had multiple community policing events during this report period. Chief Spaulding explained that there are four suspects who are currently unidentified for the burglary on Brandenburg Circle. The suspects pried open a window while the homeowners were at work. There was also theft of packages, and the suspect has not been fully identified yet. The surrounding areas have seen an uptick in catalytic converter thefts. The uptick in welfare checks is typical for the season. Officer Jacobs and K-9 Redder are in training several days a week. They are expected to complete training in six to eight weeks. Council Member Schofield thanked the officers who helped when his wife and daughter were stuck in the snow. Mayor Link thanked Chief Spaulding for his help with her elderly neighbor. • Council/Commission Updates o Council Member Dyer announced that there are grants for bringing cable to fringe populations. He will be attending Managing the Strategic Cybersecurity Challenge class through the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance. o Council Member Keenan asked to talk about a full-time code enforcement position. RECESS: The Council took a recess at 8:18 P.M. CLOSED SESSION: The meeting is proposed to be closed pursuant to the General Provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Section 3-305(b): (1) To discuss the appointment,  employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation, or performance evaluation of appointees, employees, or officials over whom it has jurisdiction; or any other personnel matter that affects one or more specific individuals MOTION: Council Member Grasley motioned and Council President Carter seconded to go into closed session at 8:23 P.M. The motion carried unanimously. Those in attendance were: Mayor Link, Council President Carter, Council Members Dyer, Grasley, Guroff, and Schofield, Town Manager Joseph Cosentini, and Town Clerk Kerry Kavaloski. Items discussed were: • Personnel – Parks and Recreation Coordinator – no action MOTION: Council Member Grasley motioned and Council Member Guroff seconded to go back into open session at 8:32 P.M. The motion carried unanimously. ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the Council, Council Member Grasley motioned and Council Member Schofield seconded to adjourn meeting at 8:33 P.M. The motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted Town Clerk Kerry Kavaloski