Washington County commissioners approve budgets, grants, appointments and projects in May 20 meeting

The Washington County Board of County Commissioners on May 20, 2025, considered and approved a series of routine and substantive items, including the county’s FY26 operating and capital budgets, program‑open‑space project list, several property acquisitions, grants and agreements, and multiple appointments.

The board voted on each item during a regularly scheduled meeting. Below are the formal actions taken, the outcomes recorded on the meeting transcript, and brief notes on next steps where provided by staff.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes, May 6, 2025: Motion to approve the minutes carried. Vote recorded on the transcript as 5–0 in favor.

- Personnel appointment: Offer to Courtney McKinley for Training and Quality Assurance Supervisor (ECS group), Grade 13 Step 6, $34.12/hour — motion approved; transcript vote recorded 5–0.

- Airport invoice authorization: Approve payment of an updated invoice to Highlight (invoice $169,281.14) with the airport to cover the $2,922.14 difference from the prior authorization; motion approved, vote recorded 5–0; funds to be paid from the airport operating budget.

- Board and advisory appointments: Reappointments and new appointments to various advisory boards (Commission for Women reappointments for Elise Weber and Mary Hendrickson; Area Agency on Aging appointment of Eda Howard; appointment of Crystal Christian to fill a partial term). Motions were approved as recorded in the transcript; where an explicit tally was stated the vote was recorded as 5–0; one reappointment recorded in the transcript included a verbal annotation of "4 and 1" by the clerk and is noted below as recorded.

- County support for Maryland State Library capital grant (Williamsport Library): The board approved forwarding a letter of support for the library’s state capital grant application, with corrections to the local cost numbers provided by the county administrator. Motion approved on a voice vote (aye) and recorded as 5–0.

- Tri‑party memorandum of understanding (Town of Boonsboro, Board of Education, County) for the T6 Boulevard / Campus Avenue realignment project: Approved; the town and board of education earlier approved or planned approval; county contribution previously authorized in the CIP. Vote recorded 5–0.

- FY2026 Program Open Space project list: Approved as recommended by the Washington County Recreation and Parks Advisory Board. Motion carried on the record; transcript shows unanimous voice approval.

- FY2026 operating and capital budgets: The board adopted the FY26 operating and capital budgets as presented, including the updated capital schedule and personnel adjustments; motion carried on a 5–0 voice vote.

- Contract award for bottled water and dispenser rentals (Quote Q‑205‑7907): Recommendation to award to Blue Triton Brands, Inc. (Primo Brands) for a projected annual value of $57,374.51; motion approved on the record; vote recorded 5–0.

- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) memorandum of agreement/lease for airport navigational aids (Hagerstown Regional Airport): Approved by the board; the MOA allows FAA access to maintain instrument landing system, glide slope antenna, and approach lighting necessary for all‑weather operations; motion approved 5–0.

- Property acquisitions for road projects: Approved option agreements and ordinances to acquire partial fee and easements for parcels on Kretzinger Road (two parcels) and Hopewell Road (two parcels) to support culvert and road realignment projects; motions approved as submitted; vote recorded as unanimous on the transcript.

- State grant acceptance — Sex Offender Compliance and Enforcement (FY26): The board approved acceptance of $32,608 in grant funding for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to support part‑time positions for offender registration and compliance monitoring; motion approved 5–0.

- Motion to enter closed session for personnel, legal consultation, collective bargaining and staff consultations: Motion passed and the board recessed into closed session per the transcript.

Notes and next steps

- For several items, staff noted follow‑up tasks: county attorney to draft findings of fact after land‑use actions; county administrator and CFO to reallocate capital and local funds consistent with approved POS and capital items; procurement to finalize contract awards; and engineering/real‑property staff to finalize acquisition documents and ordinances. Where specific follow‑up dates were provided, staff indicated they would return the necessary documents for formal adoption or execution.

- Several routine and ceremonial items on the agenda (proclamations, recognitions, and the juror appreciation proclamation) were presented but are not listed in this votes summary because no formal county appropriation or action beyond acceptance and presentation was required.

The meeting transcript shows the votes were conducted by voice; when explicit tallies were read into the record those are reflected above. Where the transcript used a generic voice vote with no roll‑call, the article records the outcome as recorded on the public minutes.