Allegany County approves consent agenda of contracts and grants, then moves to closed session

Allegany County commissioners approved a broad consent agenda that included contracts for fair events, road materials and fuel, community demolition grants, several grant acceptances and a lease option for land in Barrow, West Virginia, and then voted to enter a closed session to discuss labor relations, a prospective business locating in the county and potential litigation.

A county staff member who summarized the agenda told commissioners that the consent package included the annual contracts for fair acts and associated events, and noted, "Kevin always signs those and sort of negotiates most of those. It just authorizes him to do so like he always has." The package also included routine procurement and grant items across several county departments.

Key items approved on consent included: the fiscal year 2026 award for delivered, clean, washed and crushed stone to Allegheny Aggregates for $206,823; a fuel contract for unleaded gasoline and diesel with Oakland Oil and Propane for a total price of $838,000; community enhancement grants to support demolition work at Queen City Liquors (806 N. Buchanan) for $24,580 and at She's So Pretty clothing store (1 Main St., Frostburg) for $25,000; acceptance of a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant of $279,000 for James Place, processed through the Governor's Office for Crime Control and Prevention; and acceptance of multiple 9-1-1 board grants totaling $502,867.

The staff member also listed several other consent items: renewal of the county employee assistance program (formerly Deer Oaks) now referred to as All 1 Health; an award for asphalt materials with Midland Asphalt Materials of Clearfield, Pa., at a unit price referenced in the summary as $2.19 per gallon; a fiscal year 2026 contract for road program materials; a request for $500 in community event promotion for the 2025 Ellerslie Days festival scheduled June 25–27; declaration of surplus public works equipment (two generators and one transfer switch); an update to the Fairgrounds Emergency Operations Plan (the plan had not been updated since 2012); Federal Transit Administration certifications and assurances tied to transit grant applications; a 180-day lease option with Off the Grid Energy Works covering 16.4 acres in Barrow, West Virginia (the option would, if exercised, begin a lease-purchase at a starting price noted as $5,000 per acre); and a memorandum of understanding with the Western Maryland Climbing Coalition related to climbing infrastructure near the GAP Trail.

Commissioners left all items on the consent agenda for approval. After the consent approvals, Lee, identified in the meeting as a county staff member, asked for a motion to move into a closed session, saying, "Commissioners, we do have a few items, that we're gonna need to move into an executive session for, dealing with, with, first of all, with, labor relations negotiations with, one of our collective bargaining units, dealing with a business that has, is in negotiations to locate, here, and then, just to obtain some legal advice about, potential litigation issue." A motion to go into closed session was made and seconded; the board responded "Aye," and the meeting moved into a closed session with a public resumption scheduled for 5 p.m.

The consent agenda covered routine operational purchases, grant acceptances and planning updates that typically do not generate separate public debate. The items approved will allow procurement to proceed for road and fuel supplies, fund demolition of two downtown properties, secure VOCA funding for James Place and accept several public-safety grants, among other administrative steps. The lease-option item preserves a short-term right for Off the Grid Energy Works to explore a potential natural-gas plant project on 16.4 acres in neighboring West Virginia; the county described the document as an option contract that would allow the company to study the site during a 180-day period before a possible lease-purchase arrangement.

The board scheduled the closed session to address bargaining and legal matters that officials said required private discussion under applicable Maryland law. The meeting record shows the closed session began immediately after the motion and that the public meeting was to resume at 5 p.m.