Town considers student digitization program, contracted mowing and stricter food-truck rules

A town code official identified as Tim presented three operational proposals to the Princess Anne commissioners on Oct. 20: a Washington High School partnership to digitize town records, contracting out lawn-mowing for code-violation properties, and stricter enforcement and a licensing/fee schedule for food trucks and open-air vendors.

On digitization, Tim proposed a memorandum of understanding with the high school to allow supervised juniors and seniors to scan and index town records, saying the pilot could start with two to three students and would use existing town equipment. On mowing, Tim argued contracting would reduce equipment wear and liability for the Department of Public Works and asked permission to solicit competitive bids; costs would continue to be assessed to property tax bills as currently allowed under town code. On vendor regulation, Tim recommended creating a town license/permit and fee schedule that piggybacks on Somerset County Health Department and Maryland State Fire Marshal requirements, adding town inspections, outreach and penalties for unlicensed operators. He asked the council for direction to develop enforceable rules, a fee schedule and bid documents.

Commissioners raised operational questions about who pays contractors upfront, the timeline for getting contractors or finding prior contract lists, and the logistics of requiring proof of county health permits for food vendors. Tim acknowledged potential overlap with county inspections and said coordination and reciprocity would be used to reduce duplicated work. He also noted a public-education gap during a recent Juneteenth event when town permitting was enforced inconsistently.