Union Bridge News Briefs

(5/27) Union Bridge Mulls Mayoral Qualification Criteria

The Town Council is considering establishing mandatory qualifications for the Town’s mayor position. Requirements the Council is looking at include a candidate must live in the corporate limits of Town for two consecutive years and must attend three Council meetings within 12 months of nomination date. Candidates must also be nominated by a resident of at least two years and no write-ins will be allowed for the ballot.

Mayor Perry Jones pointed out that the Town does not want to make it difficult to become mayor, but several Carol County towns have seen this issue over the last several years, "and we just want to be ahead of the game."

Other municipalities have seen candidates running for local office who are lacking qualifications, including living status, and are abruptly seeking to make Town changes without ever having attended a Council meeting before. A considerable number of council members in these situations do not last even a year in office before they quit, stated Jones.

"I don’t have a problem with anybody who wants to run for any office, but they ought to be coming to the meetings to at least know what a meeting is all about and so they know how to conduct a meeting and things like that," he said. Additionally, Jones noted, some defeated candidates never return and attend meetings to stay up to date with Town happenings after the election.

According to the Maryland Municipal League, municipalities cannot legally require mayoral candidates to have first served on the Council, Jones said.

Citing efforts the Town has made to encourage participation in local government, Councilman Bret Grossnickle questioned the need to change election procedures and qualifications to run for Union Bridge mayor. "We certainly don’t want to make it more difficult for someone to run when we have enough trouble getting people to run," Grossnickle said.

Grossnickle also voiced reservations against the Town’s procedure of nominating potential candidates from the floor, calling it "unnecessary." These requirements could potentially prevent someone who qualifies for the position from throwing their hat in the ring because they didn’t feel like jumping through hoops, according to Grossnickle.

Jones noted it is common procedure in many different committees to be nominated and accepted before appearing on the ballot.

Jones encouraged anyone interested in running for local government or wanting to know about the happenings of their Town to attend the Council meetings instead of finding out second hand.

Grossnickle agreed, noting his own inexperience when he began on the Council. "You have to start somewhere," he said.

FY-25 Budget Approved

At its April 22 meeting, the Union Bridge Town Council approved its FY-25 Budget.

Several work meetings went into the draft budget which includes expenditures and revenue of $1,174,714, according to Mayor Perry Jones Jr.

The town tax rate will remain at 35 cents per $100 of full value assessment of property in town. The personal property tax rate is proposed to remain at 75 cents per $100 assessed value, he said.

Not sure if intentionally brief but typically a bit more info when discussing this. Maybe just a statement that there wasn’t a major change from previous year so rates not changing

EPA Contaminant Limits Announced

In other business, Town Attorney Mandi Porter noted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the maximum contaminant limit for forever PFOS and PFOA chemicals at four parts per trillion for each contaminant.

Porter stated, the EPA will start monitoring levels of these chemicals by 2027 and by 2029 if systems are not implemented for reduction, fines will be issued for municipalities.

A remediation program for the town’s drinking water has been an ongoing discussion in town. The town is hoping for more grants from the state as well as receiving funding from municipal litigation, Porter said.

According to the Union Bridge Water Quality Report, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) initiated a PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) monitoring program in 2020. PFAS, known as "forever chemicals" refer to a range of thousands of human-made chemicals including cleaning products, packaging materials or products, paints, and firefighting foam.

Two of the most prevalent PFAS compounds, FOA and PFOS, were identified in samples taken from the town’s water system in 2022, with concentration of 3.78 parts per trillion (ppt) and 16.7 ppt respectively, resulting in the distribution of a tier two notice as required by MDE.

In March 2023, the EPA announced proposed maximum contaminate levels (MCL's) of 4 ppt for PFOA and 4 ppt for PFOS, and a Group Hazard Index for four additional PFAS compounds. Future regulations would require additional monitoring as well as certain actions for systems above the MCL of Hazard Index, according to the report.

Community Crisis Resources Available

At the Union Bridge Town council’s April 22 meeting, Carroll County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Kevin McGinnis reminded the community and all those suffering from mental illness that help is available.

As a point of awareness, McGinnis noted the rise in crisis help needed throughout the month of March. The Sheriff’s Department and neighboring agencies responded to 182 wellbeing checks, 39 emergency petitions, and 31 suicide threats in March, he said.

"Mental health is definitely a big focus of mine and I feel like it’s a big issue right now," he said.

There are a number of Crisis Intervention Team trained officers at the Sheriff’s Office who also serve on the Circle of Caring Committee Board, including McGinnis, that assist with homeless shelters and the Senior Center Task Force Board.

"We’re there to relate to people and help them out. And that’s what a community deputy does," he said.

The sheriff’s department assists in annual community events including Drug Take Back Day.

McGinnis shared the Crisis health line of 410-952-9552 and noted the Carrol County Crisis Team is open seven days a week.

Anyone suffering or knows someone in need is encouraged to reach out, as outreach opportunities are available and calls can be made to emergency responders to provide the right help, he said.

"I hope people hear this and know that there’s help out there," McGinnis said.

More information about Carroll County Crisis Response Team is available at www.ccmhadvocates.org.