The Talbot County Council approved the $1.05 million purchase of a 20,000-square-foot commercial condominium next to the Talbot County Health Department on Cadmus Lane in Easton. While many in town might have thought the county already owned it, County Manager Clay Stamp said the space was included in the original plans for the Health Department but removed before the building was completed. The county will initially use it for storage, with the possibility of moving other county services there later.
Councilman Pete Lesher said consolidating services at the site could eventually allow the county to give up or sell other properties. The building also has access to a loading dock and sits next to the Rails-to-Trails path and nearby neighborhoods. The purchase was approved unanimously with little discussion.
Four rural homes approved for public sewer connections
The council also unanimously approved four applications allowing existing homes near Bozman and St. Michaels to connect to nearby public sewer lines.
County staff said each home currently has a functioning septic system that penetrates the groundwater, meeting the county’s revised definition of an environmental health problem. Each property will receive one sewer allocation, and no extension of the existing sewer main will be necessary.
The applications had been tabled under an earlier county policy but became eligible after the council revised its sewer connection standards.
Lesher questioned whether the Planning Commission and Public Works Advisory Board should review the applications again under the new policy. County Attorney Patrick Thomas said another review was not required because the earlier recommendations were based largely on state law and consistency with the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
There was also some minor housekeeping. County officials acknowledged that two resolutions listed incorrect acreage figures, which will be corrected in the final documents.
Easton and St. Michaels park projects move forward
Two significant park and trail projects also advanced.
The council authorized county attorneys to prepare an easement allowing the St. Michaels Nature Trail to cross part of Perry Cabin Park. Once completed, the roughly 2.5-mile trail is expected to connect several parks, neighborhoods and the town’s commercial corridor.
An earlier route had drawn opposition from Little League representatives who worried it could interfere with future parking or expansion of the ballfields. St. Michaels removed that portion from the plan and shifted the remaining trail as far away from the fields as possible.
The council also approved an agreement transferring approximately 1.8 acres of Poplar Hill Farm to the Town of Easton. The land will provide better access to Easton’s nearly 200-acre Woodland Park, which Mayor Megan Cook said will become the town’s largest park.
The town plans to extend Tristan Drive to the park and will maintain the road. Easton and the county would negotiate shared costs if a traffic signal is eventually needed.
Otherwise, it was a quiet evening. No one spoke during public comment, and the meeting’s most unexpected moment came when emergency alerts sounded for a tornado warning while Emergency Services Director Brian LeCates was requesting approval for a new department vehicle.
