Amy Horne, the newly appointed Executive Director of the St. Michaels Community Center, brings deep personal and professional ties to Talbot County. A native of the area, Horne says she feels grateful to be “back home” and inspired by the chance to lead an organization with such an expansive mission. In a recent interview with The Spy, she described how the Center offers programming for children, adults, and seniors, including a weekly senior lunch and an active adult speaker series.

She highlighted the Center’s robust food distribution program as one of its most essential services. “We’re the only non-age-specific facility in Talbot County that offers all three food programs: hot congregate meals, delivered meals, and a pantry,” she said. With growing food insecurity even in one of the wealthiest counties in the country, Horne said she’s working to expand pantry hours and explore long-term funding solutions.

Looking ahead, Horne envisions workforce development initiatives and more youth programming, including a middle school dance this June. She’s also planning a strategic needs assessment for the Bay Hundred area. “A community center doesn’t tell people what they need—we ask,” she said. The Center celebrates its 35th anniversary this August.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the St. Michaels Community Center and make a donation please go here.

Unofficial vote tallies tonight indicate that Don Abbatiello has won a decisive victory over incumbent Frank Gundallus with 2,207 votes over 976, with some 230 absentee ballots yet to be counted.

Easton Council President

Don Abbatiello: 2,207
Frank Gunsallus: 976

Ward 2

Robert Rankin: 493 votes
Lynn Keefe: 228 votes

Ward 4

Elmer Davis: 253 votes
Cameron Keefe: 128 votes
Moonyene Jackson-Amis: 103 votes

At its most recent meeting, the Easton Town Council introduced a text amendment to the town’s zoning ordinance that would revise the supplemental standards related to seafood processing operations, including possible odor control that impacts the community’s quality of life.

This action is procedural and marks the beginning of the formal review process. As required by both the Maryland Land Use Article and Easton’s zoning ordinance, the proposed amendment will now be referred to the Planning Commission for evaluation.

A public hearing on the amendment has been scheduled for June 2.

An attached video highlights the Town Council members’ responses and a sample of public comments regarding the proposed changes.

Council Discussion

This video is approximately five minutes in length.

Public Comment 

This video is approximately 15 minutes in length.

After an extensive search, the Town of Easton is excited to announce the hiring of Andrew “Andy” Kitzrow as our next Town Manager. Kitzrow takes this new role after serving as the Salisbury City Administrator since 2023, and as the Deputy City Administrator since 2017. As Easton Town Manager, he will be responsible for overseeing all town operations, acting as a leader to personnel, and serving as a key point of contact for the Mayor, town leadership, Town Council, and residents of Easton.

“Every new beginning comes from the courage to let go of the familiar,” said Kitzrow. “As I step into the role of Town Manager for Easton, I do so with great excitement for the opportunities that lie ahead.”

Kitzrow brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role, with 19 years served in local government, including seven years in executive leadership roles. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005, Kitzrow would begin a long career in community administration by serving as a Recreation Program Director, and later a Recreation Superintendent for Wicomico County before landing his role as Deputy City Administrator for the City of Salisbury in 2017.

In his roles as Deputy City Administrator and City Administrator for Salisbury, Kitzrow championed many successful projects and initiatives, including:

• The establishment of the Arts, Business, and Culture Department promotes tourism, revitalization, and economic growth.

• The introduction of THRIVE, an employee health and wellness plan designed to holistically improve the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of City staff.

• The launching of two youth community centers, which now serve hundreds of youths while fostering growth and community engagement.

• The recruitment of top talent in numerous critical roles throughout the organization, including Police Chief and Fire Chief.

• Overseeing teams that secured over $25 million in state and federal grants.

“This was an extensive process, because we wanted to get the right person for the job,” said Mayor Megan Cook. “We partnered with Sumter, a local government consulting firm, to assist us with the search for not just qualified, but really exceptional candidates. We received applicants from all around the country, and as luck would have it, found the best prospect right here on the Shore. We’re so excited to have Mr. Kitzrow’s leadership and expertise on our team here in Easton, and I am excited to work with him on helping our great town continue to thrive.”

The search for a new town manager began in August of 2024, with Easton Police Chief Alan Lowrey filling in as Acting Town Manager throughout the process. “Chief Lowrey stepped up for us in such a big way,” added Mayor Cook. “Our staff and our town have been so lucky to have his outstanding leadership over these last several months — I can’t overstate how important his time here has been for us during this transition.”

Kitzrow’s appointment was approved by the Town Council at their meeting on Monday, May 5, and he is scheduled to begin serving as Easton Town Manager on July 7.

In an unprecedented action yesterday afternoon, Town of Easton officials posted a special alert addressing false claims about the town’s budget transparency, ward boundaries, and housing policies on their website. The town office was compelled to respond to this misinformation resently sent to residents making misleading claims in the run-up to the May 6th election.

Here is the page in full.

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In the wake of the upcoming 2025 Easton General Election, we have become aware of misinformation spreading regarding the Town Office, the budget process, ward zones, and inclusionary housing. Below we address the false claims we have encountered, followed by factual explanations with dates, documents, and links to verify them.

FALSE CLAIM: The line by line budget is not available to the public.

The FY 26 budget draft is currently online and available to the public, and has been accessible on our homepage since April 17, 2025. Mayor Cook gave her full budget presentation at the live-streamed council meeting on April 21, where she announced how to access the files, and video of this presentation along with a direct link to the full line by line budget was posted to social media on April 23. Last year’s budget presentation was also livestreamed and publicly delivered, with the budget also available on the Town Website.

FALSE CLAIM: This is the first time in 30 years a budget has been reviewed line by line.

Each year budgets are thoroughly and painstakingly reviewed for several months ahead of the Mayor’s budget presentation. Articles are gone through line by line, and department by department numerous times before a budget is finally settled on to present.

Town leadership meets regularly with the Mayor and Town Manager to discuss budget items in detail, cutting and adjusting as necessary to achieve a balanced budget. Additionally, each department head takes part in a public budget workshop (which is also recorded and available on the website) in which council reviews their budget with them ahead of the final presentation.

Prior budget workshops (dating back to April of 2022) are still available to view on our Agendas & Minutes page.

FALSE CLAIM: The Town has concealed information about ward boundaries, and only recently made a ward map available.

The Town of Easton has had a ward map available on their website since August 2022, shortly after the creation of the current website interface.

Since then the ward maps have been shared on social media in advance of local elections to help residents. The “Eye Over Easton” interactive map has ward location features, and was released on February 16, 2023, hosted on the Town of Easton website. Eye Over Easton launched alongside a tutorial video, and its creation was promoted on social media and picked up by several local media outlets including The Talbot Spy, and a television segment on WBOC TV.

In an effort to make things even easier on residents, an Interactive Ward Map was created in advance of the 2025 General Election. This map bypasses all additional Eye Over Easton features and exists solely to identify the town’s ward boundaries. After receiving feedback from residents about ease of use, the Interactive Ward Map was quickly designed and expertly put together by our Planning and Zoning staff, and was made available on April 30, 2025.

Residents who are not active online or on social media are encouraged to come into our offices on 14 S. Harrison Street, or to call us at 410-822-2525 where we will be happy to assist anyone with locating which ward they are in, or to help them with any other issues we are capable of assisting them with. We have an excellent front office staff that are friendly and helpful to anyone who comes through our doors.

FALSE CLAIM: Ward Boundaries were gerrymandered in an attempt to influence elections.

By state law, voting wards must maintain a threshold of population variance below 10%. In 2022, the Town of Easton voted unanimously to approve Ordinance No. 792 which reestablished ward boundaries in Easton to maintain accordance with the law.

This ordinance was not passed in secret, with a public hearing held on Monday, December 19, 2022 at the Town Council Chambers. To notify the public, a public hearing notice was sent out to run in the Star Democrat, the local paper of record, in the Sunday, December 11, 2022 edition. Additionally, a public workshop was held on November 21, 2022 prior to the town council meeting. That meeting was also livestreamed and recorded and can be viewed here.

Ward zones have not been adjusted (other than land annexations) since this 2022 ordinance.

FALSE CLAIM: The Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requires high density housing in every Easton neighborhood, and will directly affect existing neighborhoods throughout Easton.

The discussed Inclusionary Housing Ordinance is currently in a draft stage, and has not been voted on or formally discussed in detail at a Town Council meeting. Further discussion is pending until the release of the Affordable Housing Task Force report, which is just one of several recommendations. The draft of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance can be viewed here.

The current proposal posits that a developer producing new units designate 15% of their allotted units to be reserved for middle-income housing. These lower-cost units would not differ in appearance from the others, and would not detract from the visual element of the design.

As an incentive, upon agreeing to include these allotted lower cost units, a developer may utilize a 20% density increase to offset the cost of the lower priced units. Provisions are in the state statutes that enable local jurisdictions to approve inclusionary zoning legislation as well as density bonus incentives.

Even as a draft, this bill only affects new developments with seven or more residential units or the redevelopment of properties that produce seven or more residential units. Because less than seven units would be a fraction, developers of six or less new units would simply pay a fee. It does not affect any existing planned unit developments, and has been introduced largely to provide workforce housing to people who work in Easton, including police officers, firefighters, and teachers.

Town of Easton offices are transparent about our policies and procedures, and should be used as a resource for the public. For more information about the Town of Easton, please visit our website at eastonmd.gov, please visit us on our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, give us a call (during business hours) at 410-822-2525, or come in to our offices at 14 S. Harrison Street.

The town’s ongoing efforts at openness. Residents can visit eastonmd.gov or Town Hall for assistance and information.

The Spy-Avalon Town Hall meeting last night was a full house, and that only means good things for the Easton Town Council election next week. With all seven candidates in attendance, the Spy’s Craig Fuller moderated a two-hour discussion about the town’s most pressing issues and vision for the future.

This video is approximately 2 hours in length.

The Talbot Spy continues its tradition of candidate profiles for those running for Town Council President, as well as Ward 2 and Ward 4 seats. Six out of the seven candidates accepted the Spy’s invitation for a long-form interview about their background, motivation for running, and priorities if elected. One candidate, Frank Gunsallus, the current council president, did not respond to our several requests for his participation. While we regret his absence, he did agree to a similar profile in 2023 for the same office, so we have included that interview here.

The Spy and the Avalon Foundation will also continue their tradition of hosting an election town hall meeting, featuring the Spy’s Craig Fuller, on April 29th at 6 pm at the Avalon, where all seven candidates have agreed to participate. This is a free event.

The Town of Easton’s general election will be May 6th and will take place at the Easton Volunteer Fire Department 15 Leonard Rieck Drive, Easton, MD 21601

Town of Easton Council President 

Frank Gunsallus (2023)

Ward 2

Lynn Keefe

Robert Rankin

Ward 4

Elmer Davis

Moonyene Jackson-Amis

Cameron Keefe

 

 

As noted in the Talbot Spy’s interview with Mayor Megan Cook and Ward 3 Councilmember David Montgomery last week, the Town of Easton’s Council members began a conversation about the need and importance of establishing formal guidelines for financial reporting and limits on campaign contributions for individuals and organizations within the municipality.

During the public comment period, some residents raised questions about the timing of the proposal, before the town election on May 6th, as well as concerns that this legislation might be redundant or in conflict with other state reporting laws. Other public comments suggested that the proposed change of local law would ensure transparency and follow other communities in Maryland that have elected to have ordinances despite the existence of state reporting requirements.

The Council agreed to hold a workshop on the proposal next month.

This video is approximately 13 minutes in length.

 

If federal funding grant projections for the Neighborhood Service Center turn out to be accurate, one of the Mid-Shore’s most critical social services agencies, typically the last resort for individuals and families in the area experiencing severe poverty and homelessness, may not be able to continue its mission.

That was the sobering message from NSC director Marilyn Neal last night to the Talbot County Council regarding an emergency request of $150,000 to cover federal grants committed to the agency but now on hold, even though the funds have been distributed to families in need.  In addition to the county request, the Neighborhood Service Center is also asking Talbot towns to individually chip in $33,000 to help the organization avoid a significant and potentially fatal state of insolvency.

The Talbot County Council members agreed in principle to support the NSC. Still, some members wanted more clarity about the relationship between the County and the organisation, including its fiscal management, before a formal vote is taken at the next meeting. In the meantime, the Council approved $50,000 immediately to help the struggling agency in the interim.

This video is approximately 20 minutes long. To make a donation to the Neighborhood Service Center, please go here.