On Tuesday, June 22, Wes Adams, County Attorney, presented Proposed Bill 2025-07: Commissioners Term Limits. The draft bill states that no one elected to the Charles County Board of County Commissioners, or the President of the Charles County Board of County Commissioners, can serve more than two non-consecutive terms. Restrictions will take effect as of December 6, 2022. Commissioners appointed to fill vacancies will have a term counted against them if they serve more than two years of the previous Commissioner’s term. Commissioners voted unanimously to introduce the bill and schedule a public hearing for Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m.

Commissioners also held a legislative work session for the 2026 Maryland General Assembly Session. The meeting reviewed potential statewide bills during the upcoming legislative session and bills of interest from the 2025 state legislative session. Commissioners are currently accepting proposals for state legislative proposals from residents until Aug. 18.

Briefings

• Frances Sherman, Chief of Environmental Services, and Meg Romero, Assistant Chief of Environmental Resources, briefed commissioners on amendments to the solid waste management plan. Amendments include the addition of an amendment application process for private entities, among other changes. Commissioners voted to introduce the bill and schedule a public hearing for Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m.
• Jenifer Ellin, Acting Deputy County Administrator, Bill Kidwell, Chief Information Officer, and Gina Markovich, IT Project Manager, announced the launch of the Charles County Board of County Commissioners' goals and objectives website. The site includes an overview of the five focus areas that were chosen by the Commissioners as the most important priorities for Charles County from 2023 to 2026, detailed descriptions of the goals per focus areas, and progress per objective.
• Kelli Beavers, Director of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism, and Sam Drury, Deputy Director, held a briefing on updating department fees and charges. The presentation included a historical perspective of fees, types of fees, how they affect the enterprise fund, strategies for improving the customer experience and streamlining fees.
• Danielle Mitchell, Assistant Deputy County Attorney, facilitated a work session on Proposed Bill 2025-05: Industrial Development Authority. The proposed bill would authorize the county to create an Industrial Development Authority. Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the bill.

 

Actions on Boards and Commissions

 

Charles County Commissioners took the following actions on county boards and commissions:

• Appointed Atola Idika as the Health Department Psychiatrist to the Adult Public Guardianship Review Board.
• Appointed Sharon Garcia as an At-Large member to the Commission on Individuals with Disabilities. 
• Appointed Bamidele Bello as a representative of District one (1), Vetoya Smith as a representative of District three (3), and Michelle Gillam-Lyons as an At-Large member to the Compensation Commission.
• Appointed Graham Kimberly as a Clergy member and Dana Wallace as a Faith-Based Community member to the Interfaith Commission.

Public Hearings

 

On July 22, Commissioners held a public hearing on Proposed Bill 2025-06: Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 24-186 Master Sign Plan for Transit Oriented Development Properties. The bill would allow signage for a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) zoned project to comply with a Master Sign Plan, which will govern the location, number, height, illumination, size, and design of the signage.  The TOD zone is in northern Waldorf. Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the bill.

 

Boards and Commissions Annual Update

Commissioners heard updates on the activities of the following Charles County Boards and Commissions:

• Disability Review Boards (Sheriff’s Office and Charles County)
• Police Accountability Board and the Administrative Charging Committee

 

 

Approval Items

Commissioners approved:

• A budget transfer request of $958,540 to account for higher costs in the Southerland Septic Connection project.
• A budget transfer request of $185,180 to cover the purchase of three LifePak systems to replace the same number of non-functional units.
• A budget transfer request of $2.6 million to support the cost of future design services for Phase 1 of the future Sports and Wellness Center project.
• A budget transfer request and change order of $174,680 to cover costs for repairs to the road shoulder as a part of the Landfill Leachate Management System Pump Force & Forcemain project.
• A Proposed PILOT Agreement with ThinkBig Networks, LLC for payment in lieu of taxes for five years. The County has been in partnership with ThinkBig since December 2020, resulting in the creation of a fiber optic network that has connected over 1,500 previously unserved rural residents. 
• An Option Contract with the State Highway Administration (SHA) for acquisition of a small portion of Covington Road to allow SHA to complete a project on Maryland Route 382, also known as Croom Road.
• Approval of the Board of County Commissioners Calendar Year 2026 Session Calendar.
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