EASTON, MARYLAND — The Talbot County Community Center's main ice rink would get a new dehumidifier, the county would buy a new ambulance and the county biosolids plant would get parts to rebuild its existing screen if the County Council approves three spending requests Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The largest is $1,320,354 for the Community Center. Parks and Recreation Director Emily Gilmer wrote that the existing dehumidifier systems are more than 20 years old and need more and more maintenance. The work would replace the main ice rink dehumidifier for $1,055,836, build the curling rink dehumidifier for $172,914 and replace the curling rink HVAC units for $91,604.
The curling rink unit would be fabricated and delivered in case of an emergency, with installation once funding is available, according to her memo. The project's total budget under Bill 1596 is $1,480,000, and the $45,100 engineering portion has already been completed and paid, according to the memo. The contractor would be Electrical Automation Services, Inc., through a Wicomico County HVAC service contract that was competitively awarded. EASI's proposal estimates approximately 30 days of actual downtime with no heat, air conditioning or dehumidification in the space.
The Department of Emergency Services is asking to buy a 2027 Horton ambulance on a Ford F-550 chassis for $378,350 from fiscal 2027 capital money. Director Brian LeCates wrote that the county's whole ambulance fleet is now Horton units. The purchase would go through Fesco Emergency Sales, the local Horton dealer, using HGAC contract pricing, which his memo says meets competitive bid requirements. Fesco's bid proposal gives delivery within 425 to 500 working days after the order is received and accepted.
Public Works is asking for $58,273 for parts to rebuild the Rotomat screen at the biosolids facility at 9786 Klondike Road. County Engineer Josh Elliott wrote that the screen is integral to the plant's treatment system and must fit the existing equipment, so it is a sole-source purchase from Sherwood-Logan & Associates. The parts have a 14-week lead time.
Also on Tuesday's agenda, the county finance office is asking the Council to abate fiscal 2027 county real property taxes on 34 property accounts owned by nonprofit groups and public bodies. The abatements total $54,040.13 in tax credits, according to the list attached to Finance Director Martha Sparks' memo. Her memo cites state law sections 9-201, 9-301 and 9-322 for abating taxes on property that not-for-profit organizations own in the county.
The list runs alphabetically by owner. It includes nine accounts for the Chesapeake Audubon Society's Pickering Creek property, nine for Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, two for Habitat for Humanity Choptank, two for the Neighborhood Service Center, one each for the Talbot Agricultural Center, the Waterfowl Festival and the Spring Hill Cemetery Association, two for the Tuckahoe Steam & Gas Association, one for the Commissioners of St. Michaels and six for Talbot County itself.
The single largest credit on the list is $13,390.66, for a Tuckahoe Steam & Gas Association property with an exempt assessment of $1,637,000. One Pickering Creek account carries a $12,368.70 credit.
The three spending requests are on the county manager's report, and the tax abatements are item IX on the agenda for the Council meeting in Easton, which begins at 5 p.m.
Source: Talbot County Government
Drawn from public records; drafted with AI and edited by Peter Gorman before publication.
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