Good evening. This is the council's first budget public hearing in which we will hear testimony for the FY 2026 executive proposed capital budget that was presented on April 21st. This evening is a hybrid meeting which is being conducted in person and via WebEx teleconference. It is also available to the public through live stream on the county council website and broadcast on channels 44 for Verizon in 99 and 1071 for Comcast. Sign up to testify on the FY 2026 Executive Proposed Capital Budget that is the subject of this public hearing was done online and was available in person prior to the start of this session. The cutoff for testimony was at 6 p.m. this evening. The council will hold various work sessions for the FY2026 capital and operating budget. Agents can be found on the council's website. Please check our website regularly for updates of the various budget sessions taking place in April and May. At this time, I'm going to do a roll call of the Council members. Council member Deb Young. Good evening, everyone. Council member David Youngman. Here, I am Opal Jones and Council member Christiana Rigby is on the way and Council member Liz Walls is on the way. So in about a few minutes, all five of us will be up here and then I am leaving and I will join virtually So it'll still be all five of us got to pick up babies Before we begin this evening's proceedings those in person please come up to the front row so we can call you up to testify. And those virtually please contact Isaiah Anderson by raising your hand on the webbex or sending him an email. That email address is ianderson at Howard County MD dot gov. That's i-a-n-d-e-r-s-o-n at Howard County County MD.gov. We will allow students to testify first so that they may get home at a reasonable time. Please note that while we are receiving testimony this evening, we continue to receive written comments which will be fully considered by the Council prior to taking action. Anyone who sign up to testify at this hearing will be called to testify. When you will called upon to testify, please state your name and the city or town of your home address. Representing tools from nonprofit organizations will have up to five minutes to speak. Individuals and other organizations have up to three minutes. Individuals who have indicated that they are testifying through an interpreter may be allowed a total of five minutes with interpreter translation. You may not yield your time to another speaker. You will be notified at the 32nd mark to begin wrapping up by the administrator and then you will be notified when your time to speak is up. You must conclude when your time is up. If you have written testimony you may also email it to council mail at howrakountymd.gov. Do we have any students with us in person? And we have a student virtually? OK, great. If you would, state your name please, before beginning your testimony. Okay sure okay well I'll continue. This evening the council will hear testimony on the proposed FY 2026 capital budget. This includes capital projects in the following categories. Education capital projects for Howard County Public School System, Howard County Libraries, Howard Community College, and General County Government Projects. Okay, and first up, we have Tonya Agans. Good evening, esteemed members of the County Council. I am Tonya Agans, President and CEO of Howard County Library System. Thank you for your long time, support and for the opportunity to testify on behalf of Howard County's residents who value the education for all ages provided by our library. In his capital budget proposal, County Executive Ball stated, funding the Howard County Library System is also critical to achieving our goals of providing a world class and holistic education to residents of all ages and abilities. Our FY26 capital budget moves 5 million in restricted state funds currently held in contingency to the new central branch library which will support continued planning and design efforts. At a time when libraries across the country are under attack and federal funding for libraries has been cut, this is our moment to take a public stand and invest in our library system and our community's lifelong learning needs. We know the needs are great, and we support our school system, community college, and county partners in their budget requests. At Howard County Library System, we're working with community members to co-create opportunities to ensure our youngest learners are ready for kindergarten to provide engagement in spaces where teens feel a sense of agency and belonging, and for adults to upskill, reskill, and build connections. To achieve these strategic priorities across the county, we need the five million in state funds released from contingency to enable the planning and design of a new library in downtown Columbia that will serve all Howard County residents from babies to seniors, from woodbind to savage. As early as 18 months, low income children begin to fall behind in vocabulary development. The number of words a child knows by the time they are three years old predicts their grade reading levels. With only 55% of Howard County students testing ready for kindergarten there is a critical need for increased instructional and enrichment opportunities for children from birth through age three. Libraries play a critical role in closing the vocabulary bet gap by providing stimulating literacy rich environments for young children and by encouraging parents to talk, read, sing, and play with their children every day. Libraries are uniquely situated and qualified to prepare children for kindergarten because before young ones ever step foot in school, they attend classes in our libraries. However, our current central branch only has one small classroom for children's classes, and we often turn parents away due to lack of space. And for teens who desperately need free and welcoming spaces to congregate, the current central library has no dedicated space for them. The best we've been able to do is to carve out a little corner of 150 square feet behind some shelves, a space that is neither welcoming nor inviting, and is 81 percent smaller than the smallest teen space offered in our branches. While teens need space to study, prepare for exams, and work collaboratively on projects, they also need safe space to socialize and just be their whole selves. For adults, we are unable to host many of the types of high quality events that we hold at other branches because we don't have adequate space at the central branch. Our Miller branch has three meeting rooms that can combine into one large room. Our East Columbia branch has flexible floor space that can accommodate 300 plus people for our annual Bouter book talk. And our Oak Ridge branch has two meeting rooms that can combine into one larger space for author events and other large meetings. The Central Library, which would ordinarily be this flagship library, has none of that. These are just a few of the many issues at our current Central Branch and I haven't even mentioned the money the county continues to pour into the existing 44-year-old building just to maintain it. These constraints and issues will only increase as down-count Columbia and our county continues to grow. The 5 million from the state that is currently in contingency is specifically designated for a new downtown Columbia library. If we don't use this money at some point we will need to return it to the state and the county will then need to cover the funding toward the project. In Howard County, we prioritize education. Libraries are the only places that serve the educational needs and serve as gathering spaces for literally everyone in our community. HCLS is our community's place to learn, grow and connect. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we ask you to release the 5 million in state funds from contingency so that we can work together to build a library for all. Thank you so very much for your consideration. Thank you so much for your testimony. Any questions? Colleagues? Thank you. Thank you. All right, next we have Angela Wang. Thank you. Next we have Elizabeth Banock. Good evening, Vice Chair, Jones and members of the County Council. I'm Liz Bannock, Chair of Howard County Library Systems Board of Trustees and a resident of Woodbine. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of our outstanding library system and our capital projects. Howard County Library System has three projects in the capital budget. The county executives proposed capital budget moves five millions and restricted state funds out of contingency to support ongoing planning and design of a new downtown Columbia branch. Per the county executive, the funds would be used to finalize plans for the branch, including identifying a site. At present, we have no information to share regarding the county's work with Medco or any other parties to the downtown plan. The county executive proposed moving funding for the Southwest Branch Property Search and feasibility assessment to fiscal year 27. In collaboration with the executive's team, library staff are reviewing the short list of potential sites for a new Southwest branch for the Board of Trustees to consider as per our responsibilities outlined in the state statute. For Elk Ridge, the Project Funding Timeline for the Elk Ridge Branch Innovation Project was altered to better align with the County Executive's revised timeline. While Total Project Funding remains at 4.6 million, County funding was moved to fiscal year 27. As a result of the County's funding commitment, Howard County Library System was selected to participate in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Compassionate-centered co-governance cohort and National committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee and committee the school system and the community, and designing and developing the expansion of the Elk Ridge branch, and a dedicated space that resonates with teens. This expansion will enable us to better engage teens and increase their sense of belonging as they navigate the challenges of adolescents. It also allows us to ride more space for children and their caregivers to learn and connect. The Elk Ridge branch expansion supports the blueprint for Maryland's future and providing space for early learning and resources to ensure all students are successful, and the library's strategic plan to help ensure all children enter kindergarten ready to learn. Teens and young adults feel a sense of agency and belonging, and an inclusive connect community where everyone feels they belong. Thank you for your support of libraries. We look forward to working with you on these capital projects to better serve our community. Thank you for your testimony. Any questions? Thank you. Thank you. All right, next we have Sally Kerney. I could even Sally, you've now been elevated. Feel free to unmute yourself and begin your testimony when you're ready Okay, can you hear me yes, we can thank you. Oh great. Thank you I'm speaking on behalf of my husband Chuck and myself. We decided to consolidate our statements I appreciate I appreciate this opportunity to speak in support of the proposed lake front library and on behalf of the Library's Capital Budget Request. My husband Chuck and I are writers, editors, and readers, so it comes as no surprise that we are also devoted patrons of the Howard County Library System. We live in town center so we consider the central library to be our local library. For Chuck and me, the library is so many things. Our go-to bookstore for an endless supply books and films, our go-to resource for research inquiries and our go-to location where we not only chat with librarians but see our community all in one place. The kids with their stacks of children's books, the teenagers with their tutors, the seniors with their grandchildren. All of them talking and milling about inside an open space that my husband routinely refers to as the free bookstore. The Howard County Library is easily among the very best in the nation and is highly regarded by librarians in other Maryland counties, librarians who have told us how they admire what we have achieved here in Howard County and rightly so. The library is staffed by knowledgeable and caring professionals who are relentlessly helpful. For decades, we have been impressed with their resourcefulness in tracking down old or often out of print volumes. And we love that they are intellectually curious. When we ask about an obscure book or something we are researching, they treat our request as if it were their own. How rare is that kind of attention? To say that we are grateful to the Howard County librarians is an understatement. These people are an extension of our daily lives a part of how we live. Yes, I say it again, a part of how we live, which brings us to why we support the Lakefront Library. The new library will be the centerpiece of Columbia's downtown revitalization. This new space will welcome folks to meet, gather, and learn. It will be a point of civic pride and will speak clearly to those who, it will speak clearly to who we are as a community. And also, let us remember that books are a window onto the world. And also, let us remember that libraries are the repository of all that is best about us as individuals and as citizens. Libraries are the pillars of civilization, and as such, they are the keepers of our culture and our history. So now, I'll a brief story. Several years ago Chuck and I were contemplating retirement but we couldn't think about going anywhere else. Happily retired here and enjoyed our quality of life. And that my friends is my point. The new library will contribute immeasurably to our quality of life for children, students, adults, and seniors. So tonight, I urge you to release the remaining state funds and move the late front library forward so we can bring to life Colombia's best future. Thank you. Thank you. Next up, we have Jackie Eng. Good evening, Council Chair Walsh, Dr. Jones, and Council members. Jackie Ang, by the way, Cooksville, Maryland. It's my pleasure this evening to offer the support of the Housing Affordability Coalition for four projects that are included in the county executives proposed FY26 capital budget. Three of these projects will help ensure that downtown Columbia affordable housing projects continue to move forward as provided in the development rights and responsibilities agreement for downtown Columbia, the DRRA. Thus honoring the county's 2017 commitment to Great 417 tax credit housing units. After eight years, the coalition is looking forward to seeing the final design to the new North Columbia Fire Station completed so the project can move forward. With construction completed in FY27, the current Bannocker Fire Station staff will be able to relocate its operations temporarily to the North Columbia station until FY29 when operations can shift to a new permanent Bannaker station. The coalition's expectation that the county will take all necessary actions to approve the transfer of the current Bannocker site to the housing commission so that once the fire station staff has moved to the North Columbia station, demolition and construction for new senior housing, with at least 100 affordable units can begin. The FY26 capital budget also impacts 2DRRA required housing projects with approximately 150 affordable units tied to the construction of a new downtown central library. Coalition is cautiously optimistic that the site selection for the new library will be completed as noted in the proposed budget by the end of this fiscal year. We understand that the DRA requires any site change to be approved by four parties, the county Howard Hughes, CDHC, and the commission. The coalition expects that any approved site change will ensure construction of the full number of affordable units contemplated in the DRA. Once the ultimate sites are determined, work can begin to design, finance, and develop this crucially needed housing. $24.3 million has already been appropriated and encumbered for the North Columbia, Ambannaker Fire Station projects, Coalition Urges Council approval of the $5 million for the new, releasing it from contingency, Central Branch and Relocation Library Project. The final coalition request for Council support is for the new non-congregate shelter to be built on Route 1 with enclosed proximity to the Leola Dorsey Day Resource Center. When the original 2005 plan to end homelessness was created, the vision was that within 10 years, homelessness would be eradicated or at least drastically reduced. Despite the commitment and diligence, including the recent expansion of the grassroots shelter and other significant investments by the county, and the nonprofit agencies that serve the homeless and those living with housing instability, chronic homelessness remains a significant social challenge for our community. A critical goal of the current planned and homelessness, the Bath Home, is to ensure that every person experiencing homelessness in Howard County has access to immediate, safe and appropriate shelter. This new night by night facility is a nationally recognized best practice that will help fill a gap in the county's current continuum of homeless care. Grassroots will now be able to help vulnerable individuals with in instances with people who have communicable disease or other issues that require isolation or quarantine, quarantining. For example, an individual exiting the hospital that needs temporary shelter. The proposed $5.1 million capital investment will help ensure the construction of this much needed shelter can begin in FY26. Council members, we know these are economically, socially and politically challenging times for our state and our county. And that these challenges require our leader's decisions within a landscape of uncertainty. We also know and we are appreciative that you will thoughtfully balance current community essential needs with the investments necessary to meet the community longer-term economic safety and social demands. As always, my coalition colleagues, and I stand ready to assist you, your staff, and the community. Thank you. Thank you, Miss A. Next up, we have Luke Chao. Hi, I'm Luke Chao, Savage Maryland. Good evening, Council. This is my first time doing this. Welcome. We love to see first time testifiers. Yes, thank you. So thank you for everyone for joining us today. As a proud member of the community and owner of a local manufacturing company, I am here to advocate for the establishment of a skilled labor workforce training center at our HCC Community College. We help companies bring their products to market. So anything related in plastics or metal, we can help them produce and assemble the products. Our industry is evolving rapidly and the demand for skilled labor is higher than ever. Unfortunately, the gap between skilled workforce that we have currently and the skills required for modern manufacturing process is widening. This gap not only affect our business, but also limits the opportunity available to our community members. A skilled labor workforce training center would be like a lighthouse or opportunity of hope for our community. It would provide our students with hands-on experience and a technical knowledge they would need in today's competitive job market. By investing in this center, we are investing in the future of our community, ensuring that our graduates are well equipped to meet the demands of the manufacturing industry. Moreover, this center would foster partnership between local businesses and the college, creating a pipeline of talents that is ready to step into the workforce. It would also attract new businesses to our area, boosting our local economy and creating more job opportunities. In conclusion, supporting this established amount of the skilled labor workforce center is not just a necessity for our business. I urge you to join me to support this training center. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Cha. Sure. Next up we have Vivian Moore Lawyer. This is right there, Jeremy. Oh, she's the double my chair. Oh, she's the double. Yes. Good evening, council members, and everyone here in attendance. My name is Vivian Moore Lawyer, and I am the interim chair of the Howard Community College Board of Trustees and the resident of Howard County in Ellicott City. I am pleased to speak to you tonight on behalf of our seven members serving as caretakers of Howard County's premier institution for personal and professional development. Almost half of all jobs in Maryland, 48% are middle-skill occupations that require more than a high school diploma, but not a four-year degree. There is a shortage of Maryland workers, only 38% who have been educated to the middle-skill level. Demand for trained middle-skill workers is projected to remain strong in Maryland with 42% of all new job openings expected to be at the middle skill level. In 2022, of the more than 121,000 households in Howard County, 24% were below the threshold for asset limited income constrained employed. Households that earn above the federal poverty level, but which cannot afford the cost of living in their county. In Columbia the number is 23 percent and both figures increased by more than 5 percent of the previous years point in time survey. HCC is pleased to report that with your help we accept the challenge of improving economic and social outcomes for these and all families by constructing a workforce development and trade center. This year, the college seeks your support of $5 million for the second year of construction funding to be included in the FY26 capital budget. This center will be a pathway into skilled trade occupations. And HCC will be a leader in the production of career ready professionals in automotive technology, welding, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and forklift heavy equipment operations. Construction will help us to add partnerships and training in emerging industries such as additive manufacturing, metatronics, logistics, green technology, and cybersecurity. These programs contribute to the college's mission by providing credit and non-credit courses, contract training courses, professional skills, and job training, as well as services to individuals, employers, and county and state agencies. This center will offer students career and technical education that pairs academic knowledge with technical skills to prepare them for lucrative, in demand and high-skilled jobs. Missing the opportunity to complete the state of the Arts Center would for the skill workforce and economically disadvantage the county and the state in attracting new businesses growing its population and creating its tech increasing its tax base. There, thank you for your continued support. We have finished. Of course, yes. Of this racial equity and type poverty initiative for Howard Community College, as well as the other Community College Capital Projects requested. HCC is committed to educating the county's best and brightest. Your commitment to capital investment will help us to continue to meet students where they dream. Thank you. Next up is Dr. Daria Willis. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. I'm used to that when I happened. I am Daria Willis, president of your Howard Community College, and I am proud to represent an institution that serves as a vital, economic, and educational engine for more than 23,000 students, 2,200 employees, and the world beyond our borders. We serve traditional learners, working adults, veterans, and underserved populations. Our programs in healthcare, cybersecurity, manufacturing, and skill labor align directly with Maryland's workforce needs, ensuring that employers have a pipeline of well-trained and committed talent. To continue delivering excellence, we must continue to invest in the future of our students in our state's economy. You have been tremendous partners in recent years in funding our forthcoming Kathy and Danny Bell workforce development and skill trade center and we are grateful for your foresight in supporting this worthy project. We expect to receive our permits from the county for grading and building to commence later this month, and in coordination with builders, we are likely to meet our goal of a fall 2026 opening. We are in the process of developing curriculum hiring for faculty positions within the center and we are actively seeking its inaugural director. This year's request finalizes our county's bold venture into the future of workforce development. For generations we lost talent to students interested in skilled trades and workforce development to surrounding counties. countless cohorts of students who could go on to become masters in HVAC, construction management plumbing, and all that you heard my board chairs say. That is what we are all about at Howard Community College. On Monday, the mayor of Baltimore announced plans to open an infrastructure academy to help train workers for critical city government jobs, involving skilled trades such as carpentry, HVAC, and Machinery. And the impact of what's happening around us means that Howard Community College and Howard County is at the forefront of this change that we are seeking for workforce. With this center and many of our other successes we have achieved in community outreach and student successes, we have great momentum in lock that with you and our corporate partners. We firmly believe that the Trade Center will serve individuals and their families well and make Howard County more attractive for locating business in a wide range of industries. A growing talent pipeline between Baltimore and Washington DC will support the growing need for housing construction, expansion of services, involving artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, new standards for automotive repair and manufacturing, and more. HCC students and graduates will have a unique advantage in teaching and learning as our faculty and staff prepare and propel them to seek careers in inaccessible, excuse me, inaccessible and exciting ways. Nurturing will meet industrial necessity in innovative ways if you invest and continue to invest in the center and in modernizing our other facilities in key areas for credit and non-credit programming. Your support of Howard Community College is a down payment on Maryland's prosperity. We are grateful for the county's longstanding partnership and your full support for our FY26 capital budget as proposed by Dr. Ball. Together we can ensure HCC remains a beacon of opportunity and innovation for generations to come. So on behalf of our wonderful board of trustees who are seated behind me and members of our faculty and staff and the 23,000 students that we serve and those who will yet to see what this center will offer. Thank you so very much in advance for your consideration and for your support of our proposal. Thank you, Doc. Last evening is Victoria Tearson. Hi, good evening Victoria. You've been elevated. Feel free to unmute yourself and dig in your testimony when you're ready. Hi, good evening. My name is Tori Dierson and I'm here to share with you the hopes of the members of the Savage Community Association. So thank you very much for having me and for taking time to listen to our testimony. First, I would like to say that we were really pleased to see some of our priorities noted in the budget that was shared by the County Executive's Office. included in those budget items, where it's the painting of the historic Fulman Trust Bridge. This bridge is a major attraction in this area and it is sadly faded if you've seen it recently. So thank you for including it in the budget, but I also wanna take a moment to suggest that we take it a step further and invest some time in researching the most robust kind of paint for the bridge. We obviously wanna see it remain that historic red color that it is, but we would also like to see something that maybe will last a little longer because the bridges paint fades rapidly after painting. And I've seen it multiple times since I've lived here. So we hope that maybe there's a more UV resistant or robust paint on the market and that would allow for us to have longer periods of time between repainting and ultimately save some money. So just a thought of that one. We're also pleased that it looks like there's motion on the bridge that will span the little Patuxent River to connect the Savage Mill Trail to the Wink Open Trail. We feel it really creates a pivotal connection that will make our trails more appealing and useful. We also appreciate the interest in assessing the existing abutments from the old bridges to potentially incorporate them or at least their location in the bridge construction. The Savage Community Association is also interested in safety and accessibility on Route 1 as well as traffic calming measures. As a community, safety and accessibility is always a priority for us. We have a lot of kids that walk to school for instance. That said, in addition to the connectivity and traffic calming measures noted for the area, including those in North Laurel and the Route 1 corridor, we would like the council to consider if there's any measures that can be taken to reduce the severe congestion that's caused by the schools primarily those in residential areas. The congestion actually causes a lot of frustration for drivers and that is upgrading unsafe conditions as they try and maneuver around and through the traffic and honestly we're a little concerned that someone's going to get hit by a car. Finally, I'd like to note that the Savage Community Association has been unwavering and our environmental, environmentally conscious effort, and we'd like to encourage the Council to continue supporting efforts such as tree planning and beautification efforts. I think we'd all love to see existing neighborhoods such as Savage have the same beautiful street trees and mass planning that are observed in newly built or renovated neighborhoods. I think that summarizes our thoughts. So thank you again for your time and attention. We look really forward to the fulfillment of the activities that you have listed and to helping to keep Howard County and specifically Savage on our list of public places to live and thrive. Thank you Mr. Derson with that that concludes our first FY 2026 capital budget public hearing we are now adjourned thank you.