Council considers new County Liaison position

(9/19) At their September 13 meeting, the Town Council discussed the possibility of hiring a part-time Legislative and Policy Liaison to represent the town's interests at various county boards. The proposal, brought forward by Commissioner Mike McNiesh, arose in response to a series of incidents over the past few years where Walkersville staff and officials felt disconnected from critical matters affecting the town.

McNiesh initiated the conversation by providing several examples of such incidents; most recently, the lack of information provided to Walkersville concerning the designation of lime kilns at Fountain Rock Park historic sites, a concern which was also raised in August by the Planning Commission. He also brought up the construction of the Rock Creek School.

"When Rock Creek School was built, we had minimal awareness," said McNiesh. "I met with the school board president at the time, who said that a board member had been informed, but there is no public record of that conversation; whereas there is documented online evidence of the other [potential] location at Monocacy being covered by [the neighborhood advisory council]."

McNiesh recalled that while running for his most recent term as Commissioner, he went door to door with former Commissioner Michael Bailey and had a resident question why Walkersville never had a representative at meetings when "every other municipality was represented." While McNiesh agreed with the sentiment, he emphasized that he doesn’t "feel comfortable asking current staff to [take on that position] because they’re already task-saturated."

In regards to hiring a new staff member, Commissioner Gary Baker raised logistical questions, including the number of hours which would be required of the employee per month. In response, McNiesh proposed that commissioners create a list of essential boards for the liaison to attend, with the exception of the County P and Recreation board which Commissioner Mary Ann Brodie-Ennis already attends regularly.

Burgess Chad Weddle asked Town Manager Sean Williams about the possibility of tying the new position to other staff increases, and inquired about the amount of time it would take to hire such an employee. Williams stated that the hiring process should take no more than three months, which would ensure the fulfillment of the position by the end of the year.

Town Planner Susan Hauver shared insight into a recent initiative by the Liveable Frederick Plan, which recently reassigned staff to serve as liaisons with specific municipalities. However, she emphasized that even with this initiative, communication still remains difficult.

McNiesh illustrated the necessity of representation by citing a recent County Council meeting with Frederick City Aldermen regarding APFO funds. The funds, which amount to approximately $6 million, have so far been withheld from the county by the city, with some officials suggesting that the money should only be disbursed if it is used for Frederick City schools. "The problem with that is that every time Frederick builds a new development, that pushes students to other districts [including us]," said McNiesh. "We need to make sure we're continuing to fight for our kids in our school district."

Burgess Weddle encouraged McNiesh to collaborate with Williams and suggested that other Commissioners communicate their preferences for specific boards to Williams. The overall consensus was that Walkersville does, in fact, require a dedicated liaison to ensure effective representation of town interests. "I think our residents certainly expect us to represent them," McNiesh stated. "Right now we’re losing out in the County and the school board. We just need to get our faces out there."