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June 8, 2023

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News Maryland News

Analysis: St. Michaels Town Manager Dismissal Raises Questions; Answers Will Be Hard to Get

July 12, 2021 by John Griep

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St. Michaels residents continue to press for additional information about the town commission’s decision to dismiss the town manager, but the confidentiality of personnel issues makes it unlikely questions will be answered.

The St. Michaels commissioners went into closed session on June 24 to discuss personnel matters, which is one of more than a dozen exceptions to the state’s Open Meetings Act.

An attorney for Jean Weisman, a 37-year town employee who had been town manager for 10 years, later issued a statement saying the commissioners voted 4-1 at the June 24 meeting to dismiss Weisman; the town subsequently issued its own statement.

State law allows closed sessions to discuss personnel issues, including:

  • “(i) the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation, or performance evaluation of an appointee, employee, or official over whom it has jurisdiction; or
  • “(ii) any other personnel matter that affects one or more specific individuals.”

The Open Meetings Act provides several conditions that must be met in order to close a session.

According to the Open Meetings Act Manual, prepared by the state attorney general’s office, those conditions are:

1) Any meeting must begin in an open session, for which proper notice has been given. The person designated by the public body to take the required Open Meetings Act training must be present or the public body must complete a compliance checklist available on the attorney general’s website.

2) In the open session, the presiding officer must complete a closing statement, “a written statement of the reason for closing the meeting,” that includes the “topics to be discussed” in addition to the statutory exception for closing the meeting. (The manual provides sample closing statement forms.)

This requirement can get a little tricky when it comes to the topics to be discussed. The state’s open meetings compliance board, which is advisory only, has repeatedly said the topic should not simply repeat the “boilerplate” of the statutory exception — if the session is closed for a business relocation, for example, the topic should not be listed as “business relocation.”

According to the Open Meetings Act Manual: “In most cases, a description of the topic alone also does not convey why the public body needs to exclude the public. Occasionally, though, the Compliance Board has found that a description of the topic to be discussed adequately conveyed the public body’s reason for closing a meeting, as when the public body has described the topic as discipline matters respecting individual employees. See, e.g., 4 OMCB Opinions 188, 196 (2005).”

In a sample closing statement provided in the manual, in which the public body voted to go into closed session for personnel matters, the topic listed was “applicants for parks & rec head” and the reason provided for holding that discussion in a closed session was “Public discussion of applicants’ names and job info could discourage people from applying for Town jobs.”

3) There must be a recorded vote — a vote for which each member’s vote is specified — on a motion to close the meeting to the public. (Here, the manual also notes that a member of the public may object to the closing of a meeting.)

4) During the closed session, the discussion must be limited to the topics and scope listed on the closing statement.

5) After the closed session, “the public body must disclose, in the minutes of the next open session, information that discloses what topics were actually discussed, who attended the closed session, and what actions the public body took.”

St. Michaels has provided the following closing statement for the June 24 meeting:

Closed Session of June 24 2021

State law and the town’s charter also make it clear that the town commissioners may dismiss a town clerk/manager at any time, for almost any reason or for no reason.

Maryland is an at-will employment state, meaning “in the absence of an express contract, agreement or policy to the contrary, an employee may be hired or fired for almost any reason — whether fair or not — or for no reason at all,” according to the state labor department’s website.

The town charter, meanwhile, provides that the town clerk/manager “shall serve at the pleasure of the Commission….”

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: analysis, at-will, charter, commissioners, confidentiality, employment, open meetings act, personnel, St. Michaels, town manager

Commerce: When an Alcohol Distillery Takes on COVID-19

May 19, 2020 by Val Cavalheri

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By now, you probably know about how St. Michaels’ Windon Distilling, home of Lyon Rum, temporarily ventured into making hand sanitizers. But did you know that they’re still at it?

If you don’t remember or weren’t paying close attention, here is a brief recap. In mid-March, as businesses closed around the nation, the call went out, and a temporary dispensation was given to beverage alcohol distilleries to help make much-needed sanitizers. Distilleries everywhere took on the challenge. As the founder and CEO of Windon Distilling and the President of the Maryland Distillers Guild, Jamie Windon was in a unique position to help guide and create a network and database to funnel the many requests they were getting. These requests came from all over Maryland on behalf of multiple state agencies, front line workers, and essential businesses.

Those first few weeks were a scramble to learn how to make the product, how to procure the ancillary supplies (glycerin, hydrogen peroxide, bottles), and how to get it to the people who needed it. But the decision to make a new product was something they knew they had to do, not something they were doing from a business perspective. “This was our saying, yes to a need that came down to us from the State and the County,” says Windon. “We were simply responding, and because we were responding to their requests, we had no idea when we made that first batch if that was the only batch we were going to make, if we were going to do that and be done with it, or how long this would continue.”

It went on longer than what anyone expected. For six weeks, they tried to keep up with the demand. At one point, Windon remembers, the guild had a backlog of requests for over 20,000 gallons that had to be filled. And with 90% of the Distilling’s staff laid off, it became the responsibility of Windon and her partners to roll up their sleeves and “work 24/7 just as if we were starting a new business.”

With such a tremendous need, there was, of course, no extras to go around, despite the many calls they were receiving from the public. But two weeks ago, it all changed. The Distilling company is still making hand sanitizers, but they now have enough to sell to the private consumer, whether it’s an individual or a business preparing to reopen.

“Now anybody that needs it can contact us,” says Windon. “A business owner said to me the other day, ‘Oh man, I can’t find hand sanitizer, and when I did, it was $60 a gallon.’ And I said, ‘you know I make it, and it’s $35 a gallon.’ That’s been a mission of ours since the very beginning when we started this. We, along with many of our fellow distillers in Maryland, have worked to help correct price gouging and to provide something that was needed at a fair price. That’s just hugely important to us as a company.”

But don’t expect to see the personal-sized bottles. The company only sells one-gallon containers. And don’t expect to just be able to run into the distillery and pick one up. All transactions are done through email, with pickup by appointment at the showroom or their booth at the farmer’s markets.

At this point, Windon plans on continuing to make hand sanitizers as long as it’s needed and is proud of her company’s role in this unexpected opportunity. They won’t, however, be branding it into the Windon family of products. “If you look at our bottles, they have the FDA label. It’s very simple and clean. It’s a functional refill of an essential item, and it would be awful to stop making it when people in our community need it. When that need ceases, and when the calls and emails stop coming in, we’ll stop making it.”

She was also quick to confirm her real passion. “I don’t want a hand sanitizer business. I like making rum. I mean, that’s what we do here. Out of necessity, this booze factory is temporarily a hand sanitizer factory.”

This is a relief to the many Lyon fans, who had worried that the company might run out of rum. “Luckily, she said, “this is our seventh year in business, and we had a pretty good stock of the rum inventory and other spirits going into this. We stopped spirit production for about seven weeks to concentrate on the hand sanitizers.”

This past week the distillery started doing fermentations and making rum again. Their partner, Grey Wolf Distilling, has also begun distilling their vodka line. “But of course, like any business right now,” says Windon, “we’re not jumping back into full manufacturing because we simply don’t know what’s to come and what the demand will be. We’re just beginning to see our normal business start to come back. We’re still about 75% down in sales, but just enough to start needing to refill the rum supply.”

Which is a surprising comment given that the liquor industry has been reported to be thriving right now. Says Windon that could not be further from the truth. “Craft distillers and craft breweries across the country, especially in Maryland, are suffering. They’re suffering because their tasting rooms are closed, and in-store liquor store tasting opportunities are gone. In Maryland, we’ve seen an average of about 75% reduction in sales and as much as 100% for some distilleries. My friends who have breweries tell terrible stories about having to dump beer that’s beginning to expire that wasn’t sold. Luckily spirits don’t expire, so we count our blessings where we can.”

With tasting rooms being a critical revenue source for craft breweries, will Windon expect a quick return to reopen? Not quite. “Out of safety and responsibility to my staff and my customers, I was one of the very first businesses to close my doors before the Governor mandated it. I anticipate that I’ll be one of the last businesses to fully open my doors once it’s legal as well, simply because I want to take things slow. Our distillery is about hospitality, about taking care of people, making people comfortable. And until the public feels a renewed sense of trust that it’s safe to be close to people, we are aren’t able to provide what we normally provide, which is seriously wonderful service with a smile. That’s the core of who we are, and until we can do that, there’s no reason for me to open the tasting room. And I’m not in a hurry to. I’m going to wait until it’s safe. I don’t know how long that’ll take, but we’ll be here. We’re not going anywhere. We’ll just be doing things differently.”

Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Commerce Homepage Tagged With: Gov. Larry Hogan, Health, local news, St. Michaels, Talbot County, Talbot Spy, The Great Slow Down

Second Annual St. Michaels ChocolateFest

February 24, 2020 by Jennifer Martella

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Several years ago, my sisters and I attended the annual EuroChocolate Festival in Perugia, Umbria, as part of my siblings’ trip to Italy. Held annually for the past 27 years, the Festival has become the largest chocolate festival in Europe and attracts nearly one million tourists and Italians each year. It lasts for nine days and is located in seven of Perugia’s most charming squares and streets that become a sea of chocoholics.

Talbot County’s answer to Eurochocolate is the second annual St. Michaels ChocolateFest to be held Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8, rain or shine. Chocolate aficionados will enjoy a leisurely stroll through the Town of St. Michaels and the opportunity to indulge their cravings by sampling an assortment of chocolate concoctions, candies, artisan chocolates, and desserts, along with wine and chocolate pairings, beer, and spirits. Restaurant chefs will be creating delectable special menu items to showcase chocolate inspired dishes and desserts. Inns and Bed and Breakfasts will feature chocolate-inspired get-away packages. Several St. Michaels shops will be offering special chocolate inspired events.

The Main Event is the ChocolateFest Chocolate Crawl on Saturday, March 7. Tasting tickets can be purchased (in quantities of 10—one tasting per ticket) and redeemed at any of the participating Tasting Venues 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. All tickets must be purchased by Wednesday, March 4th. Sales will be limited and pre-purchased tickets can be picked up Saturday, March 7th starting at 10:00 am at the ChocolateFest tent, located in the parking lot at the corner of Railroad Ave at 100 S. Talbot St.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7 SPECIAL EVENTS

Simpatico, Italy’s Finest, at 106 Railroad Ave, will offer Italian Wine, Spirits, Liqueurs, Chocolate, and Cheese tastings from 11 am – 5 pm. Up to 35 wines, spirits, and liqueurs will be paired with specific Italian chocolates and/or cheeses under a heated tent next to Simpatico. Tickets can be purchased here.  Note that Simpatico is also a Tasting Venue for the Chocolate Crawl, but only a chocolate tasting will be provided as part of those tickets.

TriCycle and Run will sponsor a Hot Chocolate 5k Run/Walk. Check-in at TriCycle and Run, located at 929 S. Talbot Street, and prepare for all the festivities with a 5k (3.1 miles) run/walk before heading into town. The course includes the popular St. Michaels Nature Trail, with a few minor road crossings. Packet pickup and registration begins at 8:00 am, with the run/walk starting promptly at 9:00 am.  Parking is available at the St Michaels Elementary School parking lot (100 Seymour Avenue, St Michaels, MD). Awards will be given out for Overall Winners, as well as age groups. Register here.

Skipjack’s St. Michaels at 111 S. Talbot Street, will host a Golden Ticket Scavenger Hunt with Golden Tickets hidden throughout Skipjack’s St. Michaels store. Each Golden Ticket can be redeemed for a free item and must be used that Saturday.  More info on their Facebook page.

The Galley at 305 S. Talbot St. will host their annual Chocolate Pie Eating Contest featuring delicious pie and fun prizes! Enter the contest here.

The Inn at Perry Cabin 308 Watkins Ln, will offer a special chocolate Spa treatment, call for appointment 410-745-2200.

The St. Michaels Community Center Heart Mart at 103 Railroad Ave will sponsor local crafters and bakers who will be offering ChocolateFest themed items for sale from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Community Center. Facebook event here.

Restaurants throughout town will feature special chocolate offerings

SUNDAY, MARCH 8th SPECIAL EVENTS

Simpatico, Italy’s Finest Wine-Chocolate-Liqueurs-Spirits-Cheese Tasting Venue 11 am to 5 pm. S

Simpatico will also host a Chocolate Dessert Competition from Noon to 4 pm featuring up to 10 desserts from local professional and home bakers. For $5, paid at the tasting table, attendees can taste and vote for their choice of five of the delectable offerings.  The dessert competition proceeds, after expenses, will be donated to local charities. The winning dessert maker will receive a gift basket from the St. Michaels Business Association. To enter a dessert, send an email to simpatico1@verizon.net or call 410-745-0345.

The Inn at Perry Cabin 308 Watkins Ln, will offer a special chocolate Spa treatment, call for appointment 410-745-2200.

Restaurants throughout town will feature special chocolate offerings.

 

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The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Food-Garden Homepage, Food-Garden Portal, Food/Garden Homepage Tagged With: Chocolate Festival, local news, St. Michaels, The Talbot Spy

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