Leonardtown adopts Public Art Master Plan; council approves contracts and contingency legal agreement

Leonardtown’s Town Council voted Feb. 9 to adopt a Public Art Master Plan that lays out policies, committee structure and opportunities to integrate public art across town projects, and signed off on several municipal contracts and a contingency legal services agreement.

The council adopted the plan after hearing a presentation from the town’s public art consultant, who summarized outreach including focus groups and a community survey that drew 100 responses. The consultant said the plan frames two main approaches: asking private developers to include art in new projects and pursuing placemaking initiatives in key spaces such as the Wharf, the Greenway and the Port of Leonardtown. "The plan identifies 2 main opportunities for you," the consultant said, adding that the work is intended to "help your grants team rate the grants that will be necessary to fund these things." The plan also recommends forming or refining a public art committee to manage proposals and advise council.

Council members praised the plan’s community grounding and asked staff to clarify next steps. Michelle (town staff) said the immediate administrative steps include refining the existing Arts & Entertainment District management group, confirming volunteer membership and identifying one or two initial placemaking projects to pursue during the budget process. The consultant noted the town has grant funding tied to the plan and that the grant manager needs the final report by the end of the month to secure reimbursement.

The council approved the plan by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Votes at a glance
- Public Art Master Plan: Motion to approve the Town of Leonardtown Public Art Master Plan as presented; seconded and adopted by voice vote (no recorded opposition).
- Water & sewer maintenance contract (Holcomb Landscaping): Council authorized the final available renewal through Nov. 30, 2027, with a requested 5% cost-of-living increase; approved by voice vote.
- Striping/traffic services contract (A and D Traffic Solutions Inc.): Council authorized a one-year extension from March 11, 2026, through March 11, 2027, with a 5% unit-cost increase; approved by voice vote. Council members noted vendor cost increases of 10–15% over the past two years.
- Legal services agreement for PFAS (AFFF) representation: Council authorized a contingency-fee agreement with a group of plaintiff-side firms (Baron & Budd; Kossack, Sumick, Parasola and Taylor; and local counsel McLeod Law Group) to represent the town in potential AFFF-related contamination claims; firms would be paid only on recovery and the draft contingency fee in the agreement is 25% of any award; approved by voice vote.

Other business
Planning staff announced that the Planning Commission will review a proposed 16-unit, three-story apartment building on the west side of Washington Street at its Feb. 17 meeting; applicants have received conceptual approvals from county agencies and will seek final design review. Deputy Richard Wilhelm reported roughly 152 vehicle stops in town and said there were no notable incidents after the Super Bowl night.

Community and business updates included an LBA report on the recent 'Love and Leonardtown' wedding expo (estimated 300 attendees), several retail openings and routine thanks to staff and volunteers for snow/sidewalk responses. A council member presented results from a community survey with 1,008 responses showing residents generally feel Leonardtown is on the right track; top concerns included a large infrastructure project (not specified), maintaining rural character and managing growth.

What the actions mean
The public art plan gives the town a policy framework to pursue arts projects tied to economic development and placemaking. The contract extensions keep routine maintenance and traffic services in place while the town moves into the next budget cycle. The contingency legal agreement does not itself allege contamination in Leonardtown’s system; it establishes representation terms so the town would be represented on a contingency basis if future litigation arises related to AFFF (aqueous film‑forming foam). The agreement and the town’s own testing program were described as precautionary measures; staff said annual or semiannual testing is already performed and that, to date, no town test results have indicated a problem.

The meeting closed with routine council reports and a motion to adjourn. The town did not record roll-call tallies for the votes in the transcript; votes were approved by voice vote and no 'no' votes were announced.