Council reviews ninth amendment to county lease at Symphony Woods for police office space

Council Bill 11 would approve a Ninth Amendment to the county lease with Symphony Woods LLC for office space at 5950 Symphony Woods Drive used by the Department of Police. Tom Meunier (DPW) explained the county and landlord agreed to increase rentable space by approximately 184 square feet to accommodate an additional staff member relocated from another bureau. The amendment also includes adjusted annual rent figures: the presentation showed an increase from $48,943.88 to $54,393.57 for 7/21/2021–6/30/2022 and from $50,901.64 to $56,561.23 for 7/1/2022–6/30/2023.

DPW said the amendment requires multi‑year funding appropriation and therefore council approval under section 6.12 of the Howard County Charter; staff recommended approval. Dave Francis (Police executive administrator) attended to answer questions; no substantive policy objections were raised by councilmembers during the hearing.