Circuit court issues emergency stay of Board of Appeals decision; board told matter will proceed in court

A special counsel told the Board of Appeals that the Circuit Court of Harford County has issued an emergency stay of the board’s June 4 decision in case No. 560, and that the stay must be entered into the circuit-court record.

"An emergency motion to stay your decision was filed in the Circuit Court of Harford County," the special counsel said, adding the order was entered after an ex parte hearing. The counsel said they were served with the court papers by U.S. mail and with a hand copy the same day.

A board member noted that Attorney Bess had received mailed documents, while the member had not received mailed materials and only received a hand copy that day. The member said a motion to shorten time to respond had been filed and that the board’s role on the item was concluded for the meeting.

Another participant clarified that the city attorney is a party in the circuit-court action and described the matter as a contested case; municipal counsel, the participant said, will "carry the water" for the city in circuit court. No motion, vote, or board action on the underlying appeal is recorded in the transcript of this meeting.

The transcript records related public questions at the start of the session—participants asked about air-conditioning work and "where that million dollars go"—but the meeting made no formal decisions about funding or project locations on the record. The board was informed it will respond through the circuit-court process rather than by further action at this meeting.