Sharpsburg council votes to assume responsibility for Mark A. Smith Memorial Park

The Sharpsburg Mayor and Council voted Feb. 2 to accept responsibility for the Mark A. Smith Memorial Park after the current lessees said they would give up the lease and leave the park monument and dog tags to the town.

Vice Mayor Jacob Martz moved that the town take over responsibility for the park; Councilmember Robbie Waters seconded the motion, which the council carried. The motion was made during the meeting conducted via Zoom and appears in the meeting minutes.

Dwayne and Beth Harris told the council they were relinquishing the lease and offered the monument and dog tags to the town. The minutes do not record a roll-call vote or a condition attaching the town’s acceptance to funding or maintenance commitments.

The action follows prior town efforts to complete the Historic Park and other public-space projects discussed elsewhere on the agenda. The minutes do not specify an implementation timetable, a department or staff assignee, or new budget allocations to support maintenance; those details would be decided in subsequent council or staff meetings.

The council adjourned at 7:46 p.m.