Mr. Cannon said one thing I would like to point out, the last thing I want to do is encourage any type of nonsensical back and forth with the Executive. He said I really don't like that type of what I call nonproductive back and forth, but I think a clarification is important. He said I received an email last night from a citizen which was sent out by the Executive, and the reason why I think it's important for the public to hear this is to understand that, if there are misconceptions out there, we shouldn't try to encourage that. He said we want to make sure that any exchange with the constituents is valid and above board. He said a statement was made, and I'll read it for you, and some of the typos are a little bit off, but it says:

(Reading email) "Lastly, the County Council is the reason the property (they're talking about Connelly Mill) did not live forward (I think she meant move forward) as a park in 2021 before I took Office. This ecologically valuable site is only used to mine dirt for our landfill and will continue to be that at the Council's request."

Mr. Cannon clarified, this is a statement saying that the Council requested in 2021 that Connelly Mill be nothing more than a mining pit. He said that couldn't be anything further from the truth. He said it goes on to say: Hopefully this clarifies all the concerns and misconceptions.

Mr. Cannon said it is a misconception in itself because if anybody were to look, or if the Executive were to look at last year's Capital Improvement Program, this Council actually authorized $100,000 to be spent at Connelly Mill in 2027 because we wanted to develop it as a park, so I think it's important more so for the public than for the Executive before the public to understand that this Council has always supported Connelly Mill Road. He said some of us were the ones who accepted that property at the behest of the local neighborhoods, and we would like to see it as a park, and hopefully at some point in time we will see that come to fruition. He said, again, it's a clarification that I think needs to be stated so that there is not a misconception with regard to the County Council's position that we've taken in the past and what we feel currently. He said it is the responsibility of the Council and Wicomico County as a whole to see a park at Connelly Mill at one point in time in the near future.

President John Cannon, At-Large