Taneytown will be filling three four-year, full-term council seats on that board in the upcoming May 3 town election. The council seats that will be up for election or re-election are those presently held by Diane Foster, Judith Fuller and Joe Vigliotti.

Candidates who are running for the seats include incumbents Foster, Fuller, and Vigliotti, and challenger Barbara Cook.

Election packets were due March 22, which must include a declaration of candidacy, ethics filings, financial disclosures and campaign-finance paperwork. Candidates for the City Council must be at least 18 years of age and have been a resident of Taneytown for at least two years preceding the election.

Individuals that have registered to vote in a federal, state or county election do not need to register to vote. However, if a resident recently moved to Taneytown, and are from out-of-state, or not within the county, they will need to register with the Carroll County Board of Elections in order to vote in the city election. Voting will take place on May 3 at the Taneytown Police Station from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Absentee ballots may be obtained from the City Clerk following a written request for an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots shall be available beginning at noon on April 12, and all completed absentee ballots must be received by the city no later than 4 p.m. on May 3.

Status of park projects provided

Taneytown Parks and Recreation Director Vaccare briefed the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board at their March meeting on the status of work proposed to be implemented at Roberts Mill Park.

Vaccare stated that the requests for proposal (RFPs) for improvements to be implemented at Roberts Mill Park were posted on March 5, with the deadline for potential contractors to file proposals set for April 9.

Proposed improvements include re-surfacing and repairing the park’s walking trail and the basketball court, as well as installing riprap (loose stone) along the pond to prevent erosion of the embankment. The basketball court will be repaired and will receive a new fabric overlay, and then a fresh coating of asphalt will be applied, and new lines painted.

Regarding Bollinger Park improvements, the director stated that the Vista Overlook #2 portion of the park trail has been determined to be in a flood plain, and the work that had been proposed would be subject to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval. As a result, Vaccare said, the concept for improvements there will be altered to avoid triggering a FEMA study.