The Montgomery County Council will meet Wednesday, Nov. 12, to vote on entering a closed session regarding personnel matters and, later that day, its joint Economic Development and Planning, Housing and Parks Committees will receive a Maryland Department of Agriculture briefing on a statewide report about value-added agriculture and agritourism.
Per the news release: “The Montgomery County Council will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 10:30 a.m. and is expected to vote to meet in closed session to discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation or performance evaluation of an appointee, employee or official over whom it has jurisdiction under Section 3-305(b)(1) of the General Provisions Article of the Maryland Code. The topics are the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation or performance evaluation of an appointee, employee or official over whom it has jurisdiction.
The joint Economic Development (ECON) and Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to receive a briefing on value-added agriculture and agritourism with the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
The members of the ECON Committee include Chair Natali Fani-González, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe, Councilmember Evan Glass and Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles.
The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson, Councilmember Fani-González and Vice President Will Jawando.
More detail on the agenda item is provided below.
Statewide Guidance and Analysis: Maryland’s Value-Added Agriculture and Agritourism
Briefing: The joint ECON and PHP Committee will receive a briefing from representatives of the Maryland Department of Agriculture on a report, Maryland’s Value-Added Agriculture and Agritourism, published in Oct. 2025. Value-added agriculture is a broad term encompassing many different aspects of enhancing on-farm products and experiences. The purpose of the briefing is to provide an overview of value-added processing functions and operations from a regulatory perspective. The report divides value-added agriculture into four categories: value-added processing, agritourism and food service, retail of value-added products and other on-farm activities. Additional information can be found in the Council staff report.”
