Sep. 22—Harford County Council President Patrick Vincenti provided an update on the status of the search for a new county health officer at the Tuesday legislative session.

The 11-person health officer search committee interviewed candidates Monday and Tuesday, and Vincenti said they'd narrowed down the 40 applicants to just "a few."

Vincenti thanked the committee members for "making themselves available to look at each one of these applicants."

During the legislative session, the council also approved executive appointments to two organizations: Patrick Spicer and Faith Rattman were appointed to the Harford Center's board of directors, and Terrance Flannery was appointed to the Harford County Public Library board of trustees.

The council also introduced two resolutions: one to designate the Kurtz Mansion in Jarrettsville as a Harford County Historic Landmark, and one to approve the county's 2022 hazard mitigation plan, which Rick Ayers, acting director of the county's department of emergency services, said entails any action planned "to reduce or eliminate any long-term risks to people and property from disasters in Harford County."

Jenny Jarkowski, the county's planning and zoning director, spoke about the first resolution, noting property owner Joy Woodfield's role in documenting the property's history. Jarkowski said the mansion is significant for its association with Martin Kurtz, a prominent 19th century Jarrettsville figure who was a farmer, carpenter and furniture maker, among other roles in the community.

"[The mansion] embodies character, interest or value as part of the heritage and culture of Harford County," Jarkowski said, "and has ... shown the potential to yield important information about the history of Harford County and its people."