While County Approves Amended Fort Ritchie Deal, Commissioner Barr’s Family Has Open Contracts with Property Owner JGBLI

During contentious votes today during a special session, the Washington County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve both the water/sewer consulting contract with former County Administrator Greg Murray as well as the county agreeing to improve the sewer lines on private property owned by JGBLI, 63 acres which was given to JGBLI by the county. To further complicate matters, JGBLI currently has two open electrical contracts with Ellsworth Electric, a company currently owned by Commissioner Barr’s family. Commissioner Barr did not abstain from the vote or disclose any potential conflict of interests, despite the agreement indirectly benefiting his family business.

To add even more unusual circumstances to the meeting, County Commissioner Candidate Curtis Reigh was removed from the meeting twice due to disruptions during both votes.

Ellsworth Electric filed permits in 2025 to perform residential electrical work at two separate properties currently owned by JGBLI and part of the agreement approved today by the County. The planned work consists of installing a new 200-amp underground electrical service at 14235 Cushman Avenue. Additionally, the company will perform a nearly identical installation of a new 200-amp underground service at the address of 14237 Cushman Avenue. Both projects are categorized as residential electrical jobs involving a service upgrade or repair. Cushman Avenue is one of the specific private roadways located within the JGBLI subdivision that the developer will benefit from sewer improvements as part of the pending agreement.

Commissioner Barr supposedly sold Ellsworth Electric to his son in 2020, according to his bio from the Washington County FY26 ten year capital improvement plan. However, his 2024 finance disclosure form listed Commissioner Barr as still having 50% of ownership attributable to him for “Ellsworth Properties” which is located at the same address as Ellsworth Electric. Barr is also currently listed as the registered agent for Ellsworth Electric according to the State of Maryland.

After adding a contingency regarding a bond was added to the JGBLI agreement, the agreement passed with Commissioner Leatherman being the sole vote against. Supposedly all work will be funded through grants, according to a statement from County Administrator Michelle Gordon. Gordon also detailed the fact that the County retained ownership and maintenance costs for the remainder of the Fort under Ritchie Revival, as well as significant subsidies and grants which have been awarded after the rest of the Fort was purchased in 2021 for almost $2 million. For contrast, JGBLI received their 63 acres at no cost from Washington County, and the agreement at the time included private ownership of all roads and water/sewer infrastructure.

By failing to abstain in voting for the May 21, 2026 amendment, Commissioner Barr voted to have the County absorb the massive subsurface sewer liabilities, which is the primary roadblock holding up the JGBLI subdivision. Approving this public subsidy directly ensures that the development can proceed, which in turn guarantees that Ellsworth Electric can continue to execute its active contracts on those exact lots. Commissioner Barr did not disclose any potential conflict of interests during the session.

Utilizing a municipal vote to deploy public funds that clear the way for a private development project, while an immediate family member holds active contracts to perform paid work on that exact project, represents a potential conflict of interest, regardless of whether the Commissioner or his family directly pockets any of the money.

The situation can be somewhat compared to the incident several years ago involving former County Commissioner Cort Meinelschmidt. In November 2020, Washington County Commissioner Meinelschmidt’s business, Meinelschmidt Distillery, was placed in an unfunded pool of applicants for the county’s Restaurant Relief Grant. On December 1, 2020, Meinelschmidt personally motioned and voted to reallocate CARES Act funds specifically to clear out that exact backlog and ensure all remaining applicants, including himself, received funding. Because he failed to disclose this conflict of interest, the Washington County Ethics Commission investigated, leading his fellow commissioners to vote him out of office on February 23, 2021.

The 2021 incident involving former Commissioner Cort Meinelschmidt serves as a stark example of a direct conflict of interest, which contrasts with the more indirect nature of Commissioner John Barr’s current situation.

Updated financial disclosure forms for all county commissioners has been requested through Maryland Public Information Act, and are being reviewed.

Associated documents for this story are available in our Public Information Archive.

Article by Ken Buckler, based upon information from Washington County Government.

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