A bill that bailed out a Kingsville plumbing company from zoning trouble also boosted the business interests of a Republican Party heavyweight who helped launch the political career of the bill’s sponsor.

Emails obtained by The Brew through a PIA request show that Baltimore County Councilman David Marks invited Kenneth C. Holt, a former state delegate and cabinet secretary in the Hogan administration, to submit wording for a bill that would allow a software company and other commercial activities on the 110-acre estate he owns in Kingsville.

“Good morning – here is the draft language for Bill 16-25 provided by Ken Holt,” Marks wrote on March 7 to Council secretary and counsel Thomas Bostwick minutes after receiving Holt’s “draft concept” of the amendment.

Bostwick drafted the bill to fit Holt’s wishes, which Marks sent back to Holt, saying, “Ken, please let me know your thoughts.”

“Fundamentally, the revisions are ok,” Holt responded. “Let’s have a call at your convenience to finalize the thought process.”

On April 7, the amended bill came before the County Council without any disclosure of Holt’s role in the process.

Instead, Marks praised the bill as something “we’ve crafted in conversations with some of the residents of that area,” even though the nearest property owners strongly objected to the legislation.

With no questions or further discussion, the Council approved the bill 7-0, with Marks joining his colleagues voting “aye.”

“I provided opinions”

At first, Holt flatly denied that he was involved in writing Bill 16-25 except as a concerned citizen who had attended several community meetings.

“I had nothing to do with the crafting of that legislation or the final outcome,” he said in a phone interview.

When told about the emails between himself and Councilman Marks contradicting that assertion, he amended his statement, saying:

“Fundamentally, I had very little to do with any of that. I provided opinions to the county councilman based upon the community discussions. Maybe a few, but fundamentally my recommendations were not incorporated in the bill.”

Marks did not respond to questions about his email exchanges with Holt, but in a written statement to The Brew called his bill “sound policy” because it protects farms from being converted to solar facilities.

The four-term councilman said his bill was discussed by the Greater Kingsville Civic Association (“it is worth noting that the GKCA did not oppose this legislation”) and before smaller groups, “including one where Mr. Holt and a representative from the Bellman family were present.”

Steven Bellman confirmed that he attended a meeting with Marks, but said he vocally opposed the zoning change. “Me and my neighbors knew nothing about these backroom dealings. Or Ken Holt’s involvement with them.”

Now enshrined in county law, the bill allows a “small business consisting only of software development and computer systems management” to operate in a RC-5 rural district – language that closely describes the software company that Holt co-owns and manages.

The legislation allows for a software development business almost exactly like the software company Holt founded.

Founded by Holt and two partners in 2015, Next In Line Inc. develops and sells software tools to veterinarians.

Its principal place of business is registered in state records at Holt’s “Mount Peru” thoroughbred estate, which he inherited from his grandfather.

Mary Holt, his wife, is the resident agent, and Carson N. Wright, his son-in-law, chief technology officer. Dubbed “your 24/7 scheduling assistant,” the company’s software is used by over 448 veterinary practices, according to its website.

Holt said the Marks bill “had no benefit to me whatsoever” because Next in Line’s headquarters, where he works on weekdays, is in Baltimore City. Instead, his aim was to help internet entrepreneurs in the Kingsville area.

“There are people who conduct online-related software businesses, whether they are podcasts, e-commerce platforms, from their homes,” he said. “I just felt from my knowledge of the software industry that people ought to be able to do that from their homes. That was the simple reason.”

If that were the case, Bellman countered, the change “should have gone through county zoning and not through a councilman.”

Write Your Own Bill?

On its face, the Marks bill appears to adhere to the longtime practice by which Council members can change the permitted use of a property or properties through bills that amend the overlaying zoning designation.

Such “text amendments” do not require a formal review by the County Planning Board or administrative law judge – just an up-or-down vote by the Council.

Given “councilmanic courtesy,” or the automatic approval by the full Council of legislation that pertains to a member’s district, text amendments  hand county lawmakers enormous power to award or punish property owners.

Bill 16-25 came about from an earlier dispute in which Marks provided assistance to another constituent – in this case, a business family that was in a jam with county code inspectors.

Last October, the Andrews family, owners of G.A. Mechanical and the Gunpowder Tree Farm, was ordered to remove illegally stored equipment from their seven-acre lot on Philadelphia Road. (The property, bordering protected Gunpowder Falls State Park, is zoned as rural residential.)

Almost immediately, emails show, Operations Manager Ben Andrews contacted Councilman Marks.

He thanked Marks “for coming to support our family and friends at my mom’s viewing in late August,” and then confided that “I have been in touch with TIM KOTROCO in regard to this issue.”

When the Andrews family failed to comply with the order, the county issued a final order of removal and a $3,000 fine, with a hearing date set for January 29, 2025.

That’s when Kotroco sprang into action on behalf of the the Andrews family.

He appealed and delayed the hearing – then went straight to Marks and Bostwick, seeking a bill that would legalize what code inspectors said was an illegal business.

On January 22, the emails show, Kotroco submitted to Bostwick a text amendment relating to the Andrews property, with the request to “kindly give me a call to discuss at your convenience.”

By mid-February, the text amendment was incorporated into Bill 16-25, which would effectively cancel the county’s $3,000 fine and removal order:

“An ACT . . . permitting by-rights certain combinations of Christmas tree farms and plumbing, mechanical and utility companies in certain areas of the Resource Conservation 5 (RC-5) Zone; permitting certain related used if the area is screened and lighted.”

Ken Holt “told me, ‘David [Marks] and I go way back. I helped start his career in politics’”  – Steven Bellman.

Getting wind of the proposed change, Bellman said he knocked on the door of Holt’s house, about a half mile from the site, as part of a neighborhood canvas to alert residents about the Marks bill.

“He asked for all the zoning material I had, and said he had a reasonable idea to make everybody happy. He said he would talk to Bostwick and Marks,” Bellman said in an interview. “He told me, ‘David and I go way back. I helped start his career in politics.’”

On March 5, Councilman Marks hosted a meeting at G.A. Mechanical office attended by Ken and Mary Holt, their stepson Chris Wimer, Tim Kotroco, Ben Andrews, Steve Bellman and a neighbor to discuss Bill 16-25.

According to Bellman, Holt asked Andrews straight out if he was really running a tree farm and, if so, had he ever had the soil tested. “Mr Holt kept saying, ‘I like to do things right, and it seems like you’ve been doing things without permits.’”

After Bellman told the group he was against any bill that allowed the plumbing business to continue on the site, “I was pretty much hustled out of the meeting.” He said Marks refused to talk to him, while the Holts met privately with Kotroco and Andrews.

The following morning, according to emails obtained by The Brew, Holt sent to Marks language that would amend Bill 16-25 to “approve by right an auxiliary small business construction subcontracting operation, located on a working farm, to sustain the viability of the farm.”

The email was forwarded to Bostwick, who crafted an amendment that permitted an auxiliary software business and also allowed on private property within the Kingsville Regional Planning District “on-site and online sales of produce and farm-related products,” “farm tours,” “seasonal farm day events” and “commercial non-farm-related parking limited to 25 spaces.”

Incorporating New Language

An email by Bostwick noted that the rewritten bill “attempts to keep the original intent of the bill. . . while also incorporating the new language offered in the email from Mr. Holt.”

Marks introduced the legislation at the Council’s April 1 work session, lauding it as a “great example” of representative democracy at work.

“Those of us who serve in public service often have to be problem solvers, and this is a great example of that truth,” he said.

In a written statement to The Brew this week, Marks denied that the bill showed favoritism to anyone and asserted, “I do no have a personal relationship with Ken Holt, the Andrews family or Tim Kotroco.”

Election Board records show that Kotroco regularly makes campaign contributions to Marks, most recently in August 2023. Altogether, the lawyer-lobbyist has contributed $2,800 to the “Friends of David Marks” committee.

“Those of us who serve in public service often have to be problem solvers, and this is a great example of that truth”  – David Marks.

Holt told The Brew that the farm-related amendments were not designed to benefit his property because he does not sell produce to the public or conduct farm tours.

Instead, he said he wanted to benefit all farmers in the area “so they could, if they wished, conduct business with the general public.”

Asked how many Kingsville area farms (other than his own) might benefit from Bill 16-25, he said, “At least four.”

Did any of those farmers express an interest in the zoning changes incorporated in the bill?

“No,” he replied. “But I just told you. I think all farms should be treated equally.”