April 2012 – Page 2 – Jay's Real Estate Blog

GC Public Safety Implements New 9-1-1 Procedure

Apr. 19, 2012

Callers who dial 9-1-1 for emergency medical assistance may notice a significant change in how such calls are handled in Garrett County, according to Communications chief Steve Smith of the GC Department of Public Safety.

“We have just implemented a new program funded through the Maryland Emergency Number Systems Board, which will allow for more timely, comprehensive and accurate information to be collected by the 9-1-1 call taker and passed on to the responding units through our computer aided dispatch software,” Smith said. “This will result in more appropriate response and treatment of the patient, as well as provide an invaluable tool for quality assurance. Callers will notice that the 9-1-1 call taker will ask specific questions, driven by responses about the patient.”

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The new software, known as ProQA, is based on protocols established by the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch (NAEMD). ProQA is based on the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS)and provides a standardized format for carrying out the practice of priority dispatching.

It is an automated system that operates by evaluating incoming information according to logical rules built on expert medical knowledge. Smith noted that those using this system must have the very best emergency medical dispatch training, must have a firm understanding of the MPDS system, and must operate within a quality assurance and improvement environment.

“The use of ProQA software by EMDs trained and certified by the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch SM results in state-of-the-art emergency medical dispatching,” Smith said.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

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Two Garrett County grade schools will close

Commissioners offer $500,000 prior to vote affecting Dennett Road, Kitzmiller elementary

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — The Garrett County Board of Education voted to close Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools at a special meeting Tuesday.

The decision was made despite receiving $500,000 from the Board of Garrett County Commissioners earlier in the day for fiscal year 2013 and their suggestion to keep the schools open.

“Public education is not only our number one fiscal priority but also a notable objective of our economic development vision,” the commissioners said in a news release. “We recognize and emphasize that the issues and actions regarding school budgets, closure of schools and the overall decision about our school system rest in the elected members of the Board of Education. Any action on the part of the board of county commissioners as the funding source is not intended to usurp your difficult decisions.”

The decision was also made despite school boad president Charlotte Sebold’s suggestion that the schools remain open, instead cutting teaching positions.

“I would prefer to keep the schools open,” said Sebold, echoing the commissioners’ sentiments. “I don’t know how long that would be. We have got to address the fact that we are short $1 million. We have to have a plan.”

Sebold said the teachers’ positions could be brought back if the money from the potential stop-loss revenue comes through. That funding will be determined by a special session of the Maryland General Assembly that will likely be held in May. Before the money was provided by the commissioners Tuesday, 40 teacher positions would have been cut. Now that number would be reduced to 28 positions, according to Sebold.

“Things that we need here to make the economy grow are families and young people in our communities, said Sebold. “If we close schools, unfortunately we are not doing the things we need to do to grow the economy. We can make it without closing schools.”

Sebold also said she was appreciative of the fact that the commissioners were able to provide the money without raising taxes.

“At this time, the Board of County Commissioners plans to set the real property tax rate at the current rate of $0.9900, which will result in $2 million less revenue based on a reduction in assessments,” said the press release.

During their last meeting, the commissioners discussed the possibility of raising property taxes more than 7 cents.

Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools will be closed at the end of the school year and will save about $1 million and $279,000 respectively, helping to close a shortfall of $2 million, according to interim schools Superintendent Sue Waggoner.

“No other district has had as large of a one-year percent decrease as we have,” said Waggoner, noting that it was a 10.27 percent reduction in funding.

Students that attend Dennett Road will be redistricted to Yough Glades, Broadford and Crellin elementary schools. Yough Glades will be designated as the special education school and will need about $20,000 to provide the necessary facilities, according to Waggoner. Less money would be needed for the facilities if the work was done in-house, she said.

Students from Kitzmiller Elementary will be redistricted to Broadford Elementary. Both school buildings will revert to county government.

In their statement to the BOE, the commissioners encouraged them to have a discussion with whomever assumes the superintendent position.

“While closing community schools is a simplistic approach, you are encouraged to have an open dialogue with the candidates for the position of superintendent on how to best resolve current expected budgetary issues. It needs to be noted that commissioners cannot obligate or commit to additional funds above this level for FY 2014,” said the news release.

Although Friendsville Elementary was under consideration for closure earlier in the year, it was not included in the recommendation or the vote.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

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Snow drapes trees, power lines in highest elevations

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

— CUMBERLAND — Heavy, wet snow draped trees and utility lines in the higher elevations Monday after an overnight storm hit that carried a warning to continue into early Tuesday morning.

Schools were canceled in Garrett and Somerset (Pa.) counties and in the Mountain Ridge district of Allegany County. The rest of the Allegany County school system delayed opening by two hours.

Road crews were in service throughout the area removing snow but no major accidents were reported by late morning.

The Allegany County 911 center said a power outage was reported in the North End of the city when a tree downed power lines. The outage occurred at about 4 a.m. and service was restored by Potomac Edison crews by 7 a.m., said a 911 dispatcher.

In Garrett County, the snow emergency plan was implemented after dawn Monday. Interstate 68 was reportedly “bare and wet” at late morning and back roads were described as “slushy.” No major accidents were reported despite reports of several inches of snow that had fallen throughout the county, according to a trooper at the McHenry barrack.

No weather-related calls were reported by the Garrett County 911 center after several inches of snow fell throughout the upper elevations of Western Maryland and nearby West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

In Mineral County, a 911 dispatcher said the emergency center received no weather-related emergency calls. “There’s nothing here. All we have is rain,” said the dispatcher.

At the Hampshire County 911 center, a dispatcher said about 2 inches of snow fell in the Romney area but no weather-related emergencies were reported by noon Monday.

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More fun in sun urged for schoolchildren

By Matthew Cella

The Washington Times

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Listen up, Maryland public schools — state Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot has a bone to pick with you.

Mr. Franchot, a Democrat, kicked off a campaign last week urging schools not to start their academic years until after Labor Day in order to help increase revenue for some of the state’s popular tourist spots.

At a Board of Public Works meeting, the outspoken comptroller lamented how school districts in recent years have asked students and teachers to report earlier. The start of school has been pushed up from around Labor Day to a full one or two weeks before the first Monday in September.

Schoolchildren may not have been thrilled with this development, but Mr. Franchot said the biggest losers might be business owners in tourist-heavy areas such as Ocean City, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor or Western Maryland’s Deep Creek Lake whose busy seasons seem to get shorter every year.

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CitizenShale Group Notes Successes, Failures Of Gas-Drilling Legislation

Apr. 19, 2012

CitizenShale, a local citizens’ group formed last year to provide education and information about issues related to natural gas drilling in Maryland, expressed appreciation this week for the work of the county’s Annapolis delegation in securing some new legislation pertaining to this industry. The group also noted other efforts evolving to ensure public and environmental safeguards, should hydraulic fracturing for gas come to Maryland.

The organization began working with Delegate Wendell Beitzel and Senator George Edwards last December on drafting three bills to reform key provisions of the gas leasing process, in response to land-owner and lease-holder concerns about misinformation and a lack of transparency in gas leasing. One of those bills did become law.

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Complaints were lodged with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office during the last year about the way energy companies and leasing representatives allegedly misrepresented the dangers associated with “fracking” for natural gas, about the extremely low prices paid for leases, and about misleading clauses in the leases that allowed them to be automatically renewed after the original term.

Lease prices of $5 or $10 per acre were standard in Garrett County, during a period when leases purchased in nearby Pennsylvania often topped $2,000 per acre. Leasing began in Garrett County in 2006, and approximately 120,000 acres – some 600 individual leases – were secured.

“People who were not interested now see issues to be concerned about,” said CitizenShale board president Eric Robison, an Oakland area resident.

He noted that the organization conducted numerous public education programs in the county during the last year.

“What was a local conversation is now part of a national conversation. People are starting to appreciate the cautious approach the state is advocating,” he said.

“Despite differing philosophies about the long-term value of natural gas drilling for our state and county, we were able to work effectively with Del. Beitzel and Sen. Edwards. We greatly appreciated that opportunity,” Robison said.

House Bill 402, introduced by Del. Beitzel to address record-keeping shortcomings that had been cited in an earlier law dealing with dormant mineral interests, was passed into law with an amendment late in the session to require that all gas leases filed after Oct. 1 of this year include a standardized “intake sheet” summary of the lease.

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Officials Moving Forward With County Budget, Despite State Budget Dilemma

Apr. 19, 2012

The Garrett County commissioners announced Tuesday afternoon that the Bloomington Volunteer Fire Department will purchase the former Bloomington Elementary School from the county. As a cost-saving measure, the GC Board of Education closed the facility at the end of the last school year.

Commission chair Jim Raley noted the county had advertised that the building was for sale, but no one expressed an interest in purchasing the 21,123-square-foot school building, situated on 1.25 acres.

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“So we approached the Bloomington Fire Department to see if there would be interest on its part,” Raley said. “And at this point the department has expressed an interest in purchasing the facility, with the condition that the county raze the facility in some agreeable manner.”

Based on recent discussions between the commissioners and fire department, the BVFD would pay the county $50,000 over a 10-year period for the property and the expense of razing it.

“The county would pick up any additional amounts to that,” Raley said about the razing cost. “That would give the property’s full rights and ownership to the fire department.”

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Maryland public schools should start after Labor Day, Franchot says

Baltimore Business Journal by Ryan Sharrow, New Media Editor
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012, 11:27am EDT
Ryan Sharrow
New Media Editor – Baltimore Business Journal

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot on Thursday called for all state school systems to begin classes after Labor Day, arguing $4 million is being lost annually for state and local governments.

Franchot, who wants a statewide policy change on the issue, traveled to Ocean City to make the announcement. He was flanked by Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan and members of the local business community.

The resort town, for example, can generate almost $5 million in state and local revenues during an August week, Franchot said, adding that small businesses are dependent on the busy tourism season.

“Not only does this cut into the opportunity for Marylanders to spend more time together as a family, but it also has a negative impact on small businesses that rely on the tourist trade,” Franchot said, also pointing to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and Deep Creek Lake. “During these tough economic times, we need to be doing all that we can to support the tourism sector and find ways to foster even more growth.”

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Unclaimed Prop. Listings Included in Today's Republican

Apr. 19, 2012

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot wants Maryland residents to be on the lookout for his agency’s annual unclaimed property advertising insert. The 184-page insert, which is in today’s issue of The Republican, is designed help reunite Marylanders with nearly $51 million in unclaimed property.

The unclaimed property unit of the comptroller’s office is the guardian of bank accounts, contents of safe deposit boxes, security deposits, wages and insurance benefits, and proceeds that have been unclaimed for more than three years. Property such as parcels of land or homes is not included.

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By law, financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, and other companies are required to notify the comptroller of any property that has gone unclaimed, or without activity, for more than three years. Once the comptroller’s office is notified, the staff try to locate the rightful owners to match them with their property.

Even though the comptroller is the guardian of the property, the items continue to belong to the owners or their rightful heirs, and are available to be claimed at any time. There is no deadline on when the owners can collect their funds.

“The number-one priority of the comptroller’s office is to serve the citizens of Maryland,” said Franchot. “In that respect, we take our responsibility for reuniting Marylanders with what is rightfully theirs very seriously. Many of the unclaimed property accounts on our books are simply forgotten by the owners. But, in other cases, the property is something left behind by a relative, which no one knew about until he/she checked the list.”

Franchot urges all who find their names in the insert to telephone his office toll-free at 1-800-782-7383 to find out how to reclaim their lost property. The agency’s complete list of 970,000 accounts, worth more than $985 million, is also available online at any time, for free, at www.marylandtaxes.com or www.missingmoney.com.

Some items held by the Unclaimed Property division of the comptroller’s office are eligible for auction on eBay to obtain the best return in value for the rightful owners. The auction program has been in place for six years, and nearly 6,100 items have been sold, totaling more than $1.2 million These items can be viewed and bid on by clicking the eBay icon at www.marylandtaxes.com.

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Garrett County graduates One Maryland program

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News — OAKLAND — Garrett County has been advised by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development that it has graduated from the state’s One Maryland Plan, effective April 1, according to Jim Hinebaugh, county director of economic development. The county’s business growth over the past nine years led to the accomplishment. “While graduation from the One Maryland program represents progress, it also reflects hard work, financial investment and commitment to the local area by local businesses,” said county commission Chairman Jim Raley in a news release. The One Maryland program was developed and implemented during Cas Taylor’s tenure as speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, Hinebaugh said. “The intent of the program was to help the economically displaced counties develop and grow their economy,” said Hinebaugh during Tuesday’s commission meeting. Under the program, economically distressed jurisdictions are defined as having a two-year unemployment average greater than 150 percent of the statewide rate and an average per capita income of less than 66 percent of the two-year state average, according to the news release. Graduation from the program means the county’s businesses are no longer eligible for tax credits and other incentives provided by the program. “It’s one of those good news, bad news stories,” said Hinebaugh. “The good news is we graduated. The bad news is we can’t use the program anymore. We are very proud of the fact that we have come a long way.” To qualify for those incentives, eligible businesses had to create a minimum of 25 new jobs, make a capital investment of at least $500,000 and be located in a state-approved priority funding area. Several county-based businesses used the program to help facilitate business expansions over a 10-year period. The expansions resulted in the creation of more than 300 new jobs and a capital investment of more than $20 million, according to Hinebaugh. The county technically graduated April 1, 2011, but through the efforts of state Sen. George Edwards and Delegate Wendell Beitzel, last year’s legislative session grandfathered the county for another year, said Hinebaugh. In 1997, the county’s average unemployment was 13.7 percent, Hinebaugh said. “We went five straight years at 5.1 percent or less. We were always at the bottom,” said Hinebaugh, noting that in February 10 other jurisdictions had higher unemployment rates than the county did. “Graduation from this One Maryland program is an indication that we are making progress. That’s not to say that we don’t have a lot of challenges to do. There are still a lot of people that need work …” The county is experiencing growth. Jim Henry, program director in the office of finance programs for the state, will be spending the next few days with the economic development department and will meet with two businesses that are considering expansion, Hinebaugh said. “We are going to talk about a new start-up business. I think it’s good news,” said Hinebaugh. “It’s an indication that even though things are tough and kind of slow, we are still working hard. We are still prospering.” In other commission news, county officials will hear an update on broadband on May 1, Hinebaugh said. Hinebaugh stressed the importance of broadband to the county, stating, “It’s one way of leveling the playing field. I’m excited about being able to improve access. Our goal is to get where 90 percent of the residents of the county have broadband access.” The commissioners also announced that Bloomington Volunteer Fire Department was interested in the purchase of the former Bloomington Elementary School for $50,000, with the condition that the county raze the building. More here. Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

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Garrett officials appoint acting adventure sports center director

For the Cumberland Times-News Cumberland Times-News — OAKLAND — Michael Logsdon has been appointed acting executive director of Adventure Sports Center International, the man-made whitewater rafting course located at Deep Creek Lake. The appointment was announced Wednesday by the Garrett County Commission, in cooperation with the Board of Trustees of Garrett College, according to a news release. Last month, county commissioners voted unanimously to take ownership of the financially-struggling facility. Logsdon will ensure ASCI management operates effectively and efficiently, according to the news release. “ASCI is a valuable asset to our overall economic development strategy and I know Mike (Logsdon) and the entire staff will work tirelessly to make the project one for which we can all be proud,” said commission Chairman Jim Raley. Logsdon joined the college faculty in 1976 and has served as director of the college’s adventure sports program since 1992. He served as executive director of the Adventure Sports Institute in 2004 and his works have been published in a number of professional adventure sport journals. He holds a master of science degree in electrical engineering. More here. Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

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Month: April 2012

GC Public Safety Implements New 9-1-1 Procedure

Two Garrett County grade schools will close

Snow drapes trees, power lines in highest elevations

More fun in sun urged for schoolchildren

CitizenShale Group Notes Successes, Failures Of Gas-Drilling Legislation

Officials Moving Forward With County Budget, Despite State Budget Dilemma

Maryland public schools should start after Labor Day, Franchot says

Unclaimed Prop. Listings Included in Today's Republican

Garrett County graduates One Maryland program

Garrett officials appoint acting adventure sports center director

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