May 2012 – Page 7 – Jay's Real Estate Blog

Garrett County Land Use Management Ordinance Draft.

The Board of Garrett County Commissioners has released a draft land use ordinance with a goal of encouraging county property owners and county stakeholders to examine and provide comment on the working document. Unlike Euclidian Zoning, virtually all land uses would be permitted in all areas of the county under the ordinance with the exception of the Deep Creek Lake area which has had comprehensive zoning since 1975. Uses that may impose adverse impacts on surrounding properties may be subject to a “Special Exception” review process.

A desire to proactively address complex issues such as the continued interest and impact of future industrial wind development to natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation has been the catalyst for the development of the draft ordinance. Attempts to establish fundamental set backs and decommissioning standards for industrial wind development have repeatedly failed to be passed into law in the last four years by the State Legislature.

“As the face of Garrett County is changing, we need open discussion on what we want our county to look like and where we want to be in our economic future,” said Chairman Jim Raley.

After four public work sessions, the Board decided at its regular meeting on May 1, 2012 to release the draft ordinance for a 45 day public comment period which will end on June 15, 2012. The Board invites written public comment and as comment is received it will be posted on the County website, www.garrettcounty.org.

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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EPA Awards $300K To Help Potomac Highlands Region

Apr. 26, 2012

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and American Rivers recently awarded a $300,000 grant to Frostburg State University (FSU), the Western Maryland Resource Conservation and Development Council (WMRCD), and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to reduce flooding, restore forests, and promote local food production in the Potomac Highlands region.

In the past, many of the region’s streams have been damaged by harmful logging, mining, dams, and other development, noted U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin.

The $300,000 grant is part of a comprehensive initiative to help protect and restore rivers in the Potomac Highlands region. WMRCD is partnering with FSU, the DNR, and others to convert unused mined land into a five-acre greenhouse complex designed to train community members for high quality jobs, while producing local food and tree seedlings to be used in restoration projects throughout the region.

“This grant is a win-win for everyone involved because it represents a true partnership in which Frostburg State, the WMRCD and the DNR have joined with EPA and American Rivers to initiate a comprehensive environmental restoration effort that will create jobs and help restore the Potomac watershed,” said Cardin, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and chair of the Water and Wildlife Subcommittee. “Contamination from mining activities and other development can have a devastating effect, and this grant will help restore the area’s rivers, streams and forests.”

The environmental, social and economic benefits include reducing runoff that contributes to Potomac basin flooding and acid mine drainage,;re-establishing natural forest habitat on strip-mined lands; creating two permanent, sustainable jobs, and a training facility that will help create additional job opportunities; and providing local healthy food to the residents of western Maryland.

American Rivers is implementing the EPA grant program that awards local, innovative solutions to benefit clean water and local economies. A total of $1.3 million is being awarded to seven projects to protect rivers and clean water in the Potomac Highlands region of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Highlands region is the headwaters of the Potomac River, which flows through the nation’s capital. Cardin noted the region’s forests and streams provide rich habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants, as well as an increasingly popular recreation and tourism destination.

More here.

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Shorten the summer break from school

Comptroller Peter Franchot’s call to push the start of the school year in Maryland past Labor Day has two things going for it.

It would pack more family vacation time into the warm beaches at Ocean City, and it would do the same at the cool mountains around Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland.

The businesses that have invested at these two corners of the state live and die by tourism, and they have a relatively short season. The trend throughout the state is for an earlier start to the school year — the first day of classes for most St. Mary’s students will be Aug. 22. This cuts into the summer season.

From the economic point of view of these merchants, the push to reclaim every hot, sunny day before Labor Day for family fun makes sense.

More here.

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Garrett County leaders agree on formula for wind turbine location

Alternative energy production units reportedly are getting taller

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — On Tuesday, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners came to the consensus of a formula for the setbacks of industrial wind turbines to use in the draft Land Use Management Ordinance.

The setbacks for wind turbines from a occupied dwelling would be five times the height measuring from base to the hub of the wind turbine and from a property line it would be three times the height. The same formula was proposed for domestic wind turbines.

“What we are trying to do (with this draft ordinance) is determine what footprint we want here in the county and what we want this county to look like for our kids, their kids and the future generations beyond that,” said Chairman Jim Raley. “That is what we are really after here.”

Commissioner Robert Gat-to indicated that he wanted discussion on the draft document to continue. Once the changes are made in the draft document, it will be made public and residents will have until June 15 to comment on it. Raley suggested that the public’s comments be published along with the document.

“Most of you in this room have said you believe there should be some regulatory framework in regard to setbacks and those things,” said Raley during Tuesday’s meeting. “The question comes down to how do you do it without some form of zoning or some form of regulatory framework? I think that is the discussion that will be more far-reaching.”

The current formula in the draft ordinance rids the document of the 375-foot height restriction that was previously proposed, according to John Nelson, director of the Department of Planning and Land Development. During the meeting, Kevin Brokish, a project manager for the Fair Wind project, said industrial wind turbines were getting higher and that the Criterion Wind Project wouldn’t have been viable with the height restrictions that were previously proposed.

“My company and I are for reasonable wind setbacks. We think it’s inappropriate for a turbine to be a mere 500 feet from a home that is not signed with the project,” said Brokish, who noted that Clipper Windpower Development, LLC voluntarily places units 1,000 feet from residences. “More recently we have increased that distance to 1,200 feet.”

Commissioner Gregan Crawford questioned why wind turbines are getting taller. He also asked if it had an effect on noise reduction and if wind industries test for sound.

Brokish said there are tests and that in Maryland there is a 55-decibel limit, which translates into a 50-foot setback for wind turbines.

“There are two ways turbines get bigger. One way is with taller towers. I think that would help sound a little bit,” said Brokish. “As you get higher up wind speeds increase.”

After the public comment period, the ordinance will go through additional readings and a public hearing, should the commissioners decide to move forward with the document.

“It also give us time to continue to do research,” said Raley. “I can tell you the people who are worried about living in their homes would like the number to be as high as it possibly could be. Because they want to be guaranteed some type of protection. As I continue to say, I am concerned about roads and infrastructure, as the face of Garrett County is changing.”

Some research was done as to what setbacks other counties have, all of which vary. In neighboring Allegany County, the setbacks are 2,000 feet from a residence, 1,000 feet from any other structure and 5,000 feet from schools or National Register of Historic Places sites, according to data sheet provided by the commissioners. In Somerset and Cambria counties in Pennsylvania the setbacks are five times the height to the hub and is subject to a non-disturbance easement.

At a March meeting to discuss the draft ordinance, the commissioners also discussed the underground disposal of hydraulic fracturing water associated with Marcellus shale drilling. However, during the meeting on Tuesday the discussion centered more on the industrial wind setbacks.

“Everything has centered around a discussion pretty much about the wind industry. There has been little to no discussion about the gas industry,” said Raley. He said the gas industry “will bring something different. It will bring intensity of use to roadways, to trucks meeting legal re-quirements of weight restrictions. What happens when you have roads that weren’t designed for large intensity of use?”

It was stressed Tuesday that nothing in the draft ordinance is set in stone and it still has to go through the public hearing process before the commissioners can vote on it.

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

More here.

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Garrett County budget to be posted

OAKLAND — The Garrett County Board of County Commissioners has announced that the fiscal year 2013 operating budget will be online at www.garrettcounty.org by the end of business hours on Friday.

Projected revenue and requested expenditures will be available for review. The board, county administrator and Department of Financial Services will present an informational budget overview to the public on May 15 at 7 p.m. at Garrett College auditorium.

Questions on the draft budget may be addressed to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator, or Wendy Yoder, director of Department of Financial Services.

More here.

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Do like citizens do and live within your means

— Would we be better, not to read the newspaper each morning, would the storm pass?

Seems like every time you pickup the newspaper, the headlines read: “ Taxes to be raised on income, or property taxes to increase, or, gas taxes to increase, and on and on it goes.”

Will there never be no end to madness from our elected officials? They’ve reached the bottom of the well, and all they are going to find is dust. People all over are taxed out.

Sure politicians and millionaires can go for additional taxes, but what about the little people. People retired on fixed income. We have to eat and live too. Every time I go to the market, the prices have gone up from last week, and the week before. I say enough is enough! It’s time our elected officials learn to live within their means as we little people have to do.

Stop wasteful spending, and supporting programs that don’t feed the people. Today’s headlines for Garrett County was property taxes to be increased $70 on the property owners now paying $1,000 per year.

The county commissioners find themselves a little short to meet budget. Well, so do I from year to year, as my income keeps shrinking. Put it back on the shelf if you don’t have the means to pay for it. That’s how most Americans live, within their income.

That new Whitewater Sports Complex that was just purchased put a big dent in their proposed budget for the year. We don’t need more toys to play with. We need jobs for the residents to be able to pay bills, and put food on the table, not to mention to pay for health care for the elderly.

Bringing industry in the area, and creating new jobs will raise enough taxes to meet state budget. Also a flat tax across the board will produce enough tax money for all government to operate in the black. Why should the middle class bear all the burden to pay the bills? The working man has a hard time keeping money in his pocket with paying such high gasoline prices to commute to work each day.

Come on, politicians, give the people a break and do the job you were elected to do, on the promises you made when running for office. Bring our country back under control.

Stop wasteful spending and raising taxes all the time, and look for ways to build the economy elsewhere beside out of our pockets.

Bring industry back to the people, where they can earn a comfortable living, and the revenue in taxes paid would generate enough for funding projects needed in the state and the federal government.

It’s time for the politicians to start working together, and stop the feuding in government. Look out for the “Doomsday Budget,” special session called to set a budget for Maryland. Another storm is on the horizon. Hopefully not the “Perfect Storm.”

I’m sure we all have our own ideas as to how to make this a better state to live in, but who’s listening? Buckle up, citizens of Maryland, and America, the ride is going to get rougher!

Norm Fitzgerald

Bloomington

More here.

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Broadband study finds Garrett well-connected

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — A study on broadband communications infrastructure found Garrett County was well served compared to other rural communities because it has more infrastructure than many parts of the rural United States, said Joanne Hovis, president of CTC Technology and Energy.

The six-month broadband study was conducted by CTC and was based on a survey of more than 1,600 residents, businesses and farms, according to a news release.

Hovis said county broadband is not on par with the metro areas.

“We are pleased to know that our broadband efforts so far have been successful and are excited about the new strategies we have for bringing even more broadband to our residents,” said Chairman Jim Raley.

The study found that an estimated 78 percent of residents, farms and businesses currently pay for Internet services, according to Hovis. Of those 78 percent that use Internet 64 percent use broadband (DSL, cable, fiber). The adoption of broadband is somewhat lower in the agricultural community.

“There is a pretty real gap between 78 percent and 64 percent, who are still using dial up,” said Hovis. “The numbers show a high level of interest for broadband.”

Some of the challenges the county faces with broadband is large unserved remote areas, relatively little competition in population centers and high pricing that prevents consumers from fully benefiting from existing networks, according to a news release.

The study also found that local entrepreneurs and wireless carriers have led recent expansion of broadband options in the county.

The study follows the county’s 2011 Economic Development Strategic plan and determines the most productive methods for the county to leverage its portion of the $115 million federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act broadband grant that the state was awarded in 2010, according to the news release. The grant will fund approximately 50 miles of fiber backbone to connect major institutions such as schools, Garrett College and government agencies. The Strategic Plan’s goal is to increase non-satellite broadband Internet availability to at least 90 percent of the residents by 2014.

“This study is an important tool for the county,” said Frank Shap, assistant director of the Department of Economic Development in the news release. “It gives us a roadmap for expanding broadband infrastructure and use, which we have long recognized as essential for economic development.”

Hovis recommended that the county consider investing in the last mile of the wireless broadband network to enable service to approximately 2,900 unserved residences. The cost of the investment would be $1.2 million, with 30 percent of subscribers utilizing the service, according to Hovis.

Hovis also recommended that middle-mile infrastructure be expanded, wire line carrier expansion for the last mile be encouraged and cost-effective commodity bandwidth be facilitated for competitive providers.

Commodity bandwidth refers to the actual bandwidth used to transverse the Internet, according to Hovis. Other recommendations in-clude creating governance structures to manage county strategies, educate county residents about broadband and pursue funding opportunities such as Appalachian Regional Commission.

CTC Technology and Energy is a public sector engineering and business consulting firm.

To view the broadband study in its entirety, visit www.garrettcounty.org.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com

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More information needed before decision can be made

To the Editor: Cumberland Times-News

— I must agree that the prospect of raising taxes in Garrett County is of major concern to many citizens (“No more property tax hikes in Garrett County,” April 25 Times-News).

Furthermore, I agree that the proposed closure of Dennett Road and Kitzmiller schools is of particular concern to those whose children are affected by those closures. What I must disagree with is that wind turbines in Garrett County will pave the road to prosperity.

It seems obvious to me that Robert Spangler would have you believe that he is greatly concerned about the aforementioned issues as well as those citizens who are opposed to the wind turbines.

What he fails to tell you is that he does not live near those locations where wind turbines are proposed to be placed.

Therefore, he will not have to contend with the environmental impact issues involving wildlife, reduced homeowner property values, or personal intrusions such as vista, flicker or noise.

Moreover he fails to say that he owns a large chunk of land along Four Mile Ridge where many wind turbines are proposed to be placed.

He stresses the positive monetary impact such turbines will have on the county and its citizens through increased tax revenue and jobs. What he fails to tell you is the positive monetary impact these turbines will have on him through the leasing of “his” land to Synergics.

He criticizes the Garrett County commissioners for being “brain washed by few (sic) nay-sayers” since they are “proposing unreasonable setbacks and height restrictions for the wind mills.”

It seems to me that the commissioners are getting it right by proceeding with caution so that they can get it right the first time around.

The primary purpose of this letter is to get the whole story out on the table so that everyone can make an informed decision without being influenced by what appears to be a smoke screen.

Richard Wiggin

Frostburg

More here.

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Group battles Garrett closures

State board of ed has 20 days to respond to appeal

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — A group called Parents for Garrett County Education is working on filing an appeal with the Maryland Board of Education to stop the closures of Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools, according to Diane Donham, the group’s spokeswoman.

The group has until May 24 to file the appeal and hopes to have it filed by the end of the week.

The state board must hear from the Garrett County Board of Education before they respond to the group’s appeal, according to Donham.

“I hope the state board of education responds in time so more teachers don’t lose their jobs,” said Donham.

The group is also circulating numerous petitions to keep the schools open, some of which will be provided to the state board with the appeal.

The state will respond 20 days after a copy of the appeal has been sent, according to Maryland Office of the Secretary of the State.

“Last year, people were given raises instead of keeping the schools open,” said Donham in an interview with the Times-News.

In October 2011, county commissioners provided the BOE with a preliminary appropriation of $24,859,000 to allow for budget planning for fiscal year 2013, according to a news release provided by the commissioners.

Last year, the commissioners provided the BOE with $700,000 to keep Bloomington Elementary School open, according to a previous Times-News article. Then, in April 2011, the BOE voted to close the school.

Prior to the decision to close the schools on April 24, the commissioners provided the BOE with $500,000 for fiscal year 2013 and suggested the schools remain open.

During the April BOE meeting, interim Superintendent Sue Waggoner recommended that the money provided by the commissioners be used to “reduce the number of instructional employee reductions.”

Before the money was provided by the commissioners, 40 teacher positions would have been cut. Now that number would be reduced to 28 positions, according to BOE President Charlotte Sebold.

“I will not be able to vote to close schools tonight,” said BOE Vice President Rodney Durst during the April meeting.

The commissioners cannot obligate or commit to additional funds above $25,359,000 for fiscal years 2013 and 2014, the commissioners said in a news release.

“Regardless of whether we close schools or not, we are going to have to lay off teachers … but if we decide to go that route and the state does come through with the money, we can hire those teachers back,” said Durst during the April meeting, noting that the BOE is restricted by the union as to who must be laid off.

“But I’m afraid if we close the schools, even if they come through with twice the money, they won’t open back up.”

Funding for education will be determined by a special session of the General Assembly that will likely be held May 14.

“My hope is that with the ‘doomsday’ budget they (the General Assembly) will decline the 12 percent decrease during the special session,” said Donham. “So the teachers can get their jobs back.”

Sebold echoed Durst’s sentiments and suggested that the schools remain open, and instead of cutting teachers’ positions, using the money provided by the commissioners to save some of those positions.

Teachers’ salaries account for 80 percent of the budget, according to Sebold.

“Our problem this evening is the fact that we don’t know what is going to happen in the legislative session,” said Waggoner, during the April meeting. “As a result, until we have the dollars in hand, I have to recommend a balanced budget. That’s the reason we are going to be talking about school closures.”

During a special meeting on April 24, the BOE voted 3-2 to close Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools at the end of the school year.

Students who attend Dennett Road will be redistricted to Yough Glades, Broadford and Crellin elementary schools. Yough Glades will be designated as the special education school.

Students who attend Kitzmiller will be redistricted to Broadford elementary school.

The Parents for Garrett County Education group, whose goal is to to preserve the future quality of education for children in the county, is also currently looking into the possibility of a homeschool co-op, according to Donham.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com

More here.

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Month: May 2012

Garrett County Land Use Management Ordinance Draft.

EPA Awards $300K To Help Potomac Highlands Region

Shorten the summer break from school

Garrett County leaders agree on formula for wind turbine location

Garrett County budget to be posted

Do like citizens do and live within your means

Broadband study finds Garrett well-connected

More information needed before decision can be made

Group battles Garrett closures

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