Category:garrett county commissioners
Local officials concerned about secession movement
Matthew BieniekCumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Two county commissioners in far Western Maryland are concerned about the impact and publicity that talk of secession is gaining, leading to hostile reactions in other parts of the state.
They say public officials aren’t behind the talk, oppose the idea and haven’t been asked about the question by some of those who have written about the topic in newspapers and other media.
“We have never had a conversation about this. … The unfortunate thing is some people in the central and more urban areas of the state think we are out here pushing this,” said Garrett County Commissioner Jim Raley.
Considering the obscurity of the group pushing the idea, it has received enormous publicity, Raley said.
Some of the articles imply that the state’s five westernmost counties are in support of the idea, which simply isn’t true, local officials said.
What’s interesting to us … none of us (public officials) have been asked to weigh in on it,” said Raley.
“I certainly believe there are issues … on which the citizens of Western Maryland don’t agree with the state,” Raley said. “But our region has been very fortunate as part of the state of Maryland.”
He said many citizens in the larger urban and suburban areas of the state come to Garrett County and spend money, aiding the local economy.
“We have an amicable relationship with the state,” Raley said. “Many citizens of Garrett County don’t get Maryland television and don’t realize what a hornet’s nest this has become.”
Raley even dismissed the secession talk at first, but is now concerned it’s doing damage to the region. He said he began to realize the negative impact when a constituent told him of a call from an acquaintance in an urban region concerned about the movement and why it was receiving support.
The organization pushing for secession is the Western Maryland Initiative, led by Scott Strzelczyk. The group wants the counties to secede and form their own state, according to The Associated Press.
An Allegany County commissioner also opposes the idea.
“I do not believe the movement has any likelihood of success. The movement is more of a distraction and is taking away valuable time from the issues facing Western Maryland,” said Allegany County Commissioner Michael McKay.
McKay, though, does understand why the movement might have appeal to some residents of the area.
“The secession movement has pulled on the emotions of many Western Marylanders because of the overall lack of respect shown to rural residents in counties like Allegany. We, the state of Maryland, need to get back to the philosophy of ‘One Maryland,’” McKay said.
The five counties — Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick and Carroll — represent just 11 percent of Maryland’s population, but the majority of their registered voters are Republicans in a heavily Democratic state, according to The AP.
“If you don’t belong in their party,” Strzelczyk said of Democrats, “you’ll never have your views represented” in Maryland. “If we have more states,” he said, “we can all go live in states that best represent us, and then we can get along.”
Approval of both the General Assembly and the U.S. Congress would be required to approve secession.
McKay said the movement is a distraction to the real issues facing Western Maryland.
“Instead of wasting time on this non starter, I would rather focus on building relationships that will produce fruits to change the appearance Maryland is being viewed as less than friendly to businesses, taxpayers, drivers, sportsmen, families, farmers. … This must stop. Talking about secession only gets in the way. I completely understand the frustration but, at the end of the day, it is easier to get flies with honey than a baseball bat. Respect and common sense must prevail,” McKay said.
Contact Matthew Bieniek at mbieniek@times-news.com.
POA opposes Text Amendment
Special POA Board Meeting Concerning the Proposed Text Amendment
To the
Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance
At a Special Meeting of the POA Board held on September 14, 2013, the Board authorized me as President to send the attached letter on behalf of the POA to the Garrett County Commissioners opposing the petition for a text amendment to the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance submitted by an individual applicant as well as a modified version of the text amendment recommended by a simple majority of the Garrett County Planning Commission.
A Public Hearing on this matter is scheduled for September 24, 2013, at 5:00 PM in the County Commissioners’ meeting room of the Courthouse in Oakland, MD.
The POA Board is deeply concerned that the proposed text amendment would upset the integrity of the Watershed Zoning Ordinance by opening the door to unknown consequences without further public review that go far beyond the individual applicant.
Board of Garrett County Commissioners - Public Notice
The Board of Garrett County Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on September 24, 2013 at 5:00 PM in the County Commissioners meeting room, (203 South 4th St., Courthouse Annex, Oakland, MD). The Board will review a petition submitted by Mr. Bill Meagher to amend the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance. Specifically, Mr. Meagher is requesting an amendment to the Table of Use Regulations to add a new category of use under section 157.024 (c) 23 for “Boat Rental including boat rides and / or boat tours as a separate service business and not offering any other services associated with a Marina.” The use would be P-Permitted in the TC and C zoning districts; permitted by SE-Special Exception in the TR, CR-1 and CR-2 zoning districts; and, N-Not permitted in any other district. Mr. Meagher’s
petition also includes an amendment to the Table of Dimensional Requirements for Principal Uses, section 157.041(c) 10 to read “Sale or rental of recreational vehicles, including boat rental as a separate service business.” The use would require a minimum land area of 10,000 sq. ft. in any districts where it is permitted except as provided in section 157.041(c) 3 which requires 6,000 sq. ft. per use and shopping centers.
The Board will also review proposals to amend the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance as recommended by the Garrett County Planning Commission. Specifically, the Planning Commission is recommending an amendment to the Table of Dimensional Requirements for Principal Uses under section 157.041E.2 to add the C-Commercial district under the column heading “Zoning District” and within the same row and block as the TC-Town Center District. The Planning Commission is also recommending an amendment to section 157.041E.3 of the Table of Dimensional Requirements for Principal Uses to alter the types of uses that would qualify for reduced land areas within a shopping center; to properly align the column headings and minimum land area standards; and to strike certain provisions for other zoning districts and
land areas to read as follows:
157.041E.3. Retail uses, service businesses and commercial recreational uses that are situated in shopping centers having a minimum land area of 1 acre. Only those retail, service and commercial recreational uses specified under this Article as requiring a minimum land area of 10,000 sq. ft. in the TC and C zoning districts, are subject to the reduced minimum land area per use afforded by this Section. For the TC and C zoning districts, a minimum of 6,000 sq. ft. would be placed under the column heading “Minimum Total Lot or Land Area Per Use” and a blank space would be placed under
the column heading “Minimum Average Lot Area Per Dwelling Unit.” Additionally, the provisions for “Any other District” would be stricken from section 157.041E.3.
Copies of the specific amendments are available from the Planning and Land Development Office located at 203 South 4th Street, Room 210, Oakland, MD 21550. The Board welcomes any on these proposed amendments at the hearing or in writing before the hearing.
By order of the Board of Garrett County Commissioners.
Deep Creek Lake POA - Commissioners' Comments
Some of the that our county Commissioners made at the latest DCLPOA meeting:
1. Odor on Lake Shore Drive. I was not aware that the odor was again a problem at this location or any other station. The County has taken preventative measures and invested capital into control (not totally eliminating) this. Here is more detail about how this is controlled:
Odor Control
The Deep Creek Lake sewage collection system is predominately a series of pressure sewers and force mains, with a few areas of conventional gravity collection lines, that transport wastewater via seventeen major pumping stations to the wastewater treatment plant located on Mayhew Inn Road. The collection system consists of approximately 40 miles of pipeline and is essentially a closed system except at major pumping station wet wells, at points of discharge into gravity sewer segments, and at air release valves.
Since the spring of 1985, the Garrett County Sanitary District/Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has been addressing sewer gas odors. Odorous conditions are caused primarily by the generation of hydrogen sulfide from sulfate compounds naturally occurring in domestic sewage. Odors are created when oxygen levels are depleted in the wastewater due to naturally occurring bacteriological action and hydrosulfide is converted from a liquid form to hydrogen sulfide gas. Anaerobic bacteria which grow in slime coatings inside sewer pipelines also reduce sulfates to sulfide to obtain oxygen for metabolic processes.
There are three basic approaches to correction of hydrogen sulfide odor problems – masking, removal and prevention. Masking entails the addition of deodorant chemicals to hide the odor; removal is generally accomplished by adsorption into activated carbon; and prevention is accomplished by maintenance of aerobic conditions in the collection system and retardation of slime growth.
Since system initiation, DPU has tested and utilized numerous methods for odor control including:
- *Activated Carbon Canisters at the major pump stations and treatment plant
- *Injection of Hydrogen Peroxide
- *Injection of Potassium Permanganate
- *Injection of Ferric Chloride
- *Installation of Iron Oxide & Wood Chip Media Filters at major pump stations and air release vaults
- *Injection of Sodium Hypochlorite
- *Injection of Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide)
- *Sealing of infrastructure with a silicone caulking
- *Installation of rubber seals on major pump station vault lids
- *Installation of waterless vapor odor control units utilizing odor neutralization products
- *Citrus based floating degreaser in major pump stations
- *Citrus based air enhancing products
- *Injection of an iron enriched mixture to bind water phase sulfides in the collection system
- *Injection of a naturally-occurring, non-pathogenic bacteria that changes the biofilm in the collection system to reduce noxious and corrosive gas production
- *Installation of dry-chemical media scrubber units
We are currently utilizing the iron oxide and wood chip media filters, seals on pump station vault lids, citrus based air enhancing products, and the dry-chemical media scrubber units. The recently added dry-chemical media scrubber units capture the odorous air being emitted from the system and permanently remove gases from the air through chemisorption. During this instantaneous process, gases are adsorbed, absorbed and captured throughout the entire volume of the media. The gases are then chemically transformed into harmless solids that remain trapped inside the media.
DPU has also retrofitted the influent piping in the major pump stations to minimize turbulence in order to inhibit release of odorous gases and installed odor logging units that continuously sample and record the levels of odorous gases in the system.
All major pump stations are manually checked on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends. In order to manually view the sewage levels in the pump station vaults and to break up any mat that forms on top of the wastewater or to perform any maintenance on the pumping system, the vault lids must be opened which will allow gases to escape from the vault when open. Once maintenance procedures are completed, personnel are instructed to close and secure vault lids.
2. Public Hearing on September 24, 2013 that will allow pubic commentary on request for a permit for commercial personal watercraft by Bill Meagher. The Board of County Commissioners will take all public commentary including that of Mr. Meagher, the Planning Commission, Deep Creek Watershed Board of Zoning Appeals, and Department of Planning and Land Development under advisement. I would encourage members of the POA to submit their opinion to my attention and attend the hearing.
3. Realignment of Route 219 – Oakland (Bypass). Commissioner Raley spoke to this question by stating that this project was moved to #2 on the Board of Garrett County Commissioners Capital Transportation Plan. The 3 mile section of Route 219 from the PA line south to Interstate 68 is the #1 Project for the County and this project will begin construction this fall. Questions on this plan should be addressed to John Nelson with the County Department of Planning and Land Development.
4. Thayerville Water Project. The question on different ad valorem tax rates for different sanitary districts in the Deep Creek Lake Watershed. This is a question that will require an extensive answer and I would happy to facilitate such an response or session to meet. In short, there are many water and sewer projects with different costs and distinct debt service obligations and terms of repayment. If members would like me to compile a financial report let me know. The County’s General Audit will show this in brief and a copy of this can be sent to anyone if needed.
5. Thayerville Water Project. Questions and on real property taxes and ad valorem tax rate for the Thayerville Water System. I am not sure if there was question on this or just a comment. In any event I will be available to further talk about this.
6. Marcellus Shale. and questions on an economic development survey. Commissioner Raley serves on the Governor’s Advisory Commission and I will speak with him about this and I will assure that information is posted on the County’s website.
7. Glendale Road – Thayerville Water Project. Request for a Public Hearing to receive public commentary on the financial impact (long term) for property owners who must connect to the System. I am not certain a public hearing is what should occur due to the fact that all legal requirements have been met. However, the Board of County Commissioners is certainly open to set up a work session to listen and provide clarification. I am not sure who would facilitate this on behalf of the person who asked today’s question or if the POA wants to take the lead but I will do what I can on behalf of the County.
8. “Western Conveyance” In 2003 the Board of Garrett County Commissioners began the process of extending the boundaries of the Deep Creek Lake Sanitary District in order to provide public water and sewer service to Shingle Camp Terrace, Brenneman Drive, Sandy Shores, Stockslager Road Extension, Penelacres, Slide Hollow, and Marsh Hill Subdivision. Public Hearings and Public Informational meetings were conducted as required by the Environmental Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland in 2004 and 2006 and the project has been under engineering design since 2007. During the period of 2007 to the present the Department of Public Utilities and the County Attorney have been securing easements and rights of way for all service lines. At this time plans are to finalize project engineering design this summer and fall, solicit bids for the project over the winter months, and begin construction in the spring/summer of 2014. The Board of County Commissioners would like to provide all property owners who would be in the service area with updates on the project status, a timeline for all phases of planning and construction, public hearing notice, system connection cost estimates, and other pertinent information. The County would like to develop an email distribution list to provide this information. Interested parties should contact County Administrator, Monty Pagenhardt to be added to the mailing list for this project.
ASCI, Wisp Road Decision, Airport Updates Given
The Board of Garrett County Commissioners held a public meeting on Tuesday and received several updates from county agencies and affiliates. The agenda included further discussion on Wisp Mountain Road, updates at the airport and the Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI), the announcing of members of the Deep Creek Wastershed Management Plan Steering Committee, and information from the Garrett County Board of Elections.
Wisp Mountain Road
At a July 16 public hearing concerning the Wisp Mountain Road, it was announced that public record would be kept open until Aug. 9, and a decision would be announced at the Aug. 13 meeting. However, the decision was deferred, and will be presented at a later date.
ASCI
Michael Logsdon, ASCI executive director, reported that advances in marketing have been made at the facility, and they are working on getting the word out about activities available there. Signs with new logos that better depict events at ASCI have been erected, and the information technology department has improved the web site and the method for guests to order photographs.
Modifications are being made to the stream bed for upcoming events, and requests for bids have been sent out for modification of the amphitheater. The clean-up also continues on the Fork Run Trail that was heavily impacted by the snow-hurricane storm in October 2012.
Garrett County Airport
Edward Kelley, Garrett County Airport manager, reported that there has been a large influx of jets to the airport since the extension of the runway. The yearly inspection of the airport occurred on Aug. 7, and it was found to be in excellent condition, he reported.
DCL Watershed
Management Plan
Steering Committee
A steering committee was selected for the Deep Creek Watershed Management Plan. A total of 22 individuals submitted their names to volunteer on the committee, and nine were selected.
Those selected are David Myerber, chair, Morgantown, W.Va., resident representative; Robert Hoffman, Oakland, resident representative; Peter Versteegen, McHenry, resident representative; Lulu Gonella, Swanton, resident representative; John Forman, Oakland, forestry representative; Steve Green, McHenry, recreation represtative; Bob Browning, McHenry, business representative; Willie Lantz, Mtn. Lake Park, agricultural representative; and Mike Sabad, Clarion, Pa., operations manager and power plant representative.
Board of Elections
Steve Fratz gave a report on the Garrett County Board of Elections. He said the beginning of the election season has been slow, with filing lagging. The deadline to file is Feb. 25, and information about filing can be found on the web site.
The process is under way for preparing polling places for the June 24 primary election. Coordination will begin immediately after Labor Day. Some polling places may be consolidated because of issues with parking and accessibility. They include Ryan’s Glade with Red House and West Oakland with East Oakland.
This will be the last year for the current voting system, which is 14 years old. The search for a new system will begin shortly.
Hearing on Garrett flood plain program
OAKLAND — The Garrett County commissioners will conduct a public hearing Aug. 20 at 4:15 p.m. on a proposal to update and readopt the county’s Floodplain Management Ordinance to assure compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.
The update will include adoption of all accompanying updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps effective Oct. 2, 2013, and amendments to the current ordinance.
Copies of the draft ordinance and updated study and mapping are available for review at the County Permits and Inspections office weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The ordinance can also be found on the county’s website under Permits and Inspections under the Planning and Land Development tab at www.garrettcounty.org.
The meeting will take place in Room 209 of the courthouse.
Garrett County broadband project receives $250,000 grant from ARC
Matching local funds will bring high-speed service to hundreds
Greg Larry Cumberland Times-News
MCHENRY — Garrett County’s continued effort to expand broadband services received a boost Friday when the Appalachian Regional Commission announced that it is awarding a $250,000 grant to assist the project.
Officials say the funding will allow high-speed broadband services to be accessed by about 800 additional homes in southern Garrett County.
“Today we are here to provide the county $250,000,” said Earl Gohl, federal co-chair of the ARC.
“Having an opportunity to make an investment like this really makes a difference in rural communities. It’s so important. It’s why the ARC was established,” said Gohl.
The method to be used to deliver the high-speed service is a newly developed wireless system that accesses unused frequencies on the television spectrum.
“Today’s ceremony takes from the planning stage to the doing stage. That’s great news,” said Jim Raley, county commissioner.
Numerous officials attended the event, including state Sen. George Edwards, County Commissioner Gregan Crawford and U.S. Rep. John Delaney of the 6th Congressional District.
“Let’s face it, access to high-speed communication is an absolute in the world today. We applaud the grant. It’s done in a smart way,” said Delaney.
Delaney said he enjoyed hearing of the cooperation among the private sector, government and community resources.
“I love the spirit that I hear out here. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from that in Washington,” said Delaney.
The grant awarded by the ARC is a matching grant, meaning funds in the same amount must be secured and added to the investment. The county plans to supply the $250,000 matching funds required to bring the total funding package for the project to $500,000.
The homes receiving the new high-speed service will be Crellin, Pleasant Valley and other communities south of Oakland. Residents in that region are currently using dial-up.
Raley said that the goal of the county is to deliver broadband to 90 percent of homes. That requires around 3,000 homes to be brought online. The grant will allow 800 more to have access, leaving 2,200 still needing high-speed service.
Frank Shap, assistant director of economic development for the county explained how the new system works.
“It’s really a radio signal going into the house. The technology is called Television White Space. It’s the unused frequencies on the television spectrum,” said Shap.
“There will be a receiver in the house almost like a modem. A wireless signal will go back to a transmitter mounted on a tower and from there to the internet,” said Shap.
A carrier such as Shentel, Comcast, QCall or Atlantic Broadband will be needed to administer the system.
“We will try to identify one or more carriers that want to work with us to deliver the service,” said Shap.
Crawford said that the more broadband is accessible in the county, the more likely people will buy a home or move their business there.
“We have a lot visitors that come to the county and say ‘If I just had a way to work from here I would do it,’” said Crawford.
The more flexibility we can offer them, the better the chance they will stay, Crawford added.
Greg Larry can be contacted at glarry@times-news.com
Commissioners Hold Hearing On Wisp Mountain Road Conveyance
The Garrett County commissioners held a public hearing Tuesday afternoon to consider a petition by DC Development LLC to convey Wisp Mountain Road into the county’s public road system. Company partner/former Wisp Resort owner Karen Myers reviewed the proposal for the commissioners and public.
She said the 1.4 mile private road was constructed to county specifications in 1999 and serves a development of about 350 residences. Myers provided the commissioners with a metes-and-bounds description.
“It has been maintained by the Wisp Resort Master Association for a number of years,” Myers said about the road.
The association comprises home owners in the Deep Creek Highland, Kendall Camp, Lodestone, Marsh Hill Road, North Camp, and Sandy Shores developments. In January 2012, the association requested financial help from the county in maintaining Wisp Mountain Road. The commissioners rejected the proposal because it is privately owned.
If accepted into the public system, Wisp Mountain would be a connector road from Shingle Camp Road to Wisp Adventure Road and the Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI), which is located atop Marsh Mountain.
“Do you just want to alleviate yourself of the maintenance of it?” Commissioner Gregan Crawford asked Myers about the road.
She explained that DC Development is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“We’re in the process of liquidating all of the assets, and that road, we think, is a viable connector and it makes sense for it to be an official public road,” Myers said.
She added that most people traveling Wisp Mountain think that it is a public road.
Oakland area resident Eric Robison noted that giving the road to the county would alleviate ASCI’s “land-lock” problem. Currently, the county only has a deeded right of way to the county-owned center.
Robison indicated the only problem he sees with the proposed conveyance is that significant modifications will have to be made to the road in order for it to meet new county stormwater specifications.
“Other than that, it looks like a really good deal, and we should thank Karen for the effort,” he said.
Swanton area resident Dick Bolt, however, wondered what it would cost the county to take over the road.
“I would think the county would be interested in that as well,” he said.
Myers indicated she did not have specific information about Wisp Mountain, as the Wisp Resort Master Association maintains and plows several other roads in that area as well, including Overlook Pass.
“The bulk of the maintenance expense has been on that (Overlook Pass Road),” she said.
Commissioner Jim Raley indicated it was the county’s due diligence to get information about the cost of maintaining Wisp Mountain Road, not DC Development’s responsibility.
County attorney Mike Getty concurred. He noted that the public hearing concept regarding a conveyance is dictated by a state code.
“It simply says that anyone has the right to petition the county to take a road, but in doing so, has to give public notice of their intent to do that,” Getty said.
DC Development announced their intention in a public notice that was published in three issues of The Republican in May.
GC Commissioners To Present "State-Of-The-County" Report
The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce will present a state-of-the-county forum at its next Business Before Hours event on Tuesday, July 16, at Dutch’s at Silver Tree. The event begins at 8 a.m. with breakfast and networking, followed by the program from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
Garrett County commissioners Jim Raley, Bob Gatto, and Gregan Crawford will review the county’s priorities, pending projects, challenges, and plans for this fiscal year.
“We are very pleased to host our county commissioners to provide our members an overview of how Garrett County is faring,” said Nicole Christian, chamber president/CEO. “It’s been a tough few years and it is important that what is happening in the county is communicated with the business community. These commissioners have made it a goal to be accessible and transparent and their participation in the state-of- the-county [event] is helping them to achieve that goal.”
Potomac Edison and Garrett County Memorial Hospital are the forum sponsors.
The cost for chamber members is $15 in advance or $20 at the door. The cost for nonmembers is $30. Interested persons are asked to register by visiting www.visitdeepcreek.com or calling Carol Hauser at 301-387-6171 by noon on Monday, July 15, to receive the advance payment discount for members. Space is limited, so early reservations are recommended.
The Business Before Hours breakfast programs are bimonthly events designed to focus on specific topics with formal presentations. Noncompeting sponsorship opportunities are available for each forum.
For more information or sponsorship opportunities, persons may contact Paula Thomas at 301-387-5237 or paula@garrettchamber.com. More here.
Garrett County planners to discuss mini-marina issue
Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News
OAKLAND — The Garrett County Planning Commission will meet Wednesday to discuss a petition by William Meagher, owner of Lakeside Commercial Properties LLC, to amend the Deep Creek Watershed zoning ordinance.
During a hearing in June in Garrett County Circuit Court, Judge Jim Sherbin found that a zoning amendment that allowed Meagher to run a mini-marina was of no legal effect and ordered that the decision by the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals to issue Meagher a permit be reversed.
The court issued Meagher a cease and desist order June 26 and he had until July 3 to respond.
On June 5, 2012, the county commissioners voted to make amendments to the Deep Creek Watershed zoning ordinance to allow Meagher to have a marina that doesn’t offer the services associated with it.
A boat rental permit was issued by the Board of Zoning Appeals on June 11, 2012, to Meagher. St. Moritz Properties LLC, Bill’s Marine Service Inc. and Silver Tree Marine LLC appealed the issuance of the permit. The Board of Zoning Appeals denied the appeal and upheld the issuance of the permit.
Meagher rents personal watercrafts and pontoon boats.
The planning commission will meet Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the County Commissioners Meeting Room in the courthouse annex.
