— OAKLAND  — Site work for the Strata manufacturing facility to be located at the Keysers Ridge Business Park is about 90 percent complete, according to Frank Shap, assistant director for Garrett County Economic Development.

“We will be ready to start pouring concrete we hope within a week or two for the footers for the building,” said Shap during Tuesday’s county commission meeting. “The building materials have been delivered to the site. Beitzel Corporation is the contractor for construction of the building and they plan to start soon as they have access to the site pad.”

In November, the commissioners awarded a $589,534 contract to Excavating Associates for site work at the park. They also awarded a $1,024,000 contract to Beitzel Corp. of Grantsville for design and construction of the facility

Strata Worldwide LLC will occupy the space in October and will offer 25 jobs over the next three years, according to Shap.

For the last 20 years, Strata Worldwide has been developing innovative safety solutions for underground coal mines all over the world, according to the company’s website.

“It’s the first tenant in what we are hoping will be additional tenants in the park focused on the energy sector,” said Shap. “We are trying to market that site as something that takes advantage of the various energy resources, opportunities and alternatives that are available in the county.”

Negotiations are underway for Exelon Corp., an American energy producer, trader and distributer that is developing wind farms in the county, to occupy a space in the park.

In April 2013, the Maryland Economic Development Corp. transferred more than 180 acres of land valued at $2.5 million to the commissioners to develop the park. In September 2013, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development entered into an agreement with the commissioners, providing $625,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding to partially finance the construction of a 12,000-square-foot building in the park.

The commissioners re-cently submitted a $900,000 funding request for a water treatment plant at the park to the Appalachian Regional Commission.

A plant is needed at the business park to serve both residents and businesses for the future development. Currently, residents are using septic systems and businesses are receiving wastewater service from Bruceton Farm Service, a private entity that no longer wants to provide those services, according to the preliminary project description.

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

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— OAKLAND — The Morgantown Municipal Airport will be providing an approach navigational signal to the Garrett County Airport that will allow instrument landings to continue at the airport, according to Jay Moyer, director of Garrett County Public Works.

The signal will replace the Grantsville VOR (VHF omnidirectional range) system on Pea Ridge Road that will be decommissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“That will allow the older planes to still use the VOR system for instrument approach. They will be able to land at the airport in foul weather,” said Moyer during the Garrett County Commission meeting Tuesday. “It’s not an issue for the much newer corporate planes, they can use the GPS system. This is important to the airport because, so to speak, we don’t always have the best weather for landing at that airport and this will provide them the system to land at our airport.”

The decommissioning of the VOR system drew opposition from Ed Kelly, manager of the Garrett County Airport, as well as the Maryland Aviation Administration. The VOR had to be decommissioned for the Fourmile Ridge wind project.

The Maryland Public Service Commission approved the Fourmile wind project, which will consist of 16 turbines on Frostburg Road, last year.

The Garrett County Engineering Department is in final negotiations for the road use agreement with Exelon for Frostburg Road. An issue with a portion of the agreement that deals with catastrophic damage is still being negotiated, according to Moyer.

“We want some language in there in the event something unforeseen happens that they will bear the expense on that,” said Moyer. “They have committed to paving all the roads involved to the tune of $563,000.”

Commissioner Jim Raley said that there had been some complaints about the road and that the county needs to continue to be proactive instead of reactive.

“In other words, getting down there checking that road on a regular basis making sure the contractor is complying with what we had agreed to,” said Raley.

There is an inspector who visits the project location on a regular basis, according to Moyer.

Garrett County Economic Development is currently in negotiations with Exelon to acquire a 2- to 3-acre plot in Keysers Ridge Business Park, according to Frank Shap, assistant director of Garrett County Economic Development. Exelon currently operates one wind project in the county and is working to develop Fourmile Ridge and Fair Wind, a 15-turbine project planned for Backbone Mountain.

“I believe those negotiations will be successful, although we don’t have a signed contract yet,” said Shap.

Exelon will probably take up a 4,000 square-foot-space in the park and four to six jobs will be created, according to Shap.

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

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— OAKLAND — A groundbreaking ceremony held Monday for a four-story addition to Garrett Memorial Hospital was the start of a three-year, $23.5 million construction project.

“What a great day this is for Garrett County and this facility to break ground to expand the operations here,” said Sen. George Edwards. “This addition will improve the community’s access to health care while providing space necessary to offer services. Congratulations to the leadership of Garrett County Memorial Hospital for having the vision to dutifully serve this community with such energy while striving for access to health care services for the people of Garrett County and surrounding counties.”

The project will take three years to construct and will be 19,504 square feet, according to Edwards. Edwards and Del. Wendell Beitzel put in bills to allow up to $12 million in bonding. The total cost of the project is $23.5 million and includes a $15 million request from the county and $8.5 million in cash contributions and fundraising, hospital officials have said.

The hospital has one of the lowest surgical infection rates in the nation and has an excellent track record in safety, according to Edwards. The hospital also has the highest patient experience scores in the state for controlling patient pain, physician relations to patients, staff responsive to patients and overall cleanliness.

Robin Summerfield, a representative for U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, congratulated the hospital staff on its achievements.

“This is a first class hospital, bar none. The thing that I think makes this hospital particularly special — I recognized when I came in the door — is four smiling faces of volunteers to greet me as I walked in the building,” said Summerfield.

Wayne Johnson, who will be retiring as chairman of the hospital board, was also in attendance at the ceremony and said a few words.

“I’m very proud to have seen my hometown hospital grow. We have made quite good progress and we aren’t done yet,” said Johnson. “With this ceremony let’s begin construction of this new addition to the Garrett Memorial Hospital to provide services to all citizens of Garrett County and the surrounding areas.”

“It’s clear that Mr. Johnson has put his heart and soul into Garrett Memorial Hospital and we’re extremely appreciative of all you have done for us and all you have given to this organization,” said Mark Boucot, hospital president and CEO.

The groundbreaking ceremony was followed by a ribbon cutting for the hospital’s new Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center. The new cardiac rehabilitation services are designed for those who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiac heart failure or have had a recent cardiac event such as a heart attack, bypass surgery, heart stents, heart valve replacements or a transplant.

“I just want to commend all the administrators, the medical support staff, doctors that take care of our medical needs here. You do a great job,” said Beitzel.

“This has been a project in the works for quite a few years so we are quite happy to see it (rehab center) opening,” said Kendra Thayer, chief nursing officer. “We thank all of you for your support and hard work.”

Julianna Albowicz, assistant to U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, and Summerfield presented Boucot with senatorial certificates of special recognition for the new addition and for the rehab center.

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

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 22, 2014 – 4:19 am EDT

HAGERSTOWN, Maryland — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources says it’s building 30 miles of new trails connecting state parks and forests in Garrett County.

CUMBERLAND — A bill that will aid Garrett County Public Schools and other school systems hit hard by the state school funding formula due to declining enrollments has been signed into law by Gov. Martin O’Malley.

The new law will supplement state funding by adding $464,103 for the coming year. The cash-strapped school system has been forced to consider school closures in the past few years.

“This should be very helpful to the school system and we are still waiting for the legislation introduced by both Del. (Wendell) Beitzel and I to pass that would help the county out financially until the wealth study is completed,” Sen. George Edwards has said. Edwards was the Senate sponsor of the bill.

A study of the wealth formula is planned to begin in the fall of 2014 and is slated to be complete in 2016. The existing state funding formula can hit school districts with declining student populations hard. The bill applies to the whole state, not just Garrett County.

“At the rate we have been impacted by the wealth formula … any help we can get from the state is appreciated,” said Janet Wilson, Garrett County superintendent of schools. The money will help the system move forward and restore some services that have been lost, she said.

The bill mandates the state to supplement shortfalls in the state aid formula. “For fiscal years 2015 through 2017, if a county board’s total direct education aid in the current fiscal year is less than the prior fiscal year, then the state shall provide a grant to the county board equal to 50 percent of the decrease in total direct education aid from the prior fiscal year to the current fiscal year,” according to the language of SB 534.

The state budget provides $1.7 million in aid for affected districts in fiscal 2015, according to a floor report on the bill by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

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— OAKLAND — Garrett County District 3 commission candidates, incumbent Bob Gatto, Jim Hinebaugh, Chad Maroney, Dave Beard and Jeff Haines, address the issues that are facing the county.

Gatto noted economic development and that the issues trickle down from there.

“It’s like a puzzle, it’s not just one piece that you can address,” said Gatto. “We have got a well-trained workforce; we have got to have affordable housing, we have to have all the things associated with what the employers need and then balance it with what we have.”

Maroney and Hinebaugh indicated that one of the biggest issues facing the county is lack of jobs.

“We have plenty of minimum wage jobs, but we need more in the $30,000 range and above,” said Maroney. “Garrett County is a perfect place as far as location. With the near completion of Corridor H, we are poised to see a spike in traffic from Corridor H to Route (Interstate) 68 and vice versa.”

Gatto said that money and jobs would make the county better but that it is about balance.

“Obviously, money and jobs make it better for everything, but at the same time balancing that and spending it correctly and having a vision for the future I think is a better approach,” said Gatto. “We need to grow the pie and at the same time balance it as we go.”

Maroney suggests that all the surrounding counties need to work together to take advantage of what could be a great economic opportunity.

“If we better partner with all the counties that surround us, we could all benefit from this great opportunity,” said Maroney. “If we work together to lure major manufacturing here to our little corner of Appalachia, everyone could benefit.”

Luring manufacturers would bring construction opportunities in housing, business and industrial contracts, according to Maroney.

Hinebaugh indicated that his former position as economic development director would be helpful in addressing economic growth from a commissioner’s standpoint.

“Growing and maintaining a vibrant economy — providing good jobs — is a big challenge. It’s difficult to have a good quality of life, or be happy, if you don’t have a good job,” said Hinebaugh. “This challenge has to be addressed from both a short-term and long-term perspective.”

Beard said the biggest issue facing the county is the state shifting more fiscal responsibilities onto locals. He listed the state taking away the highway user revenues and the wealth formula as examples.

“Garrett County has more problems with the roads than any other county in the state due to the amount of roads and the severe weather in the county,” said Beard. “We have taken a tremendous hit as far as funding for education goes. These issues need to be addressed but there is no easy answer. You don’t know what’s going to transpire until you get into office.”

Gatto agreed that the issues facing the Garrett County public school system are unfunded mandates and the wealth formula. Legislation passed that mandates the state to supplement shortfalls in the state aid formula. A study of the wealth formula is planned to begin in the fall of 2014 and is expected to be complete by 2016.

“Education is a big part of what I believe in and I think that we should keep the schools that we have open,” said Beard, who was an educator for 34 years.

Haines, who said that funding the schools is one of the big issues that the county faces, echoed Beard’s sentiment that schools should remain open.

“Every year the rumors surface on closing another school or raising our tax rate to provide the funding needed. Both solutions are unacceptable,” said Haines.

Haines suggested that reducing the size of local government and eliminating unneeded county facilities would help solve the school funding issues.

“We must become a smaller and more productive local government,” said Haines. “Let’s start running our county with the best interest of our residents in mind and not the best interest of our local government.”

Hinebaugh also stressed the importance of education, noting that educational attainment is a short-term challenge that needs to be met in order to grow the economy.

“There is an abundance of data that supports the importance of education — lifelong learning is a function of educational attainment, the vast majority of future jobs will require education or training beyond high school, etc.,” said Hinebaugh.

Hinebaugh stressed the importance of residents having a marketable skill.

“The county is very fortunate in that it has a great public school system and an excellent community college,” said Hinebaugh. “The best way to address the educational attainment issue is to make sure these institutions remain robust and are adequately funded, and that people understand the importance of education.”

Maroney said that the key to making the county a better place is to work together.

“We have to all work together — Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent or unaffiliated. Local or visitor, old or young, we must unify and make things better,” said Maroney. “If we do not, we will become no more than a footnote in the margin of the book that would be the history of Appalachia.”

Like most rural jurisdictions, the county also faces demographic challenges in the long term, according to Hinebaugh.

“The county’s population is relatively stagnant and aging,” said Hinebaugh. “It will be a challenge to grow — or sustain — the local economy over time if businesses can’t find sufficient employees. … It will require creative thinking and innovative action.”

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

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