Tag: garrett county
Garrett Chamber of Commerce releases top legislative priorities
MCHENRY — The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 legislative agenda includes a focus on tourism, infrastructure, education, health care, the business climate and economic and community development.
“Our committee and board of directors do a fantastic job developing a legislative agenda that helps me focus on specific issues and provides a guide of legislation for which to watch,” Nicole Christian, the chamber’s president and CEO, said.
Chamber officials plan to urge lawmakers to continue working with Pennsylvania and West Virginia to expedite the process for completing the U.S. Route 219 and U.S. 220 portions of the North/South Appalachian Highway.
As a total corridor, it is projected to create 10,000 permanent and 20,000 construction and construction-related jobs in the region, officials have said.
Portions of the U.S. 219 Somerset to Meyersdale project are on track to open next year.
The chamber’s top priorities, in order, are:
• Revising the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Program for reimbursement to counties for state-owned lands.
• Increasing tourism promotion funding to $11 million.
• Supporting the creation of the Rural Development Incentive Program.
• Supporting a pro-business environment in the state.
“The chamber’s Legislative Affairs Committee spends several months discussing what issues to include in the agenda and which ones to make our top priorities,” Shane Grady, chair of the chamber’s legislative affairs committee, said. “With only one senator (George Edwards) and one delegate (Wendell Beitzel) representing Garrett County in the legislature, it is important that we are vocal about our priorities and that we are aggressive with our advocacy efforts in order to make an impact.”
The General Assembly will consider more than 3,000 pieces of legislation during the session, Christian said.
To view the chamber’s legislative agenda in it’s entirety visit the website www.visitdeepcreek.com/pages/Legislative.
For more information, click here.
Garrett officials delay fracking study
OAKLAND — Garrett County’s commissioners have decided not to conduct a study on the economic impacts of fracking.
The commissioners recently rejected all bids for the proposed study, which would have explored possible detriments to tourism, property values and outdoor recreation opportunities likely to occur if hydraulic fracturing for natural gas production is allowed in Western Maryland.
With the Maryland General Assembly expected to take up legislation that could ban fracking or extend a current moratorium on the process, officials decided it wasn’t the right time for the study.
“If the legislature passes a moratorium versus a ban, or takes no action, there will still be sufficient time to do the study before any permits are issued,” said Kevin Null, county administrator, as he summed up the views of the commissioners.
The study would take at least six months to complete and wouldn’t be ready prior to legislative action. The commissioners also said the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Department of Commerce are withholding funding until the legislature’s action is known.
More than 60 elected officials in Maryland have signed a letter of support for a statewide fracking ban. Not on that list are members of the District 1 legislative delegation that represents Garrett and Allegany counties — Sen. George Edwards and Dels. Wendell Beitzel, Jason Buckel and Mike McKay.
Sen. Robert A. Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat, is expected to introduce legislation to ban the process. A moratorium is in place until October.
Marcellus shale formations throughout the eastern United States harbor large natural gas reserves. Shale is a sedimentary rock formation that extends underground through about 95,000 square miles in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.
In Maryland, the shale formations are found only in Allegany and Garrett counties, with the bulk of the formations in Garrett County.
For more information, click here.
State Panel Puts Fracking Regulations on Hold in Maryland
A panel of lawmakers in Maryland has reportedly asked the state Department of the Environment (MDE) to delay implementing rules governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
According to reports, the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review (AELR) sent a letter to the MDE last Thursday. Lawmakers on the committee said they wanted more time to study the agency’s proposed rules, which were scheduled to take effect the next day.
Only two western panhandle counties in Maryland — Allegany and Garrett — overlie the Marcellus Shale, a basin which the U.S. Geological Survey estimates could contain as much as 2.383 Tcf of technically recoverable natural gas.
The Maryland General Assembly, which meets for 90 days during its regular session, is scheduled to reconvene on Jan. 11 and adjourn on April 10. The session could also be extended until May 10.
The MDE submitted its proposed fracking regulations to the AELR last September. The proposed rules included a 2,000-foot setback for well pads from private drinking water wells and the surface water intake of public drinking water systems and springs; one year of baseline water monitoring; well integrity and pressure testing; and requirements covering air quality, emergency response, wastewater management, well plugging and bonding.
Fracking opponents are pushing for an outright ban. A two-year moratorium on the practice, which took effect after lawmakers passed SB 409 in 2015, is set to expire on Oct. 1.
“Our neighbors talk about putting their properties on the market if fracking is permitted,” Friends of Deep Creek Lake, an environmental group opposed to fracking, told the AELR at a hearing last month. “Such actions would be devastating to the local economy and in the long term would not be offset by fracking-related revenues.”
Supporters of oil and gas development in Maryland aren’t thrilled with the MDE’s proposed regulations, either.
“We are an industry that has a proven record of providing environmental and economic benefits,” Drew Cobbs, executive director of the Maryland Petroleum Council, said last month. “As written, a number of the proposed regulations are overly restrictive and would undermine our proven track record on safety proven through the development of millions of wells.
“We need policies that protect jobs and investment in Western Maryland, and these new regulations would take us in the wrong direction.”
For more information, click here.
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Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County, Maryland Experience Highest Tourism Revenue in State
In the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 (July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017), Garrett County experienced the highest increase in the state in tourism sales tax revenues, nearly twice the tourism increases posted by the state of Maryland. The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, the designated tourism marketing organization for the county, attributes much of the increase to the Chamber’s aggressive marketing plan with concentrated efforts and new ad strategies.
According to the Maryland Office of Tourism, in the first three months of Fiscal Year 2017 (July, August & September 2016), Maryland grew tourism sales tax revenues 3.0%, while Garrett County grew tourism sales tax revenues 5.8% during the same time period. Maryland grew lodging sales tax code collections 5.5% in the first three months of FY17, while Garrett County grew lodging sales tax collections 7.8%.
Garrett County experienced similar increases in fiscal year 2016 (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016). According to the Maryland Office of Tourism, in fiscal year 2016, Maryland grew tourism sales tax revenues 6.4%, while Garrett County grew tourism sales tax revenues 7.0% during the same time period. Maryland grew lodging sales tax code collections 6.3% in FY16 while Garrett County grew lodging sales tax collections 9%.
“We are very pleased to see a strong first quarter for FY17 as we approach the winter season that is extremely weather dependent,” said Nicole Christian, president & CEO of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. “It is exciting to be leading the state in tourism growth but we are very aware that we have to continue our robust and innovative marketing efforts to remain competitive. We hope the State Office of Tourism will continue their efforts as well and that the Governor will maintain his support of this important industry by increasing tourism promotion funding for the Tourism Development Board.”
2016 has been a record year for tourism in the Deep Creek Lake area and Garrett County, Maryland with a 6.3% increase in county accommodations sales, a 19.3% increase in heads on beds, a 2.3% increase in sales tax collections and a 23% increase in visitors to the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce’s website, visitdeepcreek.com.
For more information, click here.
Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County, Maryland Experience Record Increases in Tourism
2016 has been a record year for tourism in the Deep Creek Lake area and Garrett County, Maryland with a 6.3% increase in county accommodations sales, a 19.3% increase in heads on beds, a 2.3% increase in sales tax collections and a 23% increase in visitors to the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce’s website, visitdeepcreek.com.
The increases follow a banner 2015 in Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County, which saw a 3.1% increase in county accommodations sales, a 2.5% increase in sales tax collections and a 46% increase in visitors to the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce’s website, visitdeepcreek.com.
The Chamber attributes much of the increase to the Chamber’s aggressive marketing plan with concentrated efforts and new ad strategies.
And, according to the Maryland Office of Tourism, Garrett County’s increases have even outpaced Maryland’s tourism growth. In Fiscal Year 2016 (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016), Maryland grew tourism sales tax revenues 6.4%, while Garrett County grew tourism sales tax revenues 7.0% during the same time period. Maryland grew lodging sales tax code collections 6.3% in FY16 while Garrett County grew lodging sales tax collections 9%.
“Tourism is an economic engine for Garrett County and we are pleased to see that this engine continues to churn out additional revenues and business for our community,” said Nicole Christian, president & CEO of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. “Even with Mother Nature being less than cooperative last winter and an abbreviated ski season, Garrett County’s overall tourism sales tax revenues still outpaced the state’s growth. We attribute this continued growth to our aggressive marketing efforts.”
For more information, click here.
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