(10/2019) A Favorite Time of Year
Cool temperature and hints of orange in the trees can only mean
one thing Ð autumn has arrived! It's the time of year when people flock to
northern Frederick County to admire the area's beauty.
October kicks off with the always touching National Fallen
Firefighters Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg. This year, the weekend includes a
special local touch with the long-awaited dedication of the etched glass
display of firefighters at the Frederick County Fire & Rescue Museum. Thanks to
the efforts of Museum President Chip Jewell, the 1,500-pound
etching will be dedicated at the museum on Friday, October 4th. I hope you can
join us for the ceremony that evening.
Thurmont residents are getting ready for the huge crowds that
fill the streets for Colorfest. One of the largest outdoor craft shows on the
East Coast, Colorfest has showcased our community
to the region for the past 59 years. It's a great place to pick
up holiday gifts or enjoy a homemade apple dumpling. See you there the weekend
of October 12 and 13.
Good News for the Fire Service
I'm excited to share that Frederick County has received a $5.5
million federal grant to pay for 38 additional career firefighter positions.
This is fabulous news! We will be able to improve response times, reduce
overtime, and better support our volunteer companies. Our fire service is
excited and grateful for the funding for these needed positions.
The grant is from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's
Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program. Frederick
County's grant is one of the largest SAFER grants awarded in the country. The
funds allow us to add positions earlier than would have been possible
otherwise. The County budget already includes the local cost share for this
grant.
Last year, the County's combination volunteer and career fire
service responded to about 35,000 calls. Frederick County is committed to
delivering high quality public safety services to our residents.
Saving Money - Lowest Interest Rate in County's History
One of my top responsibilities is to protect taxpayers and save
money. That's why I'm proud that the County will save millions of dollars as a
result of receiving the lowest interest rate in our
county's history when we sold bonds last month. The savings,
well over $10 million, allows the County to do more Ð like build another fire
station or branch library or to improve a road.
We will pay an incredibly low 2.16% in interest on our bonds.
That's because Frederick County has earned the highest possible bond rating,
AAA, from all three New York bond-rating agencies. It's like having the best
possible credit score. We will save millions of dollars as we pay for the
construction of needed schools, roads, and more. We also saved nearly $2
million by refinancing some older bonds, just like a homeowner might
refinancing a mortgage to save money.
Our savings are a direct result of our excellent bond ratings.
Fewer than 50 f the nation's 3,000 counties can boast three AAA bond ratings.
The New York rating agencies visited Frederick County this summer to see all
the good things happening in our community.
They were impressed. After their visit, they wrote about our
excellent management and expressed their confidence in us. The historically low
interest rate indicates that the market agrees: Frederick County is well
managed, fiscally conservative in our budgeting, and a great place to do
business!
Livable Frederick Wins Award
Over the past few years, I've written several times about
Livable Frederick, a new and innovative way to plan for Frederick County's
future. Livable Frederick looks at our health, economy, transportation, the
arts, education, ad the environment, and how all these areas work together to
deliver a high quality of life in our community.
In September, we celebrated the official adoption of the plan
with a special signing ceremony. I was joined by members of the County Council,
the Planning Commission, the Livable Frederick Steering Committee, work group
participants and staff. We were excited to learn that the plan has been
recognized as the '2019 Outstanding Plan' by the American Planning
Association's Maryland Chapter.
Livable Frederick was shaped by the people who live and work in
Frederick County. It will serve as a model for other communities in Maryland.
Livable Frederick was developed through unprecedented public input with over
200 public meetings, surveys and the plan incorporates over
15,000 individual comments. For the first time, we used
computer modeling and scenario testing to see the impact of our choices on our
transportation network, the environment, and job growth. Instead of focusing on
zoning, like previous plans have done, Livable Frederick is built on a shared
community vision.
The Livable Frederick Plan includes no new growth areas and no
new zoning. How we will implement the plan is by conducting small area plans or
corridor plans with lots of public input. The first area to be reviewed will be
our primary business corridor along MD 85 and MD 355. The second area of focus
will be protecting the environmental and natural resources around Sugarloaf
Mountain. Staff has already started gathering data and background information
to kick off these two efforts.
Livable Frederick also provides a framework for county
government operations with many of the goals and initiatives wrapped into the
strategic plan for county agencies and departments.
Some of the goals and initiatives will also be community
efforts with non-profits and other organizations working to implement some of
the ideas in the plan.
Livable Frederick will help manage growth better, support
preservation of our agricultural areas, protect our cultural amenities and
historic assets, and avoid costs or negative impacts to our budget through good
decision-making.
