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Thurmont prepares for debt

Town to borrow $2M to fund new police station, fix sewer system

Jeremy Hauck

(5/4) Thurmont commissioners voted on April 24 to allow the town to borrow $2 million for the Thurmont Police Department project.

The town estimates a new building will cost $1.8 million, and budgets another $100,000 for furnishings.

‘‘We’re putting a lot of money into the police building," said Mayor Martin Burns at Tuesday’s town meeting.

With contracts awarded to several firms, construction is set to begin this summer.

‘‘We should be ready to go," said Commissioner Bill Blakeslee. ‘‘Some of our subcontractors have already purchased material."

The new police station will be located at the corner of East Main Street and Westview Drive, on the east side of town, according to chief financial officer Rick May. The one-story, 11,000 square-foot structure will be nearly 20 times larger than the police department’s current offices.

Fixing town sewers

Thurmont borrowed money last year from the Maryland Department of the Environment to complete a $1.6 million sewer repair project.

Unless the state grants the town more money, or a developer contributes funds as part of an annexation deal, the town will need to borrow still more — an estimated $4.6 million — to conduct further repairs on its expiring sewer infrastructure.

The money would be spent on expanding the system’s capacity to handle extra water during storms, according to officials. The town is facing a lawsuit from residents whose basements flooded after rainstorms in 2003.

The town is planning a $175,000 engineering study on its water and sewer infrastructure.

‘‘We’re always playing catch-up," Burns said.

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