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Page 4 January 2019 The Catoctin Banner Newspaper www.TheCatoctinBanner.com Published by www.EPlusPromotes.com
Page 4 January 2019
Page 4 January 2019
T o wn H all R epor ts Thurmont

December 2 0 1 8 For more information on the Town of Thurmont, visit www.
thurmont.com or call the town offi ce at 301-271-7313.
by James Rada, Jr.
Thurmont Third Safest Town in Maryland in 2018
Emmitsburg Thurmont recently received recognition from Safewise as the third safest

For more information on the Town of Emmitsburg, visit www. city in Maryland. Safewise looks at the most recent FBI Crime Report
statistics and population of cities with more than 3,000 residents. They look
emmitsburgmd. gov or call 301-600-6300. at violent crime and property crime that occurs per 1,000 residents.
According to Safewise, Thurmont has .92 violent crimes per 1,000
Mount Still Planning on Building a Health Care Clinic in the Area residents and 10.45 property crimes per 1,000 residents. It is the only city in
Simon Blackwell, with Mount St. Mary’s University, spoke to the Frederick County to make the top ten.
Emmitsburg Mayor and Commissioners during their monthly meeting in This is a big jump from the 2016 report that listed Thurmont as the
December. He said that the university is in negotiations with the Frederick ninth safest town in Maryland. Between 2016 and 2018, Thurmont violent
Regional Health System to bring a health and wellness clinic into the area. crime increased from .92 incidents per 1,000 residents, but property crime
It is needed to help “improve the quality and access to healthcare” for decreased from 11.76 incidents per 1,000 residents.
Mount students, according to Blackwell, but it would also be available to The safest cities in Maryland are: 1. Hampstead (Carroll); 2. Manchester
area residents. The planned-for clinic would have primary and urgent care (Carroll); 3. Thurmont (Frederick); 4. Bowie (Prince Georges); 5. Glenarden
services, a laboratory, radiology, and physical therapy. As part of the process, (Prince Georges); 6. Ocean Pines (Worcester); 7. Taneytown (Carroll); 8.
university staff have been meeting with the members of the community to get Frostburg (Allegany); 9. Bel Air (Harford); and 10. Easton (Talbot).
their input. Thurmont is the only Frederick County town listed among the safest
towns in Maryland.
Town Approved Water Contracts
The Emmitsburg Commissioners approved water agreements for two Town Receives a Clean Audit
property owners outside of town. Years ago, Emmitsburg bought a small The Thurmont Mayor and Commissioners recently received the results of
water company that serviced property owners outside of town. Over the the annual review done of its fi nances by an independent auditor. Not only
years, most of those properties have been easily serviced on the town system. did the town receive a clean audit with no fi ndings, but the town also did not
have to fi le for an extension in order to have it done on time.
However, an 8-inch water line that serviced only three properties was
discovered to be unrepairable. One of the properties was close enough to a Town Enacts Planning and Zoning Fees
10-inch water line that the town owned that it could be connected to it. The Thurmont Mayor and Commissioners voted to enact planning and
The town then faced a decision: Either spend an estimated $1 million zoning fees to recover the cost of using town resources to review development
to build a new water line to service the two properties or fi nd a way to plans. The fees are based on those used in other nearby municipalities. A
terminate service to properties. concept plans submission and review will cost $250, plus the invoiced cost
The town chose the latter and offered the property owners to either drill a of professional services, such as advertising, legal, and engineering fees. A
new well on the property or pay the property owners the equivalent amount preliminary site plan, category 1, residential, will cost $350, plus $25 per
($11,655). lot and the invoiced cost of professional services. A preliminary site plan,
One property owner took the buyout, and the other will have the town category 1, non-residential, will cost $500, plus professional services for
pay to have a new well dug on his property. projects smaller than 25 acres; and $500, plus $25 an acre and professional
services for projects over 25 acres. A preliminary site plan, category 2, will
Traffic Should Switch on Bridge This Month cost the zoning certifi cate fee and professional services. An annexation and
According to information that Emmitsburg town staff received from the review will cost $500, plus $25 an acre and professional services.
Maryland State Highway Administration, the deck of the new East Main
Street bridge over Flat Run was to be poured in mid-December. Following the Colorfest Review
concrete deck, a layer of asphalt was applied. This needed to set for 28 days The Town of Thurmont is starting to dig itself out of a defi cit from hosting
before traffi c could be rerouted onto it, which puts the date into mid-January. Colorfest, after making some changes to the permit fees. For Colorfest 2018,
the Town of Thurmont received $68,578 and spent $61,289 for sanitation,
Town to Deal with Business Trailers trash, buses, and security.
The Emmitsburg Commissioners are expected to approve changes to the While this proved to be a year the town was in the black, it was not the
zoning laws that will allow large storage trailers to be used on industrial case in 2014 and 2015. Those two years left the town $24,237 in the red.
properties. The changes will allow a trailer used to collect tires for recycling The commissioners made changes to the fees and trimmed some expenses,
to continue to be used at Quality Tire, while not creating an eyesore for which has helped the town show positive numbers since 2015. The town is
adjacent residential properties. now showing a defi cit of $10,147 over the past fi ve years.
The Colorfest revenues have also been helped by the increasing number of
permits sold. For Colorfest 2018, 798 permits were sold, up 101 from 2016.
This includes a jump from 21 to 32 permits for commercial food vendors,
who pay $500 for their permits.

Town Increases Water Reconnection Fee
After reviewing the cost of reconnecting a property to the town’s water
system after it has been disconnected for non-payment, the Thurmont Mayor
and Commissioners recently voted to increase the fee to $75.
This came about after the town reviewed all of the costs associated with
reconnecting a property and found that it cost slightly more than $73. The
town was only charging $6. The $75 is also equal to or less than the amount
charged by surrounding municipalities.
Chief Administrative Offi ce Jim Humerick told the commissioners that
disconnecting a property is a last resort for the town. Before that point is
reached, the town will have offered the property owner an option to pay
the debt back on a payment plan and give the property owner contact
information for agencies that might be able to help the property owner pay
the bill.