From the Mayor
Thurmont
Mayor John Kinnaird
After record-breaking cold temperatures, snow that wouldn’t melt, and crazy storms, we are hopefully in store for some nice spring weather. Currently, the Maryland State Highway Administration is working to repave Emmitsburg Road from North Church Street to just past Eyler Road. Be careful when driving in the area, and watch for directions from flaggers. The Town of Thurmont will be replacing sidewalks on Carroll Street, Lombard Street, and Walnut Street. This work should begin in mid-April. The town is preparing to do some street work in the next couple of months, so be on the lookout for upcoming information. The water connection project on Radio Lane is nearing completion and will soon be brought online. This pumping station will bring increased dependability to water service on the North side of town.
We have had two town employees retire in the past month. Longtime Waste Water Superintendent Randy Eyler retired after serving our community for 43 years. Randy steered the Waste Water Plant through several major upgrades and was instrumental in implementing the massive Infiltration and Inflow Repair project that has returned over 25 percent of our waste water capacity by repairing damaged waste water lines and replacing failing manholes. He has been a true “lead by example” leader, getting involved in the work and training his workers by example. Randy has done an amazing job at our Waste Water Plant and will be handing over a top-notch facility to his successor. We have promoted Troy Wastler to the Waste Water superintendent position. Troy has been with the Waste Water Department for many years and has a clear understanding of our entire waste system, including the treatment plant and the collection system. He has been instrumental in establishing our GPS system. This allows us to identify and map the location of all of our infrastructure components and track their age and condition. Troy started this program by mapping the waste water system and has now expanded the capability to our other departments, so they can track their assets. Troy will bring a solid knowledge of our system as he steps into the position of Waste Water superintendent. Congratulations to Randy Eyler on his retirement and to Troy Wastler on his promotion!
The other retiree is Tim Eyler of our Streets and Parks Department. Tim has an unbelievable 48 years of service to our community! He has been the Street and Parks superintendent for many years. Tim started his career with the Town of Thurmont on March 10, 1978, and has worked tirelessly ever since. He is a talented equipment operator, snow plow operator, leader, and an all-around outstanding employee. Tim has brought many improvements during his tenure as head of the department, including many tools and pieces of equipment that allow his crew to get their jobs done professionally. Steve Nicholson has been promoted to serve as our new Streets and Parks superintendent. Steve is a talented equipment operator and has a good grasp of the many services his department provides our community. From maintaining the streets, street sweeping, park maintenance, grass cutting, playing field and playground maintenance, snow removal, assisting other departments when additional hands are needed, working to keep Thurmont clean during Colorfest, and literally hundreds of other tasks residents never think of. Steve will continue the outstanding level of workmanship we are all used to from the Streets and Parks Department. Congratulations to Tim Eyler on his retirement and to Steve Nicholson on his promotion!
The 22nd Annual Thurmont Business Expo is coming on April 22, and the Award Winning Thurmont Farmers Market will be opening on May 24. Keep your eyes open for other local events by following the Thurmont Main Street and Town of Thurmont Facebook pages.
Karen and I hope that everyone has a wonderful spring. Question, comments, or issues? I can be contacted at jkinnaird@thurmont.com or by phone at 301-606-9458.
Emmitsburg
Mayor Frank Davis
I don’t know about you, but I am really looking forward to warm weather. I have had several people tell me this was what winter was like when we were kids. I totally agree, and while it was pretty with all the snow, I’m ready to mow the grass.
Staff is busy preparing our parks and ballfields for another busy season. In addition to the regular Little League season, we have both baseball and frisbee golf tournaments scheduled for most weekends this summer. This will not only bring life to parks but will be a bonus for our businesses and tourist attractions around the area. In addition, several events are scheduled for our biking trails.
You should soon see activity on North Seton Avenue. The contract has been awarded for the upgrade of waterlines, streetscape, and the storm water management projects. The tentative start date is April 1, and is scheduled to last 18 months. We are planning on having North Seton Avenue closed to traffic during working hours in hopes that this will speed up the completion date. We will have detours set up for “local traffic” during the construction period.
It is with mixed emotions that we will be losing a staff member. Najila Ahsan, our Town Planner, has been accepted into the Harvard Graduate School of Design for a Master’s in Urban Planning. Najila has been with the town for over three years and has been instrumental in the completion of several major projects. The task that stands out the most was the completion of our Comprehensive Plan. Najila has laid out the plan for the future of Emmitsburg and received praise from the State of Maryland for her accomplishment. Najila will be with us until July to ensure a smooth transition with our new planner. We wish her well in the next chapter of her career, but her departure will leave a void that will be hard to replace.
The Community Garden has beds available for the upcoming planting season. If you are interested, you can email communitygarden@emmitsburgmd.gov for more information.
Again this year, we will be hosting “Emmitsburg Clean-Up Day.” This is a community-wide event, being held on April 25, starting at 10:00 a.m. Visit the town website for more information.
It’s hard to believe that I am in the last six months of my term as Mayor. It has been a great experience and, for most days, rewarding. I have had the opportunity to work with a great team and met many great people along the way. After talking with my family and looking back at the last three years, I have decided to run for a second term as mayor. I feel we have made progress on many projects and have several more in the pipeline. I hope you will continue to support the path I am leading us down, and I promise to continue to work for you for another three years.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns or just want to chat, please give me a call.
Woodsboro
Burgess Heath Barnes
Greetings! The old saying, “March winds and April showers bring May flowers,” has surely lived up to it so far with these winds throughout March. Hopefully, the April showers are not as extreme as the March winds.
The storms that came through did some damage to the skatepark, as a couple of trees fell on it. Thankfully, other than that, the town did not sustain any more damage than that, and the damage to the skatepark was minimal.
I would like to thank everyone who came out to the fire hall and helped us stuff almost 5,000 Easter eggs in less than two hours for the Easter Egg Hunt. The Easter Egg Hunt was another successful event that saw several families and kids in the community come out and have a good time gathering eggs and taking pictures with the Easter bunnies.
I would like to remind everyone that ATVs and motorized vehicles are not permitted in the park at any time. If you do have a reason for one to be there, such as working on the fields or any town-approved project, please reach out to the town office to get an exception so that town officials will know why the ATVs are in the park, etc. Otherwise, for safety reasons, please refrain from using them in the park.
This year’s budget hearing meeting will be held at the May meeting on May 12 at 7:00 p.m., and, like all meetings, is open to the public.
As always, I encourage everyone to support Glade Valley Community Services (GVCS) if you have clothes or food donations, as they are always in need of items for members of the community. For more information, please contact GVCS by email at gvcs.inc@verizon.net or by calling 301-845-0213.
If you have any questions, concerns, complaints, or compliments, please feel free to reach out to me at hbarnes@woodsboro.org or by phone at 301-401-7164.
Woodsboro town meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. In addition, planning and zoning meetings are at 6:00 p.m. on the first Monday of the month, as needed. If you have an item for the agenda, it needs to be submitted 14 days before the P&Z meeting. The current meeting location is the St. John’s United Church of Christ, located at 8 N. 2nd Street, Woodsboro, MD 21798. The public is always invited to attend.
