Town Hall Report

by James Rada, Jr.

Thurmont

Water Main Replacement on Old Pryor Road Approved

The Thurmont Mayor and Commissioners approved the replacement of the water main on Old Pryor Road, which is a project the town has wanted to do for many years. Funding for the project comes from a Maryland Department of the Environment Water Quality Financing loan. The town received five bids for the project, with Guyer Brothers of New Enterprise, Pennsylvania, offering the winning bid of $475,191. The project is expected to be completed in November.

New Softball Field Approved at East End Park

The Thurmont Mayor and Commissioners approved a new softball/baseball field at East End Park. The low bid was $440,275 from Green Ridge Contractors. The project had to be scaled back a bit because the bids were so much higher than the $262,000 grant funds from the Local Parks and Playground Program. The commissioners decided to fund the difference of $178,275 from its American Rescue Plan funds. The project is expected to be completed by September.

Emmitsburg

Crime on the Rise in Emmitsburg

According to the Emmitsburg Community Deputies, crime is on the rise in town. “There’s been an uptick of everything in town,” Frederick County Sheriff’s Deputy Ahalt told the Emmitsburg Mayor and Commissioners during a recent meeting.

The town is seeing drugs, thefts, and assaults. Where robberies from cars used to be a crime of convenience if the car door was unlocked, thieves are now smashing windows to grab items from inside the cars. Two hot spots for crime are 2 E. Main Street and the DePaul Street Apartments.

The town is looking into having the community deputies authorized for overtime so they can patrol more. Also, the sheriff’s deputies in the north county area have been asked to drive through town when the community deputies aren’t around.

On the bright side, it is believed that the vandalism problem in the ball parks has been taken care of with the perpetrators and their parents.

Mount to Have a Building in Town Limits

Mayor Don Briggs told the Emmitsburg Commissioners that Mount St. Mary’s Seminary would soon have a presence within the borders of Emmitsburg. The Mount will be using the C-Wing of St. Joseph House complex. First-year seminarians will live there, and it will be called the “Blessed Stanley Rother House.” The wing will be renovated and is expected to open in August 2023.

Hostels Recommended to be Allowed

Village Liquors’ goal to create a new liquor store with a hostel above it is moving forward. The Emmitsburg commissioners voted to forward a recommendation to the Emmitsburg Planning Commission to add hostels to the town code. This wouldn’t have had any impact on the project from the town’s perspective. It was a request of the project’s financial partner. What was new was that the project could be used as housing for Mount St. Mary’s University or National Fire Academy students.