Town Hall Reports

by James Rada, Jr.

Thurmont

Chicken Ordinance Forms Available

The Thurmont Town Office now has the forms needed for people with existing chickens in their yards or who want to start keeping them. Those with existing chickens must have them registered by March 1. If not, and they have more than six chickens or a rooster, they might have to remove them. Chicken owners will also have to register their chickens with the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

Downtown Trash Cans to be Replaced

The Thurmont Commissioners approved a bid of $23,576 to replace and install 13 new trash cans in downtown Thurmont. Playground Specialists, Inc. was the low bid of three and will do the work. The town also has a grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development of $22,500, which will cover most of the cost. The remainder will be paid by the town out of the town’s park impact fee fund. The old trash cans will be repurposed in town parks and along the Thurmont Trolley Trail.

Property Assessments Increase Dramatically

The Thurmont Commissioners acknowledged that property assessments in the region increased an average of 31 percent. The commissioners urged residents to appeal their assessments and take advantage of any tax credits available to them, especially the Homestead Property Tax Credit. These things may either lower the property assessment or mitigate some of the property tax owed. More information on the available credits that can be considered is available at the Thurmont Town Office.

Emmitsburg

Commissioners Approve Fiber-optic Internet in Town

The Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners approved a franchise agreement with Shentel/Glo Fiber to provide a fiber-optic high-speed Internet network in town.

The 15-year agreement also has options for three five-year renewals of the contract. The contentious point for the agreement was wording of the amount of the franchise fee. It is 5 percent of the cable revenues, which is the maximum the FCC allows to be charged. It is paid by the residents who have cable services on the network. The town wanted to be allowed to charge more if the FCC raised its limit. Shentel/Glo Fiber had no problem with that, but it did not want to be charged more than Comcast, which is the other Internet provider in Emmitsburg.

The commissioners agreed 4-1 on the changes proposed by town staff, with Commissioner Jim Hoover voting against the agreement.

Town Approves New Parking Meters

The Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners approved a plan to replace 125 aging parking meters in town with new smart meters with coin and card payment options. The replacement is needed because the person who currently repairs the meters is retiring and replacement parts for them are no longer available. In addition, it was discovered that the current meters may be up to 15 minutes off in either direction.

An additional proposal to add additional meters on the west end of town was voted down.

Much of the cost will be paid for with a USDA Community Facility Grant for up to $31,100. The town will pay the grant’s match when the new cost is calculated.

Power Failure Postpones Some Commissioner Items

During the Emmitsburg January town meeting, the building had a power failure partway through the meeting. Although the emergency generator came on, it could not supply all the power the building needed. Because of this, the meeting was cut short, and the remaining items were moved to the February town meeting.