(10/2020) Voluntary water restrictions remain

The town commissioners unanimously agreed at their September meeting to extend the current voluntary water restrictions remain in effect for another month.

Despite random storms and rain events during the past month, Town Manager Cathy Willets told the board that, while some wells have stabilized, others are slightly down.

As of the September meeting Rainbow Lake, the town reservoir was two feet below the spillway. Well No. 1 had sustained no additional decreases since July. Well No. 2's water level is up by two-inches. Well No. 3 has been taken offline again (due to pH numbers). Wells No. 4 and No. 5 have neither lost nor gained any well depth since July.

Based on the current lake and well numbers overall, relative to community water usage, Willets recommended continuing with Phase One (voluntary) water restrictions.

Left-over grant monies distributed

The commissioners approved granting leftover town COVID-19 monies that had been set-aside for small businesses to be distributed between two local concerns.

Mayor Don Briggs said that the town has set aside $30,000 for small business grants for COVID-19 relief, but that only 13 businesses who had requested assistance were granted $1,000 each, leaving $17,000 uncommitted.

Briggs recommended that the amount be divided evenly between the Emmitsburg Business and Professional Association (EBPA) and for future Main Street Affiliate Program use, each to receive $8,500.

Town Manager Cathy Willets stated that the reason the EBPA was selected "is that they are really struggling to do what they need to do to help the businesses in town," thus the idea was conceived to give the monies to the EBPA since they, as an entity, wouldn't otherwise have qualified for the grant money, and they would better serve and help the businesses in town and send it where it might be needed best."

Willets said the Main Street Affiliate Program percentage of the funds was to go towards related projects, but if at some time it was felt the EBPA could further use the funds, "I don't see why ,,, we couldn't then come back to the board and move the (Main Street) $8,500 back to the EBPA," she stated.

Solar field annexation should have no impact

The contact governing operations of the solar fields, located on town land under consideration for annexation to the town, will not be affected by the annexation, should it be approved.

During a discussion of the proposed annexation at the commissioners' September meeting, Commissioner Joseph Ritz asked if the annexation could have a positive effect on the solar field agreements.

Town Manager Cathy Willets asked if Ritz was talking about the issue of adding additional customers to Field 2, to which he replied in the affirmation.

Willets said that the annexation would not have any bearing on the solar field contract. "The mayor's actually working with some legislators on trying to make sure that does happen in the future since it went against what we were initially told."

However, she said, that the solar panels would then be within the town boundaries and "may be one of the unintended consequences that it does help our case going down the road. I can't imagine it would hurt it."

Man dies in fall at Town Square

An Emmitsburg resident male was killed in a fall on September 24 from a third-story porch located at a hotel in the Emmitsburg Town Square.

The incident occurred at the old Western Maryland Hotel, which is located on the southeast corner of the Town Square.

Local residents identified the victim as Timothy "T.J." Barker, who is listed as having been 22 years old. This victim's identity and hometown have not yet been officially released by authorities.

Non-official reports have stated that Barker was sitting on the railing of the third-floor porch of the hotel, and locked his feet through the wooden balusters uprights, then leaned back, at which point the two balusters he had used to brace himself gave way, resulting in the victim falling backwards to his death.

Hotel resident Vincent Fuller said his wife approached the victim as he laid on the sidewalk and said the he took three breaths and then died.

A number of individuals created a signed, placarded memorial on the first-floor deck railing of the hotel within three feet of where the victim died. The placards were accompanied by a few mementos.

The News-Journal had not yet received a police incident report as of press-time.