Silo Hill basin work approved

The Town Council voted unanimously to approve the awarding of a contract to commence work on restoring the Silo Hill storm water management basin.

Barton & Loguidance, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, was awarded the contract for the proposed work for a maximum of $250,000 to $300,000.

Commissioner Joseph Ritz, III, said, "Just for the record though, I did vote 'aye.'... I don't like excessive regulation. I think we are going down that path (see "Tree mandate impacting town planning" in this issue of the News-Journal)."

"Yes, it'll beautify the town. Yes, it will help us in the long run, but I'm thinking of all the other concerns we have right now too... money that we need to be spending on the future as well, which is our water system," Ritz stated.

Town Planner Zach Gulden said the project would entail landscaping, and a mix of plant types, trees, and a rain garden mix. The basin project is to be completed by October 30, 2022. The $250,000 to $300,000 price tag does not include any project-applicable grant funding the town might garner.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) would also be entered into with the Silo Hill homeowners’ association regarding which party will be responsible for their portions of site maintenance.

Town may need to up water staff pay

Town Manager Cathy Willets told the commissioners at their February 3 meeting that the pay of the sewer and water staff may need to increase to attract new hires. "It's very hard to attract (applicants). It’s a very competitive market out there," she said.

Willets stated, "What we're finding is, we are not competitive as far as our water and sewer operators are concerned. Especially when they hold the licenses, they are being coveted by other municipalities."

"I think going forward," she said, "when we advertised for Jacob (Jacob Fisher’s replacement), we only had three interviews. Right now, we're reaching out to MML (Maryland Municipal League) to get what other municipalities are paying their operators. But we need to become competitive so we can get qualified people."

The town manager said, "As we are making the improvements to our water and sewer infrastructure, we want to hire qualified people who are going to stay."

Commissioner Frank Davis suggested that town staff "do a study across the board and compare all of our employees to the other municipalities... To make sure we have good people and we want to keep them. Just to make sure that we are."

"There is more jobs than people who want to work," Willets concluded.

Scout proposes handicap picnic table

The Town Council received a proposal at their March meeting presented by a scout to install an Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant (ADA), handicap-accessible picnic table at the Community Park Playground.

Boy Scout Nicholas Lowe, of Thurmont, told the board that the construction and installation of the table would take place in two parts. "I will first assemble it at the St. Joseph's Parish Hall parking lot, and then I will transport the bench that is completed to the south end of the park, prep the ground, and then set the bench." The scout said he would probably commence with the project after May.

Lowe said he is doing this as his Eagle Scout project, and that he would be using GoFundMe as a source of fund-raising. Commissioner T. J. Burns suggested that a link to the GoFundMe site could be posted on the town website to aid in the fund-raising effort.

Town will mail census forms to P.O. boxes

The Town of Emmitsburg will be mailing census forms to Post Office boxes, because there are residents who have only a Post Office box as an address, and the federal government will not send forms to those boxes.

Town Planner Zach Gulden said, "If you have (only) a Post Office box, which is almost 600 people within our town, you will not receive a census mailer. It's really weird. It's a really strange thing that the federal government does."

"However, we're partnering with Frederick County Census Committee, we will be putting in the mailers to those PO boxes," further noting, "You have until July 31st (to fill the forms out)."

Gulden said the County Census Committee will be creating a form designed to be sent to Post Office boxholders, which the town will then mail to those residents. "They'll be put in each Post Office box," he said.

Proposed Rutter's pump station advances

The Town Council voted to sign Rutter's application for a state Department of the Environment permit application for a proposed sewer pump station.

The proposed pump station would be built by Rutter’s, and would be located on the site of a new Rutter's convenience store to be located at 10201 Taneytown Road. The plant will be designed to serve up to 500 single-family homes.

The pump station is part of a project being undertaken by Rutter’s to create a 50-acre, commercial development, to include retail stores and restaurants, in addition to the convenience store.

The overall proposal specifically entails the construction of an 8,380 square-foot store which will include seven gasoline fuel islands and five diesel fuel bays, as well as a truck scale.

The Planning Commission previously approved a forest conservation plan, a site plan, and an improvement plan.

Four waysides conditionally approved

The Town Council voted at their February meeting to conditionally approve four proposed wayside markers to allow edits to be made to the Emmitsburg Press signage.

The approval was conditioned on the implementation of changes to the Emmitsburg Press sign incorporating reference to the importance of newspapers, especially before the age of the radio.

The approval included signage denoting the histories of the "Great Fire of 1863," the Vigilant Hose Company, the Carriage House Inn building, and the Chronicle Press building.

The total cost of the four wayside exhibits will be $22,024, according to Town Manager Cathy Willets, 50-percent of which ($12,062), was obtained as a Maryland Heritage Areas Authority grant.