(10/25) After the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed their primary goals for implementing the Town’s master plan at August’s meeting, a public workshop was held in September to specifically discuss the revitalization of the Downtown area. Chair Meredith Wivell posed three questions to be discussed among the public and Commission members.

The first question asked, "What should Thurmont’s downtown revitalization involve? What should it look like on a weekend or a workday?"

Lifetime resident Emily Hobbs described Thurmont as a Town ‘where the old meets the new.’ "We have great old foundations, a lot of historic buildings and events that have been going on for a long time," she said. She mentioned new residents and the continuation of sustainable growth according to the Master Plan.

Hobbs suggested the Town utilize grants such as the Strategic Demolition Fund, a program where rundown or derelict buildings can be rehabilitated into more useful purposes.

Mayor John Kinnaird voiced his support of the many small events that bring people into Town. "In the 60s the downtown was busy," he shared. "There were three clothing stores, three restaurants, two grocery stores, two doctors, a toy store, a drug store, two general stores, a movie theatre and more." He was saddened to say that the small businesses that make up a downtown district tend to come and go rapidly and are continually devastated by newer shopping centers drawing business away.

Randy Cubbage applauded Vicki Grinder, the Town’s Main Street Manager, for keeping the Downtown buildings occupied instead of leaving them empty and abandoned. He explained his fear was of Thurmont becoming a ‘Breakfast Community’ where the family's that live there never visit their own Downtown area or take advantage of any of the activities in the Town.

Commission members discussed ideas to draw the public back to the downtown area. Vincent Cover suggested creating low-cost activities and events to draw people downtown "A lot of people do not have any surplus money," he pointed out. "We’ve got to find things that are low cost but still have a benefit to get the people out."

The second question posed by Wivell was, "What regulatory barriers would you change to make the Downtown a better place to live, work or recreate in."

Kelly Duty suggested allowing the first floor of a downtown building be residential. Currently only a business may occupy a first floor, however, many buildings remain empty because of this rule. "By letting this [change] happen the buildings will always be inhabited but it will also increase foot traffic in town," she stated. Chief Administrative Officer Jim Humerick pointed out that the rule was instituted during a time when there were a lot of vacant buildings in the downtown area, and it may not be pertinent anymore.

Greg Goodhart toyed with looking into seeing if free parking would help bring visitors to the downtown area, but warned that if some type of time limit was not imposed the downtown area would become a commuter parking lot leaving no place for customers to park.

The third question asked everyone was, to "Imagine that you are a future generation of Town resident and tell us what would impress you the most about downtown Thurmont today."

Hobbs said it was friendly and welcoming atmosphere in Thurmont. However, she wished there was a ‘place to go to socialize and have hobbies." "People miss that," she said. "A lot of these businesses are not just about buying a thing but coming to hang out and buy something while there."

Cover agreed, "The social aspect is missing." He suggested having a scavenger hunt or where's waldo type of activity to get people active in the downtown community.

The Commission is considering creating a survey to pass out to residents to see if more public interaction could be garnered.