(2/2020) Leaving a Legacy of Agriculture for Future Generations

The New Year is off to a fabulous start for Frederick County! From big crowds at annual fire and rescue banquets to exciting announcements about hundreds of new jobs, 2020 is already delivering great opportunities for our community. February promises even more good news.

On February 4th, I will be meeting with lawmakers from across the state to promote the need for a value-added agricultural facility or cooperative in Frederick County. Promoting agriculture is one of my top priorities. Farmers have faced low commodity prices and bad weather. To keep the industry economically viable, we need to advance some new ideas. I am proud to announce new legislation that will increase our investment in agricultural land preservation. Under my proposal, by adding $1 to an existing fee on property transfers, we can significantly increase agriculture preservation and our progress toward our goal of permanently preserving 100,000 acres of farmland.

There is a great demand from farmers who want to voluntarily participate in one of our land preservation programs. Recently, 46 Frederick County farms applied through our Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation program, but we can only afford to fund five or six of those requests.

The time to act is now. It’s important that we seize opportunities to preserve our agricultural land before that land is lost to development or speculators. This initiative has broad support and also includes ag economic development grants to help farmers diversify their operations.

Creating Jobs

I am excited to announce that the Kroger Company, along with its partner Ocado, will construct a new high-tech fulfillment center right here in Frederick County. Kroger is the world’s largest online grocery retailer. I am thrilled that Kroger and Ocado will bring life to a currently vacant facility, will add up to 500 new jobs, and invest tens of millions of dollars in our community to develop a 350,000-square-foot robotic customer fulfillment center.

The new business will be located at the site of the former Toys R Us distribution center. The facility will now become a highly automated e-commerce center delivering groceries, including fresh food, to households in Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region.

County staff worked closely with the businesses for many months, facilitating a smooth process for permits, water and sewer, and other details. Join me in welcoming Kroger and Ocado to our growing and thriving e-commerce business community. Frederick County is a great place to do business!

Annapolis

The Maryland General Assembly’s 2020 session kicked off in January, and there is good news to share for Frederick County! All three of the bills in our local legislative package were passed unanimously by the members of our state delegation. These include expansion of a state renter's tax credit, a modest compensation increase for Board of Education members, and a change to allow elections to fill certain vacancies on the Board of Education.

The current salary for Board of Education members is $11,000 for the President and $10,000 for all other members. The salary has remained the same since 2006 when Frederick County first went to elected members. The Board of Education members invest a lot of time and are responsible for a $680 million budget and decisions that impact 43,000 students. After 15 years, I think raising the stipends by $4,000 is a modest increase, and our entire delegation agreed.

State Budget

There is more great news coming from Annapolis! This year I requested capital funding for three projects to be included in the Governor's budget. Funding to expand and renovate the public safety training center was my top priority request. Additional space at the facility is needed to accelerate firefighter recruit classes. The facility is used by all public safety agencies, including the Sheriff's Office and 9-1-1 Communications, as well as career and volunteer firefighters. Keeping citizens safe is a fundamental responsibility of local government. I appreciate the Governor funding this request at $1.5 million, as well as several other local priorities.

School Construction

This year’s legislative session is focused on education, with important bills addressing classroom education and school construction. A bipartisan statewide bill has been introduced that would increase Frederick County’s share of school construction funds received from the State. In January, I testified in Annapolis alongside County Executives of both parties in support of this measure. I expect this historic bill, which will add $2.2 billion for school construction by leveraging casino gambling revenue, to pass with bipartisan support, including support from the Governor.