(10/2021) Autumn has ushered in crisp, cool weather. Before long, beautiful colors will paint our mountainsides. One of my favorite parts of fall is the opportunity to recognize the exceptional men and women who grow the food and fiber for all of us. Each year, we kick off the Great Frederick Fair with an award ceremony for our agriculture industry. This September, we honored winners from 2020 and 2021. Congratulations to Farm Families of the Year, the Richard Pry Family of Needwood Farm (2021) and Lambert Farms (2020). Ag Businesses of the Year are Shrivers Meats for 2021 and Eddie Mercer for 2020. Jamie Derr (2021) and Taylor and Brandon Huffman (2020) earned Young Farmers of the Year, and our Ag Advocates of the Year are Laura Ramsburg (2021) and Kelli Wilson (2020). Kudos to all for the important work you do every day!

Keeping agriculture economically viable is a priority for my administration. We have increased funding for land preservation, boosted marketing through our Homegrown Frederick publication and website, and examined options for value-added production to support Frederick County’s agricultural industry.

This year, we also started an exciting grant program to help farmers diversify their operations. These grants help farmers to enter new markets and develop new ideas and opportunities for revenue. Our Agriculture Innovation Grants have been extremely popular, based on the number of applications we received for the second round. I am pleased to share with you that the new grant program has earned a Maryland Sustainable Growth Award for Preservation and Conservation from the Maryland Department of Planning. The award recognizes outstanding efforts to save Maryland’s farm and forest land, promote environmentally sound farming practices, and support a sustainable future for farms.

We will soon be announcing the next round of grant winners for our award-winning program, so stay tuned!

Preservation Award

Agriculture Innovation Grants support our Livable Frederick goal of preserving the things that make Frederick County special. Our commitment to preserving land and historic resources is making a difference.

I was humbled to learn that I was being honored for my administration’s focus on preservation. Preservation Maryland’s Nicholas Redding presented a 2021 Preservation Champion Award to me last month at the historic Loys Station covered bridge. Preserving and protecting the resources that make Frederick County unique helps future generations to appreciate what makes our community special. This award recognizes our efforts to accelerate agriculture preservation, as well as our new Rural Historic Preservation Grant Program.

Moving Frederick County Forward

Frederick County is fortunate to have a one-time opportunity to assist taxpayers and secure a bright future for our community. The opportunity was created because of our conservative budgeting, our strong fiscal management, and better-than-expected revenues. We recently announced two initiatives made possible by the one-time fund balance.

First, County Council Vice President Michael Blue proposed putting some of the revenue back into the pockets of homeowners who need it most. I support his plan to create a one-time $175 property tax credit for owner-occupied houses that are assessed at or below the County’s median home value, which is $328,512. The refund is twice as generous for homeowners than lowering the tax rate to the constant yield amount. If approved by the County Council, checks will be mailed to all eligible homeowners. The County has made $16 million in rental assistance available during the pandemic, and $17 million in grants to businesses. The one-time tax credit is the first time that homeowners have been eligible for assistance.

The second initiative allows the County to take advantage of an opportunity to purchase a large commercial property in the City of Frederick to consolidate county services. We are looking at a variety of options for the building, located at 800 Oak Street. Potential uses include a Next Generation 9-1-1 call center, a library, a senior center, and a warehouse.

The County has been leasing a portion of the 209,184-square-foot building since April to conduct vaccination clinics. The property includes 9.5 acres of vacant land that provides additional opportunities for expansion or for priorities such as affordable housing. Buying the 26-acre site will allow the County to consolidate operations, improve efficiency, dispose of valuable surplus land, eliminate current costs, avoid future costs, and speed up delivery of other Capital Projects. As a result, we will be able to offset a majority of the building’s $20 million purchase price, making the County’s net cost approximately $7.5 million. My goal is to incorporate energy efficiencies and alternative energy sources, like solar panels, so that the building will be a net-zero energy user.

These two proposals allow us to balance the needs of our community. We are supporting taxpayers through a tax credit, and at the same time providing more efficient services to the people who live and work in Frederick County. At the end of the day, it’s all about making life better for our community.

COVID-19

We are continuing to see high transmission of COVID-19 in Frederick County. Frederick Health Hospital has treated between 24-34 in-patients with the virus each day over the past month. As many as half of all the Intensive Care Unit beds have been filled with COVID patients in September.

Our best tool to stop the spread is to vaccinate as many people as possible. It is up to all of us to protect our children, who are not yet eligible for vaccines. Even vaccinated people should wear masks inside public places, according to public health experts. Please keep your guard up.

Stay safe and stay well!