I have been asked to do regular updates of county government issues. In the spirit of open and transparent government, I have fully embraced that request.

In my first article, I would like to offer my insights in regard to the recent County purchase of the 800 Oak Street property in the City of Frederick. I supported that purchase from County surplus funds. I believe the purchase is essential and there are many benefits to the taxpayers of Frederick County. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of those benefits.

The purchase of the Oak Street property, according to a memo received from the County’s Chief Administrative Officer, will create potential savings that will benefit County taxpayers.

The first benefit I’d like to highlight is to the 9-1-1 Call Center. A new 9-1-1 Call Center is currently projected for fiscal year (FY) 2027. The Oak Street property presently has significant telecommunication infrastructure and fiber onsite. The 9-1-1 Call Center is currently located in the Law Enforcement Center (LEC). By moving the 9-1-1 Call Center to Oak Street we would avoid five or more years of construction cost inflation that is currently running at 9% per year. The County could eliminate $23M in Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funds from FY27 and beyond. The majority of this cost is related to constructing a new building and the cost of cabling another site. Once the 9-1-1 Call Center is moved to Oak Street, the LEC will gain critically needed expansion space. This has been projected to give the County cost savings of $17M to $23M or more.

The second benefit concerns the Division of Public Works located on Pine Avenue. A $5M CIP project to rehab this shop will no longer be needed which allows the lot to be sold as surplus. A conservative value of that land is $2M with the potential to be much higher due to the housing and commercial development of that area. The range of cost savings and land sell revenue has estimated at $5M to $7M or more.

Another all-important County facility will be a new library. The CIP has a project for a West Frederick library/design. No construction cost has been defined yet because the County does not have the land. Opening a library inside the Oak Street building will get the County past the land problem and will avoid construction costs. The current CIP has two libraries which include construction costs of $7.5M and $10M respectively. The Oak Street library avoids $8M in construction costs. Existing State library funding programs can be used for building renovation costs inside the Oak Street Building. The range of cost savings to the taxpayer would be $6M to $8M.

Finally, we have other opportunities to relieve overcrowding conditions in various County divisions and deliver services to our citizens more efficiently. As the next CIP is developed, more projects will be evaluated on their merits and decisions will be made as to feasibility and timing. Some of the services that could see savings are: Citizens Services - $2M to $3M; Senior Services and Health Department - $5M to $10M; Winchester Hall - $1M; Excess Oak Street Property - $9M or more as land appreciates in value.

In closing, for those who know me, I have prided myself as a fiscal conservative. As a small business man, father and grandfather, I value smaller and leaner government. The less money the government spends allows the people and businesses more money to spend for themselves. I look at this purchase that we authorized to be both responsible and fiscally prudent.

If anyone has any questions or comments please contact me at MBlue@FrederickCountyMD.gov or 301-600-1034.