Frederick County proposes expansion to TransIT services

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Ashley Barnes Frederick County executives proposed additional operating funding that will allow Transit buses to expand shuttles to run from two trips per day to four trips per day. Currently Frederick holds nine connector routes that operate in urban areas around the county. These transit shuttles include commuter, two Meet-the-MARC and paratransit shuttles that service the elderly and handicapped. Service Planner for Transit services Carrie Watters stated that public transportation is a worthwhile expenditure that provide a lot of services for a relatively insignificant cost. Watters believes Fredericks Transit services need to be greatly expanded to serve a larger service area and provide more convenient services. Under the Frederick transit county development plan, transit needs have been identified based on a 2000 Census data report. Proposes have been made to link commuter modes, add new shuttles through Brunswick, create group trips, and re-evaluate the needs of elderly and disabled citizens in order to increase productivity, according to TDP. As of 2010, Frederick county’s population...
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Growth in Urbana, putting stress on schools, businesses and other resources

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Amy Madert Urbana Maryland, a suburb in Frederick County, had a population of only 622 people in 2001. In 2015 that number increased to 11,154 people. The speed in which the population is growing impacts every aspect of a community – the people, the businesses and the resources. “We are building in the areas that people want to live in,” Denise Jacoby, Executive Officer at the Frederick County Building Industry Association (FCBIA), said. “These areas tend to be favorable by large populations, which lead to more development. The Villages of Urbana was first established in 1999. It has quickly become one of the most populated, desired and changed areas in Frederick. The plan for the community aimed to recreate a classic small town feel and way of living. Today the town of Urbana community plan includes five schools and a sixth set to open in the 2017-2018 school year, two parks and a third in development, a handful of amenities including a library, swimming...
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Treatment Center of Attention: How the Rise of Heroin has Affected Frederick’s Resources

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Brendan O'Shaughnessy Heroin has been on the rise in the past few years in the city of Frederick. There have been four arrests for heroin in the past six months, with two of them occurring within the last month. So what is being done about this growing problem? Vivitrol: A New Soldier in the War on Addiction Randy Martin, the Assistant Director of Inmate Services at the Frederick County Detention Center, says that inmates who are admitted for heroin or opiate use have the option of getting a shot of the opiate blocker Vivitrol while they go through treatment. The detention center received the grant for Vivitrol from the Governor Office of Crime Control and Prevention for the injection last year. “I think it’s worked out great […] we’ve had a lot of inmates who have gotten the shot and gotten out,” Martin said. Though Vivitrol has been highly regarded by many professionals, it is by no means a cure-all. Martin also described...
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Concerns over Birely Tannery and downtown Frederick hotel project are mixed among preservationists

Concerns over Birely Tannery and downtown Frederick hotel project are mixed among preservationists

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Carly Berkowitz Preservationists are voicing their concern about the historic buildings located on the lot chosen to be the site for the downtown Frederick hotel and conference center, particularly the Birely Tannery. The tannery is the last remaining tannery building in the city of Frederick, and possibly the last in the county as well. The site chosen for this project is the corner of E. Patrick and N. Carroll streets in downtown Frederick, which contains two historic buildings on the lot including the Frederick Railroad Company trolley building and the tannery itself. “The concern is, if it is built on that lot will it do such damage to the downtown area that’ll keep Frederick from being the draw that it is,” said Mary Mannix, manager of the Maryland Room at the C. Burr Artz public library and board member of the Frederick Preservation Trust.     “Downtown Frederick looks very much like it did when the Confederates came through town, so that is the...
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Growth Affect on the Fire Department

by Elizabeth Atwood Comment Closed
by Ellie Blaser Over the last five to 10 years, various types of growth have occurred in the city and county of Fredrick, Maryland, including population growth and comprehensive plan and zoning growth. As a result of this, the Frederick City Fire Department has had a larger population to respond to, and at times has had trouble responding to fire on time. “We are currently one of the second largest regions in the state behind Baltimore, and with that comes the increase call wave,” says Kevin Fox, Battalion Chief with Division of Fire Rescue Services. (more…)...
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Two new elementary schools will open overcrowded

Two new elementary schools will open overcrowded

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By John Curran Frederick County Public Schools are building two new schools to alleviate overcrowding, however, these schools will be overcrowded when they open. Frederick County has approved the funding needed to build two new elementary schools in the county, Sugarloaf Elementary and Butterfly Ridge Elementary. Theresa Alban, superintendent of Frederick County Pubic Schools, said that when both schools open in fall 2018 they will be at maximum capacity. “We are trying to stay ahead and build schools before developments are complete by having the planning and zoning commission alert us when permits are pulled for construction,” Alban said. “It’s not always possible because we are playing catch up and many of our current schools need to be renovated.” The reason many schools aren’t being built is because of the number of existing schools that need to be renovated in the county. The county has many schools that are over 30 years old and are experiencing a high number of service repairs. Money is not...
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Suicide Rates Are Growing With Frederick’s Population and Public Funding Can’t Keep Up

by Elizabeth Atwood Comment Closed
By Logan Samuels The Frederick County Board of Health and Mental Hygiene wants to focus on treatment and research for specific health issues, but budgeting for the public health system prevents this. Frederick County Health Officer Dr. Barabara Brookmyer explained that a hot topic issue in Frederick is the suicide rate. For the last 12 years, Frederick County has had a higher suicide death rate than the state. Henry Westray, Jr., the former chair of the Governor’s Commission on Suicide Prevention, said that Governor Martin O’Malley established an executive order to focus on suicide awareness and prevention as a severe health issue in 2009. For three years, the Governor’s Commission on Suicide actively fought to establish services, hotlines, plans, support groups, and advocacy groups for at-risk groups. There are various Maryland based foundations and groups that focus on suicide prevention and intervention like the Mental Health Association of Maryland, the National Alliance on Mental Illness: Maryland and the American Foundation for Suicide: Maryland. O’Malley planned to...
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Waterways face bacterial pollution in Frederick County

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Mary Milligan Several waterways in Frederick are polluted with potentially harmful bacteria that become especially elevated after rainfall. This bacteria, enterococcus, can cause a stomach ache and similar ailments according to Sara Eckard, a biology major and water researcher. In Frederick, it has been found in Carroll Creek, Culler Lake, Rock Creek, Owens Creek in Thurmont, Glade Run in Walkersville, and a tributary that runs in front of Frederick High and into Carroll Creek. Professor of Biology and Director of Coastal Studies Program Dr. Drew Ferrier said that the summer project began with a feeling that people had a hard time understanding the status of the environment. He said that they wanted to do the research to produce a “clearer way of expressing to the public an indication of the pollution in the water.” Eckard and Dr. Drew Ferrier began to look at the enterococcus levels of different waterways over the summer in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The levels they found...
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Frederick to get higher quality selection of hotels

Frederick to get higher quality selection of hotels

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
  By Jared Bileski In the next ten years, visitors to Frederick will have an increased selection of hotels when planning accommodations. Two brand new hotel construction projects are in the works and will offer those visiting more quality choices. The plans for the two new hotels, the Holiday Inn at FSK and Marriott in downtown Frederick, also include 12 to 14 thousand square foot conference centers. Both hotels aim to attract more people to Frederick County. “We want to see them both happen,” says John Fieseler, executive director of the tourism council of Frederick County. Fieseler, also a member of the downtown hotel advisory committee, believes that the two hotels target different markets. This past November the Frederick County Planning Commission approved part of a plan for a completely refurbished Holiday Inn at FSK Mall. The plan for the hotel, which can be seen from I-270, includes a 205 room tower as well as a 12 thousand square-foot ballroom. Less than three miles from the Holiday...
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For Frederick’s Parks, Stable Growth Requires Cooperation

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Cameron Rogers Recreational areas like Baker Park delight tourists and residents of Frederick alike, but their operation and maintenance is not without issues. Over the period of time between 2013 and 2015, the city’s anticipated revenue for recreational centers gradually declined from $733,098 to $636,020. However, the expenses accumulated by the department increased at the same time, going from $1.2 million to $1.3 million. Bob Smith, the president of Frederick city’s Parks and Recreation, said that the budget for his department is organized based on considerations like park usage, age of equipment in recreational areas, and the condition of parks. On the declining revenue, he said, “We are careful to keep expenses within the parameters of the approved budget.” According to Alderwoman Donna Kuzemchak, an overall reduction in the budgets of various departments is part of an overall by the city government of Frederick. “We are trying to lower the costs in all the budgets,” she said. She said that the alternative to lowering budgets would...
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