THURMONT,
Md. – The Thurmont Town Commissioners unanimously voted
on Oct. 16 not to annex the 210-acre Myers Farm north of town,
but the town's annexation debates are far from over.
"I'm
disappointed, but I'm not really surprised," said Tom
Hudson with Hudson Land, the property developer, "It's
a two-year effort that didn't pan out. Now I've got to move
on."
He
said he has grown to like Thurmont from all the time he
has spent in town and if he can assist the town in any property
redevelopment, he'd love to hear ideas for what he can do.
Though
the commissioners said Hudson had made an attractive proposition
for annexation, traffic issues and the fact that two-thirds
of residents said they were against annexation in a poll
Mayor Martin Burns sent out last year couldn't be overcome
in the end.
"It's
awful hard to ignore 66 percent of residents who responded
to my poll," Burns said. "You cannot discount
that. You cannot discount the election."
The
Myers Farm annexation request came before the town in September
2006, though it was first reported in The Dispatch
in March 2006. The plan called for 350 single family houses
and townhouses, retail and commercial space, an emergency
medical center and a community pool. Construction would
have started in 2013 and been completed around 2021. In
all, the town would have received $10-$11 million in financial
incentives over the build out of the property.
"Out
of the three properties for annexation this one seems to
be the one that will cause the least affect on the daily
lives of citizens," Thurmont resident Mary Lynch said.
She
was one of 27 people who voiced their opinion on the annexation
request at the Oct. 16 public hearing, which filled the
commissioners' meeting room to overflowing.
Susan
Hilberg doesn't live in Thurmont, but she lives near the
Myers Farm. "I hope that in the decision you make tonight
you listen to what your constituents have said over the
past year. The majority of constituents in Thurmont do not
want this annexation."
The
protracted debate of the Myers annexation has split the
town over growth vs. no growth and resident vs.
non-resident.
"Of
18 years I've been on the board this is one of the most
divisive issues we've ever faced," said Commissioner
Wayne Hooper. He later added, "I just hope that all
the animosity that's been stirred up in all of this…we
can put it aside."
He
and other commissioners were critical of derogatory language
against others that people had used in making their cases,
the use of inaccurate information and the inconsistency
of some of the arguments.
Burns
warned, "I have never said your taxes are going to
go down if we annex, but I guarantee they'll go up."
In particular, the sewer rates will "go up in a significant,
drastic way."
The
Maryland Department of the Environment has told the town
officials that the lack of money is not an excuse for not
fixing the sewers so the town will have to move forward
with a $4.6-million sewer system rehabilitation and a $4.5-million
equalization basin.
"One
of these three annexations is going to happen. I guarantee
it," Burns said. He added there isn't another option
for the town "unless someone bequeaths us a lot of
money."
