The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce recently hosted the Garrett County Commissioners for their annual State of the County address. The three commissioners, Paul Edwards, Jim Hinebaugh, and Larry Tichnell, each spoke about the past year’s challenges, successes, and what the future will bring to Garrett County.
Commissioner Paul Edwards started off the presentation, outlining the four areas of concern in Garrett County: public schools, economic development, budget, and broadband internet. Edwards is very involved with the school systems and provided many updates concerning the schools. Funding has been acquired to improve all schools in some capacity, including retro-fittings Grantsville Elementary with doors and walls, maintenance of athletic fields, security vestibules, and other needed updates. It’s projected that in two or so years, the total renovation of Southern Middle School will begin.
One of the biggest challenges facing the school system and county as a whole is unfunded government mandates. This includes the recently passed KERWIN education bill and other state-mandated policies such as equipping all police officers with body cams. These mandates must be met and paid regardless of room in the budget.
The county’s budget for FY22 is $88M, which was achieved without any tax increases. Edwards commented that in some ways, COVID-19 had a positive impact on the Garrett County economy and budget, as additional funding and grants were made available for use in the county. These funds will help move forward many economic and infrastructure plans.
Broadband internet has been a priority for lawmakers in Garrett County for the last several years, and the virtual learning and work environments brought on by COVID-19 restrictions showcased that it’s still a large issue. Garrett County’s IT department has been integral in creating and executing plans to make broadband accessible in the more rural areas. One of the county’s initiatives is a partnership with Comcast. This is a pilot project for Comcast, who will later use this rural development model to help other rural areas nationwide. For our local program, the county roads department handles digging the trenches and laying the conduit, and Comcast lays the fiber free of charge. The great thing about this program is that other internet providers and take advantage of the infrastructure once it’s in place. Two of the current areas of focus are Bloomington and the Table Rock/Metikki/Kempton areas of Southern Garrett County.
Commissioner Jim Hinebaugh spoke mostly about economic development and the statistics important to Garrett County. Currently, unemployment in Garrett County is at 5%, compared to 10% in May of 2020. According to Hinebaugh, Garrett County is usually above the state average, but in 2021, Garrett County is faring better than the state average of 5.8%. Commissioner Hinebaugh also touched on the tourism boom our county has experienced, commenting that the income from the accommodations tax was at an all-time high last year.
Commissioner Hinebaugh touched on current real estate statistics, as well as requested building permits for the year so far. From January 2021 to June 2021, there were 399 building permits required with an estimated total value of $50M. Hinebaugh compared those numbers to the same time frame in 2020, where 295 building permits were issues at an estimated value of $20M.
Commissioner Larry Tichnell closed out the update with upcoming projects that are close to starting. One of the updates was the Glendale Road realignment, which will eliminate the S curves at the beginning of Glendale Road where it intersects Rt. 219 and Zeddock Miller. This project will most likely be started in FY22. Another upcoming project is the replacement and expansion of the Swallow Falls Rd Bridge, which is currently one lane. The new bridge will have two lanes. This project is about 90% through permitting and design and is estimated to cost between $5-6M. The pilot dredging project for Deep Creek Lake at Arrowhead Cove is in the permitting process and has earmarked funding. Other projects that Commissioner Tichnell felt would be started and completed in the next few years include lighting through Loch Lynn and Mountain Lake Park neighborhoods, water and sewer upgrades, and additional upgrades and revamping for athletic fields at schools.
The event is part of the Chamber’s Business Before Hours series, and was sponsored by Potomac Edison and Clear Mountain Bank.
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