(4/2016) Charter government is delivering results! There is a lot of good news to share.

Schools:

Two desperately needed elementary schools, Sugarloaf Elementary and Butterfly Ridge Elementary, will be built and open to students on time and on schedule in the fall of 2018. These two schools will relieve severe existing overcrowding. Schools in Urbana and in the Hillcrest area are approaching 150% of capacity right now.

Frederick County has been challenged to keep our school construction on time due to a recent dramatic increase in the cost of school construction. Fortunately, we are blessed in Frederick County to have a community that values education and values working together to solve problems.

As the County Executive, it is my goal to build consensus around issues and solve problems. Thus, I was very pleased to recently announce a school construction solution that resulted from a shared community effort involving our elected officials, educators, PTA and school advocates, and the business community. We share the goal of providing our students with adequate school facilities and a quality education.

Several pieces of the puzzle have come together to make it work. They include: advocacy and legislation for additional state funding; identifying cost savings in school construction; increasing development fees; a re-prioritization of county capital projects; and the acceleration of the state share of school construction by two local developers. Working together, we solved our school construction challenge.

Libraries:

The long-awaited new branch Walkersville Library should break ground this fall. It will be located on South Glade Road near the entrance to the Sun Meadow neighborhood. This new library will provide expanded services and programs as well as a community meeting place for residents living in and around Walkersville. Our public libraries in Frederick County are visited by almost 100,000 residents a month. Libraries continue to offer their traditional services but now offer may new programs and services in response to ever-changing community needs.

Roads:

Governor Larry Hogan was in Frederick for an entire day on Wednesday, March 16th. He announced funding for several key transportation projects in Frederick County including a new interchange at MD 85 and I-270 and a new bridge and interchange at MD 180 and US 340. In addition to these significant improvements, engineering and design work are proceeding to widen US 15 through the City of Frederick from I-70 to MD 26 including some interchange improvements. This is all good news for Frederick County to keep people moving and our roadways safe.

It is budget time. I will present a proposed budget to the community and the county council on Friday, April 15. Priorities will reflect public input and community values including education, public safety, seniors, and valuing county employees who provide stellar services to our community each and every day. Like last year, there will be no proposal to raise taxes or fees. The budget will be fiscally conservative; we will live within our means, and will make progress to ensure great schools and a safe community.

I want to thank everyone in our community who participates in county government and has worked together over the past year to solve community challenges. I particularly want to thank County Council President Bud Otis and Council Vice-President M. C. Keegan-Ayer, who are great partners in delivering good government to Frederick County.