Jay Fergusonjay@deepcreeksales.com301-501-0420
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NEW LISTING- 1041 Rock Lodge Road

Check out my new listing on Rock Lodge Road!

4BR/3BA renovated cottage (2009) with ~1200sf addition on coveted Rock Lodge Rd. Gutted to studs & rebuilt with extra insulation. Original fireplace! Very well maintained.

Covered porch offers seasonal lake views. Rear deck backs to woods & surrounded by huge, moss covered boulders.

Low maintenance yard. 2 furnaces; energy efficient design. Vaulted ceilings. Paved driveway with plenty of parking.

for more information, click here.

 

Jump on in, the water’s fine! I’ll wait here

funny opinion article from the frederick news-post.

Most people have likely witnessed that the world in which we live has a substantial number of people with questionable judgment — at least I think their judgment needs some work. What brings this to mind is that I’ve discovered that I volunteer for an organization that supports activities for these very people. I’m new to the organization since June 2016 and am still discovering the ins and outs.

The allure of joining this organization was the good works that it does around Maryland for both people and wildlife. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it supports large numbers of manic individuals.

In reading the schedule of upcoming activities, I’ve discovered that this organization supports and is involved with the Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point State Park. There are more. On Feb. 25, there’s a Freezin’ for a Reason dunk up at Deep Creek Lake. On March 4, at Rocky Gap State Park they have something they call the Hooley Plunge. Maybe “hooley” is another word for “out of your mind.”

Don’t get me wrong. I’m fully aware that these events are held for good and charitable reasons. Supporting charities is an admirable effort. Jumping into water that’s less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit is a totally different story. Rightfully or wrongfully, I consider such activity a potentially heart-stopping event.

It’s not that I haven’t had the experience. I know whereof I speak. A “few years ago,” when I was in high school, I found myself in a small boat about 50 yards off a rocky coast in 30 feet of water near Gloucester, Mass. (I still say “Mass.” because virtually my whole family and myself were born there — it’s a local thing). Gloucester is north of Cape Cod — that means cold, cold water. The Cape pushes the Gulf Stream far from shore. Young, bullet-proof teenager that I was, I decided to dive in prior to donning a wet suit; big mistake. I hit the water, surfaced and tried to breathe. Wow! I could take in only “little sips” of air. My breath was literally taken away, and I wondered if I could make it back to the boat. My point? I know what cold water feels like and need no reminders. Don’t like it!

Almost as bad are those who a year or so ago engaged in a fad of challenging others to dump buckets of ice water over their heads. All right, that’s not as bad as total immersion, but what’s the point? I’ve dealt with a fairly significant number of discomforts in my life — my time in the Army comes to mind. I’ve never been one to go out of my way to voluntarily seek discomfort.

So, for you crazed plungers out there who find such activities to be fun and exhilarating, knock yourselves out. Please don’t take that literally. While the Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point on Jan. 28 has already happened, two that don’t get so much attention are Feb. 25 at Deep Creek and March 4 at Rocky Gap. Begrudgingly, I’ll admit that they’re all for good causes. For myself, it’s much more comfortable to offer support from shore or just write a check.

Enjoy yourselves. I’ll watch from a distance. BTW, the group that offers support for these extreme immersions is our own Maryland Natural Resources Police.

for more information, click here.

 

Public weighs in on Route 219 improvement project

GRANTSVILLE, Md. – Maryland transportation officials listened to the public’s opinions on the U.S. Route 219 Improvement Project at a joint public hearing Monday night at Grantsville Elementary School.

Three possible options were discussed Monday night – all involving the improvement of Route 219 between its interchange with Interstate 68 in Grantsville and Old Salisbury Road, which is approximately 1.4 miles north of the I-68/Route 219 interchange.

That 1.4-mile stretch of two-lane road, which includes an intersection with U.S. Route 40 Alternate, represents approximately half the total length of Route 219 between its interchange with I-68 and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, according to maps shown at Monday’s hearing.

“It’s an important step in the continuing effort to connect Somerset and Johnstown to I-68, which is part of the continuing process to create an infrastructure to generate greater prosperity in our region,” Henry Cook, president of Somerset Trust Co., said before Monday night’s hearing.

Somerset County Commissioner John Vatavuk – who was one of several people who provided official testimony Monday night regarding their opinions on the project – agreed.

“We see a great economic development tool here – a great tool to get traffic through our area and through western Maryland,” he said.

Officials from the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration have narrowed the options for the project down to three finalists, nicknamed Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 at Monday’s hearing. (Alternative 1, making no changes at all, was also presented as a baseline for comparison.)

Alternative 2 proposed widening the existing alignment of Route 219 between the I-68 interchange and Old Salisbury Road by adding two 12-foot-wide travel lanes, one in each direction. Route 219, under this alternative, would transition back to a two-lane highway at Old Salisbury Road. Dedicated right-turn lanes would be maintained at the Pilot Travel Center in Grantsville and at the intersection of Route 219 and Route 40 Alternate.

Alternative 3 would involve adding four new 12-foot-wide travel lanes, two in each direction, to the existing alignment of Route 219.

Just north of the Pilot Travel Center, the existing Route 219 would transition into a two-lane roundabout that would provide access to the travel center – and to a new alignment of Route 219 that would bridge over Route 40 Alternate and continue approximately 1 mile north before rejoining the existing Route 219 at Old Salisbury Road, near the entrance to a proposed Casselman Farm industrial park.

Under this alternative, the existing I-68/Route 219 interchange would remain in use.

Alternative 4 would create a new interchange – replacing the existing intersection between I-68’s ramps and Route 219 with a two-lane roundabout – and a new road alignment that would loop around the Pilot Travel Center as a four-lane divided highway, cross over Route 40 Alternate on a bridge and continue approximately 1 mile north before rejoining the existing Route 219 at Old Salisbury Road.

Also under Alternative 4, the current exit ramp from I-68 westbound to Route 219 would be realigned and lengthened to tie into the new roundabout.

The proposed new alignment in Alternatives 3 and 4 would feature two 12-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction, separated by a raised median.

Project manager Barrett Kiedrowski said officials’ priorities for the project are “to support local and regional economic growth, efficient highway operations for development and community access.” All three alternatives, officials said, include inevitable impacts to historical sites, environmental areas and private property.

Hearing officer Tony Crawford said the project is already fully funded. In June 2015, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced $90 million in funding for design, right-of-way acquisition and construction to realign Route 219 between I-68 and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border.

Vatavuk testified that he and Cook – both members of the Greater Cumberland Committee’s North-South Appalachian Highway Coalition, he said – supported Alternative 4.

“We need a limited-access highway between here and Somerset,” Vatavuk said, noting that the 11-mile extension of Route 219 between Somerset and Meyersdale is scheduled to open in 2018.

When that section of highway opens, the only section of Route 219 between I-68 and the Pennsylvania-Maryland border that won’t be a four-lane limited-access highway will be the 5 miles between Meyersdale and Maryland, North-South Appalachian Highway Coalition coordinator David Moe said in August.

“If you get your section done,” he told Maryland officials, “we think it will be more incentive for the state of Pennsylvania to get the last 5 miles (between Meyersdale and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border) done … and we can all live happily ever after.”

Tom Sheehan of Garrett County urged officials during his testimony to consider the project’s economic context.

“If I have a preference, it’s for Alternative 2, but I came tonight to talk about the big picture, which I think has been overlooked,” Sheehan said.

That big picture, he said, was the Continental 1 corridor – a proposed 1,500-mile international freeway route from Toronto to Miami that, according to plans presented on the Continental 1 website, would run for part of its length along Route 219 in western Pennsylvania.

Continental 1 is intended to improve international trade, according to the project’s website – meaning that, if the route is completed, a significant portion of its traffic would be trucks hauling heavy loads, Sheehan said. The roundabout included in Alternatives 3 and 4, he argued, would slow such traffic significantly.

“I think Alternatives 3 and 4 are awful, terrible, bad and every other synonym I can think of because of that traffic circle idea,” Sheehan said. “Coming down out of Pennsylvania, it’s a freeway-style system that suddenly terminates in a traffic circle. What a terrible idea!”

Sheehan said he supported Alternative 2 because “it can be constructed in a short, finite period of time,” leaving the possibility of future expansion of Continental 1 open for the future.

Bill Orner of Grantsville, meanwhile, said he supported Alternative 4 for more personal reasons.

“Alternative 2 is going to take my house and part of my business,” he said. Alternative 3, he added, would place a roundabout right next to his house, causing a nuisance.

Officials said they will take the testimony they heard Monday night into consideration as they refine their plans and choose which of the three alternatives will be built. Final location and design approval is expected to come sometime this summer, with construction beginning sometime in 2018.

Some, however, are already looking to the future, considering the next piece of the puzzle. Cook noted that Route 219 will remain a two-lane road in Maryland between Old Salisbury Road and the Pennsylvania border, even after the project discussed Monday is completed.

“Obviously, the critical piece now – the Pennsylvania line (extension), the Meyersdale bypass – we have to find funding vehicles,” Cook said. “Hopefully, with these promises of infrastructure funding coming out of Washington, these projects get some attention.”

 

for more information, click here.

 

 

Bill to ban fracking to be introduced in Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A measure to ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Maryland is being introduced.

Del. David Fraser-Hidalgo is expected to introduce the measure on Thursday with more than 50 co-sponsors.

Sen. Robert Zirkin also has introduced a measure to ban the drilling technique known as fracking in the state.

A moratorium is set to expire in October.

Proponents say fracking will create jobs, but opponents say the pollution risks are too great.

for more information, click here.

 

Property Owners’ Association: State Money For Garrett County

February 7, 2017

Folks,

The State (DNR) owns approximately 90,000 acres of land in Garrett County which is not subject to property taxes for the county due to state ownership.  The current means to recoup some of the lost property taxes is to provide the county with 25% of the revenue obtained from the sale of timber on this land.  For the last several years, however, very little timber has been harvested so the revenue coming to Garrett County has been very low.  This process currently exists throughout Maryland for all counties in which the state owns land that cannot be taxed.
To remedy this situation and insure a fair amount of revenue, consistent with the amount of acreage owned by the state, this bill will provide a more equitable reimbursement of funds to Garrett County for land owned by the State of Maryland. The proposed bill breaks down the acreage into “units” of 10,000 acres and would mandate $250,000 per unit income to the county annually.  SB273 will make the County’s reimbursement approximately $2 million annually. SB273 is being heard by the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee on Wednesday, February 15 at 1:00 p.m. Please send written testimony to George.edwards@senate.state.md.us by February 14, asking the Budget & Taxation Committee to give SB273 a FAVORABLE REPORT, and indicate if you plan to testify in person. Senate Bill 273 (SB 273) may be seen here. The existing system related to timber would no longer be used.
Your POA supports this bill because it is a fair way to reimburse the county for taxes that currently cannot be collected, and asks that you consider sending a written testimony  of endorsement.
Thanks very much in advance for your support on this bill which, if passed, will insure Garrett County is fairly reimbursed for uncollectable tax revenue.

  Cheers,

Bob Hoffmann

President

For more information, click here.

NEW LISTING: 440 Ben Dewitt Road

IMMACULATE 4BR home in a country setting! Built for entertaining, the massive rec room & custom bar lead out to a loaded backyard with swimming pool, outdoor lounge & fireplace.

Virtually every square foot of this custom home is tastefully improved. Custom everything – gourmet kitchen, tiled baths, multiple master suites, sun room, 2 car garage. Contact for even more pics. $500k+ invested in home.

for more information, click here.

 

NEW LISTING- 1305 Deep Creek Drive

Check out my new listing in the heart of McHenry!

WOW! Impressive lakefront chalet with western exposure and an iconic, ‘postcard’ view of Deep Creek Lake & Wisp Ski Resort. Unbelievable level, grassy, lakefront lot.

Ultra rare 3 slip private dock.

Recently established vacation rental home with annual projections nearing $100k. 5 spacious BR’s, 2 car garage, screened porch, upper and lower mud room.

Views from virtually every room in the house.

for more information, click here.
For a 3-d tour, click here.