Garrett commissioner requests $25,000 for concept drawings
Elaine Blaisdell
OAKLAND — Garrett County Commissioner Jim Raley asked for approximately $25,000 for concept drawings to revitalize the town of Friendsville during the commission meeting Tuesday.
Raley’s vision for Friendsville, which he shared in a document with the commissioners, includes an enhanced business district that boasts locally grown foods, an arts and entertainment district and an abundance of recreational activities.
“One of the things that I recognized after being elected was one of the things we need to do is, we need to grow our population,” said Raley. “Ultimately, growing the population should help to grow the economy. It comes down to how do we keep Garrett County relevant and how do we keep Garrett County viable.”
A lot of people are leaving the county — 130 school-age children left the county and 20 percent of the student population has declined in a decade, according to Raley.
“We have to do something; we can’t sit back and do nothing,” said Raley.
Raley cautioned that discussion of school closures has to be stopped in order to attract people to the area.
“I don’t know how to make that conversation stop other than we have got to do everything in our power to get the funding in place to make sure no more schools close. I can tell you right now when the media hits and we are talking about closing more schools that does not make us attractive. No one wants to come in and buy into that possibility.”
Raley has met with the town’s governing board, investors, developers, business owners, entrepreneurs, Habitat for Humanity, Community Action and other individuals who are interested in the project. The economic development office is working on a relocation kit that would attract people to stay in the area.
New jobs wouldn’t necessarily need to be developed in Friendsville because of its proximity to Hazelton or Morgantown, W.Va., for jobs, according to Raley.
“There is no doubt that we need to grow and we need to grow strategically,” said Raley. “One of the things that is attractive about Friendsville is that it’s a long standing community.”
Friendsville will celebrate its 250th birthday in 2015, according to Raley.
Commissioner Gregan Crawford asked for some time to review the document Raley provided before making a decision about the request for $25,000.
The revitalization of Friends-ville will also help to benefit the entire county, according to Raley.
“The weekend visits offer opportunities for visitors to view not only Friendsville but other areas of Garrett County,” writes Raley in the document.
Raley used Eagle, Colo., as an example of a revitalized downtown historic district.
“It is a great area that is much like Friendsville if you look at it,” said Raley.
Raley asked for everyone to embrace a strategic growth pattern and plan that will evolve and discussed setting up businesses like Strata Safety Products, LLC. Strata is the first business to move into Keysers Ridge Business Park.
During the meeting Tuesday, the commission approved the award of $1,024,000 to Beitzel Corp. of Grantsville for designand construction work on a Strata manufacturing facility. The county is working with Strata to construct a 12,000-square-foot, steel-framed building on a 5-acre parcel in the park.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.
