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Oct. 28, 2010
The Garrett County commissioners held a public hearing on Tuesday for the 2010 Garrett County Heritage Area Management Plan draft. About 15 people attended the event.
According to county administrator Monty Pagenhardt, the total cost of the project is $197,850. Funding came from a Maryland Heritage grant, $98,485; Garrett County, $96,065; and the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, $3,300.
Grant resource writer Peggy Jamison explained that the hearing was primarily an informational one and did not require the commissioners to make any motions at that time. The commissioners, therefore, left the record open for further public comment.
Project consultant Peter Johnston of Peter Johnston & Associates, Easton, gave an overview of the plan and Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA). The program was initiated by the General Assembly 10 years ago on the premise that cultural and heritage resources could be the basis for revitalization and economic development in communities.
Garrett County went through the first phase of the Heritage Area certification process a couple of years ago. Currently there are 10 certified areas in the state. The local area will probably be the last one certified by the MHAA, Johnston noted.
In the first phase, communities are recognized as Heritage Areas by demonstrating they have the ability and organizations in place to manage, promote, and preserve their cultural, natural, and historic resources.
Because of state guidelines, all of Garrett County could not be considered as a Heritage Area. Only certain local communities have been recognized as being part of the local Heritage Area, Jamison noted.
In the second phase, a management plan is developed and an area becomes certified. With certification, the area organizations and agencies become eligible for certain grants and loans to help their programs and projects. Ideally, these programs and projects then lead to increased tourism, revitalization of communities, and economic development.
The commissioners recently appointed the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce as the entity to oversee the plan. Johnston’s firm suggested the chamber for that role, in part, because it is the county’s marketing organization for tourism.
Johnston noted Tuesday, however, that another organization could be appointed in the future if needed.
He described the plan as a “strategic blueprint” to build consensus among partners to enable plan implementation, prioritize public resources to generate significant private investment in the Heritage Area, and build a sustainable Heritage Area program through public and private partnerships.
The goals are to establish a management structure for the Garrett County Heritage Area; preserve, protect, and promote the county’s heritage resources; raise public awareness regarding the county’s history, culture, and resources; and increase economic development related to heritage tourism in Garrett County for the benefit of Heritage Area stakeholders, partners, and friends.
Johnston also noted that the plan includes “action strategies” for marketing and outreach. Those strategies include creating a “Friends of the Heritage Area” group in which the public will have input in preserving and promoting the county’s heritage.
