OAKLAND — Exelon will begin moving dirt soon for the Fourmile Ridge project, Mike Koch, executive director of Garrett County’s Department of Community Planning and Development, told the county commissioners during their public meeting Tuesday.

Jim Torrington, assistant director of the Garrett County Permits and Inspection Services Office, met with Exelon and a meeting has occurred with constituents regarding erosion, sediment control and stormwater management.

The Garrett County Engineering Department has been looking at drainage, driveway impacts and a roadway use agreement with Exelon for restoring the road once the Fourmile Ridge project is complete, according to Dwight Emory, P.E., director of the engineering department.

The Fourmile Ridge project started out as a Synergics project with 24 wind turbines and was revised to an Exelon project with 16 wind turbines on Frostburg Road, according to Torrington.

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CUMBERLAND —  A conference committee has approved $464,103 in additional funding for the Garrett County Public School system for the coming year, said Sen. George Edwards on Wednesday morning.

Both the House and Senate committee members have agreed on the figure, so Edwards expects passage in the final budget. Edwards and Del. Wendell Beitzel are members of the committee. The cash-strapped school system has been forced to consider school closures in the past few years.

“This should be very helpful to the school system and we are still waiting for the legislation introduced by both Delegate Beitzel and I to pass that would help the county out financially until the wealth study is completed,” Edwards said.

A study of the wealth formula is planned to begin in the fall of 2014 and is slated to be complete in 2016. The existing state funding formula can hit school districts with declining student populations hard.

“At the rate we have been impacted by the wealth formula … any help we can get from the state is appreciated,” said Janet Wilson, Garrett County superintendent of schools. The money will help the system move forward and restore some services that have been lost. Wilson mentioned both intervention services and middle school art and music programs. The idea “we don’t have to look at cutting teaching staff or closing schools is a huge relief,” Wilson said. Plans to close additional schools recently were averted when Garrett County commissioners injected additional funding into the school system.

School funding is also an economic development matter, Wilson said, since companies are concerned about the stability of school systems in areas to which they might locate. The idea of schools being closed year after year makes an area a hard sell, Wilson said.

One cost item often overlooked is the sparse population and large land area of the county, which adds to costs for the school system, Wilson said.

Edwards and Beitzel have introduced bills that would help school districts facing a drop in state funding. Edwards’ bill passed the Senate, without a single vote against the bill, and is now in the House.

The school funding bill is designed to help school districts facing decreases in state aid because of declining student enrollment, such as Garrett County. Allegany County has faced a similar problem in the past.

The bill mandates the state to supplement shortfalls in the state aid formula. “For fiscal years 2015 through 2017, if a county board’s total direct education aid in the current fiscal year is less than the prior fiscal year, then the state shall provide a grant to the county board equal to 50 percent of the decrease in total direct education aid from the prior fiscal year to the current fiscal year,” according to the language of SB 534.

The state budget provides $1.7 million in aid for affected districts in fiscal 2015, according to a floor report on the bill by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

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OAKLAND — Garrett County commissioners recently met with the grand jury and indicated that they didn’t believe that it was in their best interest for Adventure Sports Center International in McHenry to remain a county operation in the long term. Commissioner Jim Raley indicated in an interview with the Times-News that he would like to see the manmade whitewater rafting complex run on a lease basis.

If an entity were to take ownership of ASCI it wouldn’t happen until sometime after Deep Creek 2014: International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships, which are scheduled for September, according to Raley.

Commissioner Gregan Crawford said that the county doesn’t own ASCI, but that they bought out the bank notes and is ASCI’s largest creditor.

“ASCI was a situation that was really more thrust on us. We didn’t go out and look for it,” said Crawford.

In 2012, the commissioners authorized the expenditure of $600,000 to secure the assignment of ASCI debts from Susquehanna Bank. The original debt for ASCI was $3 million, according to Chairman Robert Gatto.

“When you look at the capital investment that was made, by not only the county taxpayers but the state and some federal monies that went into the project, it had to be stabilized,” said Raley.

Crawford echoed Raley’s sentiments, noting that one of the reasons for keeping ASCI in the short term was the need to stabilize it.

“We hope to polish it up and have everything in place,” said Crawford.

ASCI is funded by multiple sources, such as federal, state and community development block grants. It is still operating in the black, has been for the past two years and sees 10,000 to 11,000 visitors per year, according to Raley. ASCI runs like an enterprise fund on revenues it brings in, similar to the county landfill, according to Crawford.

The county cut costs by looking into the number of personnel and making sure that the water was turned off when it wasn’t needed, said Raley. ASCI has 65 to 70 seasonal (May through September) employees at a cost of $267,000.

Crawford stressed the importance of Deep Creek 2014 and its future economic impact on the county.

Garrett County was awarded $1 million from the state’s capital budget for upgrades to ASCI in preparation for Deep Creek 2014. The state bond proceeds will partially fund the $2.3 million in improvements, which include design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction and capital equipping of ASCI. The project will also include upgrading telecommunications and building new and upgrading existing infrastructure and facilities. United States Department of Agriculture grants, Maryland Heritage Area grants and a local access grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission will be used toward improvements, Crawford said.

An earthen amphitheater with concrete masonry walls, an open pavilion and a viewing platform will be built for the event, according to the county’s website.

An access road bridge for Deep Creek 2014 might not be ready for the event, according to Dwight Emory, P.E., director of the Garett County engineering department. The rest of the improvements are expected to be completed on time.

The event is expected to draw 35 to 40 international teams; 1,200 coaches, athletes and support staff; 30,000 spectators and is estimated to have a more than $20 million economic impact on Garrett County.

“One of the goals of 2014 is to make it (ASCI) an epicenter for adventure sports, not only on the East Coast but throughout the United States as well,” said Crawford.

Gatto said that timing of Deep Creek 2014 will help bolster the economy at a time when there is a seasonal lull.

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OAKLAND — The Garrett County Ethics Commission recently met and decided that there was no cause to hold a public hearing in regards to an ethics complaint that Carol Jacobs, president of Aquatic Center Inc. in McHenry, filed against Garrett County Commission Chairman Robert Gatto.

The ethics commission reviewed the minutes from the Feb. 18 Garrett County Commission public meeting and the Garrett County Public Ethics Ordinance. Upon completion of the review it was determined that the issues were clearly presented and framed and there was no cause for a public hearing, states the ethics commission opinion.

During the Feb. 18 meeting, County Attorney Gorman Getty presented the commissioners with three recommendations from the Garrett County Planning Commission for text amendments to the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance. The commissioners were advised by professional staff that the text amendments were appropriate for consideration, according to the ethics commission opinion. The commissioners voted to approve the text amendments. Commissioner Gregan Crawford and Gatto voted in favor of the text amendments with Commissioner Jim Raley voting against.

Jacobs, along with five other marinas, filed for a judicial review of the commissioners’ decision to approve the adopted text amendments to the zoning ordinance, according to court documents.

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OAKLAND — A rookie team of Garrett County elementary and middle school students, iLEGO, took first place at the Maryland State Championship and has been invited to compete at the Northern American Open Championship in Carlsbad, Calif., May 16-18.

The team is part of the Garrett County For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology First LEGO League and members competed against 72 teams from across the state at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Campus.

Students attend Route 40, Broad Ford, Yough Glades elementary and Southern Middle schools. “Nature’s Fury” was this year’s theme, and the students designed and programmed a robot to complete missions on the playing field while focusing their research on preparing for and surviving a natural disaster.

The Champion’s Award measures how the children inspire and motivate others about the excitement and wonders of science and technology, while demonstrating gracious professionalism, according to Garrett County FIRST. It is determined by giving equal weight to all four arenas and competition — technical design and programming, robot performance, project presentation and teamwork — and additional consideration to the team demonstrating First LEGO League values.

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CUMBERLAND — Two bills that will impact education policy and finances in Western Maryland have won important votes, with time running out for passage of legislation in the General Assembly.

One bill would help school districts facing a drop in state funding and the other would remove an ex officio position from the Allegany and Garrett County boards of education.

The ex officio bill passed the House of Delegates 137-0 Friday. The Senate version of the bill, which passed 47-0, is already in the House.

On Thursday, the Ways and Means Committee gave the House version of the school funding bill a favorable recommendation. It’s not unusual to have bills filed in both houses of the legislature.

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OAKLAND — Maryland’s Enterprise Zone Program has helped fuel dramatic growth and private investment in Garrett County for more than a decade, according to the Garrett County Office of Economic Development. Contrary to conclusions released by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services deeming the program cost ineffective, the initiative has catapulted employment and capital expenditures throughout the county, according to county officials.

“We are extremely proud of our Enterprise Zone businesses. While the state may be of the opinion that the program is not cost effective, we have leveraged it to great results in Garrett County,” said Mike Koch, executive director of Garrett County’s Department of Community Planning and Development. “Maryland’s Enterprise Zone Program has increased employment opportunities for residents and assisted in the expansion of local businesses.”

Created in 1982 to combat national trends of overseas relocations and job loss, the program was designed to stimulate growth and improve employment within distressed areas of the state. Since its inception, Enterprise Zone businesses have qualified for specific tax credits in return for job creation and capital investments.

Within the county’s Enterprise Zones, the program has powered profitability, business growth and new industrial ventures. Between fiscal 2000 and 2012 in the Northern Garrett Enterprise Zone, employee numbers for the five businesses located there increased 26.5 percent. Capital expenditures totaled $39.4 million; real property assessments on physical improvements increased by 3,372.8 percent; and two of the businesses expanded multiple times.

“The Enterprise Zone program has expanded our economy in a powerful way,” said Koch. “Companies in the zone help us reinvent our rural economy, investing in capital expenditures and new employee hires. The Enterprise Zone program is the backbone of business growth in underserved areas across Maryland. It helps us stand tall and proud.”

The 12 businesses located in the Southern Garrett Enterprise Zone experienced similar growth. Between fiscal 2000 and 2012, employee numbers for these businesses increased 184.9 percent; business capital expenditures totaled $9.3 million; and real property assessments increased by 413 percent. Four businesses also expanded during this time span.

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GRANTSVILLE — A niece of Maj. Robert E. Townley, a radar navigator who died in the 1964 B-52 bomber crash in Garrett County, was the catalyst for the formation of a committee, according to member Bucky Schriver.

The committee came up with the idea of hosting a 50th anniversary memorial service and program. Thus far, 40 family members of the crew of Buzz One Four, the call sign of the plane, plan to attend the July 12 event at 11 a.m. at the Little Crossings memorial.

“If it wasn’t for Gina and the committee none of this would have happened,” said Schriver.

Schriver met Townley’s niece, Gina Townley Swinburn, of Vinton, La., through the Find a Grave website. Swinburn came to Grantsville to visit the museum and it was closed for the winter and her visit sparked the enthusiasm that led to the formation of the committee, said Schriver. Swinburn has been working to ensure that all the family members of the crew of Buzz One Four know about the July memorial service.

Schriver indicated that family members of Townley, TSgt. Melvin D. Wooten, gunner, and Maj. Robert L. Payne, navigator, plan on attending the memorial service. Schriver is working with local hotels to get a group rate for the family members so they can all stay in one place.

“Gina contacts the family members and tells them who she is and they feel comfortable speaking with her,” said Schriver.

The committee, which is comprised of about 15 members that include several who have done considerable research on the disaster, was formed in January. It working to make repairs to the Payne and Townley memorials, produce a map to the memorials and is having a sign manufactured at each site explaining exactly what happened at that location. The committee plans to have everything completed by the memorial service and will give the families tours of the memorial sites, according to Schriver.

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