Jay Fergusonjay@deepcreekvacations.com301-501-0420
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Public Hearing for Deep Creek Lake Watershed

Pivotal moment for county planning!

We can prohibit drilling in the DCL watershed.

 

A group of 11 individuals and prominent business owners recognize the importance of protecting Deep Creek Lake from natural gas development, including hydraulic fracturing.  They submitted a petition to change the Deep Creek Lake zoning ordinance to bring it into compliance with the Deep Creek Lake Watershed Management Plan recently adopted by the County Commissioners.

 

The County Commissioners have scheduled a public hearing to solicit public input regarding the petition.
 
The Garrett County Commissioners were waiting for the proposed fracking regulations from the Maryland Department of the Environment, MDE, before making a decision on the petition requesting a zoning text amendment to prohibit vertical well drilling in the Deep Creek Lake Watershed. Now that the proposed regulations are in and no mention of protecting the lake watershed is mentioned. If any protection is enacted, it will have to be decided locally. The County Commissioners have the authority to make the needed changes in the zoning ordinance.
 
Updating the county zoning to exclude drilling around our most valued asset is common sense. Deep Creek Lake generates roughly 60% of the county tax base that could be radically harmed by allowing industrial development and associated traffic. This threat was addressed in the Deep Creek Watershed Management Plan that the Commissioners already approved. The petitioners would simply like the watershed plan and county zoning to be congruent. The petition was approved by the county Planning Commission by a vote of 5 to 1.

To see the petition, click here.

Attend the public hearing to support the petition.

 

Attend this important meeting to show your support of good county planning. Adopting zoning to protect the Deep Creek Lake Watershed is our only chance to forbid fracking from entering the landscape around our greatest asset. Our tourism market is our biggest employer and revenue stream.  

 

Tuesday, July 12 at 6:00PM

Garrett College

Room 205, Continuing Education Building

687 Mosser Road

McHenry, MD

 

Send in written support for the zoning text amendment to your county commissioners. You can copy Kevin Null, County Administrator, on your correspondence.

 

Regular Mail

Garrett County Courthouse

South Fourth Street, Room 207

Oakland, Maryland  21550

 

 

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Jay Ferguson

Who I Am My name is Jay Ferguson, and I am a lifelong resident of the Deep Creek Lake area. I am also co-owner of the real estate side of Taylor Made. I have been in the real estate business for 21+ years now and I LOVE what I do! I have to say, my career really took off when I co-founded the real estate side of Taylor Made in 2014. Its been an amazing experience, building a real estate company from the ground up and achieving so much so quickly! In August 2016, we purchased Long & Foster Real Estate Deep Creek, where I had started my career in 2000. In 2018, we on-boarded virtually every agent from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty as they closed up shop and the real estate family grew even more! We now have over 40 sales agents and have expanded to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well. Taylor Made is the #1 vacation rental company at Deep Creek with over 475 vacation rental homes, and over one hundred thousand yearly visitors. Its amazing what we have accomplished using the principles of honesty, teamwork and customer service! Personally, my wife Jessica and I enjoy traveling and especially spending time in the outdoors, hiking and exploring the many diverse areas that Garrett County is naturally blessed with. We have raised two wonderful children here, Kayleah (22) and Noah (13). In the summer, we love spending time on the water with friends & family and enjoying the lake life! We are both active in our church, our community & local school activities, and we fill our schedule with plenty of volunteer efforts. I currently serve on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity. I am proud to say that I was named Deep Creek Time’s Favorite ‘Community Champion’ in 2019. I was also named Garrett County Realtor of the Year in 2018-19, as well. I really enjoy promoting my hometown. I am very proud of the resort area that has developed over my lifetime and look forward to growing the area even more! Deep Creek Lake has been described as ‘The Lake Tahoe of the east', and I think that speaks volumes about the potential to own property here! Deep Creek Lake isn't really a town or city by itself; it's comprised of three towns: Oakland, Swanton & McHenry, Maryland. I am very passionate about my hometown and am impressed with how many people know about it as we travel around the country. Deep Creek Lake is an amazing place to visit and even better place to live! During the pandemic in 2020, our market exploded and more and more people left their primary residence in the city to live here permanently. With distance learning in schools and tele-commuting becoming the ‘norm’, many more people were drawn to the area to ‘live where they love to play’. Why You Want Me Working for You: In addition to being an owner, I am consistently one of the top-producing agents in the entire area and the Associate Broker of record for Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I have 21+ years of experience and I am a problem solver. There aren’t many situations that I have not encountered and I have a strategy for almost every scenario that you may encounter. I have extensively trained in all areas of real estate & emerging technologies, and also have trained as an appraiser, as well as served as a full-time Broker. I have a strong knowledge of the industry, as well as many trusted local contacts & affiliations that allow me to perform at a very high level and deliver results. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this industry and have strong working relationships that I would love to put to work for you. Call me to discuss your situation - I know I can be of great service to you & others you care about! Honesty. Integrity. Results.