(9/2024) I recently attended the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) conference from August 14 to 17. MACo is a non-profit, non-partisan association of all Maryland counties. The Association’s membership consists of county elected officials and representatives from Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City. Through MACo’s advocacy, training, education programs, and annual conferences, members are provided with endless opportunities to improve their capacity to serve their residents. Conferences bring the counties together with the shared goal of improving the lives of all Maryland residents and visitors.
The Council returned from their summer recess on August 20 and has resumed regular Tuesday meetings. We have several pieces of legislation that will advance through our legislative process in the coming weeks. Bill 24-11, sponsored by Renee Knapp on behalf of the County Executive, Establishes a Historic Preservation Tax Credit. Bill 24-12, sponsored by Council Member Steve McKay, creates a new section in Frederick County Code that defines the conditions upon which a temporary residential growth moratorium may be declared, as well as the conditions upon which such moratorium would end. Both of these Bills are scheduled for a public hearing on August 27, 2024 at 7pm. We welcome public participation at all public hearings.
Bill 24-13, sponsored by Council Member Jerry Donald, Amends the Frederick County Building Code to clarify usage of agricultural buildings for agritourism. Bill 24-14, sponsored by Council Member Jerry Donald on behalf of County Executive Fitzwater, amends Chapter 1-19 of the County Code related to Agritourism Enterprise Zoning. The public hearing for Bills 24-13 and 24-14 will be held on September 24, 2024 at 7pm. For the most up to date agendas, full text of Bills, and Bill schedules, please visit our website.
The County Council will be discussing the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project on August 27. I had signed on to a statement in opposition to this project with Council Members Steve McKay and Mason Carter on August 8.
Several weeks ago, members of the Frederick County Council learned about the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP). This project came as a surprise to us, just like it did for many of our residents, and just like it did for residents in Carroll County and Baltimore County. The MPRP would be constructed by the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) as part of a large regional utility system upgrade managed by Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection, or PJM. PSEG seeks approval for a new 70-mile 500kV transmission line between southern Pennsylvania and the Doubs substation near Adamstown. PSEG has proposed several alternative alignments for this transmission line but there is one inescapable conclusion – regardless of which alignment may be selected the MPRP project will severely impact Frederick County, our residents, their properties, and for many, their livelihoods.
We three council members opposed the MPRP as proposed and stipulated the following:
We call upon PJM to revisit its proposal award to PSEG, and to prioritize solutions that maximize the use of the existing BGE right-of-way.
We call upon the FERC to critically examine PJM’s proposal award to PSEG and determine if it was done properly and in the public interest.
We further call upon the FERC to require PJM to comply with the requirements of FERC Order 1920 and to place the MPRP project on hold until Order 1920 requirements have been satisfied.
We also requested the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to accept this letter into its public record as a statement of opposition by the named Frederick County Council Members to the MPRP project and urge the PSC to reject PSEG’s proposed alignments for failing to meet the procedural and substantive standards required for a certificate of public convenience and necessity.
The Frederick County Council encourages public involvement at every stage of the legislative process. We welcome public comment at every Council meeting on Tuesday evenings. Members of the public are welcome to attend and give comment in person, leave a voicemail to be forwarded to each Council Member, or email us any time at councilmembers@frederickcountymd.gov. Please visit our website at www.frederickcountymd.gov/countycouncil to view our latest agendas, legislation, and upcoming calendar of events.
And as always, if there is ever anything I can do for you, please feel free to reach out to me and my office. You can contact me via email at: BYoung@FrederickCountyMD.gov, or you can call my office at 301-600-1108.
