(10/2020) Hunting Creek bridge to be repaired

The Town Council directed town staff at their September 1 meeting to seek bids for the much-needed repairs to the Frederick Road Bridge, a two-span, 64-foot, reinforced concrete bridge which spans Hunting Creek, just east of the Community Park.

The bridge was built in 1928 and was reconstructed in 1984, according to Superintendent of Public Works Harold Lawson. The superintendent noted that, as the result of an inspection of the bridge conducted last year, the bridge was determined as being in "poor condition."

Lawson said the repairs proposed were estimated to cost around $103,000. Among a list of issues to be addressed, high on the list was addressing spalling, a form of structural deterioration which is typical of aging reinforced concrete, wherein the metal-reinforced rods within the concrete begin to rust, causing the concrete to crack and break-off into chunks or flakes (otherwise known as spalls).

Chief Administrative Officer Jim Humerick told the board that the issues with the bridge have been gradually worsening over the last few years, and that the town "should start addressing things sooner, rather than later ..."

Lawson said the recommended repairs should add 10 to 20 years to the life span of the bridge, according to Concrete General, Gaithersburg, the firm that was consulted to help estimate repair costs for the bridge.

Streets & Parks gets new equipment

Also at their September 1 meeting, the council voted to purchase a truck and a roadway roller for Streets & Parks Department. Lawson said the new truck is intended to replace the 14-year old, 2006 three-quarter ton pickup truck used for plowing. He said the department wants to replace it with a pickup truck with a utility-bed on the back to serve the same purpose(s).

The lowest and winning bid received was placed by Crouse Ford, Taneytown, in the amount of $50,408.

The purchase of a Ford pickup truck breaks a previous pattern of the town having only smaller trucks made by Chevrolet in the fleet, while the largest township trucks had been Fords.

The commissioners also approved a bid for a Case-model roller in the amount of $28,200, also for the Streets & Parks Department. The new roller will replace one presently owned by the department.

The roller is not only used in conjunction with road repairs but is also used on leveling athletic fields and on other sites where digging and filling had to take place. Humerick said the town's present roller was quite old when it was purchased years ago from Frederick County Rentals and is presently "on its last legs."

Children's mental health support coming

Key Therapeutic Solutions Mental Health Group will be relocating to Thurmont to provide a number of mental health-related services to the communities they serve. Humerick noted that the juvenile mental health support organization presently works out of two … one in Baltimore and another in Hagerstown. They will now be establishing a center in Thurmont.

Humerick said Economic Development Manager Vickie Grinder has been working with the organization, and as a result, he said, "We’ll be setting up a space for them in the downtown area in the next few months," adding, "Vickie really got started on trying to recruit a service like this to come to Thurmont." He said they will be working with the area schools in providing mental health services.

Business network meetings go virtual

Thurmont Business Network meetings will be held virtually as the result of a service platform having been purchased through the efforts of Economic Development Manager Vickie Grinder. Grinder said that the platform the business network will be using is Cisco Webex, the service of which was purchased because "this seemed to be the best choice for our needs along the highest rating for security."

The program manager stated that TBN meetings will be held on the third Thursday of each month ... virtually, until the organization can meet in person, "hopefully by spring." In the meantime, she said, "We will have speakers at some of our meetings while we are virtual ... just like the in-person meetings."

Grinder noted that, while she has participated in some 100 on-line (aka virtual) meetings, she has not actually had to set one up. "Please bear with me for the first meeting because there could be some humor with me trying to facilitate the meeting … should be entertaining to say the least, but we will get it done."

Grinder also noted that she now has a new economic development assistant, whom she identified as Karen Schildt.