Thurmont mayor decides against mailing controversial fact sheet about upcoming vote

Jan. 5—The town of Thurmont no longer plans to send out a controversial fact sheet about an upcoming referendum that will decide whether the town should annex 16.7 acres of farmland and zone it for high-density development.

The document, which the town had initially planned to mail to registered voters before the Jan. 17 special election, has been criticized by some residents for being biased in favor of the developer who wants to build on the property in question.

"I just decided that [the fact sheet] wasn't worth the aggravation that was being caused by it," Mayor John Kinnaird told The Frederick News-Post on Wednesday.

Kinnaird, who voted in favor of the annexation with Commissioners Bill Buehrer and Wayne Hooper, said during Tuesday's town meeting that the fact sheet only outlines facts about the proposal and points discussed during town meetings.

But during the public comment section of the meeting, seven residents who live in and around Thurmont — including former town mayor Marty Burns and former commissioner Bob Lookingbill — disagreed.

"The town government had their say. They made a decision," Lookingbill said, referring to the Board of Commissioners' vote in favor of the annexation agreement in September.

"That's where you should stop. From there out, you're neutral," he said.

Lookingbill is a member of Envision Thurmont, a group of residents who oppose the annexation and successfully petitioned the town in November for a referendum on the issue.

The property that is the subject of the referendum is part of a 24.5-acre parcel owned by longtime Thurmont resident Patricia Simmers. About 8 acres of the plot is already in town limits and zoned for high-density development, while the rest is zoned by the county for agricultural use.

Simmers and Frederick-based developer Daniel Cross have worked with the town for about four years to develop an annexation proposal for the 16.7 acres outside of town limits. Cross, who runs Cross & Co., wants to build a residential community on the property.

Though he has discussed many designs with town officials over the years, the one his company is planning to move forward with features 172 housing units, a child day care center and an assisted living facility, Cross said in an interview with The Frederick News-Post last week.

Thurmont Chief Administrative Officer Jim Humerick shared a copy of the fact sheet with the News-Post over email last week.

The two-page document includes more than a dozen bullet points, many of which address basic facts about the development that is proposed for the property and the project's approval process.

Others, however, touch upon potential consequences of the town rejecting the proposed annexation.

Many residents — including Commissioner Bill Blakeslee, who voted against the annexation with Commissioner Wes Hamrick — objected to the second-to-last bullet point.

Rejection of the annexation would send "the message to prospective businesses not to open locations in Town because the residents do not support economic development and growth," the bullet reads.

Residents also objected to a part of the document that said approval of the annexation would help with the problem of diminishing school classroom sizes in Thurmont.

Without local population growth, the bullet reads, schools will eventually lose teachers and programs, leading to larger class sizes and fewer opportunities for students.

No growth could also mean that either the town's primary or elementary school may have to close, and they would have to be combined into one building, another bullet read.

"That's a scare tactic," Burns said.

He and Blakeslee both pointed to the five additional developments planned to be built in town as an example of continued growth in Thurmont. They also objected to the fact the document was typed on letterhead from the Commissioners of Thurmont, rather than simply signed by Kinnaird.

On Tuesday, Kinnaird and Lookingbill also argued about whether petitioners were spreading misinformation while seeking signatures from registered voters.

Kinnaird said he was told by two residents that they heard Section 8 housing — which is government subsidized and meant for low-income people — is coming to the Simmers property.

Lookingbill told him volunteers with Envision Thurmont never said that.

Leading up to the referendum in two weeks, Kinnaird said the town has no plans other than to get the poll site ready for voting. The town government listens to Thurmont residents and has given them ample time to comment on town decisions, Kinnaird said.

"We always have and we always will," he said.

Voting for the referendum is scheduled to take place between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Jan. 17 at the Guardian Hose Activities Building. Only registered voters in Thurmont will be allowed to participate in the special election.

The ballots will be counted that night in a process that will be observed by Blakeslee and Hooper, Kinnaird said on Tuesday.