The Board of Garrett County Commissioners met in an emergency administrative session on Monday to review additional funding for Phase II of the Deep Creek Lake Sediment Study. By a vote of two to one, the commissioners approved allocating another $40,000 toward the Maryland Department of Natural Resources project.
Last year, the commissioners committed $65,000 from the county budget rollover to help fund the study, which will be conducted by the DNR at a total cost of $180,000. The DNR and such private entities as the Deep Creek Lake Property Owners Association have pledged $75,000 toward the study.
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The DNR recently informed the county that there is a $40,000 deficit in the total funding required to complete all components of the study and that the commissioners needed to decided immediately if they wanted to contribute more.
After a long deliberation at Monday's emergency session, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners, on a motion by chairman Jim Raley which was seconded and carried by Commissioner Bob Gatto, approved the additional funding of $40,000. Commissioner Gregan Crawford voted against the motion.
Crawford issued a statement Tuesday morning, outlining his reasons for voting against the proposal. He noted that the commissioners unanimously committed the original $65,000 because of the economic value of Deep Creek Lake to Garrett County.
"This action was taken in order to partner with the state and private entities to cover the cost of $180,000, even though Deep Creek Lake is solely owned by the state of Maryland," Crawford said.
He noted that a total allocation of $105,000 from Garrett County would make it, not the state, the majority funder of the study.
"Before raising our commitment to become the majority funder of the study, I believe that more time is needed in order to address concerns that have been raised about the objectives, the goals, and the scope of the study, as well to consider what lasting expectations and implications may be created by the study," Crawford said. "We need to be sure that the study adequately addresses our concerns and the concerns of the stakeholders of Deep Creek Lake. As a board member, I believe that we should not be committing ourselves, at this point, to pay the majority share when there are still some vagaries that exist in the proposal presented by the DNR. With some additional time and consultations, these details can be flushed out. It is imprudent for the board of commissioners to sign off on the Phase II Sediment Study and then attempt to fill in the details."
Raley said he would hold a follow-up meeting on the issue with Bruce Michael, DNR's Resource Assessment Service director, in Annapolis on Thursday to discuss concerns that constituents have about the study.
More here.
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