Ingrid Mezo

Unpaid Meter Fines To Rise

During a February 6 Thurmont town meeting, Mayor Martin Burns signed several ordinances into law amending the vehicles and traffic chapter of the town code. Penalties for violations of the town’s traffic laws will now cost $20 instead of $10, with fines not to excess $50.

Meter fees have also changed. It will now cost five cents to park for thirty minutes, ten cents to park for one hour, and twenty cents to park for two hours.

For specially painted white meters, it will cost thirty five cents to park for 30 minutes, 10 cents for 15 minutes, and 25 cents for each hour. And the maximum parking time limit at meters is two hours.

Now people who receive parking tickets will have 48 instead of 24 hours to pay the Town Clerk, at the town office a $10 fine, up from $2 to satisfy the ticket.

Vehicles parked at the same meter after receiving the initial parking citation and exceeding the two-hour maximum limit, may be issued an additional $30 citation.

The amount of time continuous parking on public streets is considered unlawful has been extended from 24 hours to 48 hours.

Bulk Trash To Go Quarterly

Thurmont town board members voted 3 to 2 during a February 6 town meeting to change the bulk pickup service the town provides from every month to a quarterly service. Residents will be allowed to place out two bulk items once the quarterly bulk trash pickup service starts in April. The town will next pick up bulk items in July, then November, then October.

Commissioners Bill Blakeslee and Wayne Hooper voted against the change, citing concerns over having to pay extra by separating bulk trash.

But, liaison to the town’s recycling and trash committee Commissioner Ron Terpko said prior to the vote that figures for tonnage amounts at the land fill indicated that separating out bulk trash from regular trash had saved the town lots of money.

"Once you separate bulk trash, the numbers drop drastically, which leads me to believe most of our bulk trash was coming from out of town…" Terpko said.

"I truly believe if you go back to the way it was, you’re going to see the numbers skyrocket."

Terpko said he thought that since bulk trash items were being picked up separately, and an item limit was placed on the pickups, out-of-town residents could no longer unload their bulk items at homes in town of friends or family at the town’s expense.

Mayor Martin Burns said prior to the separation of bulk from regular trash, one young man had dropped off reams of carpet every week at the home of his girlfriend’s mother’s house. The town incurred the cost for disposing of the carpet at the landfill.

Colorfest Rates Increase

Thurmont town board members during a January 30 town meeting voted unanimously to increase permit fees during Colorfest from $27 to $30, parking at the schools from $5 to $8 and double the charge for buses from $25 to $50.

This year Thurmont Middle School will also allow parking during Colorfest. The schools will still be able to keep $5 of the $8, but the town needs to boost income from the annual crafts show in town to break even with the cost it incurs providing safety services at the event, portipots, etc. "We can’t keep hitting the commercial food vendors," Burns said. "We lost four last year due to the increase and lost $2,000."