(2/2017) So many things have happened since last month’s edition of the paper, that I wasn’t quite sure what to write about in the February issue. We have a new president, the Maryland General Assembly has begun their 2017 session, and closer to home, a funny Tweet cost a Frederick County Public School employee her job. There are national issues to talk about
and there are local issues to address. But one thing, for whatever reason, has been nagging at me.
When I was President of The Golden Mile Alliance, I used to say on a regular basis, "The City of Frederick is more than just downtown." Let me change that a bit and say, "Frederick County is more than just Frederick City."
Naturally, the City, being the second largest in the state and the seat of our county government, and the most populated municipality in said county, is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. But they don’t always have to be. The City of Frederick has about 67,000 residents, give or take. The county, on the other hand, has a little more than 240,000. The City only
makes up a fraction of our county, yet there is always the focus of so much attention.
What am I getting at?
Not too long ago, it was announced that the Department of Social Services was moving from its location in downtown Frederick to North Market Street. As soon word began to circulate that the department was looking to move further north, not even out of the City for that matter, just out of downtown, it sparked a flurry of activity from local officials to keep
the agency, if not where it was, somewhere downtown.
Why?
Would it have been so bad for the Department of Social Services to be located in Walkersville? Why not Middletown? OK, I understand that those examples wouldn’t work because neither of those towns had the type of building the agency would need but this isn’t the first time something like this has come up.
Years ago, when the Board of Education was getting ready to relocate from its Church Street headquarters, the thought of it moving out of the City, let alone downtown, horrified people. The school system had a perfectly suitable property on Hayward Road which could have become the new seat of the county’s education system, but it wasn’t downtown any longer.
Instead, prime real estate was used and a brand new building rose . . . downtown.
If constructing a new building wasn’t an issue, why couldn’t the Board of Education look to move to Thurmont or Mount Airy? It would certainly have cost less. But no, they needed to stay in the City of Frederick.
Why?
Even the Frederick county Chamber of Commerce has decided to move back into the city. The current office, just off Monocacy Boulevard on Gas House Pike, apparently wasn’t close enough. Why does the county’s Chamber of Commerce have to be located within the City limits?
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with the City of Frederick. My business has been located there, albeit on the Golden Mile, since it first opened. And yes, many things gravitate to the bigger population centers. But why can’t government agencies and organizations along those line spread out across the county? "Spread the wealth," so-to-speak. Who knows?
Had the Board of Ed built a new headquarters in Walkersville, it could have spurred a mini economic boom and some new development.
It’s not even the economics of it that bothers me the most. It’s the symbolism. Frederick County is more than just the City of Frederick.
