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Frederick County commissioners were not able to stall votes by Frederick city leaders last week to annex three farms, but one commissioner is hard at work doing the next best thing: overturning them.

Frederick County Commissioner Kai J. Hagen (D) was going door-to-door on Labor Day asking city residents to sign a petition that would force a referendum over the annexations of the Crumland, Thatcher and Summers farm properties.

The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Sept. 3 to annex the 151-acre Thatcher Farm, on the east side of Route 15 and Biggs Ford Road, and the 101-acre Summers Farm at the southwest corner of Mount Phillip Road and Alternate U.S. Route 40.

The board voted 4-1 to annex the 285-acre Crumland Farm, on the west side of U.S. Route 15 at Willow Road, with Alderman Donna Kuzemchak (D) opposing.

Hagen, a Thurmont resident, said in the weeks leading up to the Sept. 3 votes that he would help mobilize city residents to draft a petition for the referendum.

Opponents have 45 days from the Sept. 3 vote to collect at least 6,200 signatures, or 20 percent of registered city voters, to take the annexations to a referendum. If opponents gather enough signatures, election officials have determined that there is not enough time to make it on the Nov. 3 General Election and that the city would need to hold a special election.

Hagen said 20 of the 23 residents he contacted Monday signed the petition, and the first round of signature gathering was a "positive experience."

"There are people who don't think this can be done," Hagen said. "We know it's possible. We have everything we need."

One unknown, Hagen said, is whether there would be enough volunteers to gather as the 6,200 signatures needed. But he said he is staying committed to recruiting and training volunteers in everything from saturating neighborhoods to organized and effective solicitation.

He said that with this kind of organization, he has hope that Frederick city residents will follow in the footsteps of the residents of New Market, who successfully overturned an annexation decision in April 2007 with a referendum.

Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) said he only saw one problem with a referendum. "I hope that Commissioner Hagen has some idea of how we would fund a special election," Holtzinger said. "That would be hard for the city to cough up — $150 grand to fund his politicking."

A municipality's destiny

Hagen's drive to gather signatures came less than a week after people filled Frederick City Hall to tell the Board of Aldermen their stories for and against the annexations.

By the stroke of midnight, the owners of the farms destined to be annexed into the city shared emotional stories of how, due to the changing of times, their families' beloved farming history is ending.

City residents shared stories about how ambulance sirens scare away their children's friends, and how it would only worsen if more development takes place without proper planning.

County government officials told the story of how they, along with city officials, will have collectively failed if city leaders did not delay their decision to annex the properties without securing plans for development.

But city leaders had a story of their own, about how three properties were identified as far back as 2002 as priority annexations in the county's regional plan, and how those same three properties went on to be outlined in the city's 2004 comprehensive plan. Not to mention numerous infrastructure agreements that the city signed into over the years to support the growth.

"If we want to act on our hopes and our dreams, we have to get started," said Alderman Marcia Hall (D), with other aldermen nodding their heads in agreement Thursday night.

It was this story that prevailed, as the Board of Aldermen voted to approve the annexations, which will enlarge the city by 500 acres adding about 1,200 homes and millions of square feet of commercial and office space in the next 20 years.

The two northern properties, Thatcher and Crumland, have drawn the most opposition from the public and the Frederick County commissioners, mainly due to traffic concerns about an interchange at Route 15 and Biggs Ford Road.

The city mandated in its resolution that the interchange be built before buildings are occupied, however, it doesn't specify who is responsible for funding it. There were also numerous concerns that the aldermen had not properly vetted the need for services, such as sewer and fire and rescue, which the county will have to provide.

But aldermen were steadfast to the idea that the annexations are best for the city, and the city had negotiated all that it needed to for its future protection.

"Whether or not the county wants to accept growth in the area, the city needs to step up to the plate and make it a reality," Alderman Alan Imhoff (R) said.

E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.