You should support the annexation of Adventure Park

Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006

Winslow Burhans, New Market

The writer is the mayor of the Town of New Market.

Many of you may have read about the Town of New Market’s proposed annexation of Adventure Park, USA.

I want you, the people of the New Market region, to know why this is so important to the town. New Market operates on $7,850 reserve. This does not include amortization cost of roads and other infrastructure. The quaintness and charm many of you want preserved and protected costs money as well as the time of our many volunteer board members.

In an August 2002 letter sent to the Frederick County Director of Planning, I identified both traffic and economic viability as threats to our survival as a town. Besides the bypass, I identified the need to expand and diversify our tax base instead of raising taxes significantly to meet its needs.

The town will continue to struggle to meet its needs on its current commercial base. Clearly, the potential $100,000 to $200,000 in amusement tax revenue would help cover the costs of roads and other infrastructure necessary for our town’s survival.

However, paying the bills is not the only reason this annexation makes sense.

We collect taxes to provide services including trash pick-up, green space⁄park maintenance, and snow removal. With increased tax base from annexation, we could feasibly look to our neighbors at Lake Linganore for shared resources to meet common needs (for example, a community deputy).

Furthermore, annexation provides an opportunity for a more coordinated effort with local and regional businesses with the town to promote New Market and Adventure Park as tourist destinations. As of now, all the economic benefit goes to Winchester Hall, not New Market’s Town Hall.

Interestingly enough, the owners of the Intercoastal Industrial Park placed a restrictive annexation covenant on Adventure Park, thereby restricting any benefit coming to the town. You can read the letter the Town received from Miles & Stockbridge (page 3, paragraph 2) for yourself on the town’s Web site, www.townofnewmarket.org .

The Adventure Park property has been in the New Market Region Plan as the town’s growth area for many planning cycles, not just the current one. As an already substantially developed property, Adventure Park’s annexation is in our town’s best interest and we have no intention of annexing the remaining portions of the site without consent from Intercoastal Industrial Park.

The residual owners of the industrial park had proposed that site for the solid waste transfer station. Since it is doubtful the town would ever support this use, one may wish to note that the Miles & Stockbridge letter asserts uniformity of design as another reason to oppose this annexation.

New Market has steadily improved over the years as a stable progressive government as evidenced by our seven new shops and building improvements along Main Street.

We are trying mightily to preserve our heritage and create balance in a complicated region. Agree or disagree, I hope you will take the time to consider the town’s point of view as annexation becomes of paramount importance in our growing region and New Market itself.