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(10/5) If the commissioners vote this month to annex 210 acres of farmland, town residents likely will get a community pool, courtesy of the land's developer.
Commissioners said they want developer Tom Hudson to provide an Olympic-size community pool on top of the $4.5 million he's already offered.
Hudson plans to build 350 homes, as well as retail stores and an emergency medical center on the property north of Franklinville Road along U.S. 15. If the land is annexed, construction would
likely begin in 2013, he said.
Commissioners will vote on the proposal Oct. 16, but Mayor Martin Burns said the town's lawyer advised the board to finalize an annexation agreement before voting. The agreement outlines what
Hudson's HKB Myers Land LLC would provide if the annexation is approved.
The pool would cost $1 million to $2 million. The board did not specify where the pool would be built or who would manage it.
In addition, commissioners said they want Hudson to limit construction to 35 homes per year and to remove earmarks on nearly $100,000 of the $4.5 million offer.
Hudson has offered $45,000 for rehabilitation to the Lions Club Trolley Line and $50,000 for design of an industrial parkway from U.S. 15 to the east side of town. Commissioners said they'd like
to have control over what that money is used for.
Hudson's original offer to the town includes $5,000 per unit for the first 150 houses built, $6,000 each for the next 150, and $7,000 each for the rest. He's also offered $2 million to built a new
wastewater treatment plant for the site, $500,000 for the purchase and development of well water capacity and $50,000 for the costs of reviewing the proposal.
Hudson said his attorney will work with the town's attorney to draft the final document.
The town's planning commission recommended in July that commissioners deny the plan, stating the land lies outside the town's present growth boundary and the area is designated for light
industrial development in the Frederick County's Thurmont Region Plan.
