Jeremy Hauck
(1/11) The board sided
with the local AMVETS branch, and turned down
Kirby Delauter’s request for the parcel of the
park that abuts his house on Park Lane.
‘‘I personally don’t think we should sell it," said Commissioner Wayne
Hooper, who also serves on the Parks and Recreation Commission.
AMVETS, in a reply to a letter from Mayor Martin Burns, argued strongly for
the park to remain intact, Burns said. Burns read the letter at the meeting
before the vote.
‘‘I think we should go by their wishes," Commissioner Bill Blakeslee said.
Burns said he also sent a letter about the request to the local American
Legion branch, but the letter went unanswered.
‘‘There’s a process to be followed," Burns said after the vote.
Delauter lives next to a .25-acre section of the park, and asked to buy the
land so he could add on to his house, according to Hooper. ‘‘[The land is] not
being used for anything," Hooper said Wednesday.
But AMVETS rejected the sale because it would preclude expansion or use of
the section in the future.
Hooper opposed the sale because the park was established in honor of fallen
soldiers. ‘‘That land was donated for that use," he said.
The 1.5-acre park was established in 1938, according to Thurmont clerk Rick
May.
