(5/15) Catoctin Mountain Park and
Cunningham Falls State Park are facing a
possible 695 percent increase in the sewer
rates they pay to the Town of Thurmont. That
is the percentage increase town residents have
experienced since 1983 when the parks saw
their last rate increase.
“At first glance, it looks like we really
ought to put it to them (the parks),”
Commissioner Robert Lookingbill said during
the May 12 town meeting. However, he cautioned
that the state had “stepped up some” by giving
the town $1.4 million toward sewer repairs.
The commissioners have been considering
raising the sewer rates for the state and
federal parks to help pay for the
multi-million-dollar sewer repairs needed to
the town sewer system. The commissioners
already raised the rates dramatically this
year for in-town and out-of-town customers,
but the parks haven’t seen their rates
increase because their contract has a minimum
usage cost, which is generally what they pay.
According to Thurmont Chief Administrative
Officer Bill Blakeslee, Cunningham Falls State
Park usually pays $1,420 a month and Catoctin
Mountain Park pays $710 a month for Thurmont
sewer service.
Sarah Trescott presented figures to the
commissioners that showed that the parks have
seen a rate increase since 1983, but her
figures also showed that the gap between what
residents pay and what the park pays is
shrinking.
While she did not feel a 695-percent
increase would be warranted, she said, “We
have a duty and obligation to the citizens of
Maryland to pay rates that are fair and
equitable.”
Some of the commissioners feel that a
matching increase would be fair and equitable.
Commissioner Ron Terpko said that the town had
tried to work with the state and federal
government, but “We have to take care of our
town. We have to take care of our people and
if you only have one option left to go with,
so be it.”
Though the commissioners seemed agreeable
to increasing the park sewer rate, the
question is how much. Commissioner Wayne
Hooper said that since the residents didn’t
have to pay the entire 695-percent increase at
once, perhaps the town increase should be
phased in with a 300-percent increase the
first year and a 100-percent increase each
year thereafter.
Any increase the town passes for the parks
won’t go into effect for a year. Burns also
pointed out that residents will also see a
sewer rate increase no matter what the
commissioners do.
