(8/27) Application Period For Rural Historic Preservation Grant Program To Open

Frederick County is seeking eligible owners of historic properties in unincorporated areas of the County to apply for the Rural Historic Preservation Grant Program beginning September 1. The grant application period is an earlier application window than previous years to allow more time for notification of approval and signing of the agreement to start projects.

"The December through February application window was resulting in applicants not being able to start their projects until late summer at the earliest once all approvals were received and the grant agreement had been signed," said Amanda Whitmore, Historic Preservation Planner. Grant applications will be accepted from September 1 through November 30 until 5 p.m. with notification of awards being made in early Spring.

Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. Applicants may request up to $50,000. To be eligible for funding, properties must be located in unincorporated areas of Frederick County; be either designated on the County Register of Historic Places, or a contributing resource in a County designated Historic District; and be in good standing with the County. If the property or district is not currently designated to the County Register of Historic Places, a determination of eligibility must be made by the Historic Preservation Commission prior to applying for a grant. This letter of determination must be included with the application.

Workshops will be held on the following dates to provide information about the program and how to apply. Those interested in attending will only need to participate in one workshop. Please register on the website below. Prior to the virtual workshops, registrants will receive an email including the virtual Microsoft Teams login information.

• September 14 at 5:30 pm, C. Burr Artz Programming Room
• October 9 at 6:30 pm, VIRTUAL
• October 24 at 2:00 pm, Location TBD

For additional information or to register for a workshop, visit FrederickCountyMD.gov/RuralHPGrant. Questions about the grant program can be emailed to Amanda Whitmore, Historic Preservation Planner at AWhitmore@FrederickCountyMD.gov.

9-1-1 Center, Emergency Management Improve Communications Capabilities

Frederick County will become the first county in Maryland to offer an enhanced 9-1-1 system. Starting Sept. 1, people who call or text Frederick County’s 9-1-1 center will find a range of improved capabilities, including language translation for over 170 languages and dialects, and precise location of mobile phone callers.

"Every person should be able to call 9-1-1 and know that help is on the way," Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater said. "Improving access for everyone is essential, and this enhanced service is just one of the many ways Frederick County is growing into a more vibrant and inclusive community."

The Frederick County Division of Emergency Management is partnering with Baltimore-based Convey911 to add a series of capabilities to support the division’s 9-1-1 specialists. With the new capabilities, staff will be able to deliver quicker, more accurate, more inclusive, and accessible 9-1-1 text and voice services to the residents of and visitors to Frederick County during emergency incidents. The improved capabilities include:

• Language interpretation for both parties in a 9-1-1 call or text conversation in over 170 languages and dialects, with automatic detection of the language. Census data show over 35,000 Frederick County residents speak a language other than English;
• Precise location of mobile devices contacting 9-1-1, in partnership with RapidSOS (latitude/longitude) and NextNav (vertical axis);
• Sending text messages requesting location tracking in an emergency to phones that did not directly dial 9-1-1. This can happen in cases of lost people, welfare checks, or when a call is transferred to 9-1-1 from 9-8-8 or a non-emergency line;
• Beginning Oct. 1, the County will activate ConveyConnect live interpretation service with over 22,000 public safety trained interpreters available to support over 350 languages and dialects, including sign language (ASL, SSL, SEE, PSE and Hungarian). After the initial roll-out to the 9-1-1 center, the County will make the critical capability available to public safety staff in the field, who need to directly communicate with residents and visitors they are serving.

Convey911’s patented process to securely and reliably remove language barriers to facilitate service delivery is initially being deployed to 9-1-1 services in Frederick County. Convey911 can also provide the same language translation services to other county agencies as needs are identified.

Affordable Housing Council Releases Policy Priorities

On August 11, Frederick County’s Affordable Housing Council released its 2023-2024 affordable housing policy priorities.

The Council advises Frederick City and County government officials on housing policy and advocates for safe, stable and affordable housing opportunities for all Frederick County citizens, but especially for those with low to moderate incomes.

According to Malcolm Furgol, vice-chair of the Council and policy committee chair, "These policy priorities build on past recommendations by the Affordable Housing Council and progress made by Frederick County and the City of Frederick towards realizing a positive environment for safe, stable and affordable housing for all residents."

The Council recommended the following policy priorities for 2023-2024:

• Update the 2016 Frederick County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment report to better reflect 2023 housing and economic realities and to develop a strategic plan to address the findings. Such an assessment and plan would guide county and city programs and resources to better serve residents in need of affordable housing.
• Develop a new moderately priced dwelling unit (MPDU) ordinance for Frederick County municipalities. The proposed ordinance would bring the city and county municipalities into alignment with Frederick County to maximize the development of affordable housing opportunities. The county’s MPDU ordinance requires developers to designate a certain percentage of dwelling units as affordable to residents with low to moderate incomes.
• Increase the portion of the county’s recordation tax revenue that is earmarked for the housing initiative fund (HIF) in one-time increments and consider permanent changes to the formula that funds the initiative. The HIF is used to provide resources that make home ownership accessible to county residents.
• Streamline Frederick County’s permitting processes to accelerate affordable housing projects. A particular need is to increase staff capacity and use a customer service-based approach to incentivize and encourage affordable housing projects.
• Encourage the implementation of area plans as part of the Livable Frederick Master Plan to include priorities such as implementing an affordable housing overlay, allowing more density in designated areas, aligning available public transportation with affordable housing developments and encouraging municipalities in the county to allow construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
• Waive or defer impact fees in Frederick County charged to buyers that meet income requirements for affordable housing purchases from a developer. Further, City of Frederick should formalize the waiving of property taxes and impact fees for developers while they are building or renovating homes for sale or rent to residents meeting income requirements for affordable housing.