Among the priorities is getting funding restored to continue with design and construction for widening Interstate 81; how to address the future of the aging U.S. 11 bridge over the Potomac River; a study for a proposed public safety center to house Hagerstown's fire and police departments; and simplifying the liquor license in a way that provides for broader hours on Sundays.

Various groups, organizations and individuals had an opportunity to present legislative initiatives to the county's delegation of state lawmakers in late November.

Among those keeping an eye on legislative issues is the Washington County Community Coalition and its lobbyists with Manis Canning & Associates, including the coalition's long-time lobbyist John Favazza.

The coalition's partners include Washington County, Hagerstown, Williamsport and Smithsburg governments, the Greater Hagerstown Committee, Hagerstown Community College, the Washington County Library System, the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, the Hagerstown-Washington County Industrial Foundation (CHIEF), and the local tourism bureau, Visit Hagerstown.

"We understand it's going to be a tough year with limited capital funding and the challenge with the state budget," Greater Hagerstown Committee Executive Director Jim Kercheval said Wednesday.

"But these are the priorities for our community and it's important to convey those with state leadership and see if we can get any support that is available," he said.

Kercheval said there are two components to the efforts of the coalition, which was founded in 2005.

First is having the group's partners choose top priorities for which they and their lobbyists will advocate for funding and support to get projects and initiatives accomplished.

The second role is building Washington County's "brand" so people throughout the state understand what the county is and "all the great things going on here," Kercheval said.

To those ends, the coalition — along with Leadership Washington County — will host state lawmakers at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis on Jan. 22.

That reception allows businesses and organizations from the county to share information about their work here, and to talk about projects on the coalition's agenda, Kercheval said.

It's a good way to network and connect face-to-face with leadership in Annapolis, he said.

The Washington County Community Coalition's legislative priorities

The Washington County Community Coalition has several high-profile project priorities. They include:

• Interstate 81: Restoring about $1.5 million in funding to finish the design work for the phase two widening and reinstating construction funding for that phase. Also, to allocate in the next Consolidated Transportation Program $9.5 million and $14.5 million, respectively, for planning phases three and four of widening I-81 and to prepare construction funds for those phases. Phase two would widen almost 4 miles from Md. 63/Md. 68 (Lappans Road) near Williamsport to the CSX bridges north of Halfway Boulevard, from four to six lanes — adding a lane in each direction.
• The Town of Williamsport is requesting the Maryland Department of Transportation examine a better option to relocate the U.S. 11 bridge farther to the north. The bridge, built in 1909, goes over the Potomac River, C&O Canal and Riverbottom Park. Depending on whether a current study determines if the bridge will be relocated, the town also is seeking preauthorized funding to either redo the bridge's deck or start the National Environmental Policy Act process to determine the full scope of relocating the bridge.
• Support efforts to secure state capital funds to help replace the Andrew F. Wilkinson Courthouse, formerly known as the Washington County Courthouse, which houses circuit court. The original courthouse dates to 1872 and the annex was built in 1963. There are issues related to space and security.
• The City of Hagerstown seeks $250,000 to support a site and market analysis study for a proposed public safety center that would house the city's police and fire departments. Hagerstown Police are based in a 100-year-old former train station and the fire department recently moved out of an old building to lease space in the Hagerstown Industrial Park while determining its future long-term home.
• Support Washington County's phase-three development of the county's Public Safety Training Center with $2.5 million to help build the high bay training and storage building. County officials anticipate having to hire untrained firefighters, requiring a more intense firefighter training academy.
• The Town of Smithsburg is asking for financial help to offset the projected $4 million needed for vital upgrades to its sewer pump stations. The upgrades would ensure the long-term functionality of the sewer infrastructure, improve safety for workers and help accommodate future growth in the town and county.
• Visit Hagerstown, the local tourism bureau, is asking for $1.5 million in capital funds to help renovate the former Maryland Paper building on West Antietam Street for space for a new Washington County visitor welcome center. President Dan Spedden said the bureau closed its last visitors center in January 2021 during the pandemic.
• Making sure $8.3 million to help Hagerstown Community College finish renovating its Advanced Technology Center stays on track to be in the state capital budget, which is facing cuts, Kercheval said. The center was originally built in 1967 and houses critical programs including cybersecurity and electronics technology, but needs to be modernized and repaired.
• To raise the statewide cap on Program Open Space's annual pool of preservation funding from $6 million to $12 million. Spedden said the heritage areas across the state, including the local Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, apply for those funds. Legislative action also is needed to transfer those preservation funds to the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority Financing Fund.

Most of the coalition's partners contribute funds to its efforts, while the Greater Hagerstown Committee provides in-kind services, Kercheval said.

The contribution breakdowns to the coalition, per Kercheval, were $10,000 from the county government; $5,000 each from the City of Hagerstown, HCC, and the library system; $3,000 each from the tourism bureau, CHIEF, and the Chamber; and $1,000 each from Williamsport and Smithsburg (these amounts are corrected from the original article).

The Washington County Liquor Board is seeking to simplify licenses by creating a seven-day license that also would expand the possible hours for serving or selling alcohol on Sundays, Chairman Alan Levin said. Most local license holders operate on Sundays, and are able to sell alcohol from 11 a.m. or noon to midnight on Sundays. The proposal would allow them to expand their hours within 6 a.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Monday.

More Washington County legislative priorities

In addition to Washington County priorities shared by the Community Coalition, a county document lists other county legislative priorities of the Washington County Commissioners. They include:

• Seeking $7.8 million to replace the Hagerstown Regional Airport's air traffic control tower. The tower at the airport north of Hagerstown is over 50 years old and "obsolete," according to a county document. It was built before the main runway was extended and has insufficient lines of sight as well as other problems.
• The Washington County Commissioners seek money and legislative support for a study regarding present and future water and sewer treatment supply, resources and needs. This includes analyzing best approaches and practices for "water and wastewater infrastructure governance," the county document states. The county and its municipalities "must better understand" short- and long-term water and sewer needs over the next 30 years.
• The county document doesn't specify an ask, but notes that the current iteration of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future's current "provides inherent challenges" due to its one-size-fits-all approach and its funding requirements "hamstring" Washington County's ability to fund other critical services.
• Revise part of the tax property article to expand the eligibility for the local Job Creation and Capital Investment Real Property Tax Credit to include renovated premises. The county's Department of Business and Economic Development also is proposing changes to the various amounts of the tax credit and, in some cases, reducing the period for claiming the tax credit, according to the county document.

The county's priorities also include seeking continued support to fund a possible relocation of the U.S. 11 bridge over the Potomac and related studies.

In addition to contributing to the Community Coalition, the county government contracts with government relations consultant and lobbyist Bruce Bereano for $10,100 this year, said county spokesperson Danielle Weaver.

Hagerstown legislative priorities

In addition to Hagerstown priorities listed among the Community Coalition's, City Administrator Scott Nicewarner listed the following legislative priorities in an email:

• Allowing code enforcement officers to wear body cameras.
• Keeping hotel/motel tax revenue in the municipality in which the tax is collected. The city's proposal would maintain the share that Visit Hagerstown, the tourism bureau, receives. But it would disperse the remaining 50% of revenue to the municipalities where the hotels that pay the tax reside.
• To allow a municipality to be part of the process when approving handicap parking permits within the municipality's boundaries.

In addition to contributing to the Community Coalition, the city hired Compass Government Services as their state lobbyist for $40,000 for the year, Nicewarner said in the email.