Mountain Maryland Development Ideas? (Baltimore, Hagerstown: credit, houses, employment)

[westsideboy]

Western Maryland is not going to be a powerhouse region like it was 60 years ago. Accepting this is the first step towards improvement. We aren't going to be able to attract huge employers. Cumberland/LaVale can recapture some of their standing as an commercial hub for Western Maryland and the Potomac Highlands of WV by attracting more retail stores (not sure how to do this in a time of recession) use tourism as a way of keeping people functionally employed, and try to piece together some small businesses and small industries. The combination of these three should be enough to maintain a workforce.

Government MUST cut back spending. We have too much money earmarked out to prop up failing public/private partnerships, and employing too many people in government partronage jobs. Money must be spend on our decaying infrastructure, education, and public safety. The loss of government jobs will be hard and you expect to see some marginal "attractions" close without the subsidy, but it is time to sink or swim.

We need to except that we are going to have a small population, and REFUSE to prop up those numbers by allowing the state to fund new HUD developments here. Western Maryland has more than its share of affordable housing and people on public assistance. We need to decrease these people as a % of our total population before he hit the tipping point where there is more scum than pond (pardon the cliche)

Lastly, the police, State's Attorney, and court system need to make a commitment to prosecute and incarcerate law breakers. No more "catch and release" of small time criminals to bait the pond for bigger fish, no more nol pros/plea bargin mentality so the attorneys and judges can be home by 4:30. Do what it takes to keep the criminals off of our streets. Again, the long term outcome of this is possibly less police grants (if the strategy works and crime drops) and more work for attorneys and judges, but the current system isn't working.

Ok, I am out of ideas. They aren't attractive options, but I see a Western Maryland of 85,000 working, law abiding citizens with clean, well maintained towns as being better than a Western Maryland of 100,000 with higher crime, worse infrastructure, more do-little partronage jobs, and a large percentage of non-working permanent residents supported by the government.

[jifie]

I think if you're going to ask why an area like Western MD isnt developing, you'd really have to dig deeper into many areas of the United States that arent developing.

Its not some deep seeded mystery as to why big cities are big cities. They started off as major points in the U.S. and over the many years they became bigger and bigger. There is an immensly greater area of undeveloped land in America than developed.

I personally love the small town charm of all of the Western MD cities and love driving through Cumberland especially. In time, with the increas of population over hundreds of years small cities will become big and unincorproated towns will become small cities. But that will all happen on its own and when the population demand outweighs the supply.

[drs72]

Westsideboy, have you heard the rumors that IBM is looking at locating some type of facility in Cumberland once the proper networks and infrastructure are in place?

[westsideboy]

IBM doesn't ring a bell. The closest rumour I can think of was the gentleman that was trying to buy the old Sacred Heart Hospital to turn into a tech center, you know, run some fancy broadband cables up there or something. Of course, when the day came to pay the money to buy the building, he didn't have it, and the building still sits. The newest scheme is to build the new Allegany High School up there, but we will see about that too.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by jifie

I think if you're going to ask why an area like Western MD isnt developing, you'd really have to dig deeper into many areas of the United States that arent developing.

Its not some deep seeded mystery as to why big cities are big cities. They started off as major points in the U.S. and over the many years they became bigger and bigger. There is an immensly greater area of undeveloped land in America than developed.

I personally love the small town charm of all of the Western MD cities and love driving through Cumberland especially. In time, with the increas of population over hundreds of years small cities will become big and unincorproated towns will become small cities. But that will all happen on its own and when the population demand outweighs the supply.

I hear you, but we aren't talking about a slow pace of growth, Western Maryland is dealing with significant population loss. Allegany County's population was just under 90k in 1950, we are down to less than 70k now. Cumberland has about 1/2 the population it had in 1950. It isn't just the pace of growth we are talking about, we are speculating on if it is possible to stop the bleeding.

[jifie]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

I hear you, but we aren't talking about a slow pace of growth, Western Maryland is dealing with significant population loss. Allegany County's population was just under 90k in 1950, we are down to less than 70k now. Cumberland has about 1/2 the population it had in 1950. It isn't just the pace of growth we are talking about, we are speculating on if it is possible to stop the bleeding.

Got it, so its pretty much the same issues that the entire rust belt is dealing with then, with the losses every year?

[ki0eh]

Johnstown has stronger retail than Cumberland does, and it's far less accessible and further from the Northeast Corridor penumbra. Even Sunbury, PA, with adjacent Shamokin Dam, Hummels Wharf, and Selinsgrove has stronger retail than Cumberland. I do not understand what markers these chain people are using that makes them think these other communities are better investments than Cumberland.

Cumberland sure did get its share of state pork before Cas Taylor was voted out. The answer to why would Clarksburg or Johnstown be doing better is likely federal pork. Maybe the answer is that pork needs to be re-branded. Why would a federal office park in Frederick or Aberdeen be investment, and in Cumberland pork?

If you look under the trees eastern Allegany County is littered with the wreckage of 200 years of failed schemes from the C&O canal to industrial apple orchards. Infrastructure costs there would be tremendous. It may be that recreation and timber really are the highest and best uses of the stretch from Flintstone to Hancock. Sure people do drive to Winchester and Frederick from there for construction work, hoping for 4 10's. They'd be happier to drive to Cumberland so it's not irrational to use town as a focus for development.

[westsideboy]

The argument for allowing development in Eastern Allegany County is just to get some butts in the seats, so to speak. Even people living close to edge of County east of Oldtown, or close to Little Orleans are still closer to Cumberland to shop (not to mention sending their kids to Allegany County schools) even if they have to commute to work in Winchester or Hagerstown. The hope would be increasing the population, especially workforce population would help attract some businesses to Cumberland, thus allowing those people in the Eastern end of the county to drive back work in Cumberland.

I would personally love to see Cumberland proper be redeveloped, but I don't know how that would happen first. Our state isn't business friendly, and the lack of mid/upper scale suburban housing is a big turnoff to companies looking to relocate here. It is a huge shame that most people don't want to live in a small towns, or in an old historic house. We have plenty of them. People want new housing tucked away in little isolated cul-de-sacs. We don't have that. It is a chicken and egg type thing. New housing developments, that aren't HUD, can't find enough buyers to actually come to fruition, and you aren't going to find enough buyers until the job situation improves.

[andrew_s]

I think western maryland is perfect the way it is. But then again I dont live there. But I can say after living in the (sub)urban hell that is Columbia over the past few years that yall dont want to end up like us...Just sayin

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by andrew_s

I think western maryland is perfect the way it is. But then again I dont live there. But I can say after living in the (sub)urban hell that is Columbia over the past few years that yall dont want to end up like us...Just sayin

I will agree 100% that we don't want to end as just another area filled up with transplants and new spec housing, but we also need to find a way to stop the population decline, and increase job opportunity for those that still live here and new residents willing to assimiliate to our culture.