Mayor Randy McClement welcomed the Governor’s Commission on Small Business to the Weinberg Center for a Town Hall meeting on Monday, April 23, 2012.
CONTACT: Susan Harding, Public Information Officer, 301-600-1385
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Mayor Hosts Governor’s Commission on Small Business Town Hall Meeting
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Frederick, MD – Mayor Randy McClement welcomed the Governor’s Commission on Small Business to the Weinberg Center for a Town Hall meeting on Monday, April 23, 2012. The Town Hall meeting afforded the opportunity for over 125 small business owners to have an open dialogue with State agency leaders and economic development experts on ways the government and the business community can promote job creation and business growth.
Mayor McClement, a former small business owner himself and member of the Governor’s Commission on Small Business, said the 60th Administration of The City of Frederick is doing its part to move our economy toward sustained, positive growth while boosting our tax base. To help move this goal forward some of the existing policies have been revisited and are accelerating pivotal, capital projects that will increase area wide redevelopment and help create new opportunities for our homegrown small businesses and attract new people to open their doors in Frederick. Some of those capital projects are:
1. Full completion of the 1.3 mile long Carroll Creek Linear Park.
2. Revitalization of the west-end of the community known as the Golden Mile.
3. Facilitate the development of a full-service 200 + room Downtown Hotel and Conference Center with over 15,000 square feet of meeting space to induce conferences and business meetings and overnight stays in Downtown Frederick to help address a need raised by the major employers of the community.
Capital projects are not the only component to the 60th Administration’s plan to facilitate economic growth. Part of the approach includes the reestablishment and expansion of our targeted property tax credit programs before the end of this fiscal year, which includes:
1. Historic Property Rehabilitation;
2. Golden Mile Property Rehabilitation Tax Credit;
3. Downtown Arts and Entertainment Property Rehabilitation Tax Credit;
4. Vacant Commercial Property Rehabilitation Tax Credit;
5. Brownfields Property Rehabilitation Tax Credit;
6. A technology jobs creation and investment tax credit
7. Formalized Fast Track Permitting System to support the City’s existing permitting process.
“Startup expenses can really create a challenge for a small business owner. The 60th Administration has allowed the payment of water and sewer impact fees to be spread over a four-year period. Impact fees cover the City’s cost to build the new capacity and infrastructure to treat and provide water to the new users.” said Mayor McClement. “Included in the City’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget, we are launching an Economic Development Fund that can be accessed by Frederick businesses who have successfully applied for a Maryland Department of Economic Development (DBED) loan, grant, or loan guarantee that requires a local match. We do not want our businesses to lose out to such opportunities.”
John Fieseler, Executive Director of the Tourism Council of Frederick, moderated the two nine-member panels during the morning discussions on Procurement and Workforce Development & Training and Regulatory and Access to Capital.
“We have a great story to share and Frederick’s success is Maryland’s success. We are finding creative solutions to help continue to make Frederick the place to do business in the region,” said Mayor McClement.
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