MD officials look at housing and development in Somerset County
SOMERSET COUNTY, Md. – In Somerset County, local and state officials took a look at where recent funding is going.
“This is a great day for Crisfield,” said Crisfield Mayor Darlene Taylor.
City and state officials coming together to take a look at Somerset County, Tuesday. “We’re touring Somerset County starting in Crisfield to better understand firsthand the priorities of the commissioners, the mayor, the council members here in Somerset County and Crisfield, and Princess Anne,” said Secretary Jake Day, with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
Crisfield Mayor Darlene Taylor says – having the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development come to the seafood capital of the world makes a difference.
it says that they care and so the investment that they’ve made in our town has been phenomenal. This means that Crisfield is definitely moving in the right direction that is the issue we have been on the decline for some time but now you can see the change and more than anything you can feel the change,” said Mayor Taylor.
Eastern Shore native and Secretary of the Department of Housing and Community Development Jake Day says the recent funding poured into the area helped support local landmarks. “Some of the things that we saw today at the dock we’ve put dollars into we awarded $410,000 in this latest round of state revitalization programs to Somerset County all of those dollars came to Crisfield. Quarter million of that was right this year in the Armory so we put over $1.2 million into the Armory so far,” said Secretary Day.
The Armory is set out to get more facade updates and the City dock will be more functional for community members to walk on. Mayor Taylor says change is in the works, but it will take time to come to completion. “Really the change is starting now, but change takes time. There’s absolutely no question about that so over the next few years we know that you’ll be able to visibly see all of the changes that are happening right now,” said Mayor Taylor.
The tour gives the team a first-hand look at the area they are funding. They visited both the Somerset County Industrial Park and Somerset Crossing. Secretary Day says the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is one of the major drivers in the area.
When changes are made its important the state considers the university. “Not only to see past investments that we’ve made, like at the Washington Inn. But also to hear about the institutional collaboration between the town and the university. UMES plays such an important economic role in Princess Anne that anything we do has to come alongside,” Secretary Day added.
