HAGERSTOWN - Continuing to maintain that moving Washington County Hospital outside of Hagerstown would pose traffic and public safety issues, a group of five Washington County residents has appealed a local judge's decision that essentially gave the hospital the go-ahead to move forward with its plans.
Chuck Hongell, one of the five appellants, said Friday that the appeal was filed earlier this week by the group's attorney, William C. Wantz, and will be heard by the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis.
Hongell and the other appellants, Gordon A. Bartels, Janet E. Bartels, Sally R. Hatch and Robert C. Hatch, appealed a decision by Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III, who previously affirmed zoning variances for the project.
Hospital officials are soldiering on despite the appeal.
James P. Hamill, president and chief executive officer of Washington County Health System, called the filing a "huge disappointment," but said that plans otherwise are going well for the new hospital, and that officials are looking forward to breaking ground in January.