Recommendations

About 100 volunteers have been meeting since last fall to study ideas that would provide more educational opportunities for Washington County Public Schools' students. Following is a brief look at each of the study groups' recommendations based on information in the 260-page report and presentations at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting. The full report was expected to be available today at the school system's home page at www.wcps.k12.md.us/index.html . A video of the school board meeting is available under the "school board" tab. Renzulli learning Incorporate the Renzulli learning strategy at elementary, middle and high school levels.

Following is a verbatim list of the recommendations included in the final report and recommendations of the Fairplay Area Emergency Services Task Force. The Task Force hereby recommends that Fairplay Volunteer Fire Company be reinstated pending the successful completion of the following: 1. That the Volunteer Fire Company of District #12, once reactivated, be placed on a 24-month probationary period with the expectation that all of the requirements/recommendation continue to be accurately and currently maintained.

The work of a task force examining the suspended Fairplay Fire Co. ended Monday night with much of the strain and ill feelings that was apparent in many of the other meetings. The task force worked on its final report and recommendations, which concluded in part that the fire company has not adequately researched solutions and had not fully addressed its situation, and as a result department administration change is needed. The report and recommendations will be sent to the Washington County Board of Commissioners for consideration.

The Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Strategic Plan unveiled Saturday at The Maryland Theatre has scores of recommendations distributed through 80 pages, a lot to digest in one sitting for those who attended the presentation. Not all of the report's recommendations are likely to be acted upon, County Commissioner William B. McKinley said. “We're going to have to try to come up with the really important points of things that are doable ... and take it from there,” McKinley said.

Samples of the O'Malley-Brown Transition Report's recommendations: · Parole and probation: Improve monitoring and tracking of child sex offenders · Agriculture: Promote biodiesel use in school buses · Environment and natural resources: Increase the transfer tax on farms that are converted to development · Health and mental hygiene: Establish a dental clinic in every local health department ...

dank@herald-mail.com Recommendations from the Washington County Board of Education's Alcohol and Drug Task Force, which include a systemwide mentoring program and increasing alcohol- and drug-free activities, will be reviewed by a new committee, Interim Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Morgan said Wednesday. The committee will "see what we can do now and what we can do later and put costs with some of the recommendations," Morgan said. Morgan said some of the task force recommendations that wouldn't cost anything, such as a new mentoring program for at-risk youth, could be in place by the next school year.

A committee of builders, developers and county employees submitted recommendations Tuesday to the Washington County Commissioners on how they think the county should improve its plan approval process. The Plan Approval Process Committee has been meeting weekly since August 2007 to create a list of recommendations aimed at making the plan review process more efficient, according to Donald Bowman of The Bowman Group, who served as the committee's chairman. "The quicker we can finish these projects and get them on the tax rolls, the greater the benefit to everyone," Bowman said.

The City of Hagerstown is underpaying its workers by as much as 40 percent and will need to increase salaries by nearly $4.8 million in order to stem the tide of workers leaving the city in search of higher pay, according to the findings of a wage compensation study unveiled to the city council Tuesday night. "We'll give you a few moments to digest the big number and pick yourself off the floor," city Human Resources Director Donna Messina said before taking comments from the council.

Community leaders Tuesday recommended that Meritus Health transfer the former Washington County Hospital property to a nonprofit organization for a publicly-subsidized redevelopment, possibly as a mix of offices, stores and housing. "We believe probably market forces are weak enough that we won't see the type of private investment that we'd all desire, and public subsidy will be necessary to get a quality revitalization that meets the community goals," said Sharon Disque, executive director of the Hagerstown Neighborhood Development Partnership and co-chairwoman of the Hospital Redevelopment Task Force that has met for the past few months to discuss the downtown property's future.

An inspection report on the suspended Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co. is expected to be completed this week and a task force that is supposed to make recommendations for the department could meet again Monday, fire officials said earlier this week. The Washington County Board of Commissioners voted in July to suspend Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co. indefinitely for not responding quickly enough to calls. The task force was given three months to come up with possible solutions for getting the department running again efficiently.

The Washington County Board of Education's Human Resources Committee decided last month not to recommend creating a nepotism policy because the board's ethics policy covers the matter, according to Board of Education member Wayne D. Ridenour, who chairs the committee. Ridenour said it didn't make sense to create an independent nepotism policy when the ethics policy already covers the issue. For months, school system officials have been reviewing policies to eliminate redundancies and make revisions where needed.

Faced with a $1.4 million budget deficit, the Greencastle-Antrim School Board will vote Thursday whether to outsource support staff positions, cut athletics and extracurricular activities, or not replace four retiring teachers. With the Greencastle-Antrim School District looking for places to cut to cinch up the gaping hole in its $34 million 2013-14 budget, the administration is recommending that the board approve outsourcing support staff, which includes transportation, cafeteria, custodial and technology services.   Superintendent C. Gregory Hoover said it comes down to three options.

A committee tasked with reviewing the traffic impact fees on select new development in Washington Township, Pa., has recommended those fees be lowered. The committee, largely composed of real estate professionals, has recommended the impact fee be reduced to an amount between $2,486 and $2,714, saying the Washington Township Supervisors can use their discretion when setting the amount. The impact fees are assessed on each “traffic unit” created by new development within specific geographic zones.

The recommendation of a volunteer committee that examined ways to temporary alleviate overcrowding at Pangborn Elementary School next school year is expected to be presented to the Washington County Board of Education on April 2, said the committee's chairman, Bert Iseminger. The Facilities and Enrollment Advisory Committee met Tuesday night to review a recommendation they came up with at an earlier meeting and did not change the recommendation, Iseminger said. Any redistricting changes would go to a public hearing before the school board gives them final approval, school system spokesman Richard Wright said.

The Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission Board of Directors voted unanimously Thursday to recommend that the county hire a coordinator to shepherd its economic development strategic plan priorities, but it will be a few more weeks before those priorities are identified. “It's an interim plan to get the strategic plan moving,” County Administrator Gregory B. Murray told the EDC board before its vote. The position could be part-time and work with the economic development team, he said.

Hagerstown has an Arts and Entertainment District featuring the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, The Maryland Theatre, Washington County Arts Council, Washington County Free Library and the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts and other assets, but an economic development strategic plan for the county said the entertainment district's footprint needs to be smaller to achieve “critical mass.” The report, prepared by the consulting firms Urbanomics Inc....

A task force established to find a location for a dog park in Hagerstown has selected Fairgrounds Park as the site it will recommend to Hagerstown's mayor and city council. Maria Mestre, chairperson of a task force made up of Hagerstown residents, said the group is responsible for making recommendations and presenting a proposal to the mayor and Hagerstown City Council. “This park was our top choice as it fulfilled all the criteria we were looking for such as location to residents, walking and driving distance to the park and sufficient parking,” Mestre said.

A bill that would enhance penalties for adults who physically attack and/or harm minors unanimously passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives this week. House Bill 350 was authored by state Rep. Todd Rock, R-Franklin. The measure was drafted by Rock based on the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection that was created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal, according to a news release. If signed into law, anyone 18 years of age or older who causes bodily injury to a child younger than 12 could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor.

Following is a verbatim list of the recommendations included in the final report and recommendations of the Fairplay Area Emergency Services Task Force. The Task Force hereby recommends that Fairplay Volunteer Fire Company be reinstated pending the successful completion of the following: 1. That the Volunteer Fire Company of District #12, once reactivated, be placed on a 24-month probationary period with the expectation that all of the requirements/recommendation continue to be accurately and currently maintained.

The Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Strategic Plan unveiled Saturday at The Maryland Theatre has scores of recommendations distributed through 80 pages, a lot to digest in one sitting for those who attended the presentation. Not all of the report's recommendations are likely to be acted upon, County Commissioner William B. McKinley said. “We're going to have to try to come up with the really important points of things that are doable ... and take it from there,” McKinley said.