Published: January 27, 2010 11:11 pm

PACE events begin tonight

Legislative 'networking' worth trip to Annapolis

Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND - Mountain Maryland is moving to Annapolis, at least temporarily.

The 34th annual Mountain Maryland PACE reception and legislative breakfast begins tonight at Loews Annapolis Hotel in the state capital. The reception is scheduled to run from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and the breakfast, with keynote speaker Gov. Martin O'Malley, is set to begin at 8 a.m. Friday.

A little more than 250 tickets have been sold and while critics might call the event nothing more than a cocktail party, officials from Allegany and Garrett counties insist the 170-mile trip is worth the effort.

"If you strike up a conversation and start networking ... that's one of your first topics of conversation," said PACE Committee co-chairman Bob Smith of the group's seven legislative talking points.

The number of tickets sold is down one-third of the 383 tickets sold for the 2009 event. Smith said he wasn't surprised, due to the state of the economy, and that donations and sponsors are up this year from last year.

Allegany County Commission President Jim Stakem and fellow Commissioners Dale Lewis and Bob Hutcheson are to preside over meetings today with state and federal officials who are pivotal in the grant-awarding process for water and sewer infrastructure improvement projects.

Those projects include the Mount Savage water distribution system, the Potomac Water Treatment Plant and improvements to the Cresaptown water system, among more than a dozen others.

After a three-hour morning session with the county, those state and federal officials will meet with representatives from Frostburg, Lonaconing and Westernport to discuss projects of local importance.

The PACE reception and breakfast is jointly sponsored by the Cumberland-Allegany County Industrial Foundation and the Garrett County Development Corp. The venture is supported by contributions from county governments and area businesses.

"Think Green, Think Mountain Maryland" is the theme for the second consecutive year, and several contributors to the event, including Columbia Gas of Maryland, Columbia Gas Transmission, Clipper Windpower, AES Warrior Run and Mettiki Coal LLC, among others, reflect the state's awareness to develop independent, reliable and renewable energy sources.

While in Annapolis, locals hope to bend the ears of decision-makers on a number of issues. Seven legislative talking points headline this year's agenda.

• Colleen Peterson and The Greater Cumberland Committee will attempt to keep efforts to fund the completion of the North-South Appalachian Highway, U.S. Routes 220 and 219.
• One Maryland: Reinstate One Maryland Incentive Program for distressed jurisdictions separate from the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Fund.
• Support Broadband Funding and the Maryland Broadband Cooperative's mission to build a state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure in Mountain Maryland.
• Request continued funding of the Center for Communication and Information Technology at Frostburg State University.
• Request the creation of a Rural Land Use Task Force to work as a companion group with the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development.
• Support responsible development of the Marcellus shale natural gas form.
• Request support in the development of recreational trails, which advocates claim will add $100 million in revenue to the region's economy.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.