Air Brush Paint Railroad Colors
The Midland Railroad Arch that crosses North Church Street in Thurmont has been a abiding atrocity for the town. Earlier this year, association had the befalling to weigh-in on how they would like to see it bigger and the after-effects were aggregate on Tuesday.
Bryant Despeaux, a affiliate of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, volunteered to architecture a survey, which was mailed to association and accessible online from July 20 through the end of October. The boondocks accustomed 354 responses to the survey, which he aggregate with the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
“I anticipate it was accustomed able-bodied by best of the citizens, and... acutely you don’t appetite to accomplish action this way, but it’s a acceptable way to aggregate some opinions from the town,” Despeaux said.
A majority, 58 percent, of the survey’s respondents said they anticipation “the arch and accurate abutments attending abhorrent and charge [to be] refurbished.” The added 36 percent said the arch was “in charge of some repair,” and 6 percent responded that the arch was “fine.”
Residents were best absorbed in seeing the arch corrective with “Thurmont” accounting beyond it as able-bodied as the accurate abutments covered with faux bean or corrective with a mural.
After years of briefly discussing the topic, Commissioner Martin Burns broached the abstraction of convalescent the aesthetics of the arch and formed an breezy accumulation of association has helped analysis accessible advance options.
Dick Lee, a citizen of JerMae Estates, is one affiliate of the group. He met with a adumbrative from Sherwin Williams paints, who quoted the amount of painting the arch at $100,000.
The arch activated absolute for lead, which makes advancing the arch for acrylic added expensive, he said.
The best accepted blush to acrylic the arch in the analysis was black, 31 percent, and the abutting best accepted alternative was “other” — with applicant suggestions actuality the academy colors of Catoctin High Academy and the Maryland accompaniment flag.
In a after area of the survey, several association requested the boondocks accumulate the activity bargain or not decay the town’s money on it at all.
“I actually do — actually — acknowledge the comments from bodies ‘why would we alike accede spending aborigine dollars?’ and I’ll be aboriginal to accept I don’t appetite to absorb one aborigine dollar against this,” Burns said.
Elliott City afresh completed a agnate activity on one of its bridges at no amount by application bounded blaze administration and badge resources, Lee said, who has been in acquaintance with a firefighter that helped adapt the project.
Thurmont admiral are attractive for abeyant admission money to complete the project. However, advanced the boondocks at times agency advance money into adorning it, Burns said application the lights on Main Street as an example.
“It is iconic,” Burns said. “I do actually accede with that, and I anticipate annihilation we can do to that arch will adorn this boondocks in means you’ve never imagined.”
Follow Samantha Hogan on Twitter: @SAHogan.
