Frederick officials have previously cited this agreement as an accomplishment. The county commissioners are surprised by comments that Frederick suddenly cannot afford this agreement and must annex hundreds of acres in order to have new development pay the city's water bill!

The county commissioners are willing to amend the agreement and buy any excess water that Frederick now claims to be unable to afford.

The county commissioners have expressed serious concern about the lack of needed infrastructure and services to support the 1,060 new houses and 2 million square feet of office/commercial space. The development of these properties along U.S. 15 will create significant traffic safety hazards on U.S. 15 and magnify those that already exist at Hayward Road.

A letter from the State Highway Administration to Frederick officials clearly states that public safety will be at risk if these properties develop without a full grade-separated interchange on U.S. 15. The developers are not offering to pay for a full interchange and city officials are not requiring them to do so.

The developers have offered a school site outside the property to be annexed that is essentially not usable for a school. The school site being offered is in an agricultural zoned area off Sundays Lane. This school site is not in a water/sewer service area and will not qualify for state school construction dollars, meaning county taxpayers would need to foot the entire bill for a new school. Do we really want to bus students to a school in a rural area and have school buses make a left turn from U.S. 15 onto Sundays Lane?

The city also does not have sewer capacity to serve these properties, and no agreement exists with the county to provide needed sewer. Fire and EMS services will also need to be expanded to serve these properties, and Frederick officials have not even discussed these needs with the county.

The failure of the City of Frederick to properly plan for all the needed infrastructure and services is a recipe for failure.

It will shift a huge burden to the taxpayers of Frederick and Frederick County who will be stuck with the bill to provide the needed infrastructure.

These annexations should not advance until such time as the developers have agreed to pay for the needed infrastructure and services are properly coordinated with the county and the state. In the current budget climate, there is simply no money to provide infrastructure or expand services to support these developments.

The signatories of this commentary include all five Frederick County Commissioners -- Jan Gardner, David Gray, Kai Hagen, Charles Jenkins and John L. Thompson Jr.

Post your comments » Round 2: Snow expected to fall today, Wednesday Fast on the heels of the largest 24-hour snowfall to hit the Frederick County since 1983, meteorologists are predicting another round of heavy snow and wind to hit today. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Monday afternoon for the area, including Frederick County, and said 10 to 20 inches of snow is possible by Wednesday night. Weather-related closings, delays A list follows of weather-related closings and cancellations for this week. Fire and police blotter Police search for robber School closures cause makeup schedule revision Even though Frederick County Public Schools are closed today -- using the sixth snow day this school year -- the school system will not hold school on the Monday Presidents Day holiday as the first scheduled snow makeup day. Crowds pay respect to fallen marine Even U.S. Marines couldn't hold back tears Monday at the viewing of their colleague, Sgt. David Smith. The procession to the Frederick Christian Fellowship Church was led by Frederick County Sheriff's deputies. Dressed in full military regalia, Marines carried Smith's casket into the church followed by family members as more Marines stood at attention.