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City of Frostburg Receives Prestigious Sustainable Maryland Certified Award

October 12th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

The Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland announced that the City of Frostburg was one of eleven Maryland municipalities honored at the Sustainable Maryland Awards Ceremony at the Maryland Municipal League’s virtual annual Fall Conference last Friday.

A detailed summary of Frostburg’s sustainability Actions can be found in their Certification Report, attached as a PDF.

Highlights of Frostburg’s recent accomplishments include:

  • Created an Edible Arboretum funded by Program Open Space in 2019, which included all native plants – Blueberry, Serviceberry, Paw Paw, Persimmon, Elderberry, and Sassafras.
  • Installed way-finding signage and bike lockers for Great Allegheny Passage trail users to safely navigate and store bikes while exploring the Historic Depot and Frostburg business district.
  • Enacted an updated procurement policy that guaranteed local preference in awarding contracts requiring competitive bidding.
  • Promotes the annual Small Business Saturday event, as well as many other downtown events, as part of a coordinated “Buy Local” campaign.

“Our mission has always aimed toward improving our community and the livability of Frostburg,” said Mayor W. Robert Flanigan. “The Sustainable Maryland mission supports our initiatives and helps us conserve resources and remain resilient. We have a saying, ‘Frostburg, it’s just cooler here!’ and Sustainable Maryland helps us stay that way.”

 

According to Mike Hunninghake, Program Manager for Sustainable Maryland, “This year’s eleven Sustainable Maryland Certified communities represent a broad cross-section of the state, from small towns to large cities, from rural agricultural areas to densely populated urban communities. Each one has demonstrated a firm and on-going commitment to meeting the urgent sustainability challenges we face here in Maryland, and as part of a planetary community in crisis.”

 

Attached is Frostburg’s Sustainable Maryland Certified logo.

Video of the Sustainable Maryland Awards ceremony on Oct. 9 is here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgG96iwVAdX7Y-RNL2u8pow?reload=9

For detailed information about Frostburg’s sustainability initiatives, please contact LJ Bennett, Community Development Director, lbennett@frostburgcity.org, 301-689-6000, ext 105.

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Sustainable Maryland Certification: To achieve certification, municipalities are required to form a Green Team comprised of local residents, community leaders, municipal staff and officials; complete a variety sustainability-related Actions worth a total of at least 150 points (including two mandatory actions and two of six priority actions), and submit the appropriate documentation as evidence that the Sustainable Maryland Certified requirements have been satisfied. The Sustainable Maryland Action Menu can be seen here: http://sustainablemaryland.com/actions-certification/actions/

The complete list of 2020 newly certified (denoted by *) and re-certified communities includes:

Bel Air (first certified in 2014, re-certified in 2017)

Berwyn Heights (first certified in 2014, re-certified in 2017)

Boonsboro (first certified in 2014, re-certified in 2017)

Chesapeake Beach (first certified in 2014, re-certified in 2017)

Frostburg (first certified in 2017)

Greenbelt (2020 Sustainability Champion - highest point total; first certified in 2014, re-certified in 2017)

Landover Hills (NEW!)

Mount Airy (first certified in 2017)

North Beach (first certified in 2017)

Riverdale Park (first certified in 2014, re-certified in 2017)

Takoma Park (; first certified 2014, re-certified in 2017)

University Park (first certified in 2014, re-certified in 2017)

 

Our 2020 Sustainability Champion: This year’s Sustainability Champion is the City of Greenbelt, which amassed an impressive 795 points on their application, more than any other community in 2020.

A full report on each certified community’s Actions can be viewed here: http://sustainablemaryland.com/actions-certification/participating-communities/

 

Sustainable Maryland Certified Municipalities as of 2020 (9th full year of the program):

  • Total Municipalities Sustainable Maryland Certified: 39 (25% of Maryland’s municipalities)
  • Total Municipalities Sustainable Maryland Registered: 79 (50% of Maryland’s municipalities)