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Officials on Wednesday are expected to approve the nearly $9 million purchase of a rural resort in the state’s westernmost county, but a legislator representing the area said the state has left residents in the dark about its plans.
Area residents who have felt that the resort, which opened in 1999, has inhibited their hunting spots or state park access may feel especially strong about what the state has in store for the land. And one former state official who managed the Savage River State Forest questioned whether the acquisition serves mostly to bail out the lodge ownership rather than provide new recreational facilities.
With approval from the Board of Public Works — comprising the governor, comptroller and treasurer — the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will acquire the Savage River Lodge. The department has plans to expand the property’s overnight accommodations, including a lodge, cabins and yurts, in a part of the state with a high demand for these amenities.
“I’m not for it, I’m not against it,” state Sen. Michael McKay said of the state’s acquisition in a phone interview. “I just think that, because Savage River Lodge has been very controversial from the day it was created to today, the people in Garrett County should be able to hear from DNR what their plans are.”
McKay, a Western Maryland Republican, said he has repeatedly asked the DNR for a town hall meeting to provide county residents with an opportunity to question the plan.
Department officials have agreed to hold such a meeting, but not until after Wednesday’s approval.
A DNR spokesman wrote in an email that the department told county officials and the legislative delegation in November 2023 about plans to potentially purchase the property, and that the department has received comments from officials and members of the general public.
McKay, though, said the meeting would be after the state “basically signs the deal and sends the check.”
The Savage River Lodge takes up 42 acres within the Savage River State Forest, one of four parks comprising the New Germany State Park Complex.
The lodge’s website describes the complex as “effortlessly elegant cabins, yurts, and gourmet dining nestled” within Savage River State Forest.
The DNR is hoping that its purchase will boost opportunities for recreational hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and fishing, and that it will expand public access to the Savage River State Forest hunting area.
Mike Dreisbach and Jan Russell, the couple who built the resort and operated it since it opened in 1999, announced in May that they would be retiring and claimed on their website that they received word shortly thereafter that DNR officials were interested in buying the property.
“We dedicated our lives to create an incredible destination in the heart of Savage River State Forest and couldn’t have hoped for a better legacy,” Dreisbach said in a statement in June.
After purchasing the land in 1992, the couple worked with the DNR to add public access for an eventual 14 miles of trails they built within the forest. The lodge also contributes millions to the local economy each year, “directly and indirectly,” according to the owners.
Public controversy came in April with news that the lodge owners had to pay $150,000 to settle federal charges that they discriminated against an employee because of her pregnancy and then fired her, days after she disclosed having suffered a miscarriage, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Mike Gregory, a former DNR employee who managed the Savage River State Forest complex from 1994-2005, said that he never felt it was appropriate for the owners to build a lodge among secluded forest land.
The lodge has been a source of conflict for people who’ve hunted in the area, Gregory said. Nearby walking paths led to the creation of a large safety zone around lodge facilities and disagreements have arisen about access to the road leading in and out of the property.
Gregory also questioned the extent to which the state will be able to add recreation and hunting opportunities, considering that the Savage River State Forest area is roughly 800 acres and includes extremely steep grades in some places.
After an appraisal in December of $6.8 million and one in November of $9.8 million, the DNR agreed to pay $8.7 million to purchase the property.
Gregory said that the state is set to pay more than it should and appears to be bailing out the owners.
He claimed that the property was on the market for a lower price for several years and that the owners couldn’t get a private buyer.
“This is almost like corporate welfare,” he said in a phone interview, adding that the money would be better used for open-space projects in other parts of the state
A spokeswoman for Dreisbach and Russell declined to comment on the claim.
When asked whether he thought the state’s acquisition was a bailout, McKay said, “It would be a bailout if the state was going to run it as a restaurant and run it with the exact same business plan.
“But I don’t think that the state is planning on doing it,” he said. “And that’s fine, but that’s what the state needs to come out and tell people.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-10 10:33:00
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