Mount Airy Mayor Hushour says he would focus on pedestrian infrastructure in next term

Yahoo

01-05-2025

Mount Airy Mayor Larry Hushour said the main reason he was elected in 2021 was because the town's residents felt like growth was 'out of control.'
Four years later, Hushour said, 'our feet are very much under us as far as growth goes' and he is ready to turn his attention toward other issues.
Hushour is running unopposed for mayor in Mount Airy's town election on May 6. There are also two Town Council seats on the ballot.
Hushour's next term would be his first full one as mayor of Mount Airy. He is currently finishing out what would have been the fourth mayoral term of Patrick Rockinberg, who died from complications of cancer about three months after he was reelected to the office.
Prior to becoming mayor of Mount Airy, Hushour — a U.S. Navy veteran who now works as a commercial airline pilot — spent 10 years on the town's Board of Recreation and Parks and another four years on the Town Council.
In an interview last week, Hushour laid out five goals he hopes to accomplish by 2029. One — completing Mount Airy's Rails to Trails initiative — was the project that prompted Hushour to seek public office in the first place.
Hushour said he was part of a group of volunteers who worked to clear sections of the former B&O Railroad corridor for use as a recreational walking and biking path.
'As we cleared it, there were things that we needed — money for gravel and that sort of stuff,' Hushour said. 'After asking numerous times for things ... I decided that I would run for office, so I could be involved in the decision-making.'
In 2014, the eastern section of the trail was opened to the public, followed by the western section last year.
One of the final steps in the project is to connect the Hill Street entrance to Main Street. The two areas are separated by a parcel known as the Cold Storage property.
Hushour also hopes to create in the next four years a safe way for pedestrians to cross Md. 27.
Combined with the completed Rails to Trails project, a walkway across that road would create 'a pedestrian connection that cuts across the entire town,' he said.
'It's a very green initiative in that right now, to get to either side of that highway, people are turning a key in their car,' Hushour said.
In addition to the two walkability initiatives, Hushour lists building a new police station, addressing contaminants in the town's water supply and renovating Mount Airy's historic Flat Iron building among his campaign objectives.
Since its formation in 2017, the Mount Airy Police Department has operated out of a leased space in a larger professional building on Center Street.
'I think we've been waiting for something to fall in our lap, and it's never fallen in our lap,' Hushour said. 'So it's time to do something.'
Town officials took the first steps this month by approving a $975,000 land purchase and a $4.5 million bond to fund design and construction of the new station.
Efforts to address contaminants in the town's water supply are also underway, with Mount Airy having secured forgivable loans to remove PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, from four of its five pumping stations.
The town has also joined a class-action lawsuit to help generate revenue for PFAS remediation efforts.
'In terms of safety, it's something that has to be fixed today,' Hushour said.
Hushour said he views the state of the Flat Iron building as a credibility issue for the town when it deals with owners of other blighted properties. The town recently received $245,500 through a legislative bond bill to restore the building.
Overall, 'I don't think any of the things that I'm going to be working on are not achievable in the next four years,' Hushour said.
'I'd greatly appreciate the people if they decide to give me an opportunity to keep going,' he said.