Month: May 2023

Affordable Housing: Frederick’s seniors on the front lines

By Gary Bennett

The Sharpe Square senior living apartments on Motter Avenue in 2020.
Staff file photo by Bill Green

This article appears in the May 31, 2023, issue of the Frederick News-Post’s “Prime Time” magazine.

As we all know, we live in a very high cost-of-living area. Our incomes, however, have not kept pace.

In 2020, United Way of Frederick County completed its ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-constrained, Employed) report. It is almost inconceivable, but they found that a third of our families really can’t afford to live here.

The struggle is even worse for seniors.

According to the same report, 47 percent of those 65 or older have difficulty living in Frederick County and must make tough choices every day on how to juggle paying for medicine, housing, taxes and food.

Housing, as virtually everyone’s largest individual expense, drives this struggle. It is no secret that finding safe, decent and affordable housing for many seniors is often a challenge.

Retired Frederick County school teacher Judy Kendro shared her struggle in the 2018 video The Faces of Affordable Housing [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixwW4onCtUk] produced by Frederick County Government.

“My story could be anyone’s story. It could be you mother’s, your aunt’s, your sister’s, your friend’s, your neighbor’s or even you. My story happens to numerous seniors every month.”

“Three years ago, my best friend, my husband of 44 years, died. While grieving, I had to deal with paperwork, bills, medical bills and finances. My income was cut in half. Then, Uncle Sam said now you are one, which further reduced my income. However, my bills remained the same. In fact, some went up like heat, gasoline, car insurance, taxes and medical insurance. I had to adjust to a new lifestyle and budget.”

“After a year I found that my family house was too big for little old me. So, I did some looking around on my own and then contacted realtors. I thought it would be easy to find desirable, affordable options for senior living in Frederick County. Boy, was I wrong! What I have seen in Frederick County is out of my price range which affects my budget. Or, [I’ve found] fixer uppers, which affects my budget.”

“I am disappointed and discouraged but still looking. So, we need to address affordable, desirable housing for all our seniors and the baby boomers who are becoming seniors.”

Ms. Kendro’s story is not unique.

Frederick County is woefully behind in its housing inventory to serve all who want to live here, and that is especially true for seniors. According to the 2016 Frederick County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment, the housing gap for households making $50,000 per year or less— where most retirees fall—is 11,000 units.

The older population is projected to grow rapidly, and although many seniors wish to remain in their homes for as long as possible, challenges related to affordability, accessibility, and poor access to health services can make doing that difficult.

All is not doom and gloom, however. Seniors do have some affordable housing options they should consider, if at all feasible:

  • Stay in your own home

This option works well if you are in good health and plan to stay that way. Even if your mortgage is not paid in full you can consider a reverse mortgage, which means you can take some of the equity out of your home in the form of additional monthly income. Or you can consider selling your home to a company like Sell2rent.com who will rent it back to you and possibly include home maintenance as part of the deal.

  • Live with family

    Sharing a home with loved ones if often free or low-cost and has the added advantage of having family members around to help you when needed. Both Frederick city and county have revised their Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinances to make it easier for “granny flats” or “in-law suites” to be built.
  • Look into public or subsidized senior housing

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers affordable public housing apartments and even single-family homes for seniors in need. They often come with accessibility features and are priced at 30 percent of your income. Be forewarned, however, that wait lists are often very long, sometimes months or even years.
  • Consider assisted living and residential care options

    This is a good option if you need help with daily activities such as bathing and getting dressed. These facilities offer meals, activities, and help with medication. The average cost across the U.S. is $4,000 a month but the price in Maryland is often more. Frederick offers many reputable facilities:
  • Buckingham’s Choice
    • Country Meadows
    • Edenton
    • HeartFields
    • Homewood at Crumland Farms
    • Montevue
    • Record Street Home
    • Somerford House & Place
    • Spring Arbor
    • Sunrise
  • Tranquility 

    Take advantage of government assistance

    • Low-income seniors can qualify for HUD’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, which helps people afford their rent.
    • HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program provides rental assistance for older adults.
    • The Section 504 Home Repair Program helps pay for repairs and upgrades to your home so you can age in place.
    • The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps cover the cost of heating and cooling your home.

      Ask for help from charitable organizations

      • Several nonprofits are available to help qualifying seniors such as Good Samaritan Society, HumanGood, Mercy Housing and Volunteers of America. 
    • In the Frederick area, check out Habitat for Humanity, Housing Authority of the City of Frederick, Interfaith Housing Alliance, Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs, and United Way of Frederick County.

Frederick County also offers a variety of housing programs seniors can take advantage of. (This may not be a complete list.)

  • Frederick County Senior Tax Credit

    Enacted by the Board of County Commissioners in 2012, the amount of the credit is 40% or 20% of net county real property taxes for qualifying homeowners depending on income.
  • Bell Court Senior Apartments

Owned by Frederick County and located in Woodsboro, the apartments provide affordable rental housing for the low-income elderly.

  • Accessible Homes for Seniors

    Offers seniors low- and no-interest loan options for home renovations such as grab bars, railing and ramps and has recently been expanded to include grant money for those who do not qualify for the loans.
  • Maryland’s Renters’ Tax Credit Program

Provides property tax credits for renters who meet certain requirements, with deeper subsidies available to those individuals over the age of 60 or 100% disabled.

  • Senior Rehabilitation Grant Program

    This program provides grants up to $15,000 for emergency repairs and accessibility modifications to very low-income senior homeowners.
  • Emergency Rehab Loan Program

    Provides zero interest, deferred loans up to $15,000 for emergency repairs.
  • Special Targeted Applicant Rehabilitation Program (STAR)

    Preserves and improves single-family properties by rehabilitating the property and updating it to applicable building codes.
  • Lead Hazard Reduction Grant and Loan Program

    Provides funds to assist homeowner and landlords lessen the risk of lead poisoning and preserve the housing stock by reducing or eliminating lead-based paint hazards.
  • Indoor Plumbing Program (IPP)

Designed to provide indoor plumbing to residential properties. The properties may be single-family, owner-occupied homes as well as rental properties with one to twenty units.

Frederick County offers many apartment housing options geared to seniors. Some are county-funded and some are privately funded:

  • 520 North Market Apartments, 520 North Market Street
  • Brooklawn Apartments, 1001 Carroll Parkway
  • Brunswick House, Brunswick, MD
  • Catoctin Manor/View Apartments, 798 and 800 Motter Ave.
  • Creekside at Tasker’s Chance, 100 Burgess Hill Way
  • Lincoln on the Park Apartments, Emmitsburg, MD
  • Orchard Park @ Ballenger Run, 5234 Black Locust Drive
  • Ox Fibre Apartments, 400 East Church Street
  • Seton Village Apartments, Emmitsburg, MD
  • Sharpe Square Senior Apartments, 820 Motter Ave.
  • Spring Ridge Apartments, 6351 Spring Ridge Parkway
  • Parkview Apartments, 750 Carroll Parkway
  • Taney Village Apartments, 1421 Taney Avenue
  • Victoria Park, Walkersville, MD
  • The Village at Worman’s Mill 55+ Apartments, 2470 Merchant Street
  • Weinberg House, 222 Broadway Street

Gary Bennett is a member of Frederick’s Affordable Housing Council and a board member for Advocates for Homeless Families.

Best boat ride in America: Ferrying Delaware Bay

By Gary Bennett

Cape May/Lewes Ferry maneuvering into port.

This article appears in the May 11, 2023, edition of the Frederick News Post’s “72 Hours” insert.

If you are looking for a fun weekend excursion that combines small town strolling with an “ocean” cruise to get you there, you can do no better than booking a ride on the Cape May/Lewes Ferry across Delaware Bay and exploring the charming, historic town of Cape May, New Jersey.

Technically, you won’t be cruising on the ocean, but you’ll be very close. Your route across Delaware Bay borders the Atlantic Ocean but in the more protected waters of the bay and closer to shore. Cruising on a smaller vessel across calmer waters provides several advantages. 

Advantages of small-scale cruising

You’ll get the same sense of carefree, wind-in-your hair adventure but without the multi-day or week-long time commitment that an Atlantic Ocean cruise up or down the East coast will cost you. You’ll get the same sense of wonder and personal insignificance (a good thing) that comes when you can see nothing but water. You’ll have smaller crowds and a lack of scheduled activities that so many of us crave. You’ll definitely feel like you’re not missing anything.

These are just a few of the reasons the Cape May/Lewes Ferry has earned its reputation as the “best boat ride in America.” This is a phrase they proudly use in their branding, and I believe it.

As an added bonus, you’ll also be able to take your car along for the trip!

There will be no need for expensive air fares or rental cars before or after this cruise. The Cape May/Lewes Ferry is an essential route from Virginia, Maryland and points South up the East coast to New York and New England. Thousands of workers and day-trippers use the ferry every day on one of its many roundtrips. It beats I-95 and the New Jersey Turnpike by a country mile. I’ll never take either of these clogged routes again to New York City or beyond.

About the ferry

The Cape May/Lewes Ferry is actually three ferries that take passengers and their vehicles (if they wish) from the village of Lewes, Delaware at the mouth of Delaware Bay to the town of Cape May, New Jersey on that little peninsula that sticks out like a human appendix on the southern shore of New Jersey. And back again, of course.

Reservations are required. I recommend making them months in advance. The ferry is very popular but it does run about 10 round trips from sun up to sun down every single day. Prices can vary depending on the season and your type of vehicle, but the average price is around $50-$60 for a round trip. There are modest discounts for seniors, children, AAA members, the military and first responders. Well behaved pets are allowed, too.

You can book your tickets and gather more information at https://www.cmlf.com/.

My wife and I have taken this cruise a few times, and each time has been absolutely delightful. Of course, it helps if you can cruise during the summer months so you can stand outside, do your best hands-free pose on the Titanic bow, Jack and Rose style, and feel the cooling ocean and bay breezes rushing by. From this vantage point, the sense of speed and covering huge chunks of territory is quite palpable.

The cruise across Delaware Bay itself takes only about an hour and a half to cover the 17 or so nautical miles from terminal to terminal, pending bay conditions. But you also need to figure in the time it takes to get to the terminal and waiting for your ship to come in, so to speak.

From Frederick, the departure terminal at Lewes, Delaware is a pleasant three-hour car ride, across the Chesapeake Bay and along the flat lands of Maryland’s Eastern shore and Delaware to Lewes. You literally can’t miss Lewes unless you drive your car into the bay. (If you do, you’ve gone too far.)

Boarding

Once you get to the terminal in Lewes, you’ll be glad to know they have the boarding process down to a science.

Nevertheless, I recommend you get to the terminal an hour or so before your appointed departure time so you can prepare to board and enjoy the many amenities. Be sure to watch a ferry or two come in to get a feel for the choreography. It helps to build anticipation too! The terminals in Cape May and Lewes are both charming and functional, complete with restaurants, gift shops, historical information, play areas for the kids, pleasant walking areas, occasional outdoor entertainment and wonderful breezes.

The ferry terminal at Cape May is imposing but you’ll have no trouble.

First, you’ll drive up to the toll booth, present your reservation and be issued a ticket. Then you’ll be directed to the staging area where you’ll queue up in numbered lanes according to your arrival time and other factors such as vehicle size. Next, you can depart your vehicle and enjoy the amenities or stay with your car. I highly recommend you leave your vehicle behind and head for the terminal for all the fun.

Finally, about 20 minutes prior to boarding, you’ll be called back to your vehicle to prepare to board. Once on the ferry, you’ll be directed to park “nose to tail” with other vehicles on the lower deck, depart your vehicle and head upstairs to enjoy your cruise.

Size doesn’t matter

Don’t worry about the size of your vehicle. The ferry can accommodate vehicles as large as RVs, tour buses and even large tractor trailers carrying interstate cargo. Your heavy-duty pick-up or plus-size SUV will only engender yawns from the helpful staff. Bikes and motorcycles are welcome, too.

Having your vehicle along is handy if you plan to venture up to Atlantic City for gambling or a show or points further North, but it’s not necessary. The ferry drops you off just a short walk from historic Cape May along the Cape May Canal. Shuttles are also available.

During our last trip, we headed up to Atlantic City to see Boz Scaggs in concert for my wife’s birthday, but we saw many folks with just their bicycles along for cycling around Cape May, and many others who had nothing with them but their smiles. They obviously planned to walk around Cape May and return to Lewes on a later cruise. We even saw some unaccompanied teenagers dressed for a day at the beach.

On the ferry

On board, you will enjoy snacks and light fare from the grab and go areas and beer, wine, cocktails and soft drinks from the outdoor Lido bars.

Numerous first-come, first-served indoor and outdoor seating options abound, but I highly recommend standing for your hour and a half voyage outside, (if you can and weather-permitting) so you can easily move around the vessel to enjoy different sightseeing vantage points. You’ll enjoy spotting far away lighthouses, picturesque harbors, bobbing buoys, strange-looking seabirds, and humongous ocean-going vessels.

Ellen Bennett enjoying ocean spay and bay breezes.

If you’re lucky you might even spot dolphins or whales playing in the sun or the ominous fin of a shark protruding from the water. The vessels are safe and smooth-sailing, but you’ll still want to hold onto the railings as you cut swiftly through the water.

Cape May

Cape May, New Jersey is known for its stunning homes that go back to the Victorian era, charming, walkable streets and pristine beaches on Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the distinction of being the oldest seaside resort in America. Be sure to visit the Cape May Lighthouse and the World War II Lookout Tower on Cape May Point and the Fisherman’s Memorial on Cape May Harbor.

Lewes

Lewes, Delaware is a small but growing town that was one of the earliest founded towns in America.  It is home to amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean and numerous waterfront dining establishment. It is well worth getting up early to watch the sun come up in the East over the Atlantic.