Frederick County EDA Director Barker steps down

Longtime Frederick County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Patrick Barker stepped down from his position on Feb. 27, the county government announced.

The county said that Wendy May, EDA marketing director, will serve as interim director, and Barker will serve as a consultant until June 2 during the transition.

According to the county’s statement, the decision was made Feb. 25 after County Administrator Michael Bollhoefer consulted with Barker.  Barker did not return requests for comment this week.

According to Bollhoefer, the primary reason for the leadership change was because the makeup of the county’s board of supervisors has drastically changed in the past year, and the board wanted a new direction for the EDA.

“Ultimately, I made the decision,” Bollhoefer said. “However, we have a whole new board of supervisors, and they really decided they wanted to take the economic development agency and function in a whole new direction, and they just felt like bringing in someone new to do that.”

Bollhoefer said a decision has not yet been made on what the process will be to search for a permanent replacement.

Barker has spent more than 25 years helping guide the region’s economic development. He led the Winchester-Frederick County Economic Development Commission, a joint venture between Winchester and Frederick County, for more than a decade before the organization dissolved in 2014 and was absorbed into the Frederick County EDA. Barker has served as the EDA’s executive director ever since.

Major county projects secured under Barker’s tenure from the past decade include Amazon’s $100 million 1 million-square-foot, e-commerce facility, which created 1,000 jobs in 2017; the $135 million FBI Central Records Complex that opened in 2020; HP Hood’s $83.5 million expansion in 2024 and Clasen Quality Chocolate’s announcement last year of a $230 million production facility in the county.

In the past year, the EDA has also been assisting county planners in keeping the public informed about the pros and cons of data centers, following the Board of Supervisors’ request for a fact sheet on the growing industry, and held a joint meeting in February with supervisors to align priorities and discuss ways to improve the county’s business climate. At that meeting, Barker said that over the last 10 years, the county has seen $1.1 billion in capital investment and the creation of over 4,000 jobs.

Budget shortfall

At a Feb. 12 meeting, Shawnee Supervisor Robert Liero said that the EDA needs to focus on business attraction and project-ready sites to help drive up revenue. Acknowledging the county has a projected budget shortfall of $42 million for the upcoming fiscal year, he said the county needs “a game changer.”

Gainesboro Supervisor Jason Aikens said the EDA has limited resources and needs to focus on retaining businesses in the county, attracting new ones and developing sites. He said the EDA “can’t be everything for everybody.”

“There’s a lot of people and developers in town that feel that there’s a lack of confidence with the EDA, and we’ve got to get over that hump,” Aikens added.

Stonewall Supervisor Gary Oates objected to the EDA’s claims of directly supporting 72 businesses, saying that the EDA showed “no interest” in helping some of the businesses listed come to the county and build.

“I guess they showed up to a job fair, so now you take credit for that particular business,” Oates said. “I’d say Frederick County has been closed for business for about 20 years. Fifteen, but probably 20. Every time a rezoning comes up for an industrial park, you never hear a word out the EDA, ‘Hey, we need this.’ They never come to a public hearing.”

He added that he doesn’t feel the county is business-friendly, and the Board of Supervisors repeatedly doesn’t approve business parks.

It is not yet known what Barker plans to do after June.

May, Barker’s interim successor, is a certified economic developer with more than 20 years in Frederick County. She has an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Shenandoah University, as well as professional certificates from the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and George Mason University. She is also a member of the International Economic Development Council.

“I appreciate the trust placed in me to serve as interim director during this transition,” May said in an email. “Frederick County has a vibrant and growing business community, a skilled workforce and a strong foundation for innovation and investment. I look forward to working closely with our EDA team, board and community partners as we continue our work and chart the path ahead.”