Story Category: The Bay Net Exclusives »

 Elected officials of the Town of North Beach had much to celebrate Tuesday, April 17. At the weekly meeting of the Calvert County Commissioners a lease agreement between the town and county was officially approved. Then during the afternoon the new North Beach Department of Public Works Building and the Wetlands Overlook Park were dedicated. Town, county and state officials, along with the representatives of Congressional leaders, gathered at the site in the shadow of the town’s water tower on 11th Street.

During the dedication ceremony North Beach Mayor Mark Frazer explained that the adjoining new facilities were located on the site of an abandoned wastewater treatment plant. “You would have had to have been here before to appreciate this,” said Frazer. “Now, this is probably the most beautiful place in North Beach.”

The new public works facility is 4,140 square feet, energy-efficient, equipped with a radiant floor heating system, four bay areas and plenty of storage space.

Frazer commended Donnie Bowen, the town’s public works director, for playing “a very special role” in getting the facility built. “He [Bowen] did what needed to be done,” said Frazer.

Nearly 20 businesses, most of them local vendors, participated in the construction of the new facilities.

The town partnered with Maryland’s Program Open Space (POS) for the construction of two gazebos, a pier, a small visitors’ center and an eye-pleasing landscape to buffer the adjoining wetlands at the north edge of town with the new public works facility.

“The Town of North Beach has a long history of protecting the environment,” said Frazer.

“When we revitalize North Beach and our wetlands, we revitalize ourselves,” said Town Councilwoman Gwen Schiada, who chairs the North Beach Environmental Committee. Schiada noted the town has recently purchased nearby Walton Beach for the purpose of protecting the tract from commercialization, opting instead to make it a nature preserve. Additionally, the town is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to mitigate the flooding issues that have recently plagued numerous North Beach properties.

Barry Christy, the POS regional administrator, commended the town for its prudent use of “a little less than $58,000” in state funds. “I can see this as a town gathering site,” said Christy. “What a fantastic area you have created.”

Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com