Commissioners: Development is Under Control in Charles

La Plata - 2/7/2007

By Staff Writer Anna Dailey

On Tuesday, 06 February, 2007 the Charles County Commissioners discussed several items of note during their weekly board meeting. 

Projects for the College of Southern Maryland:

• Continuing the $19.2 million renovation of the Science & Technology Building at the La Plata Campus.  The county’s portion of the funding comes to $1.2 million.  Renovations are on-time and on-budget.  The construction project is adding a second story and more than doubling the space of the existing building. When the project is complete, the Science and Technology building will contain 60,340 square feet for chemistry, microbiology, electronics, physics, and microcomputer laboratories in addition to office space.  When the first half is complete, the college will use that half and allow work to commence on the final portions of the building.   Improved and increased space for the sciences and technology classes are CSM’s greatest needs at the moment.
• The Career Education and Business buildings will be completely renovated at a future date.  Their renovations will be similar to that of the Science/Tech building – add a second floor and double the square footage.  The Fine Arts building is also slated for renovation, but on a less comprehensive level.
• CSM continues its search for property on which to expand the campus.  Community colleges are gaining greater importance as increasing numbers of young adults use them as affordable stepping stones to traditional state universities.

The Charles County Board of Education reported their upcoming projects for budget consideration. 

• CCBoE is working toward the inclusion of technology in all aspects of learning and teaching, not just in separate computer labs.  Their ultimate goal is a 1:1 ratio of children per computer. 
  The CCBoE hired 400 new teachers this year, not only to staff new schools but to better staff existing ones.  They also expect to have all Charles County schools equipped to handle full-day kindergarten classes by next fall as per state mandate. 
• The contract to build the Mary Burgess Neil Elementary school was awarded to Hess Construction Company.  The project is estimated to cost slightly more than $19 million and scheduled to open in August 2008.  Charles County is contributing $3 million toward the project on behalf of the state while CCBoE finishes their appeal to the state for the remainder of the funding needed. 
• Theodore Davis Middle School is nearing completion and slated to open August 2007.
• Another high school and elementary school are in the planning stages. 

During the press briefing following the meeting, The Bay Net asked the commissioners for their response to concerns that the county is being developed too rapidly and wantonly.  President Wayne Cooper told The Bay Net that the commissioners manage the growth of the county very carefully.  New residential units (single family dwellings, townhouses, apartments) have been built in the county at a rate of about 1,000 per year, which is down from the boom we experienced three to four years ago.  The commissioners feel that the road projects currently in place will greatly improve county traffic conditions.  The Board of Commissioners feels that our current building program of about one new school per year is keeping pace with the needs of county residents as communicated to them by the Charles County Board of Education.

Negotiations for four new businesses wishing to relocate to Charles County were discussed in closed session.  When asked about that session, President Cooper couldn’t give any details about the businesses in question, but told The Bay Net that after a deal has been reached with a business interested in moving to Charles County, the public is encouraged to attend the hearing about the matter.  Public hearings are the residents’ opportunity to help the commissioners be selective about the types of businesses we allow to begin operations in Charles County.  The commissioners realized a couple years ago that rather than try to entice just any business into the county that they should be selective.  It was in the best interests of not only the potential neighbors and employees of new businesses but all county taxpayers that the Board control development. 

Vice-President, Dr. Edith Patterson used the new power plant in negotiation for Indian Head as an example.  She told The Bay Net the commissioners are interested in the project not only because it would provide new jobs and new revenue for the Charles County, but also because this power plant will operate more efficiently and cleanly than the current plant.  Environmentally, it’s better than what we’ve got so it makes sense to encourage a development of that nature, Patterson said.

Development has an effect on the county’s bond rating which influences the quantity of taxes residents pay for services, improvements and upkeep around the area.  Charles County’s bond rating has improved since the Board of Commissioners actively began to shape the county’s image away from that of ‘bedroom community.’  The county’s new bond rating will be assigned at the end of March.