Leonardtown Mayor Dan Burris (l) with developer Don Pleasants
Leonardtown, MD — It didn’t happen. A scheduled closed meeting between two of the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County, the mayor of Leonardtown and the owner of one of the two sites vying for the new Leonardtown Library was abruptly cancelled when a third commissioner appeared.
When several members of the media showed up for the meeting at the commissioners’ offices, Commissioner President Randy Guy [R] came out to inform them that the meeting was closed. Guy said he had been invited to the meeting by Commissioner Mike Hewitt [R – 2nd District]]. Then Commissioner Todd Morgan [R – 4th District] arrived.
Guy said he would have to cancel the meeting. The St. Mary’s County Open Meetings Law requires that a meeting with the majority of commissioners in attendance (three or more) has to be open and there is a 48-hour required notice of the meeting.
While all of that was going on, Donald Pleasants, owner of the 200-acre Tudor Hall farm (also known as the Mattingly farm) was observing along with his wife and Leonardtown Mayor Dan Burris. Pleasants had come down to St. Mary’s from his company’s home base in Clarksburg, Montgomery County, just to attend the meeting. Guy apologized to him but said there was nothing he could do about it.
Morgan (shown above) explained to those standing around that he was a supporter of openness and transparency and he felt the public should be able to hear what was said on the important topic.
Pleasants answered a few questions from The Bay Net and the other media. He said he had heard that an alternate suggestion for a sports complex instead of a library had been floated but he hadn’t been asked about it. Burris said several commissioners had discussed the idea with several council members, but not him. “I don’t know why they didn’t come to the town,” Burris said.
Burris said a sports complex was not included in the town’s vision for its waterfront that includes the property owned by Pleasants.
Leonardtown also owns land on the same Tudor Hall farm and Burris said he wasn’t sure whether the proposal was to use town land or Pleasants’ property. He said he assumed that would have been one of the items open for discussion at the cancelled meeting.
Pleasants said he has no current plans for the land his company, Pleasants Development, owns. “Maybe I will be able to do something with my property someday,” he said.
Pleasants feels the local market isn’t yet ready for a development on his property. “I am not interested in creating a market where there is not a market,” he explained.
Pleasants said his company is developing a number of projects in areas such as Montgomery, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties and in Virginia and West Virginia. The family-owned company was founded in 1964, according to its website.
At this point Pleasants has verbally agreed to donate five acres for the library. “I think it would be very beneficial to the town and Leonardtown citizens,” he said.
The commissioners have scheduled a decision-making discussion on the library site (downtown vs. the Hayden Farm) for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 12 during their regular meeting. They are soliciting opinions through close of business on Monday through social media.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com